Democracy In Latin America
Is Democracy Sustainable in Latin America? In order to determine if
democracy is
sustainable in Latin America, it is important to understand or
at least have an
idea of what democracy is. There are several types of
democracy and each is
different. According to the English dictionary,
democracy is " a government by
the people; especially: rule of the majority
by a government in which the
supreme power is vested in the people and
exercised by them directly or
indirectly through a system of representation
usually involving periodically
held free elections and the absence of
hereditary or arbitrary class
distinctions or privileges (Webster’s
Dictionary). It is a common view among
American politicians that
maintaining democracy in Latin America could be
achieved through holding
honest elections, installing civilian governments, and
preventing military
coups (Millett). Although Latin America participates in some
type or form of
free elections, that does not necessarily constitute a
legitimate democracy
that represents the people. The power is not necessarily
vested in the people
in Latin America but with the elected officials. Latin
American democracy
and United States democracy are uniquely different and
therefore they are not
comparable by the same definition of democracy. The
difference results from
many factors. In large part, the Latin America is unique
because of its
Iberian heritage, history, and tradition (Millett). The conquest
of Latin
America by Spain and the methods of rule and traditions have
largely
influenced the development of Latin American democracy. The Spanish
mercantile
system and the methods and practices it produced have had a direct
impact on all
the factors that help sustain democracy. The two main factors
in Latin American
democracy are the society and the economics. Colonial ideas
of fueros, caste
systems, and church ideologies during the inquisition, have
influenced Latin
America socially. Economically Spanish mercantilism has
made Latin America
dependent on outside resources and has given rise to
corruption and a loss of
trust in the government. In order to have
sustainable democracy it is necessary
to have the support of the people. The
society must support the idea of
government in which, "there is an absence of
hereditary or arbitrary class
distinctions or privileges." Fueros, caste, and
church ideologies still impact
present day Latin American society. During
Spanish rule, government officials
and military officials had "fueros," or
special immunity from prosecution.
Fueros still exist today in Latin
America and give no recourse for complaints of
the population. This situation
instills hopelessness in the society overall. A
democracy cannot exist, even
through elections, if the elite rules it. In order
for a democracy to be
sustained, the government must be kept in check if not
through constitutional
powers then the people must check it. A democracy should
have an educated
populace; people should constantly question their surroundings
to keep a
government in check (Aristotle). Latin America must be capable of
producing a
literate and educated population. Church control of information and
perhaps
the desire of the elite to keep the population under control have kept
a
large majority of the Latin American population illiterate. Without
education,
the population lacks the means of self-analysis and therefore no
political
ambitions or ideas to make the government better. A strong economy
is a major
factor in sustaining democracy. Through mercantilism, the Latin
American economy
was and continues to be, reliant on imported manufactured
goods. In the
twentieth century, Latin America continues to be a source for
resources, not
only in raw materials but also labor. It has become a
specialty producer of
foodstuff, such as coffee, for other nations of the
world. This specialization
in certain crops has made Latin America less
diversified and has contributed to
the lack of ability for the countries to
feed their people. Urbanization is
another factor threatening democracy. Many
Latin American countries have only
one major city. With the influx of people,
to the city, a demand for services
grow, and in return drains budgets. A lack
of money causes social programs to be
cut and in turn, this produces
unemployment, social conflict, and political
instability. In order to meet
growing needs, the government must be able to
reduce spending in military
areas and other unneeded programs. Many of the Latin
American militaries
are unwilling to sustain budget cuts, and a majority of the
people have no
desire to reduce popular social programs. Governments that do
attempt to
strengthen their economies using budget reductions do so at great
risk to
their political careers. Other nations have endured during and
after
mercantilism. To what degree they have succeeded differs greatly. South
Asia and
Latin America were both part of a large empire and each now are
independent and
are ruled by some form of democracy. Britain ruled much of
South Asia under
mercantilism. After independence, India underwent great
industrialization but in
Latin America, industrialization received little
attention or investment.
