Politics, Power, Institutions and Actors

7/23/2019 Politics, Power, Institutions and Actors

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/politics-power-institutions-and-actors 1/7

,

1

EIGHT

POLITICS POWER

INSTITUTIONS

ND CTORS

,

,

i

1

Power

moves

politics

in

Latin America,

and

naked

power

often rules. As we

suggested

in Chapter

5, politics in Latin America has to do

with

powerful

political

and

economic actors.

Powerful politicos (and

the ocassional

politica)

have

dominated

most Latin

American

societies since classical

Mayan and

Aztec times. Dictators

such as Santa Anna in

Mexico,

Juan Peron in r-

; ;

gentina, and Anastasio Somoza

in Nicaragua have ruled

absolutely. Oli-

garchies

such as

the

fourteen

families

in

El

Salvador

have

dominated

poli-

tics

and brutally suppressed

those

who

challenged them. Military

juntas

have monopolized power, cancelled elections, imprisoned

and

sometimes

eliminated the opposition,

and ruled

for decades. The military

and other

groups

have

ignored constitutions and seized power forcefully, as when the

Chilean military

bombed

the presidential palace

to overthrow

Salvador Al-

lende in 1973.

And power

can also

come

from the mobilized masses,

demon-

strations,

or

general strikes

that

force a

government out

of office

or

a dicta-

tor to resign. There have

been more than

200 extra constitutional assumptions

of power in Latin America since the republics became independent. Indeed,

it

has

been

the constellation of

power

and

not

constitutional constraints

that

has conditioned the conduct of politics

during most

of Latin American his-

tory.

It

is the

powerful individual, group,

institution,

or party that most

of-

ten

rules.

Only

those who

know

how to use

power

can be serious players.

Yet as Latin American societies

have become more

complex, those

who

rule

do

so through

the

apparatus

of the state

and

its interaction

with

polit-

ical parties, political movements, individuals, and interest groups. Those

who aspire to

power must

take

over the apparatus of the

state

and use

it to

rule. This can

be done

by a

coup

d'etat, a

fraudulent

election, a political

agreement among

political

or

economic elites to

share power, or

a relatively

honest

election

with

some real political competition.

However

the state ap-

paratus

is taken over,

any

discussion

of the

nature

of political systems in

Latin America

must

begin

with

a realiza tion of the greater role

that has been

177



78 Politics o Latin America

traditionally assigned to the state, particularly as compared to classical mod

els of liberalism. John Locke and other classical liberal thinkers believed

that

the

best

government was

that

government

that

governed

least. They

were

reacting to that absolutist configuration of the state that monarchies like

Spain

used

to rule domestically and over their colonies in the sixteenth, sev

enteenth, and eighteenth centuries. Yet it was precisely this absolutist state

that served as the model for Latin American rule.

ts

use

and

misuse

in

Latin

America

have been

quite different than the way the liberal state developed

in Great Britain or the United States.

When the Latin American nations gained their independence in the early

nineteenth

century there

was

a serious struggle over the political forms that

would be adopted by the newly independent nations. During the colonial

period

the region experienced different forms of authoritarian rule and state

absolutism. The traditional elites who retained power, now independent

from Madrid and Lisbon,

had

little if any democratic experience. Indeed,

since the conception of the state

that was

projected from

Madrid or

Lisbon

was

absolutist during the colony, the elites had to find informal, noninsti

tutional and not institutionalized , more personalistic ways to assert their

authority and

adapt

to local conditions. They were short on practical

democratic models. Indeed, after independence, several countries experi

mented with monarchical and/or dictatorial rule.

