Successes & dangers in Latin America

BOLIVIA
Morales triumphs

The Dec. 6 presidential elections marked an historic development in Bolivia. President Evo Morales was re-elected for a second term with more than 63 percent of the vote, a clear mandate to continue developing the country on behalf of the people instead of the transnational corporations and the elite, a tradition which for too long had impoverished the nation. In an interview with TeleSUR, Vice President Álvaro García Linera said that there was an outstanding participation of 93 percent of the voters, showing that Bolivia has a solid democracy. This election comes on the heels of one last January that approved the new constitution by 62 percent and a recall referendum in August 2008 that ratified Morales’ presidency with 67 percent of the people voting no to any recall.

Although the final numbers are yet to be published, the initial results show that Morales’ Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) won two-thirds of the National Assembly seats, making it easier now to pass progressive legislation as this majority removes the roadblock of the right-wing opposition legislators. Morales won for the first time in Tarija, one of the four departments of Bolivia’s “Half Moon” (Media Luna), a part of the country where the elite opposition had always dominated. In the other three Media Luna provinces Morales finished in second place.

The elections were peaceful and transparent. For the first time Bolivia used a biometric system of identification, previously approved by Congress, to prevent any fraud. It required collecting fingerprints, digital photos and signatures along with the usual data for every person eligible to vote. This was also the first time that Bolivians outside the country could vote. Elections were held in Argentina, Spain, Brazil and the United States. A total of 170,000 expatriate Bolivians voted, overwhelmingly for Morales.

Morales’ tremendous success is due to the progressive social reforms his administration put into practice and to the recovery of the country’s natural resources, particularly the nationalization of its natural gas, which has improved the economy. Exports have increased 131 percent since Morales’ first term began. Even the IMF, according to Exterior Minister David Choquehuanca, was forced to admit that Bolivia will be the country with the most growth in the region this year.

Among the advances that have won over the majority of the people to Morales and the MAS are the eradication of illiteracy, access to health care, education and a reduction of poverty. The tremendous improvement of the economy has also attracted sympathizers from the middle class to the MAS.

URUGUAY

The same day that Honduras held fraudulent elections, Nov. 29, the people of Uruguay voted with a 52.39 percent majority to elect José (Pepe) Mujica of the ruling Frente Amplio (Broad Front) as president. Mujica, who was part of the guerrilla Movement for National Liberation in the 1960s and 1970s and was imprisoned for 14 years, had support from many left forces in Uruguay. His victory is seen as a furthering of the progressive wave in Latin America. He had been minister of agriculture under the current government of Tabaré Vázquez.

VENEZUELA
Controlling the banks

Four months after the Venezuelan government made its first payment to buy 96 percent of the shares of the Banco de Venezuela, shares that had been in the hands of the Spanish Santander Group, the Bolivarian government moved to take control of eight more banking institutions, seven private and one belonging to the state. The government had discovered several instances of illegal bank activities, including the holding of illicit money and failure to comply with state guidelines in lending.

The Venezuelan government liquidated some of the banks. It plans to merge and reopen the others. Bolívar Banco will be nationalized and will form part of the public finance system; the holdings of Banco Canarias and Banpro will go to the Banco de Venezuela; and the Central Banco Universal, Banco Real, and the state’s Bancoandes will on Dec. 21 form part of the Banco Bicentenario Universal. In a public statement, Chávez stated that the Bicentenario Universal will be the “second most solid entity and will be used to propel the social productive development of the nation together with the recently recovered Banco de Venezuela.” (TeleSUR, Dec. 7)

The savings of the people have been guaranteed by the government. Thirty former bank officials have detention orders but nine have escaped, three of them to the U.S.

Chávez’s declaration exposes the problems inherent in a state where important economic sectors are still in the hands of the bourgeoisie and not the workers. “We have to be alert. We have to turn on the radars of the government and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and not allow this to happen. We must act quickly; we cannot wait until tomorrow. We need a state ever sharper because these bankers are very skilled and seek ways to get into government and create networks within the institutions,” he said. (TeleSUR, Dec. 14)

HONDURAS
Human rights abused

After U.S.-endorsed illegal and fraudulent elections on Nov. 29, the criminal de facto government of Roberto Micheletti has targeted the resistance movement for extermination. Human rights abuses have been increasing and leaders have been harassed, persecuted and even killed. Organizations advocating human rights are overwhelmed because the appropriate governmental institutions now under police and military control no longer respond.

Just in December, the following took place: A woman resistance coordinator in her neighborhood called expressing great anguish to the Human Rights Committee (CODEH) to let it know that she felt threatened because the police had visited her home several times. She was constantly being followed. The youth organization Los Necios (The Stubborn) was able to film a suspect who had been videotaping their office. On Dec. 4, Walter Trochez, a respected young leader from the LGBT community and the Resistance, was savagely assassinated after being followed for days.

Up to Dec. 15, the legal president of Honduras, José Manuel Zelaya, has remained confined in the Brazilian Embassy, surrounded by Honduran police and military. The de facto government has repeatedly refused to allow him to go to Mexico or the Dominican Republic to try to establish negotiations that will allow some relief to the severe crisis in his country.

ALBA
ALBA meets in Havana

While Secretary of State Hillary Clinton threatens Latin America, particularly Venezuela and Nicaragua, representatives of the nine countries of ALBA-TCP (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America — Trade Treaty of the People) met in Havana for the organization’s eighth summit to celebrate its fifth anniversary and establish new treaties. They reviewed the many successes accomplished in just five years of existence, but also alerted the hemisphere to the new danger U.S. imperialism poses as it tries to regain control of what it considers its Latin American “backyard.” The final declaration included a statement to Washington rejecting Clinton’s threats. The U.S. secretary of state had said that if Latin American countries continued friendly relations with Iran, they would suffer consequences. The ALBA-TCP reaffirmed the principle of sovereignty, that is, that no outside state can dictate who their allies or friends are.