Hemisphere Volume 4 Article 1 Issue 1 Fall

1991 Volume 4 Number 1, Fall 1991

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A MAGAZINE OF LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN AFFAIRS

Fall 1991 Volume Four • Number One Seven Dollars

Argentina: Menem’s Neoliberal Campaign William C. Smith, Aldo C. Vacs

The Caribbean: Elections and Beyond Robert A. Pastor, Gary Brana-Shute, Cheddi Jagan

Castro’s Premature Biography Lisandro Perez

Huber and Stephens on Caribbean Development Options Constable on Reevaluating Chile’s Transition Barrios Moron on the Psychology of Bolivia’s Drug War Rich on Free Trade and Mexican Ecology Maingot on the Legacy of Gordon K. Lewis '

18 Hemisphere

A MAGAZINE OF LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN AFFAIRS

Fall 1991 Volume Four • Number One Seven Dollars

EDITORIAL STAFF Editor: Anthony P. Maingot LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Deputy Editor: Richard Tardanico Associate Editors: Eduardo A. Gamarra, Mark B. Rosenberg Assistant Editor: Sofia A. Lopez Book Review Editor: Kathleen Logan COMMENTARY Bibliographer: Marian Goslinga Editorial Assistant: Rene Ramos Caribbean Development Options by Evelyne Huber Circulation Manager: Raqueljurado and John D. Stephens Copy Editor: Michael B.Joslyn Production Assistants: Cristina Finlay, Pedro P. Women in Public Office by Kathleen Logan Garcia, Teresita Marill, Sontha Strinko CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Janet M. Chernela Raul Moncarz Elena de Jongh Lisandro Perez REPORTS Damian J. Fernandez Luis P. Salas John D. French Kevin A. Yelvington Chile: The Perfect Transition? by Pamela Constable Dennis J. Gayle Bolivia: The Psychology of Drug War by Raul Barrios Moron EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Mexico: Free Trade and Ecology by Jan Gilbreath Rich Don Bohning Guido Pennano Ettore Botta Alejandro Portes In Memoriam: Gordon K Lewis by Anthony P. Maingot Wolf Grabendorff Sally Price Alistair Hennessy David Ronfeldt Harry Hoetink Selwyn Ryan Franklin W. Knight Steven E. Sanderson Vaughan Lewis Saskia Sassen FAXFILE Larissa A. Lomnitz Andres Serbm Abraham F. Lowenthal Carol A. Smith Andres Oppenheimer Yolande Van Eeuwen Robert A. Pastor Arturo Villar AnthonyJ. Payne Juan Yanes FEATURES