India’s industrialization has brought
employment, greater self-reliance, and
has instilled confidence in the
government. Although much of South Asia was
ruled by the British under
Mercantilism, British law was strictly enforced and
eventually all subjects
of the British crown were considered equals in
citizenship and rights. In
contrast, Latin America was, and is still to a great
degree, governed by law
that applies to few of the ruling elite and military
leaders. This lack of
equal treatment under the law undermines faith in the
government and gives
little recourse to the common individual (Millett). Faith
in the economy and
social equality produces faith in the government. Although
South Asia and
Latin America have coalition governments, South Asia has a more
educated
population compared to Latin America. After independence, much of
South
Asia introduced education reforms that resulted in a dramatic
increase in
literacy in a relative short time. Latin America still struggles
with education
reform and in some instances, education is not a priority.
Much of South Asia
was given Guidance and goals to achieve before
independence was granted. Latin
American independence came in chaos with
the fall of the throne in Spain and
constant conflict by the caudillos to
fill the vacuum of power. Although South
Asia and Latin America are
entirely different regions, they were both ruled
under a mercantilist system.
Latin America was ruled under a medieval
mercantilism and South Asia under
Victorian mercantilism. The results after
independence were dramatic. South
Asia governed with guidance, equality under
the law, and a strong investment
with foreign encouragement in industry gave
them the ability to build and
sustain democracy. In contrast, Latin America was
drained of resources, the
indigenous population exploited, and little investment
put into the economy.
This gave rise to Elitist warlords vying for power
constantly and the
continued exploitation of the population. Little interest is
evident in the
reform of the economies or educational reforms of Latin America.
Power is
the only wealth a Latino can achieve and this concept seems to persist
in the
Latin American society today. Until the idea of unity and helping ones
fellow
man takes hold, Latin America is likely to struggle with
democracy.
Millett’s interpretation has many good points but takes some
out of context.
The civil-military relations is a not a stand-alone
point. It is part of the
society ideas of feuros and caste. Millett does not
explain how military ability
to dominate politics has declined or how
military support of democracy is
necessary. A military is not necessary for
democracy, only if a military exists
does it become a factor. Corruption is
not the prominent threat to democracy.
Corruption exists in United States
politics but is not visible, unlike Latin
American politics. Millett
states, " military dictatorships, not democratic
governments, were the
prevailing model," most of these were encouraged and
even supported by the
United States not the society. Although the situation in
Latin America is
fundamentally different from 30 years ago and the cold war has
ended, the
threats to democratic institutions have not diminished. The threats
are
replaced with new and old ones such as narcotics and insurgencies.
Millett
failed to accurately go into all the cultural reasons democracy could
not be
sustained, such as, the role of the church control of information and
the lack
of an educated population. This is one of the necessary ingredients
of a
democracy. Possible solutions to sustain democracy in Latin America are
many.
Several questions must be answered in order to decide what the
solutions are. Is
democracy necessary? Perhaps democracy is not necessary in
Latin America and
foreign intervention should be prohibited. As in China,
perhaps the economic
strength of Latin America will dictate the type of
government. Can people have
and maintain inalienable rights without
democracy? Truly, democracy is not the
only solution. Inalienable rights
could be protected without democracy. Can
financial support sustain
democracy? Money cannot change history or cultures, if
another country builds
a road, the police are still corrupt. If there were but
one solution, it
would be to change the culture. If a culture does not support
democracy then
no amount of money, political pressure, or propaganda will bring
about the
factors to sustain it. Culture influences all the ingredients
necessary for
democracy to survive, from society to the
economy.
Bibliography
"Democracy." Webster’s New Comp[act
Dictionary. Ed. 1995. Loomis,
Louise. ARISTOTLE On Man in the Universe.
New York: Random House, 1943. Millett,
Richard. "Is Latin American
Democracy Sustainable?."