The Hindu : Countering a coup

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 19, 2002

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

Countering a coup

THE TYRANNY OF geography has ensured that an unfolding revolution in Latin America goes unnoticed in India. The attempt to remove a democratically elected President through sponsored streets riots and acts of rebellion in Venezuela has been thwarted for the present. The political drama enacted by opponents of the marxist Hugo Chavez Government must revive memories of a bygone era of tin pot dictators propped up by official American agencies. The script this time has been dramatically rewritten thanks in part to the experiences gained by the continent during the 1970s and 1980s when coup followed bloody coup and military dictatorships were the norm. Mr. Chavez, who was ousted for two days by military-backed groups, has staged a dramatic return to power in a manner unprecedented by even South America's violent standards. The counter coup in Venezuela is significant in many ways. First and foremost, it is a triumph of people's will over the machinations of the old discredited combination of the military and interventionist forces. It is also a historic defeat, one hopes, for gunboat diplomacy and marks a break from the continent's sickening experiences during the Cold War.

The brief coup attempt prompts the question: whatever has happened to the likes of Chile's former dictator, Augusto Pinochet? As he recovers from alleged ill health and contemplates the scene, Mr. Pinochet must be filled with indignation over the fate of his continent where a quarter century ago he had perfected the art of military coup d'etat, ruing the hamhanded way in which the present military top brass are handling fluid situations. The General could stage-manage a coup, topple a democratically elected President and in Stalin style declare him dead by suicide and rule for more than two decades as a ruthless dictator. This was at the height of the Cold War in 1975. Today, the globalisation of the democratic spirit has raised insurmountable obstacles in the way of dictatorships. The attempted coup in Venezuela and its defeat come at a key moment in South America. After a decade of experimenting with democracy and plurality, the continent appears to be reverting to an era of soft dictatorships, helped in no smaller measure by the return of a Republican regime in Washington. The early 1990s, which saw military dictatorships give way to civilian rule in the continent, coincided with the start of the Clinton Presidency. Washington, in the first months of Bill Clinton at the White House and heady in the aftermath of the Cold War's end, launched a campaign against dictatorships all around, and especially in its backyard. The democratic decade, which came to Latin America ahead of its arrival in India's eastern neighbourhood, appears to be ending even as South East Asia is still celebrating the fall of Suharto in Indonesia. The changing complexion of politics in America may again get reflected in Latin America which takes the cue from its big northern brother for almost everything.

The immediate battle in Venezuela, in the northeastern region of South America, is over land reforms. Mr. Chavez who was elected to power in 1999 has been vigorously pursuing a radical reform programme which has hurt the rich landowners. As in the rest of Latin America, the slow returns from economic reforms have also provoked a backlash, leading to strikes and industrial action. The weekend's attempted coup was staged by a combination of sections of the military making common cause with the labour opponents of Mr. Chavez, owners of big farmlands and big business interests. Besides, Mr. Chavez did not endear himself to Washington by courting Fidel Castro, America's ideological enemy number one. In a throwback to the Pinochet coup, there are reports in the American media that the Venezuelan coup plotters were in touch with some officials in Washington. As he awaits his opponents' next move, for now, Mr. Chavez is safely back in the saddle.

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