A great contradiction

There is a great contradiction that runs through Latin America. The left is still fighting for democracy and effective representation of majorities in popular governments that can promote an agenda for greater equality of rights. Ideal that contradicts the existence of de facto governments that have always obeyed the interests of the dominant industry and its international partners. For example, Somoza was overthrown in Nicaragua to establish a democratic and transparent government. Years later, however, this democratic "change" was transformed into a dictatorship equivalent to that which was overthrown years ago. And similar absurdities prevail today in Venezuela where, even worse, a democracy that has functioned on a regular basis has been replaced by a "progressive" dictatorship that has plunged the country into economic and social chaos. In other countries, democratic systems have become stronger after substituting dominant dictatorships for electoral systems that are not perfect as an instrument of citizen participation, but sufficient to open a field to their improvement. . Argentina, Chile, Peru, Paraguay and Brazil are among them. However, what is more troubling is that the traditional left is aimed at changing the democratic status of these countries. In the cases of Nicaragua and Venezuela, it continues with the old speech of the sixties: American imperialism and its policies are the cause of the protest against the governments, at the time of the dictatorships of the groups of left. This was the position of the so-called Sao Paulo Forum held in Cuba, a country with a long dictatorial precedent that the left prefers to call "the special case of democracy". When there are deaths, persecutions and imprisonments for opponents, it is hard to believe in the democratic will and commitment of those who defend these regimes. Without a change in traditional discourse and without a credible program, that of the left seems to be only a serious contradiction that should be justified very well before history

Luis A. Riveros

Universidad of Chile