Obama in Latin America: The transition to democracy

Authors:
Luis Alberto López Rafaschieri and José Alberto López Rafaschieri
www.morochos.net

The U.S. president traveled to Latin America. Barack Obama visited Brazil, Chile and El Salvador, on a five-day tour organized by the White House. Drug trafficking, terrorism, free trade, human rights, etc., were among the topics covered, but of all these issues, the transition to democracy could be one of the most remarkable.

It is no coincidence that the three countries visited by Barack Obama have had a recent political history that shows the successful replacement of authoritarianism with democracy. Until 1985, Brazil was ruled by military juntas that were gradually replaced by civilian governments. In Chile, the dictator Augusto Pinochet was deposed in 1988 to make way for a golden age of democratic reforms. And in El Salvador, a bloody civil war ended in 1992, leaving behind years of political instability and despotism.

Obama's visit to these three countries has been accompanied by criticism of the Cuban political system and Latin American leaders "who cling to bankrupt ideologies to justify their own power", in clear reference to Hugo Chavez. In addition, the tour is parallel to the beginning of U.S. military operations in Libya and to the anti-dictatorship revolutions in the Arab world, making it clear that one of the main messages the U.S. president sought to send, during his visit to Latin America, is associated to revive the Western model of democracy.

---

Related articles:

• Polls for Peru's presidential election
• Gaddafi and the Latin American left
• The Palmer code

Polls for Peru's presidential election

Authors:
José Alberto López Rafaschieri and Luis Alberto López Rafaschieri
www.morochos.net

The upcoming April 10, 2011, Peruvians will elect a new president and members of the National Congress of the Republic of Peru. The contest involves several personalities of the Peruvian politics, like Alejandro Toledo, Keiko Fujimori and Ollanta Humala.

In one recent opinion poll, developed by Ipsos, the presidential candidate with more support is Alejandro Toledo -Peru Posible- with 27%; followed by Keiko Fujimori -Force 2011- with 22%; Luis Castañeda -Solidaridad Nacional- with 17%; Ollanta Humala -Gana Peru- with 16%; and Pablo Kuczynski -Gran Cambio- with 10%.

According to Peru's electoral system, if none of the presidential candidates gets 50% + 1 of valid votes, a second electoral round should be performed, involving only the two leading candidates of the first round. This means that, assuming the above-mentioned opinion survey, the 2011 Peruvian presidential elections would be decided in a runoff, in which Alejandro Toledo and Keiko Fujimori would participate. That is, a competition between the daughter of the last dictator of Peru against the leader of the so-called "peaceful resistance" that overthrew him.

---

Related articles:

• Gaddafi and the Latin American left
• The Cuban Perestroika
• US legislative elections, Chomsky and Stiglitz

The male chauvinist nature of castro-chavism

Authors:
Luis Alberto López Rafaschieri and José Alberto López Rafaschieri
www.morochos.net

We always remember that the governments of Cuba and Venezuela are enemies of democracy, but few times we consider the impact of such authority models on the so-called gender equality.

It is not possible to build a more equitable society, in terms of social roles of men and women, where a military warlord assumes he is the one with the right to govern. In Cuba and Venezuela, the scheme of one man that holds indefinitely the highest authority of the nation reinforces the stereotype that men are superior to women.

Worse, in the case of Cuba or Venezuela, it is not only that the same man is always occupying the role of head of state, but also the government is exercised with abuse of power and repression, inculcating despotism in the male population.

Even something as simple as Chavez's constant radio and television official interruptions symbolize the political discrimination against women under the Cuban-Venezuelan schemes. Meanwhile Chavez spoke in all media, for hours, no women in Venezuela have a similar right, which is understood by the general population, especially children and adolescents, as if the man had more right to speak and lead.

So serious are these issues that the third Millennium Development Goal of the UN seeks "greater participation and representation of women in politics and decision-making of States", and UNICEF indicates that "the distribution of socially constituted roles too often frustrate the potential of girls and women". Few days after the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, it is not a bad idea to include the Castro-Chavista authority model in the Latin American debate on gender equality.

---

Related articles:

• Gaddafi and the Latin American left
• The Cuban Perestroika
• US legislative elections, Chomsky and Stiglitz

Gaddafi and the Latin American radical left

Authors:
José Alberto López Rafaschieri and Luis Alberto López Rafaschieri
www.morochos.net

Daniel Ortega was the first to speak in defense of Gaddafi, giving moral and diplomatic support to the repression in Libya. Subsequently, Fidel Castro appeared, not only to offer help such as Ortega, but also to use Cuba's resources, according to journalist Hugh Miles, to send military pilots for bombing, using warplanes, against ordinary people in the Libyan streets.

And after a relatively long waiting time, trying to find a better opportunity, Chavez spoke, but he only reaffirmed the support their comrades in Cuba and Nicaragua did before him.

Due to the bloody repression of the protests taking place in Libya at present, Gaddafi has lost the support of almost everyone, including the Arab League. However, in Latin America, those who say the word "people" every day fall short when it comes time to do something truly democratic. For the Latin American radical left, the protection of a violent socialist revolution is above the defense of human rights, despite the political cost this position would have on their images, and despite being a small group that contradicts the widely held view on the situation in Libya.

