| |
Debate
In defence of the good government paradigm
Letters
Multiple tension in Palestine
Latin America turns left
02/2006 |
|
[ Comment ]
Latin America moves left
2006 is a year of many elections in Latin America. Presidents will be elected in 10 countries; parliaments in six. The victory by Evo Morales in Bolivia last December could be typical of what’s in store. In contrast, the victory by the moderate socialist Michelle Bachelet in Chile in January signals unusual continuity.
[ By Norbert Glaser ]
Evo Gonzales draws attention by wearing casual clothes on diplomatic trips. Will the first indigenous president of Bolivia also pursue unorthodox policies in office? The victory of this leader of coca farmers in the presidential election in December has moved the country to the left. After the elections of Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), Nestor Kirchner (Argentina), Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil) and Tabaré Vazquez (Uruguay), another country has turned its back on neoliberalism.
Michelle Bachelet, Chile’s president elect, does not fit into this list, however. Like her predecessor and party comrade Ricardo Lagos, this socialist won the elections as the candidate of the center-left coalition that has run the country since the military dictatorship ended in 1983. As her father was a victim of the dictatorship, and she herself went into exile, her triumph at the ballot box is an expression of the return of democratic normalcy. On the other hand, she has a penchant for free-market economics and is likely to continue the strategy of world market integration.
That is not to be expected in Bolivia. After 20 years of faithfully administering the harsh medicines prescribed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the country is in ruins. Once a showcase for neoliberal reforms, Bolivia is in danger of becoming a failing state. In the past few years, the country has become more radical and violent as clashes in parliament and on the streets intensified. Presidents resigned after ever shorter time in office. Despite generous debt-relief, Bolivia – a focus country of the German Development Ministry – ranks number 114 of the 177 countries in the Human Development Index. Morales will find no quick fix. The population is too radically divided along political, social, and ethnic lines.
And yet, Bolivia has so much potential. It is rich in resources, which have fed industrialised countries’ wealth for centuries. To use a term coined by Eduardo Galeano, no country better embodies “Latin America’s open veins”. Unsurprisingly, a growing number of Bolivians blame their own misery on the development of other countries. It is no wonder the masses are outraged by the idea of cheap oil and gas exports.
To belittle Evo Morales as a “leftist populist” or a “coca farmer” does not do justice to his person nor his country. He is an indigenous Aymara, a unionist for small farmers and the chairman of the only party with a nation-wide reach. Accordingly, Bolivia’s downtrodden indigenous masses, who make up two thirds of the population, expect very much from him. However, he will also face powerful opposition: the white elite, foreign companies, domestic industrialists and large farmers – not to mention the USA.
Morales has recently been pursuing a double strategy. He took moderate positions in parliament, while his “Movimiento al Socialismo“ (MAS) led the grassroots opposition by using radical rhetoric. Now, Morales will have to show his colours. The electorate is losing its patience. More radical forces are waiting for their chance. Felipe Quispes will be keeping an especially close eye on Morales. Both men launched their political careers in the small farmers union CSUTCB. But unlike Morales, his competitor is prone to playing the ethnic card. Quispes speaks of rebuilding the Inca state without any place for whites. On the other hand, export-oriented large farmers and the oil and gas firms in eastern Bolivia are already working on setting up their own state.
Morales has to master a difficult task in this situation. Other politicians in the Andes face similar challenges. In Peru, president Alejandro Toledo enjoys the support of only 10% of the population, while the former military official and Chavez follower Ollanta Humala is gaining ground. The established parties have similarly lost face in Ecuador. The crisis in the Andean states shows that free-market liberalism and formal democracy structures, on their own, do not bring about prosperity or stability in the long term. National leaders, like Morales in Bolivia, only have one chance. They must use all means of participatory democracy available to lay the groundwork for policy initiatives that further social justice and the economic well-being of broad segments of the population. Such efforts deserve any support.
Norbert Glaser
Managing editor at D+C Development and Cooperation / E+Z Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit.
norbert.glaser@fsd.de
|
