News links: Latin America

Limited blogging time today. So I'm going with links to a variety of stories on Latin American events.

Argentina:

‘Anti-layoffs’: FpV launches last-ditch bid to woo Massa Buenos Aires Herald 05/16/2016 The left-Peronist-led opposition is doing an impressive job of highlighting the conservative government's responsibility for rapidly rising unemployment. Sergio Massa, a rightwing Peronist leader who support's the government's neoliberal economic policies, is being pressured to join that opposition effort. Peronism is complicated.

Probe into Macri’s offshore firms takes new twist Buenos Aires Herald 05/16/2016. Argentine President Mauricio Macri is facing serious questions about his business dealings that showed up in the Panama Papers.

"Son 150 fojas con críticas al gobierno anterior" Página/12 16.05.2016. Former President Cristina Fernaández ios fighting transparently political legal charges brought against her by Judge Claudio Bonadio, a partisan of the current conservative government of Mauricio Macri. She seems to be winning.

José Natanson, editor of Le Monde Diplomatique Edición Cono Sur looks at the possible future development of kirchnerismo, the left-Peronist tendency represented by Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, in El futuro del kirchnerismo Página/12 24.04.2016. Nicolás Damin offers another view in Mamushkas kirchneristas Anfibia 27.04.2016 (?); accessed 05/16/2016.

Natanson also looks at the conservative politicization of the judiciary that notably affects Brazil and Argentina in Populismo judicial Le Monde Diplomatique Edición Cono Sur May 2016; accessed 05/16/2016.

Mario Santuchy, entre la resistencia y la integración Crisis 03.04.2016

Brazil:

8 Latin American Countries Reject Coup Against Dilma Rousseff TeleSUR 16.05.2016. Those include Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Mauricio Macri's government in Argentina was openly approving. "Meanwhile, Colombia’s position was more ambiguous, saying in a statement that the country 'trusts in the preservation of democratic institutionality and stability.' The U.S. State Department was similarly vague, saying in a statement that the United States is 'confident that Brazilians will work through these difficult political questions democratically and in accordance with Brazil’s constitutional principles.'"

Cómo queda el mapa político de América Latina con el "impeachment" a Dilma Rousseff en Brasil
Leire Ventas BBC Mundo 12.05.2016

Eduardo Aliverti, Los espejos Página/12 16.05.2016. Comparing legal mischief/pseudoscandals promoted by the now-ruling right wing in Brazil and similar tactics by the Macri government in Argentina.

Sean W. Burges, Revenge of the Right in Brazil? Canberra Times 05/13/2016

Marie Declercq, April 17, 2016: The Day of Men Brasil Wire 05/11/2016

Paul Prada, White male cabinet raises fears of backsliding in diverse Brazil Reuters 05/16/2016. Brazil has just begun a new nightmare of neoliberal governance after last week's successful "soft coup" against elected President Dilma Rousseff.

Rusia acusa a EE.UU. de aplicar nuevos actos de injerencia en América Latina TeleSUR 16.05.2016

Rusia califica de inaceptable la injerencia externa en Brasil TeleSUR 12.05.2016

Bolivia:

Morales llama a defender la soberanía y dignidad de Bolivia TeleSUR 16.05.2016

Colombia:

Argentina pide colaboración a Colombia sobre imputados por caso AMIA Tiempo/EFE 16.05.2016

John Lindsay-Poland and Arlene Tickner, De- or Re-Militarization in Post Peace-Accord Colombia? NACLA 05/11/2016

Paraguay:

Lugo se reunió con críticos del proceso contra Dilma Última hora 16.05.2016. Former President of Paraguay Fernando Lugo was removed from office in 2013 in a soft coup/institutional coup very similar to the one that occurred last week in Brazil.

Peru:

Gerardo Reyes, DEA investiga grabación en la que se menciona a Keiko Fujimori en un presunto esquema de lavado de dinero 05/15/2016. Keiko Fujimori, the daughter and supporter of the still-imprisoned Peruvian dictator Alberto Fujimori is currently in a run-off election for Peru's Presidency. The vote is on June 5.