---

Related articles:

• Castro: Down with Mubarak, long life to Gaddafi
• The Palmer code
• Cuba, living without the US?

Castro: Down with Mubarak, long live to Qaddafi

Authors:
Luis Alberto López Rafaschieri and José Alberto López Rafaschieri
www.morochos.net

The double standard of Fidel Castro's opinion about foreign policy should lead him to consider changing the name of his column, placing "Contradictions of Fidel Castro" instead of "Reflections of Fidel Castro." In his last essay, the Antillean dictator leaves us with an effect similar to being sick, because after having weeks writing against the authoritarian regime of Mubarak in Egypt, and how the protests of that nation were glorious expressions of freedom, now the Communist leader says Qaddafi's case is different.

In his column "The Plan is to Occupy Libya", Castro returns to the old tale of the oil-hungry U.S,, widely used to justify dictatorships, to explain that behind the riots in Libya is the NATO imperialist hand to grab the oil of that country. Besides, the Cuban warlord described Qaddafi as a great guy that is victim of the international press.

With these arguments, Castro is trying to downplay the democratic wishes of the Libyan people, accusing demonstrators of being part of this alleged NATO international conspiracy, and encouraging other governments to give their support to the Qaddafi's socialism.

But the reality is that Qaddafi is more cruel than Mubarak himself, although both are members of the same dungeon of shame that history has reserved for all despots, including Fidel Castro. The Cuban dictator may write a thousand articles trying to wipe the image to his Libyan ally; however, they will never have more power than the voices of millions of Arabs who want freedom. In any case, the next Castro column would be more interesting to discuss the issue "When the Cuban people will rise up against their oppressors?".

---

Related articles:

• Embargo against Venezuela?
• The Palmer code
• Cuba, living without the US

Embargo against Venezuela?

Authors:
José Alberto López Rafaschieri and Luis Alberto López Rafaschieri
www.morochos.net

In the Conservative Political Action Conference of USA, on Saturday, February 12, Republican Congressman Connie Mack proposed a full-scale economic embargo against the government of Hugo Chávez. This proposal would be agreeable to the majority of Venezuelans because such a measure could affect the Castro-Chavista regime, but things are not always what they seem.

Embargoes do not work, usually, against authoritarian governments. Retrospectively, the long U.S. trade sanctions against Cuba, Iran, North Korea or Syria, far from paving the way for democratic transition, have facilitated things for these repressive political systems to rule over economically weak states, where people depend more than before on government assistance. Resulting in fewer people dare to defy the despot.

Embargoes serve also as an excuse for autocratic leaders to evade responsibility for the inefficiency of their administration, by blaming the sanctions imposed by the outside for all the social ills, and to appeal to the idea of a conspiracy orchestrated by Washington as justification for jailing domestic opponents and shut down media outlets for allegedly cooperating with it.

Wait for the North Americans to solve almost always has been a bad deal for countries affected by oppressive governments. The desperation for immediate solutions has often led exiled immigrant communities in the U.S. to be sympathetic to any proposal to do something against their oppressors, and Venezuelans are not immune to that reality. However, a package of economic sanctions by the United States against Venezuela, to undermine Chavez, have no great expectations for what we have mentioned. Dictatorships end when the internal opposition is numerous and determined to change things, the recent case of Egypt, Venezuela in 1958 and Ukraine in 2004 are some examples.

---

Related articles:

• The Palmer code
• Cuba, living without the US?
• The Cuban Perestroika

The Palmer code

Authors:
Luis Alberto López Rafaschieri and José Alberto López Rafaschieri
www.morochos.net

In 2009, Obama could select any of the hundreds of diplomats available in the U.S. to occupy the Vatican embassy, but he suggested Caroline Kennedy, whose liberal views on abortion and marriage were not welcomed by the Holy See. So he had to find someone else for the work, again Obama could choose among hundreds of candidates with profiles different from Kennedy's, but no, he elected Douglas Kmiec, an outspoken advocate of the same ideas that caused the rejection of the first option, and this one was also no accepted.

In the end, the U.S. government and the Vatican managed to find an ambassador to leave both sides happy, but not before Obama launched a clear reformist message against the ideas of the Catholic Church on marriage and abortion.

The dispute with the Vatican was settled, now we go to 2010, and among the many tasks that the US president must handle is the appointment of a new ambassador to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The situation is similar to that described above, hundreds of names, tens of unique personalities, but Obama chooses Larry Palmer, the person who had once denounced the alleged growing discontent within the Venezuelan armed forces and the links between Chavez and the Colombian guerrillas.

The Venezuelan president's refusal is not strange, surely Obama will have to propose another person to the office in Caracas. However, the diplomatic language in the Palmer case is analogous to that used by Obama with the Vatican, although for different reasons. The White House is sending a message of warning to Miraflores, maybe rejecting the ties that the Chavez government would still maintain with the Colombian rebels.

---

Related articles:

• Chavez's attitude to the Costa Rica-Nicaragua case
• US legislative elections, Chomsky and Stiglitz
• Chavez's intellectual Anglo-Saxonism