The Left

     David Crow surveys the political picture in Latin America:
     The widely heralded return of the left in Latin America's new democratic normalcy failed to materialize, as leftist coalitions made significant electoral headway in Argentina (October 24), Uruguay (October 31) and Chile (December 12), but won only in Argentina.
     Fernando de la Rúa, head of the left-center National Solidarity Front (Frepaso), won the Argentine presidency with 49% of the vote (under Argentine law, a run-off is unnecessary when a candidate garners over 45% of the vote). In Uruguay, Tabaré Vázquez's Progressive Encounter ("Encuentro Progresista") made significant headway in breaking with the country's two-party hegemonic system of Blancos and Colorados, picking up a number of legislative seats and forcing a run-off with Jorge Batlle of the Colorados. However, Vázquez lost the November 28 second round.
     Finally, Socialist Ricardo Lagos --candidate for the "Concertación por la Democracia" which has been dominated by Christian Democrats in post-Pinochet Chile-- ended in a virtual tie with rightist Joaquín Lavín, polling 47.9% and 47.5% of the vote, respectively. The run-off will be held on January 16. The advance of the right since April, when polls had Lagos comfortably ahead, was rapid; the right won the highest percentage it had since Alessandri in 1958. Some Christian Democrats seem to have reneged on their commitment to the Concertación, throwing significant support to Lavín. However, the 3% that Communist candidate Gladys Marín garnered is expected to go to the Concertación.
     The left in Latin America is hardly the same as it was some decades ago; it more closely resembles European Social Democrats and New Left advocates of the Third Way. Gone are is the rigid dogmatism of yesteryear. Though some on the Chilean left wistfully lament the replacement of idealism by pragmatism, they are at least thankful that the right is gaining ground via the ballot box, and not military coups.


     My comment: All this is true, but the big problem is revolution. With the major battlefield in Colombia, it spreads all the way from Mexico to Chile. There is an international plot by those who believe that parliamentary democracy will not improve the lot of the masses. Moreover, its roots are shallow; Cuban-style "personalism" (caudillismo) is more attuned to Latin American culture. WAISers who recently returned from a fact-finding tour in Cuba were impressed that police control during the Ibero-American summit was light.

Ronald Hilton - 12/14/99