Latin American Politics 101
I came to Latin America for a lesson in politics. I knew the history already: the recurring military coups, the thousands of 'disappeared' leftists. the struggling economies, increasing external indebtedness, more frequent economic crashes, crushing poverty.
But the history was history: books and articles and stories. i wanted to feel it, to be there on the ground and watch it happen around me. to be a part of it. I wanted to take a lesson in Latin American politics from Latin America.
The region is anything but stable and the situations in each country are distinct, but there is a common denominator: a test of neoliberal economics and democracy. Can these governments pay their debts and help their economies recover? Are the policies the IMF demands compatable with combating unemployment and poverty? Will any sort of democracy survive continuous uprisings and coups? None of these countries have answers yet, but many are finally facing the questions.
Bolivia. After hearing barely anything about Bolivia since I arrived, I was suprised to hear just two weeks ago that almost 30 people had been killed in violence in the capital city La Paz. After the president threatened an income tax raise of 12% and a wage freeze, both to meet IMF demands, city police joined demonstrators and clashed with the national guard. The president quickly took back his promise to raise the taxes and shuffled the government. A full 80% of Bolivia's citizens live in poverty.
Paraguay. In January the president Gonzalez Macchi was nearly indicted for corruption, but the legislature decided it was easier to wait the few months that were left of his presidency. Paraguay's last president was impeached and driven from office by deadly street protests.
Colombia. The peasant army that controls a good part of the country captured two CIA agents last week after their plane crashed in the jungle. Tensions have been high in recent months with increased rhetoric on both sides and the recent bombing of a building. THe US, through its "Plan Colombia", continues to support the government's fight against narcotrafficing. Many see this as a pretense to justify arming Colombia against the rebels, and Colombia has been called the next Vietnam.
Ecuador. After defaulting on its external debt in 1999, adopting the US dollar as its official currency, and surviving a presidential coup in 2000, Ecuador has a new president, a military populist who initially befrended Fidel Castro and Brazil's Lula. Since he took office in January he has made promises to Bush, to the IMF, and to capital markets and investors, all of which have made his consituency — the unions and indigenous groups who helped elect him — very edgy.
What's next? Already I feel like I understand what's happening, feel the tensions much more than if I were in Philadelphia. At the protest against the war on Iraq at the Yankee embassy, chanting for the Argentine police to follow the Bolivian police's lead and join the demonstration, I could see on the protesters' faces their fierce resolve. That alone was worth a trip to Argentina. But I've made contacts and will soon begin working with a community of these 'piqueteros', getting more of a glimpse of their daily struggles that have led them to take to the streets, and hopefully helping somehow. In the face of these global changes, figuring out my role in this mess is the least I can do.
But the history was history: books and articles and stories. i wanted to feel it, to be there on the ground and watch it happen around me. to be a part of it. I wanted to take a lesson in Latin American politics from Latin America.
| Since we got here it's clear I'm getting more than I bargained for. After more than twenty years of the virtual monopoly of the neoliberal economic model, economic crisis has left much of South America in social and political crisis. Now country after country is hitting the wall: either the old regimes are under serious attack or new leftist regimes have taken their place, with lots to prove and lots to lose. |  |
The region is anything but stable and the situations in each country are distinct, but there is a common denominator: a test of neoliberal economics and democracy. Can these governments pay their debts and help their economies recover? Are the policies the IMF demands compatable with combating unemployment and poverty? Will any sort of democracy survive continuous uprisings and coups? None of these countries have answers yet, but many are finally facing the questions.
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Brazil. The world's eighth largest economy collapsed in the contagion following the Asian financial crisis and (with the rest of South America) is mired in recession. This January, the charismatic Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva of the Brazilian Worker's Party was elected president, and all of the Latin American Left is watching hopefully. Lula, who never finished high school, has called the US president "Comrade Bush" and put off buying fighter jets to save money for his "Zero Hunger" campaign. But those on both sides of the political spectrum are making bets on whether he can walk the tightrope between angering the markets and defaulting on his promises to poor Brazilians. |
Bolivia. After hearing barely anything about Bolivia since I arrived, I was suprised to hear just two weeks ago that almost 30 people had been killed in violence in the capital city La Paz. After the president threatened an income tax raise of 12% and a wage freeze, both to meet IMF demands, city police joined demonstrators and clashed with the national guard. The president quickly took back his promise to raise the taxes and shuffled the government. A full 80% of Bolivia's citizens live in poverty.
| Argentina. In the space of a few months, Argentina ousted a president through popular uprisings, defaulted on IMF loans, and devalued its currency by three times. Barely more than a year later, jobless protesters still clog downtown streets and block major freeways, the poverty rate is now above 50%, and child malnutrition is becoming an epidemic. Elections are approaching with not two but four unpopular candidates almost equal in polls, each around 15% of the vote. The candidate whose political posters read "Sí, hay salida" (Yes, there is a way out!) dropped out of the race. |  |
Paraguay. In January the president Gonzalez Macchi was nearly indicted for corruption, but the legislature decided it was easier to wait the few months that were left of his presidency. Paraguay's last president was impeached and driven from office by deadly street protests.
Colombia. The peasant army that controls a good part of the country captured two CIA agents last week after their plane crashed in the jungle. Tensions have been high in recent months with increased rhetoric on both sides and the recent bombing of a building. THe US, through its "Plan Colombia", continues to support the government's fight against narcotrafficing. Many see this as a pretense to justify arming Colombia against the rebels, and Colombia has been called the next Vietnam.
 | Venezuela. After a quickly reversed coup last April, this fall protesters came out again against Venezuela's populist president Hugo Chavez. The country was paralyzed by a general strike and daily protests for almost three months. Chavez, a former coup leader himself and a moderate leftist in his actions, faces strong attacks from the opposition-controlled media and lukewarm support from the poor, after limited success in diminishing poverty in his three years in office. |
Ecuador. After defaulting on its external debt in 1999, adopting the US dollar as its official currency, and surviving a presidential coup in 2000, Ecuador has a new president, a military populist who initially befrended Fidel Castro and Brazil's Lula. Since he took office in January he has made promises to Bush, to the IMF, and to capital markets and investors, all of which have made his consituency — the unions and indigenous groups who helped elect him — very edgy.
What's next? Already I feel like I understand what's happening, feel the tensions much more than if I were in Philadelphia. At the protest against the war on Iraq at the Yankee embassy, chanting for the Argentine police to follow the Bolivian police's lead and join the demonstration, I could see on the protesters' faces their fierce resolve. That alone was worth a trip to Argentina. But I've made contacts and will soon begin working with a community of these 'piqueteros', getting more of a glimpse of their daily struggles that have led them to take to the streets, and hopefully helping somehow. In the face of these global changes, figuring out my role in this mess is the least I can do.