The

constitutional structures of

the newly

independent states

were nom

inally democratic and modeled on the liberal constitutions of France, the

United States, and

the

Spanish liberal const itut ion of 1812. Yet political prac

tice

and

political culture tended to be

authoritarian

and absolutist, even for

committed democrats like Simon Bolivar. Gradually, new groups emerged

and democratic practice engendered more democratic and less absolutist at

titudes-although

the latter have persisted to the present day. As a result,

a

strange hybrid

resulted. Most countries

adopted

a republican, democratic

form of government,

but

in reality traditional

authoritarian patterns

were

most often

employed

by the elites

and

suffrage was

very

limited. In the cen

tury

and

a half after independence, suffrage

was gradually

expanded,

but

there was frequent reversion to

authoritarian

politics and elitist, if

not

dic

. tatorial, rule. Much of the course of Latin American history has

been

an al

ternation between

the

authoritarian tendencies that were acquired during

colonial and even pre-colonial times

and

the democratic ideas and ideals

that were interjected at the time of independence. Democracy has been gain

ing ground in recent years,

but

reversions to authoritarian rule are frequent

and decision-making practices continue to reflect the authori tarian aspects

of

the

political culture.

onstitutions

Jurisprudence is a highly developed art in Latin America. Legal docu

ments are beautifully

written

and comprehensive. Latin American con



Politics Power Institutions and Actors

/79

stitutions

are

no

exceptions.

They tend

to

be

long,

detailed,

flowery

documents with a large number of articles (the

Mexican

constitution'

j

of

1917

has

well over

100 articles)

covering

a

great many

specific

situa

tions. As such,

they frequently need to be

modified

or replaced.

Based

on code law, they are

not

open to case-based interpretation, as is the case

with Anglo Saxon

case law. Nor is legal

precedent part

of the judicial

system. Constitutions have historically been more a norm to strive

ward

than a strict

basis

for the rule of law. Presidential power and pre

;;1.

rogative

are often more important than

specific

constitutional provisions

is

I

or

prohibitions.

• I

ike

the

idealism of Don Quijote that

permeates

the culture, Latin

ican constitutions represent

an

ideal

to which

those

who govern and are

"

..

governed aspire. There

have been

times

and

places in Latin American his-

tory where they have been carefully followed (Costa Rica

from

1950 to the

present, Uruguay

and

Chile in

the

1960s),

but they

are frequently subordi

nated

to

the power

of the

strong

executive, dictator,

or

military

junta. Those

who

rule

have

and use

power and

are less likely to be constrained by

the

constitution or other legal codes, although

they may pay

lip service to them.

Like Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1930s, they are more likely to find

ways

to massage the courts

and the

constitution to achieve desired policy

::.:-:

results. The political tradition in most of Latin America is of strong-man

"

rule and the

subordination

of law

and the

courts to

the

executive

and other

powerful

political

and

economic actors. T he concept of the

rule

of

law and

I

f.

".

- . : , j

.\

protection of the individual against the arbitrary

power

of

the

state (through

government)

that

classical liberals from

Hobbes on espouse

is

not

well

de

' :;

veloped

in most of Latin America. Rather, power and the powerful have

'

"

'

generally ruled.

Only in recent decades have supreme courts become apt at delimiting

presidents' interpretations of what is permissible

under the

constitution.

I t

should

be noted, however,

that

the process of democratization

based on

Western concepts of classical liberal democracy that has recently spread

through the

region has strengthened democratic aspects of political cultu re

in all countries where it is practiced and has begun to place a greater em-

phasis

on

the

subordination

of power

and

the

powerful

to the law. None-

theless, practice is often contradictory. In 2000 the Chilean Supreme Court

stripped

former President Augusto Pinochet of his congressional immunity

so

he

could

be

tried for

human

rights violations during his

brutal

dictator-

ship-as had

been the case earlier for a former general

who

ruled Argentina

during

the Dirty

War-but Peruvian president

Alberto Fujimori

was inau

gurated for his third term after fraudulent elections were held after he forced

the

Peruvian

Supreme Court

to

exempt him

from a constitutional prohibi-

tion against third terms.

Like the constitution

in the United

States, Latin American constitutions

almost universally created three branches of government: executive, leg-

islative, and judicial. However, very rarely are they coequal-even in the



180 Politics

o Latin

merica

constitutions. Two realities common to

Latin

American

systems are

a

grant-

ing of

greater

power to

the

executive branch over

the

legislative branch and

the general lack of

significant judicial review.