Hemisphere (ISSN 08983038) is published three times a year (Fall, Winter/Spring, and Summer) Menem’s Neoliberal Campaign by the Latin American and Caribbean Center of Florida International University. Copyright © 1991 Restructuring Argentina by WiUiam C. Smith by the Latin American and Caribbean Center, Flor­ ida International University. All rights reserved. Abandoning the ‘Third Position” by Aldo C. Vacs Hemisphere is dedicated to provoking debate on the problems, initiatives, and achievements of Latin The Caribbean: Elections and Beyond America and the Caribbean. Responsibility for the views expressed lies solely with the authors. Lessons from Caribbean Elections by Robert A. Pastor EDITORIAL, CIRCULATION, AND ADVERTIS­ Tries Again by Gary Brana-Shute ING OFFICES: Latin American and Caribbean Center, Florida International University, University Vision for a Free Guyana by Cheddi Jagan Park, Miami, Florida 33199. Telephone: (305) 348- 2894. FAX: (305) 348-3593. Please address manu­ scripts and editorial correspondence to the Deputy Editor. REVIEW FORUM SUBSCRIPTIONS: US, PR, USVI: $20 a year; $36 for two years. Elsewhere: $27 a year; $50 for two years. Please make check or money order (US Castro’s Premature Biography by Lisandro Perez currency only) payable to Hemisphere. Credit card orders (MC/VISA only) are also acceptable. PUBLICATIONS UPDATE This document was produced at a cost of $6,263.00 or $3.13 per copy. Structural Adjustment Policies in Argentina by Marian Goslinga Environmental Challenges along with the new Regional Con­ The primary reason for the servation Units, (see my article, international celebration of De Lori Ann Thrupp’s article, “Costa “Saving Costa Rica’s Environment,” Soto’s book (which is subtitled Rica’s Resource Challenges,” (Hemi­ Hemisphere [Fall 1989]), attempts to The Invisible Revolution in the Third sphere [Winter/Spring 1990]), is do precisely that. Of course, it faces World) is that it provides a thor­ both provocative and frustratingly enormous potential resistance and ough analysis and policy map, not incomplete. One can hardly argue obstacles and its effectiveness re­ only for solving problems regard­ against her analysis of the severe mains to be proven. ing the subterranean (informal) and continuing degradation of the I would suggest, however, that sector but also for moving Third natural resources of Costa Rica. we contribute very little to solving World economies toward a new de­ Likewise there is little question Costa Rica’s problems by dam ning velopment path. De Soto’s book about the contradictory economic the country’s dependence on ex­ represents the freshest and most and environmental policies of the port agriculture without offering significant contribution to Third government. solutions for handling the difficult World development policy in the Her vision, however, seems par­ transition between an export- last two decades. As such, the book tial and shortsighted in many other oriented economy and a less- did much to rescue international respects. Her allusions to the major­ dependent, domestically oriented developm ent policy from a rapid ity o f Costa Ricans’ lack of interest economy. Social justice is indeed a slide into obscurity and irrele­ in wildlife, tourism, and science are radical aim, but with intelligent vance. Contrary to Portes’s asser­ totally lacking in evidence. Indeed planning it may also be a realistic tion, De Soto certainly did not there is substantial evidence that goal. “appropriate and reassert what was carefully managed environmental already known.” projects not only integrate local Jack W. Hopkins The failure of the formal sector communities into the projects, but School of Public as an engine of growth and devel­ also help to raise their environmen­ and Environmental Affairs opment in the Third World has tal consciousness. Daniel Janzen Indiana University given impetus to the informal deserves praise rather than criti­ economy. To be sure, the informal cism for saving one of the last re­ sector has failed to lower unemploy­ maining tropical dry forests in ment rates, raise wages and salaries Central America. Prior to the estab­ to keep pace with inflation, in­ lishment of Guanacaste National crease the availability of basic Park, the area was under imminent goods and services, and improve threat of destruction from export- A Promising Path? the economic infrastructure. oriented cattle ranching. Blaming In “An Informal Path to Develop­ Nevertheless, it represents the Janzen for perpetuating inequi­ m ent?” (Hemisphere [Winter/Spring Third World’s citizenry’s spontane­ table development, as Thrupp 1991]), Alejandro Portes criticizes ous, creative, and rational response does, is ludicrous. The Other Path, by Peruvian econo­ to the incapacity of national states Thrupp also appears to ignore mist Hernando de Soto. Unfortu­ to satisfy their basic needs. Poverty the major initiatives of the Costa nately Portes fails to support his and misery have prom oted self- Rican government through its Na­ contention that De Soto’s “message reliant, survival networks in the tional Strategy for Sustainable De­ is little more than the long-familiar form of the informal sector. These velopment. This policy, adopted ‘magic-of-the-marketplace’ doc­ networks are a sensible response to after widespread public debate, is trine.” W hat Portes gives us is a decades of economic oppression based exactly on what Thrupp ar­ lame ideological diatribe, devoid brought on by state-interventionist gues: “that the social dimensions of of any analytical or policy alterna­ policies. conservation cannot be ignored tive to De Soto’s work—a work Portes’s notions concerning the and that the political-economic based on exhaustive field research benefits of subsidized credit are roots of the problem must be di- and a sound methodological frame­ misleading. Although access to recdy confronted.” This policy, work. credit is an important aspect of the