Peru presidential candidate to question alleged money laundering probe Yahoo! News/Reuters 05/16/2016

Venezuela:

Gabriel Hetland, Around the Region: Chavismo in Crisis NACLA 05/13/2016

J. Luengo, Maduro: Convoco al próximo sábado a ejercicios militares para prepararnos para cualquier escenario Panorama 14.05.2016

Vea Gaceta | Oficializado Decreto de Estado de Excepción y Emergencia Económica Ultimas Noticias 16.05.2016

Leer más en: http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/economia/vea-gaceta---oficializado-decreto-de-estado-de-exc.aspx#ixzz48r2fGUcl

Venezuela says better oil loans deal reached with China Reuters 05/16/2016. Petrostate Venezuela is struggling with the dire effects of low oil prices and facing intense internal and international opposition, not all of it democratic.

History articles:

Casey Schmitt, Early America in Español The Junto 05/16/2016

Kristen Block and Jenny Shaw, Subjects Without an Empire: The Irish in the Early Modern Caribbean Past and Present 210:1 (behind subscription)

Félix Luna, Los radicales y la "protesta armada respetable" de 1905 Yrigoyen (1985) El Historiador; accessed 05/16/2016

The soft coup in Brazil and the so-called Pink Tide governments

Argentine political theorist Atilio Boron writes about the "soft coup/institutional coup" in Brazil, Salto al poder en Brasil Página/12 13.05.2016.

Boron calls the soft coup in Brazil, a "serious setback for all of Latin America," of which Brazil is the most populous country.

He means this in two senses. One is for what we might call democracy in general. The Brazilian opposition used the impeachment process for illegitimate purposes, and barely even put up any pretence there was any legal substance to their action. The other is more specifically for the democratic left parties and movements, including elected Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's Workers' Party (PT), that have come to power during the last two decades and have successfully implemented development and social policies at odds with the neoliberal orthodoxy of the IMF and the World Bank known as the "Washington Consensus."

This is referred to in the American press as the "pink tide," kind of a throwback to Cold War lingo of "pinko" referring to non-Communist leftists. It's not a very meaningful label. And often carelessly described, e.g., Linette Lopez, We may be witnessing the downfall of an international political revolution Business Insider 12/07/2015. "Post-neoliberal" would be a more appropriate term. Although it doesn't refer to a group of parties formally connected like the social-democratic Socialist International. It generally is used to include these South American governments:

• Argentina: the governments of the post-2001-crisis, especially the "kirchernista" governments of Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007) and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-2015). Defeated by the hardline neoliberal electoral coalition behind current President Mauricio Macri.
• Bolivia: The Evo Morales government of 2006-present; Morales' party is the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS-IPSP)
• Brazil: The Workers' Party (PT) governments of 2003-2016, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2010) Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016)
• Chile: The current President Michelle Bachelet beginning in 2014; her center-left/left Nueva Mayoría electoral coalition even includes the Communist Party, whose most famous member and now a Deputy (Member) of the Chilean Parliament is the former student leader Camila Vallejo Dowling.
• Ecaudor: The government of current President Rafael Correa, first elected in 2007; his electoral coalition is the Alianza País (AP).
• Paraguay: The government of former Catholic bishop and liberation theologian Fernando Lugo (2008-2012), also ousted in an "institutional coup/soft coup"; he was elected in 2008 as the candidate of the Alianza Patriótica para el Cambio (APC)
• Uruguay: The Frente Amplia governments of Tabaré Vázquez (2005-2010), José Mujica (2010-2015) and Tabaré Vázquez again (2015-present) (See: Matt Beagle, Uruguay’s Tabaré Vazquez: Pink Tide or Political Voice of the Center? Council on Hemispheric Affairs 03/04/2006)
• Venezuela: By far the one most perturbing to Washington and the Latin American right, the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV) governments of Hugo Chávez (1999-2013) and Nicolás Maduro (2013-present).

