Beautiful Horizons

Not to Worry

Boz expresses concern and rightfully so about coup rumors in Peru. No need to worry, however, as it seems clear to me that the Inter-American Democratic Charter would be invoked. Whatever plans coup plotters may have would, one hopes, be quickly quashed by their isolation.

Is Fujimori Getting Cushy Treatment?

If I were on trial for, among other things, leading a nation in which government-formed death squads were killing civilians, including an eight-year-old boy, could I expect to receive treatment like this:

The outrage has simmered throughout the week following a visit to Fujimori -- who is being held at a police base for the duration of the trial -- by two members of Los Iracundos, a Uruguayan music group popular in the 1970s.

The singers dropped by without guitars on Sunday but sang some of their old hits with Fujimori as he celebrated his 70th birthday.

"We went to give our psychological support to the ex-president, who is going through a bad moment," Gianni Pivetta, a member of the group, told reporters.

Why is this happening? Fujimori still wields a great deal of political power behind bars and it appears that the Alan Garcia government is willing - despite their denials - to trade privileges for support in congressional elections.

It also appears that Fujimori had a plan to have Abimael Guzman, the founder and leader of the Shining Path terrorists, executed. All that would have done is make him a martyr to some. Better that he spend the rest of his days in ignominy in prison.

"Their Faces Were Gone. There Was Nothing Left to Recognize Them."

Immigration enforcement finally gets this one right:

Seventy-four people died in the operation that came to be known as the "Accomarca massacre" — named for the town a two-hour hike up the hill from the valley. Among the corpses were 28 children and 21 women, including an 80-year-old and several pregnant mothers.

The 24-year-old leader of those killers would eventually flee to Miami. He easily blended in here: His five-foot-seven-inch stature, drooping mustache, deep brown eyes, and close-cut, neatly-combed dark hair parted to the right made him look like thousands of others. Even his trouble with English failed to set him apart. But Telmo Hurtado would eventually be discovered as the butcher of the Andes.

Democracy Taking a Step Backwards in Peru

According to Human Rights Watch, a bill in Peru's Congress seems to be designed to thwart NGO's and their activities:

A bill in Peru’s Congress allowing the government to interfere with the activities of nongovernmental organizations would undermine human rights protections in Peru, Human Rights Watch said in a letter sent to President Alan García on Tuesday. The bill, which was approved in its initial form last week, is under intense debate in Congress after civil society organizations, the press and religious institutions expressed strong opposition to its terms.

If approved in its present form, the bill would give a government agency, the Peruvian Agency of International Cooperation (APCI), the power to “supervise” NGOs, including human rights NGOs, “in accordance with national development policy and the public interest.” 

“The restrictions envisaged would flagrantly violate Peru’s international obligations to protect freedom of expression, association and assembly,” said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “We have urged President García to take a step back and reconsider the grave implications this bill might have for Peruvian democracy.”

If the current bill becomes law, both human rights NGOs and the international donors supporting them would be obliged to register with the APCI. All projects and activities would have to be separately registered both by the donor and the beneficiary as a condition for transfer of funds from the donor, whether the latter is governmental or private.

Here's where they appear to have gotten their inspiration:

The bill is similar to legislation approved by the Kremlin in Russia in January 2006, which has been widely criticized by the international community. One of the effects of the Russian law’s adoption was to embolden public officials to discredit some NGOs as fronts for foreign governments, and threaten the closure of several NGOs. Some foreign NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, had their activities suspended until they had fully complied with the burdensome registration procedures.

The Peruvian Congress approved the bill by a comfortable majority on November 2, with the votes of the governing APRA party and of supporters of former President Fujimori, who is now awaiting possible extradition from Chile to face charges of corruption and human rights abuse.

A truly bad idea inspired by Russia and supported by Fujimori. Need I say more.

Garcia Appears to Have Won

Exit polls seem to give Alan Garcia, Peru's president in the 1980's a victory in today's runoff election. If I were a Peruvian I would have probably spoiled my ballot or left it blank.

What a choice. Alan Garcia's record of quadruple digit inflation and the rise of the Shining Path followed by the godawful Fujimori versus Ollanta Humala and his quaint relations.

For the sake of Peru and its citizens, I truly hope that Garcia is telling the truth when he says he's learned from his past.

A Couple of Brief Notes Around the Hemisphere

Boz pokes a hole here in facile attempts to categorize someone's politics.

Adam Isacson, in this post, illustrates why, despite their revolutionary rhetoric, the FARC may be President Uribe's biggest fans.

On the subject of the FARC in that same post, Adam captures succinctly, why, if anyone on the left really supports the FARC (and I do not know of anyone), they should be ashamed of themselves:

Could it be, then, that perhaps the FARC actually wants Uribe to win? Could their goal be to, in Marxist terminology, “sharpen the contradictions” by ensuring that the regime is ruled by the most nakedly plutocratic, militaristic president possible? Do the FARC secretly prefer a president who will concentrate wealth while turning a blind eye to human rights abuses, thus (they hope) winning new converts to the guerrilla cause?

