From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america
Date: 22 Jul 92 14:22 PDT
Subject: A Crisis of Faith Threatens Democr
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1473800091:000:5328
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Jul 22 14:22:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: A Crisis of Faith Threatens Democr

/* Written  2:21 pm  Jul 22, 1992 by hrcoord in cdp:reg.latinameri */
World Press Review
July 1992

(c) 1992 The Stanley Foundation

A CRISIS OF FAITH THREATENS DEMOCRACY
As new social unrest rouses the military again

by Julio Alganaraz and Daniel Samper

from the newsmagazine "Cambio 16" of Madrid


The map showing off the democracies of Latin America did not last long;
just a few months. Last September's military coup in Haiti was
followed by February's attempted coup in Venezuela, and then there
was President Alberto Fujimori's hara-kiri in Peru. To make this
scenario even more tenous, the Organization of American States showed
itself to be condescending when it dealt with Fujimori: It preferred
to grant him a hearing rather than shake its fist.

And Peru's neighbors made statements about Fujimori's "self coup" 
that showed more understanding for his point of view than for Peru's
long-suffering democracy. "We need our Parliament to function well
so that there will be no need to eliminate it," warned Jaime Paz
Zamora, the president of Bolivia. And President Rodrigo Borja Cevallos
of Ecuador unleashed a reprimand to the members of his nation's
Congress.

What is going on here? Has darkness already fallen over what seemed,
just a year ago, to be a new dawn for the continent? Or is this just
a momentary eclipse? Frightened by the events of the past few months,
Latin America's democrats are trying to respond to these questions.

The key to a positive outcome can be summed up in a few words: 
political moderization, fighting corruption, civil control of the
armed forces, and a fair distribution of the benefits of neo-liberal
economic policies that favor the free market. If democracy does not
prove itself to be able to govern, legislate, and create justice, it
will be opening the way for its enemies. If civilians in government
cannot keep their militaries in check, they will become nothing more
than the soldiers' partners - as Fujimori is - or even their victims,
such as Haiti's Jean-Bertrand Aristide. And if the miracles of the
market do not benefit everyone, the economic policies applauded at
American universities will be repudiated by the poor.

Some seem to understand this. "Our priorities today are poverty and
the distribution of wealth, keeping the context of the new world
order in mind. Communism has ceased to be a problem for our armies,"
says General Antonio Soares Moreira, chief of staff for the Brazilian
army and president of the 20th Conference of American Armies, held
recently in Brasilia. While populist politicians such as Argentina's
Carlos Saul Menem and Carlos Andres Perez of Venezuela turned into
neo-liberals after attaining power, many low-ranking and middle-
ranking military officers have been moving in the other direction.
Ideological myths are enjoying a renaissance in the barracks:
Nationalism and populism are circulating, blended with various other
ideas.

A good example is Hugo Chavez, the lieutenant-colonel behind the
coup in Venezuela, who enjoyed widespread support. Venezuela's Perez
had to confront riots just after taking office in February, 1989,
and announcing an economic-reform package. Violence in Caracas left
more than 1,000 dead, according to trustworthy estimates, as well as 
a social wound that Perez did nothing to heal. This fed the revolt
led by Chavez in February.

In Venezuela, 34 years of democratic governments did not lay the
threat of a military coup to rest. President Perez seems to be in
a corner. The fall in the price of oil smothers the economy, and
the need to spend heavily on welfare programs to improve his
popularity runs counter to his plan to cut the federal budget deficit.
Political instability has scared off private investment. Since the
coup attempt, Venezuelans have continued to show their disgust with
current politics: Pounding pots and pans and screaming protests have
been the weapons of choice.

The thing that most worries those watching the return of democracy
to Latin America is the coup d`etat carried out in April by Alberto
Fujimori. Although it enjoyed wide support in the armed forces, the
idea came from Fujimori himself. A Peruvian intelligence official
told Britain's Financial Times that the Japanese-born engineer began
preparing for dictatorship when he took office two years ago. The
main source of his ideas, many say, is Vladimiro Montesinos, a
former secret-service officer who is now Fujimori's principal adviser.

Public opinion polls have shown support for the president. People are
fed up, and Fujimori has accused the Congress and the courts of
corruption. Among the majority, these accusations have gained him
sympathy. As Bolivian sociologist Carlos Toranzo says, "Corruption
is widespread in Latin America, and people associate it with
democratic regimes."

The outlook is poor, but we should not proclaim the apocalypse yet.
Latin America may still be able to learn from what has happened
and depart from the old ways of corruption, military populism, and
economic reform carried out without consideration of the social costs.
Otherwise, the hard-won effort toward democracy may be derailed in
favor of the dream of finding another way. That option has always
proved extremely painful.