See also:

Nick Caistor, Latin America: The 'pink tide' turns BBC News 12/11/2015

Robie Mitchell, The Pink Tide Recedes: End of An Era? Council on Hemispheric Affairs 01/14/2016

Jason Tockman, The Rise of the "Pink Tide": Trade, Integration, and Economic Crisis in Latin America Georgetown Journal of International Affairs 10:2 (Summer/Fall 2009)

In a recent post, I wrote, "I'm sure it's pure coincidence. But Liliana Ayalde, the current US Ambassador to Brazil, served as US Ambassador to Paraguay from 2008-2011. A very similar "institutional coup" took place in Paraguay in 2012. (Benjamin Dangl, Behind Paraguay's coup Aljazeera 07/26/2012)"

Boron writes:

La confabulación de la derecha brasileña contó con el apoyo de Washington –¡imaginen cómo habría reaccionado la Casa Blanca si algo semejante se hubiera tramado en contra de alguno de sus peones en la región!– En su momento Barack Obama envió como embajadora en Brasil a Liliana Ayalde, una experta en promover “golpes blandos” porque antes de asumir su cargo en Brasilia, en el cual se sigue desempeñando, seguramente que de pura casualidad había sido embajadora en Paraguay, en vísperas del derrocamiento “institucional” de Fernando Lugo.

[The plot of the Brazilian right counted on the support of Washington - imagine how the White House would have reacted if something like that had been hatched against one of its peons in the region! - In his moment Barack Obama sent as Ambassador to Brazil Liliana Ayalde, an expert in promoting "soft coups" because before assuming her post in Brasilia, in which she is still filling, surely by pure chance had been Ambassador to Paraguay on the eve of the "institutional" overthrow of Ferando Lugo.]

And he points to the collaboration of other rightist parties and governments in Latin America:

Pero el imperio no es omnipotente, y para viabilizar la conspiración reaccionaria en Brasil suscitó la complicidad de varios gobiernos de la región, como el argentino, que definió el ataque que sus amigos brasileños estaban perpetrando en contra de la democracia como un rutinario ejercicio parlamentario y nada más.

[But the empire is not omnipotent, and to make the reactionary conspiracy in Brazil viable, aroused the complicity of various governments in the region, like that of Argentina [the Macri Administration], which defined the attack that his Brazilian friends were perpetrating against democracy in the form of a routine parliamentary exercise and nothing more.]

Left parties and governments, including the Argentine opposition Frente para la Victoria and the citizen mobilizations led by former Argentine President Cristina Fernández, have also recognized the international dimensions of the soft coup against Rousseff and expressed their support for her in this crisis.

Boron calls attention to three major groups of actors in the coup against Rousseff. One group is composed of the opposition legislators who abused their Constitutional powers to nullify the results of the 2014 Presidential election. The second is the judiciary dominated by pro-oligarchy conservatives and reactionaries. (In Argentina, the kirchneristas refer to the rightingwingers in the Argentine judiciary as the Judicial Party to emphasize their crass partisanship.) And the third is made up of the media companies that joined in the soft coup. In the United States, the center-left has been very reluctant to challenge the nature and structure of the corporate media directly; the conservatives have been far more perceptive about exploiting them very much to their benefit, all the while whining about the evil "liberal press." Boron writes on the
Brazilian media:

El tercer protagonista de esta gigantesca estafa a la soberanía popular son los principales medios de comunicación del Brasil, cuya vocación golpista y ethos profundamente reaccionario son ampliamente conocidos porque han militado desde siempre en contra de cualquier proyecto de cambio en uno de los países más injustos del planeta. Al separar a Dilma Rousseff de su cargo (por un plazo máximo de 180 días en el cual el Senado deberá decidir por una mayoría de dos tercios si la acusación en contra de la presidenta se ratifica o no) el interinato presidencial recayó sobre un oscuro y mediocre político, un ex aliado del PT convertido en un conspicuo conspirador y, finalmente, infame traidor: Michel Temer. Desgraciadamente, todo hace suponer que en poco tiempo más el Senado convertirá la suspensión temporal en destitución definitiva de la presidenta porque en la votación que la apartó de su cargo los conspiradores obtuvieron 55 votos, uno más de los exigidos para destituirla. Y eso será así pese a que, como Dilma lo reconociera al ser notificada de la decisión senatorial, pudo haber cometido errores pero jamás crímenes. Su límpido historial en esa materia resplandece cuando se lo contrasta con los prontuarios delictivos de sus censores, torvos personajes prefigurados en la Opera del Malandro de Chico Buarque cuando se burlaba del “malandro oficial, el candidato a malandro federal, y el malandro con contrato, con corbata y capital”. Ese malandraje hoy gobierna Brasil.