Further, while most Latin

American constitutions

contain

a significant

listing of

human, civil, and po -

litical rights, they also include provisions

whereby

those rights can

be

sus-

pended in an emergency or

time

of crisis by the executive. A state of

siege

estado de sitio)

or state of

emergency

may be invoked by most

Latin Ameri-

can

presidents (usually

with

the consent of the legislature) for a given pe-

riod of

time

usually ranging from thirty to ninety days. t allows

the presi-

dent

to

suspend

most constitutional guarantees, such as freedom of speech

and

assembly

and habeas corpus, and to legislate

by

decree.

After

the ini-

tial

period runs

out, it may

be renewed.

This

has

often

been an avenue

by

which presidents acquired

dictatorial

powers. Latin American

constitutions

are also often

contradictory

on

the question

of

the

military,

asserting in one

place the primacy of the civilian rule but in another granting the military a

special responsibility for

protecting national sovereignty

and

maintaining

domestic order.

Like Continental

law, the legal

systems in

Latin

America are based on

code law. Most analysts of Latin American constitutions

and

laws stress

that

the systems are based not on the flexible notions of British cornmon

law

but

rather

on strict

interpretation

of

extensive

legal codes.

Rather

than building

on

a series of

case

law decisions, Latin American

law

is deductive. This code

based law has its

origin

in Roman law, Catholic traditions, and the

Napoleonic

Code

that

have

long

dominated

the region. The influence of o -

man traditions can be traced to

the

long Roman domination

of

the

Iberian

peninsula,

which

left

more than

just its language. This tradition

emphasized

the importance

of

a comprehensive, written

law

that is applicable every-

where, in contrast

to

the medieval traditions

of law on which

the English

system is based,

with

its

emphasis on

limits.

What

was

clearly

missing from

the Iberian

ideas

of

law transported to

the

New World were

the notions

of

social contract developed in the English ideas of Hobbes and Locke,

which

laid

the groundwork for

the

idea of a rule of law based on

the

consent of

the governed.

John Peeler argues that another feature of Latin American constitutional-

ism

drawn from earlier

traditions

is corporatism.

In contrast to the

more

in-

dividualist ideas

of

the

social con tract, the Iberian tradition is more corpo -

ratist, with a

great

emphasis on the sociability

of humans

and

their

collectivity. Latin American constitutions

are more

likely to acknowledge

the

legitimacy of

the interests

of collective groups than of

individuals.

t is

therefore interesting

that in contemporary

Latin American politics the strug-

gle is often over which groups should have

their

interests acknowledged.

For

example,

some of

the constitutions

(Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and

Mexico) specifically acknowledge the rights of indigenous groups, children,

senior citizens,

workers,

women,

and

so on. (See Tables 14 and 15 on

women s political rights.)



I .lble

14.

Women s Constitutional Guarantees

(

ountry

Legal

Text

Argentina

Political constitution of 1994

Il"livia


Brazil

Federal constitution

of

1988

and

state constitutions

of 1989

('hile


Cnlombia


('osta Rica' Political const ituti on of 1949

Cuba Political const itut ion

of

1976

Dominican

Political constituti on of 1966

Republic

~ c u d o r


I

}

•

I

Salvador


(;uatemala


\

Honduras Political const itution of 1965

!

Mexico Political constitution of 1917

Nicaragua


Panama


Paraguay


Peru


Uruguay Political constituti on

of

1967

Venezuela Political const itut ion

of 1961

Statement

of Equality

All inhabitants are

equal

before the law.

No

privileges of

blood or birth

are recognized,

nor personal exceptions

nor

titles of nobility.

All

human

beings enjoy guarantees

and

rights

regardless of race, gender, language,

religion, or any other form of

discrimination.

Men and women are equal

in

rights

and

obligations.

Men

and

women are equal in rights

and

obligations.

Men

are

born

free

and equal

in dignity

and

rights.

All people enjoy the same rights, without

discrimination

based on gender

or other

reasons.