Whatever the reason, to most Colombian voters the guerrilla strategy looks like mindless nihilism, likely fueled by the imperatives of the drug economy. Worse, it distracts from several very real issues that work strongly against Uribe in this election: the growing power of supposedly demobilized paramilitaries, the disastrous results of demobilizations so far, a big and growing narco-paramilitary-corruption scandal in the presidency’s secret police (DAS), the persistence of the drug trade, an unpopular free-trade agreement, and perceived government neglect of non-military needs.

These issues, among others, should be at the heart of Colombia’s national debate as the presidential elections draw nearer. Instead, the voting public is being distracted by the FARC, who have bizarrely chosen to affect voter preferences by repeatedly attacking some of the poorest, most marginalized Colombians. [my emphasis]

I think, by the way, the first paragraph describes exactly what the FARC want to do. They just don't care if they make the country ungovernable in the process, nor do they care how many lives they ruin.

Ex-military Members Seeking Office in Latin America

I have not commented yet about tomorrow's election in Peru largely because I'm completely unimpressed with the three major candidates, but also because it brings yet another example of a disturbing trend in recent Latin American elections: the candidacy of former military officers in presidential elections.

Latin America's history has presented us with far too many examples of the military committing coups against civilian governments. The military mindset in Latin America has far too often exhibited an authoritarian tendency and has mistaken power and armed might for legitimacy. Despite the fact that recent history has given credence that democracy is on the rise in Latin America, military coups remain a distinct possibility.

I find it disturbing that former coup leaders have been allowed to run for office in countries like Guatemala, Venezuela* and Ecuador and have served as president in Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia in recent years.

One of Latin America's gravest problems has been the ongoing disparity in class. Much of this disparity is tied to race and economics. It is cruel, it is degrading to the poor and the ethnically oppressed (I cannot use minority as in some cases - Guatemala being an excellent example - the ethnic majority is being oppressed).

The answer to this, however, is not the rise to power of those hurling invective back at the former ruling class, but someone to put the past in its proper perspective and seek to unite the nation. There is no better example of this than Nelson Mandela.

This was a man who was imprisoned for nearly thirty years for treason in a nation that refused to allow him to vote because of the color of his skin, that required those who shared his race to live in certain areas, restricted all of their freedoms and tortured and murdered even the peaceful dissidents like Steven Biko.

Yet Mandela, without bitterness and without vindictiveness, found a way to account for the suffering of the past and set South Africa on a strong course for the future. More should follow his path.

*Yes I know that Hugo Chávez himself was the victim of a coup attempt, something which I strongly and unequivocally condemn. He also lead a coup in 1992, something which I strongly and unequivocally condemn. There's a solution to bad and corrupt governments: elections.

This is a Good Start

Chilean President-elect Michelle Bachelet appears to be making an effort to mend fences in her own backyard and she is to be commended for this statement alone: "The best thing that can happen to Chile is that Peru, Bolivia and Argentina develop well." Some will argue that it just makes sense, but she's starting out well regarding her neighbors.

I urge you to read the entire article.

I also recommend Adam Isacson's numerical review of Plan Colombia.

I'll be back tomorrow.

Fujimori Now Under Arrest

This Alberto apparently is no Einstein. Alberto Fujimori has now been arrested by Chilean authorities:

Fujimori made the trip at a time of tense relations between Peru and Chile due to a dispute over maritime limits between the two countries.

"Apparently Fujimori thought he could exploit tensions between the two countries to plot his return to Peru," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director of Human Rights Watch. "But given the record of Chilean courts on extradition cases, it's still too early to know whether he miscalculated."

A Chilean Supreme Court Justice must now determine whether basic conditions have been met to grant Peru's request for Fujimori's extradition. Chilean courts have rejected Peruvian extradition requests in other corruption cases linked to the Fujimori regime.

"The Chilean judiciary did the right thing by ordering Fujimori's arrest," said Vivanco. "Now it needs to determine whether his days of evading justice are over."

He certainly has a lot to answer. One wonders, however, as incredibly unpopular as current President Alejandro Toledo is, whether Fujimori will be greated as the corrupt authoritarian or be compared favorably with Toledo.

Fujimori in Chile

Alberto Fujimori has apparently turned up in Chile. I'm curious to know what he thinks this will accomplish. Apparently the international warrants calling for his arrest are not valid in Chile:

The head of the International Police in Chile, Maria Elena Gomez, told reporters authorities were aware of Fujimori's presence in a hotel in the capital.

"There are several international arrest warrants against Alberto Fujimori, which are not legally valid in Chile," Gomez said. As soon as immigration officials here knew Fujimori was in the airport they alerted Interpol and Peruvian judicial authorities so they could decide how to proceed, she said.

Gomez said Fujimori is free to leave Chile.

"There is no impediment against him leaving," she said.

For Chile to arrest Fujimori, Gomez said, Peru would have to ask for the arrest through the foreign ministry, and the request would then go to Chile's Supreme Court to determine whether to issue a warrant valid here.

One seriously wonders what Fujimori's supporters in Peru will think given the antipathy Peru has towards Chile after the War of the Pacific in the 19th Century in which Peru lost territory to Chile. Just last Thursday Peru's Congress passed a law to change its maritime borders with Chile that will Peru in conflict with Chile. Stay tuned.