LATIN AMERICAN DICTATORSHIPS: "There is always a justification"

Running WAIS is fascinating, but struggling with my computers is hell. Members write complaining that they are not receiving my postings even though their names are on the list, while people who are not on the list get them. I must conclude that somewhere the wires get crossed. The posting on Chile and Pinochet received two rebuttals. One was a very crude one from someone who is not a member of WAIS. The other is a reasoned and polite one from Juan Mauricio Flores, who argues that "there will always be a justification" (i.e. an excuse) for military coups. I agree that especially in Latin America there has been a propensity for the military to grab power. Salvador de Madariaga spoke of countries occupied by their own armies. I have fought this all my life, and named Bolivar House at Stanford after the great admirer of `parliamentary democracy. That Hugo Chavez claims to be Bolivarian is a farce. My point simply was that historically dictators have been welcomed to put an end to disorder, and then overstay their welcome, often causing a revolution. This seems to be a law of politics. My job is to keep a reasoned discussion going between people like Juan Mauricio Flores on the one hand and those like Dwight Peterson and Carlos López, neither of whom could be described as a reactionary. Dwight represents US business trying to operate in Latin America, Carlos Chileans frightened of another cycle of violence. A brother of Carlos was shot dead by the police. The debate has a special significance for Colombians. There are many Colombians who think that only strong military action will end the guerrilla violence which is wrecking the country. In the case of Afghanistan, some Americans approve of strong US military action against the Taliban, while others like David Krieger of the Nuclear Peace Foundation strongly oppose it. There are nuts on both sides, but there are also sensible people.

Ronald Hilton - 11/1/01