All

men are equal

before the law

and

cannot

commit

any

discrimination contrary to

human

dignity.

Women

enjoy the same rights as men,

Does not expressly relate the equality of rights

between women and

men.

Women have the same rights

and

opportunities as men.

All people are equal before the law.

Men

and women

have the same opportunities

and

responsibilities.

All

Hondurans

are equal. Any discrimination

based

on

gender is prohibited.

Men and women

are

equal

before the law.

All people are equal. Discrimination based

on

birth, race, nationality, origin,

or other

factors is prohibited.

There

are no personal

exceptions or privileges,

nor

discrimination by reason of gender,

race, social class, religion,

or

political beliefs.

Men and women have

equal rights. The sta te

should

concern itself with making equality a

reality

and with

facilitating the participa tion

of

women

in all a renas of national life,

No one should be discriminated against for

reasons of origin, gender, race, language,

religion,

or

other..

All

people are equal

before the law.

Discrimination

based on

gender, race, creed,

or social condition is prohibited.

The constitution of Costa Rica establishes that mothers, children, and the elderly enjoy special pro-

tection

by the state.

Source:

Statistical bstract

o

Latin America Vol.

35 (Los Angeles: UCLA,

1999).

181



-.

182

Politics of Latin America

Table

15.

Women s Political Rights

Year Right

to

Vote

Right

to

Be

Chosen

through

Year

CEDAW*

Country

Granted Popular Election

Ratified

Argentina 1947

Since 1991, candidate lists for popular

elections

must

include

women in

a

minimum of 30 of elected positions.

Bolivia 1952

Same for men

and women.

1960

Brazil

1932 Same for men

and

women.

1984

Chile

1949 Same for men and women.

1989

Colombia

1954 Same for

men and

women.

1981

.

Costa Rica 1949 Same for men

and

women. 1984

Cuba 1934

Same for men

and women.

Dominican

1942 Same for

men

and women.

1982

Republic

Ecuador 1929 Same for

men and

women. 1981

The law establishes the obligatory

inclusion

of

25 of

women on

candidate lists in multiperson elections.

El

Salv ador 1950 Same for men and women.

1981

Guatemala 1945

Same for men

and

women.

1982

Honduras 1955

Same for men

and

women.

1983

Mexico 1953

Same for men

and

women.

Nicaragua 1955 Same for men

and

women.

Panama 1946

Same for

men and women.

1981

Paraguay

1961

Same for

men

and women.

1986

Peru

1955 Same for men and women.

1981

Uruguay

1932 Same for

men and

women.

1981

Venezuela 1947 Same for men and women.

1982

'Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted

y

the United Nations in

1979.

Source:

Mujeres Latinoamericanas en

Cifras,

1995,

pp 138-139, as cited in Statistical bstract of

Latin

America,

Vol.

35 (Los Angeles: UCLA, 1999).

nstitutions

THE

PRESIDENT

Latin American republics are based on the

strong

presidential form of gov

ernment. Chile

did

experiment

with

parliamentary

government

around the

tum of the twentieth century

but

has since

employed

presidential rule. Like

France, Haiti does have both a president and a prime minister, but most

power

resides with

the

president,

who

appoints the prime minister. The sin

gle most distinctive political feature of Latin American rule is the

power

of

the executive.

Contemporary

Latin American presidential power is deeply

rooted

in

the autocratic traditions of the colonial period. Presidential power



i

1

1'l1'rn n

Elecciones Nacionales

99

wI

.. ~ ~ ;

. ···....... ·····1

~ ~ : : ; .

I f ,

. I

I

. J

Presidente

,

.

; .:l t

.

.

.(

;

:Q

L _ : k ~ J

--.-.-:L

•.

,

Sample ballot from the 1998 presidential election in Venezuela. Thirty-six different

parties competed, but Fifth Republic Movement candidate Hugo havez easily

won

the election with close to 6 percent of the vote.

~ 2 ~ O

VALIDA PARAVOTAR

Documents

Politics, Power, Institutions and Actors