[The third protagonist of this gigantic swindle on popular sovereignty are the principle media of communication of Brazil, whose coup vocation and profoundly reactionary ethos are very well known because since forever they have actively opposed every project of change in one of the most unjust countries of the planet. {Presumably here he's referring to social injustices in Brazil, not just to the general problems of their governments.} To separate Dilma Rousseff from her office (for a period of maximum 180 days in which the Senate will have to decide with a two-thirds majority if they agree with the accusation against the President or not) the interim Presidency fell to an obscure and mediocre politician, a former ally of the PT who converted into a conspicuous conspirator and, finally, into an infamous traitor: Michel Temer. Unfortunately, everyone is assuming that in a short time from now the Senate will convert the temporary suspension into final removal of the President because the vote that separated her from her office {temporarily} obtained 55 votes, one more than needed to remove her. And that's how it will be despite the fact that, as Dilma recognized when she was notified of the Senatorial decision, may have committed mistakes but never crimes. Her pristine legal record in this material shines when it is contrasted with the felonious criminal records of those who censure her, grim personalities prefigured in the Opera del Malandro by Chico Buarque when he made fun of the "official scrounger, the candidate of federal scrounging, and the scrounger with a contract, a tie and capital." This scrounging is now governing Brazil.]

Boron doesn't mention any of the Brazilian media companies by name, but the Grupo Globo is surely one of those he has in mind.

He discusses three broad mistakes by Dilma and the PT, lessons for the democratic left in Latin America more generally, particularly at the moment in Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela, whose governments are targets of the conservative opposition parties and their international allies and all three of which, he notes, were the target of some kind of coup attempt in, respectively, 2008, 2010 and 2002.

The first two mistakes he discusses are closely related: the failure to maintain active mass political movements outside the traditional party structures, as well as neglecting to maintain popular militancy within the PT itself, coupled with an excessive faith that the established state structures would be sufficient to achieve the social reforms they PT leaders envisioned without relying on the popular militancy.

Tercer error: haber desalentado el debate y la crítica al interior del partido y del gobierno, apañando en cambio un consignismo facilista que obstruía la visión de los desaciertos e impedía corregirlos antes de que, como se comprobó ahora, el daño fuera irreparable. Por algo Maquiavelo decía que uno de los peores enemigos de la estabilidad de los gobernantes era el nefasto rol de sus consejeros y asesores, siempre dispuestos a adularlos y, por eso mismo, absolutamente incapacitados para alertar de los peligros y acechanzas que aguardaban a lo largo del camino. Ojalá que los traumáticos eventos que se produjeron en Brasil en estos días nos sirvan para aprender estas lecciones.

[Third error: having discouraged debate and criticism inside the party and the government, arranging instead an easy self-confirmation that disregarded the mistakes and impeded their correction before, as they are experiencing today, the damage was irreparable. There's a reason Machiavelli said that one of the worst enemies of stability of governments was the disastrous role of their counselors and advisers who are always ready to adore them and, for that very reason, are absolutely incapable of alerting them to dangers and the unexpected along the road. I hope the traumatic events that are occurring in Brazil these days will help us understand these lessons.]

Boron believes that the left-leaning governments in Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela have generally avoided those mistakes.

Meanwhile, "a gang of bandits took the Presidency of Brazil by assault." ("Una pandilla de bandidos tomó por asalto la presidencia de Brasil.")

See also:

Vincent Bevins, In post-impeachment Brazil, the new conservative Cabinet is 100% white men Los Angeles Times 05/13/2016

Vincent Bevins, Three months before Olympics, Brazil suddenly has a lot to resolve Los Angeles Times 05/13/2016

Daniel Gallas, Michel Temer: The man who now leads Brazil BBC News 05/12/2016

Tim Johnson, U.S. officials warn of looming crisis in Venezuela McClatchy Newspapers 05/13/2016

Clarice Silber, Panama Papers lob ‘atomic bomb’ on Brazil’s political class McClatchy Newspapers 04/13/2016

On the "soft coup" concept:

Juan Sebastian Chavarro, Soft Coup in Brazil: A Blow to Brazilian Democracy Council on Hemispheric Affairs 05/12/2016

Ted Snider, A ‘Silent Coup’ for Brazil? Consortium News 03/30/2016

"Soft coup" in Brazil and Thursday

The "institutional coup," aka, "soft coup" in Brazil took place on Thursday. It's a really bad sign for democracy in Brazil and more broadly in Latin America.

Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks gives a rundown on the story in Brazillian [sic] Impeachment Is Actually A Corporate Coup 05/12/2016:





His description of the new President, Michel Temer, is pretty amazing. He's legally banned for running for any public office in Brazil as part of a legal penalty for corruption charges. But the Brazilian oligarchy just installed him as the President of one of the largest and most populous countries in the world. This is not a good thing.

Formally, the Brazilian Senate has voted to conduct and impeachment trial of elected President Dilma Rousseff. But under the Brazilian Constitution, that means she's temporarily removed from power, in this case for up to six months. (Jonathan Watts, Dilma Rousseff suspended as senate votes to impeach Brazilian president The Guardian 05/12/2016)

Rousseff called the action a "modern coup" carried out by the "traitor" Temer. (Democracia suspendida Página/12 12.05.2016)

The new President isn't wasting a moment in implementing standard neoliberal (Herbert Hoover/Angela Merkel/Mauricio Macri) economic policies. Jonathan Watts reports in Michel Temer takes reins as Brazil's president with pledge to rebuild country The Guardian 05/12/2016:

Although he promised to maintain welfare programmes such as bolsa familia poverty relief, he has touted balancing the budget and getting inflation back under 10% as his priority.

In a sign of his commitment to austerity, Temer has slashed the number of cabinet posts from 31 to 22. But he may find it hard to cut other costs ahead of municipal elections and with unemployment already in double digits.

Whether this tough task can be achieved will depend largely on new finance minister Henrique Meirelles, who gained considerable kudos as central bank president under the first two Workers’ party governments. He will be charged with reining in expenses and encouraging other ministers to push ahead with privatisation, outsourcing and weakening stringent labour and pension laws.

Oh, and of course he is inviting the Confidence Fairy to come in and boost the economy. (Brazil's Temer calls for unity, confidence for Brazil recovery) The phrase "con man" is short for "confidence man." I'm just sayin'. (Lisandra Paraguassu and Alonso Soto, Brazil's Temer calls for unity, confidence for Brazil recovery Reuters 05/12/2016)

Brazilian resident Glenn Greenwald reports on the "soft coup" in Brazil’s Democracy to Suffer Grievous Blow as Unelectable, Corrupt Neoliberal is Installed The Intercept 05/11/2016, on which Cenk relies in the video report above. He calls attention to the malign role the major media in Brazil have played in this:

Beyond its obvious global significance, the reason I’ve spent so much time and energy writing about these events is because it’s been astonishing – and unnerving – to watch it all unfold, particularly given how the country’s dominant media, owned by a tiny handful of rich families, allows almost no plurality of opinion. Instead, as Reporters Without Borders put it earlier this month: “In a barely veiled manner, the leading national media have urged the public to help bring down President Dilma Rousseff. The journalists working for these media groups are clearly subject to the influence of private and partisan interests, and these permanent conflicts of interests are clearly very detrimental to the quality of their reporting.”

This Reuters story provides some background, though it doesn't explain how transparently phony the impeachment charges are, Trials and errors: how Rousseff lost Brazil Buenos Aires Herald 05/12/2016.

I'm sure it's pure coincidence. But Liliana Ayalde, the current US Ambassador to Brazil, served as US Ambassador to Paraguay from 2008-2011. A very similar "institutional coup" took place in Paraguay in 2012. (Benjamin Dangl, Behind Paraguay's coup Aljazeera 07/26/2012)

See also:

BBC News, Brazil impeachment: New leader Temer calls for trust 05/13/2016

Darío Pignotti, La noche que la democracia entra en suspenso Página/12 12.05.2016

Darío Pignotti, Dilma luchará contra los usurpadores del Planalto Página/12 13.05.2016

Kleber Tomaz, Temer é ficha-suja e fica inelegível por 8 anos, diz promotora eleitoral 05.05.2016 Globo.com