- SOCIALISM IN LATIN AMERICA

The socialist ideal also appeared in Latin America. Although our continent was not an industrial territory, the great differences and inequalities between the rich and the poor built the material conditions to accept the necessity of the revolution. January 1st, 1959, was the day of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution that after years of fighting came to power under the leadership of Fidel Castro and the legendary Ernesto Che Guevara. After the United States refused to accept Fidel Castro as the official president of Cuba, in 1962, Castro turned his eyes to the Soviet Union, a fact that lead to the Missile Crisis in which the world reached its most dangerous moment of the so-called Cold War, after which the USA declared the embargo that lasts to our days. From 1962 to the beginning of the 90’s, when the USSR disappeared, Cuba maintained all kinds of cooperation agreements with the USSR, including assistance in security, health and production, which were essentially economic agreements. During this relation, the main achievements of the Cuban Revolution were its education and health systems, especially devoted to children. In two years, Cuba became one of the few illiteracy-free countries. But after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Cuba stopped receiving the average yearly amount of 6 billion dollars and Cubans no longer had basic products for their daily survival. This, together with the US embargo, impoverished even more the Cuban population. In June 2006, Fidel Castro made a provisional transfer of the power to his brother Raul, and has never taken back the power since then. At present, the high number of people who have fled the island, the lack of food, the weak economic system, and hundreds of complaints of oppression, lack of democracy, and the lack of transparency in providing the true situation have made people doubt about the success of the revolution.

Another example of a socialist government in Latin America was Chile, where socialist President Salvador Allende came to power after winning the elections in 1970, after being defeated in 3 previous attempt. The workers’ government headed by Allende nationalized the mineral resources and the monopolist companies, and immediately sped up the agrarian reform. In addition, President Allende started a plan to redistribute income, increase salaries, and control prices to fight speculation. Opposition against Allende was strong and supported by the USA. The difficult situation led to an unmanageable economic crisis which, together with the strong opposition working together with the CIA (something which was discovered in recent years), ended up in the sad events of September 11th, 1973, when the Army, conducted by general Augusto Pinochet, destroyed Allende’s government and caused his death. In President Allende’s last speech, few hours before his death, he said: “Other men will surpass this darkness and painful moment in which treason attempts to be imposed. You have to continue knowing that, sooner than later, the great poplar groves through which the free man is going to pass are going to be opened again to build a better society. ¡Long live Chile! ¡Long live the people! ¡Long live the workers!” From 1973 to 1998, Augusto Pinochet ruled as a dictator who killed, tortured, or disappeared 100 000 people. Besides these crimes against mankind, Pinochet and his family have been accused of corruption with millions of dollars in Swiss banks. Pinochet died without being sentenced.

The Sandinista Revolution of Nicaragua was also a call to expand the left ideas in Latin America. The dictatorship of the Somoza Dynasty (1937-1979) increased poverty and corruption to extreme limits and this led, 42 years later, to the creation of the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (“FSLN”), which took power in Nicaragua in 1979. (The Front took the name from Augusto Sandino who opposed Anastasio Somoza in the 30’s and was finally killed by him.) Although the Government of the United States, specifically Ronald Regan, supported the “contrarevolución” (“contras”) to combat socialism in the continent, the Sandinistas took office and received the support of Cuba and many countries of the world to start their own socialist revolution. However, the economic, political, educational, and social instability lead to a civil war and the end of the “FSLN” Government. Elections were made and Violeta Chamorro, the widow of a former conservative journalist who opposed Somoza and was assassinated in 1978, became the new president of Nicaragua. In spite of the corruption discovered within the “FSLN” and in Daniel Ortega’s own life, he won the presidential elections in 2006 and is in office until now.

