52BelloTransatlantic reflectionsPopulist parallels between
Europe and Latin AmericaJul 18th 2015 |From the print editionTHE
late Carlos Fuentes, a Mexican writer, compared the exercise of
mutual influencebetween Spain and its former colonies to a mirror:
looking from the Americas to theMediterranean, and back. Those
transatlantic reflections continueand reach far acrossMare
Nostrumin ways that would have seemed surprising only a few years
ago.Seen from Latin America, the agonies of the euro zone arouse a
sickening sense of dj vu.The limits on withdrawals from Greek banks
mimic the corralito (little fence) imposed byDomingo Cavallo,
Argentinas finance minister in 2001, in a doomed attempt to
preserve hiscountrys currency board, which pegged the peso at par
to the dollar for a decade.Argentina is Exhibit A for those who
argue that Greece would be better off outside the euro.
Denunciations of austerity and the IMF byAlexis Tsipras, Greeces
prime minister, and his far-left Syriza party attract the sympathy
of Latin Americas leftist-populist leaders. Yet theparallel is
somewhat misleading: Argentina recovered strongly from 2003 onwards
not just because it defaulted and devalued but becauseworld prices
for its farm exports surged. And Greece has swallowed vast lumps of
concessional credit provided by Europes taxpayers, notusurious
loans from the financial markets. Mr Tsiprass last-minute deal
suggests he realises that Greece is not Argentina.Less remarked is
the political inspiration that Europes new far-left movements
derive from Latin America. Mr Tsiprass recourse to areferendum to
shore up his domestic support echoes the tactics of Venezuelas late
Hugo Chvez, who called six in 14 years in power. Sodoes the
overblown claim that Greece is the victim of a coup, the agitprop
device that chavismo uses to disqualify all opposition.In the case
of Podemos, Spains would-be Syriza, the links with chavismo were
much closer, though recently downplayed by both sides. Afoundation
linked to its leaders received 5.2m ($5.7m) over the 12 years to
2014 from the governments of Venezuela and Ecuador,according to
ABC, a Spanish newspaper. Weve seen enormous parallels, Pablo
Iglesias, Podemoss leader, told Ecuadors president, RafaelCorrea,
last year. We will seek your advice on many things. Mr Iglesias is
also a fan of Ernesto Laclau, an Argentine theorist of
radicalpopulism who died last year.On both sides of the Atlantic,
economic and political chaos brought populists to power. In
Argentina it was the austerity of internaldevaluation to restore
export competitiveness under Mr Cavallo that eventually led to the
presidency of Cristina Fernndez. In Venezuela astable two-party
system was brought down by the collapse of the oil price in the
late 1980s, and the corruption this exposed. Mr Correasrise
followed the implosion of Ecuadors political parties and its
currency. Likewise, the exhaustion of Greeces two-party system
broughtMr Tsipras to power. Mr Iglesias, with his denunciation of
la casta (the political caste of the two main parties) is counting
on somethingsimilar in Spain.Time was when the southern European
left gave Latin America advice on democracy. The demise of the
Franco dictatorship in Spainhelped to inspire a wave of
democratisation in Latin America. In Mexico in 1991, Bello recalls
listening to an eloquent plea from FelipeGonzlez, then Spains
socialist prime minister, for the Latin American left to abandon
revolution and embrace democracy.In June Mr Gonzlez was back in the
region to support two opposition politicians jailed in Venezuela.
At a press conference on his return,he was questioned about the
implications of Podemos. In Spain the regime will not be liquidated
by some kind of alternative adventure,he declared.That is a
reasonable bet. For all their problems Europes political systems
are still more robust than many of those in Latin America. Thanksto
Spains economic recovery and a new centrist rival, Podemoss appeal
has probably peaked. Unlike Chvez, Mr Tsipras shows no sign ofusing
a Rousseauesque appeal to the popular will in referendums as a
justification for gutting democratic institutions.Latin America
shows that Europes leaders cannot afford to be complacent,
especially with regard to political corruption. But for all
itsfailures the European Union provides an exoskeleton of
institutions, and shows a commitment to democratic norms, that
Latin Americalacks. Time and fiscal irresponsibility are taking
their toll on Latin Americas far-left regimes. If anyone in Europe
needs reminding, thelikes of Venezuelawith its slump,
hyperinflation and repressionprove that populism is a poor remedy
for the diseases of austerity andcorruption.From the print edition:
The Americas