- LATIN AMERICA TURNING TO LEFT

After the independence processes, Latin American countries had been trying to practice their sovereignty and achieve development. But the 20th Century was full of abuses, interventions and impositions by the First World. The United States, in their anti communism campaign, was decisive in the past history of our continent as it sponsored reactionary dictatorships which were loyal to the White House, such as those of Augusto Pinochet in Chile, Videla in Argentina or Strossner in Paraguay. Washington was afraid of the idea of more countries following the Cuban or Nicaraguan example; they also wanted to avoid the repetition of a phenomenon similar to Salvador Allende in Chile. These servile governments used to represent the U.S. interests and defend the privileges of the Latin American elite classes who ruled the society far away from the poor. The dictatorships were strong and criminal in countries like Argentina, Chile or Paraguay, and more disorganized and coward in countries like Ecuador or Venezuela. Then, a fervent hope haunted our continent and promised to bring us security, human rights, development and peace. It was democracy.

From the end of 70’s to the end of the 80’s, most Latin American countries had returned to the Rule of Law in Democratic Regimens. But it didn´t mean that the common people were going to govern. The new civil governments started to implant in the continent the neo-liberal model of production that enlarged the social differences. In most cases, the new leaders who won elections represented exactly the same interests as the previous dictators; through hidden pacts the political right parties distributed between them the control organs, the courts and the power of the State. Then, the democratic hope was reduced to the populism of the parties and their leaders that during their electoral campaigns offered the paradise and delivered gifts. Most of those democratic governments acted under the prescriptions of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Government which imposed its whishes through the Consensus of Washington.

At the end of the 20th Century Latin American people realized that those who said the neo-liberalism was going to be the solution for our entire problems were wrong. For the first time in continent’s history, after Salvador Allende, left political projects started to win elections in Latin America and the search of changes was clear and likely. Our nations stated constituent processes to abolish the established order imposed by the right side; the first one was Colombia that met a Constituent Assembly after defeating the Status Quo defenses by 1991. Then, Venezuela and Ecuador followed Colombia, but in the Ecuadorian case the traditional right parties kidnapped the Assembly in 1998 and consolidated their political pact.

Nowadays, most Latin American nations have governments which defend left principles, so according to the political speech of the media and of neo-liberalism, the social process that Latin America is living has two sources: the good left and the bad one. The Chilean model followed by President Ricardo Lagos and his successor President Michelle Bachellet, the Brazilian model led by President Luis Ignacio Lula Da Silva and the Uruguayan model promoted by President Tabaré Vasquez and followed by President Jose Mujica, are considered by the moderate right side and most of the media as successful examples of the good left, as they include respecting the juridical security, calling international investment and maintaining good relations with the media. On the contrary, the bad left is represented by Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Paraguay and Ecuador, but this last one has been also in the middle of both lefts, as well as Argentina. The political speeches of the opposition can’t understand that the proposals of President Hugo Chavez definitively can’t be applied on other countries because each one responds to a different reality. In the case of Bolivia, it is one of the poorest nations in the continent and after decades of neo-liberalism, for the first time in their history, the segregated indigenous groups, which are the majority of the country, came to power and are developing a different economic model in which the low-class people is the center of production. Thirty years ago, the highest aspiration for a Bolivian indigenous child was to be a peasant as his parents, now, they aspire to be company managers, congressmen and the President of the Republic.

It is important to know that when the new left came to power, it was in front of a series of challenges to demonstrate that the socialist practices had changed, but, some of the new leaders lost their perspective. What is happening in Venezuela is the result of an irresponsible left blinded by power, unable to accept different thinking and their government can become a danger for freedom and democracy. But it is not a reality that is too far from the Colombian one conducted by President Alvaro Uribe.

It’s worth pointing out that we have a very diverse continent with a lot of cultural, social and political characteristics in common, that is trying to find a way to achieve a different conception of development and share it to the rest of the world. But, the established order is not going to give up easily; all the powers of the old structures are fighting against the change as we saw it in Honduras, when the Status Quo overthrew President Manuel Zelaya to avoid his attempt to call for a Constituent Assembly in order to assure a real Social Pact through a new constitution.