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 continued success of the informal Hope tells us, “the exhaustive field which may explain why The Other sector, economic evidence shows research and a sound methodologi­ Path is distributed by US consulates that subsidized credit has had disas­ cal framework” used by Hernando and embassies throughout the re­ trous consequences for Third De Soto and his followers have fi­ gion. Nevertheless, this glowing World development. The major nally revealed the truth. Informal- portrait has little relation to the ac­ beneficiaries of subsidized credit sector activities that we had seen as tual condition and prospects of in­ have been public enterprises and an ingenious but frequently desper­ formal entrepreneurs and their the non-poor. In fact, subsidized ate means of survival, turn out to workers. credit has become a transfer pro­ be no less than the seed of future “De Soto’s prescription and gram for the non-poor while credit national development. While re­ m ine,” President George Bush regulations and artificially low inter­ searchers painstakingly traced the declared, “is to ... unleash a mil­ est rates have lent themselves to fur­ mechanisms through which large lion sparks of energy and enter­ ther patronage and corruption. In capitalist firms employ and exploit prise; let the incentive of reward Third World subsidized credit pro­ informal labor, they failed to note inspire m en and women to work grams, loans in arrears range from the fundamental characteristic of better for themselves and their 30% to 95%; in contrast, nonsub­ the latter—that it is an engine of families.” Economist David Felix sidized loan programs have loan re­ growth. But thanks to superior sta­ calls this “a particularly grotesque covery rates exceeding 95%. What tistical abilities and ethnographic piece of P.R. gymnastics.” I will con­ would be beneficial for the infor­ skills assembled by De Soto at his tent myself with calling it another mal sector’s access to credit would Institute for Liberty and Democ­ simplistic recipe to resolve the be loan programs characterized by racy, the truth shines; street ven­ problem of underdevelopment market rates, low transaction costs, dors and shantytown sweatshop that is destined, like its predeces­ greater borrower access to lenders, workers are really the entrepre­ sors, to bite the dust. and some linkage between repay­ neurs of tomorrow, destined to For a review of research evi­ m ent and future lending. move their countries out of under­ dence on the ingenuity and crea­ The informal sector has encour­ development once the nefarious tivity of the urban poor published aged risk-taking and enterprise in mercantilist state is taken out of ten to fifteen years before De the Third World regardless of so­ the way. Soto’s grand appearance, Hope cial class, enabling large numbers Hope’s portrayal of events does may consult Alejandro Portes and of poor people to achieve subsis­ not stand up to the evidence. De John Walton, Urban Latin America tence or better. Soto is a skillful politician and a (University of Texas Press, 1976). brilliant ideological synthesizer, For a review of recent research on Kempe Ronald Hope, Sr. but he is no scholar. The effort to the dynamics of informal enter­ International Consultant portray the spread of the informal prise both in advanced and less- and Economic Adviser sector in Latin America as the developed countries, he may Weston, Ontario, Canada march of progress has proven at­ consult Alejandro Portes, Manuel tractive to some powerful circles, Castells, and Lauren Benton (eds.),

Researchers who conducted field­ work on urban poverty and the in­ formal economy in Latin America Hemisphere welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be typed double-spaced, and and elsewhere in the Third World are subject to editing for clarity and length. during the 1960s and ’70s should be interested to learn that their Please address letters to: The Deputy Editor, Hemisphere, Latin American and Carib­ collective effort and findings fell bean Center, Florida International University, University Park, Miami, FL 33199; short. Now, as Kempe Ronald FAX (305) 348-3593.

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Letters to the Editor

The Informal Economy (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989). The conclusion of the latter book provides the “alternative frame­ work” for policies toward the infor­ ;Ya salio la Gula del mal sector that Hope demands and that space prevented me from in­ Periodismo Centroamericano! cluding in the original com­ mentary. Esta publicacion Alejandro Portes Department of Sociology de 188 paginas The Johns Hopkins University contiene: • Nombres de mas de 3.000 periodistas

• Datos sobre 27 periodicos Advocating Violence? Informacion sobre 208 Father Ed Cleary was so concerned emisoras de radio to twist the knife in his review of my book Is Latin America Turning • Detalles de 34 canales Protestant? (“Politicized Religion,” de television Hemisphere [Summer 1990]) that I • Mas datos sobre should make two points. First, he revistas y periodicos may be right that too m uch space is devoted to the spectrum of US • Nombres de las evangelists in Latin America. But I escuelas de felt obliged to examine the issue be­ periodismo y cause of indiscriminate broadsides sus profesores against the “invasion of the sects” by Catholic bishops who have yet to • Las be corrected by their in-house ex­ corresponsalias perts. If so many Catholic scholars had not ignored evangelicals, I would not have had to write the book, let alone establish the dif­ ference between the evangelical Y un cumulo de informacion util sobre Centroamerica y Panama. mission establishment and the Solo 45 d61ares. religious right. Ingresos de la venta de la Gufa estan destinados a un fondo para el Second, contrary to Cleary, Is funcionamiento de un centro de entrenamiento para periodistas centroamericanos. Latin America Turning Protestant? does not echo the conservation I------1 canard that liberation theology is responsible for advocating vio­ Si, eimenme______ejemplar/es de la Guxa del Periodismo Centroamericano lence. I do emphasize that, by Nom bre______asserting rights in repressive situa­ tions, consciousness-raising has D ire cc io n ______often provoked more reprisals than Christians can defend themselves Ciudad______Pais______against. Most readers should be Escriba su cheque a nombre de CAJP Endowment Fund y envie este formulario a: able to tell the difference between PROCEPER o Central American Journalism Program Apartado 1253*1002 Florida International University these two points. San Jos€ North Miami, FL 33181 Costa Rica USA David Stoll Department of Anthropology Stanford University

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 SITTING IN THE EARTH AND LAUGHING A HANDBOOK OF HUMOR New and A. Roy Eckardt This book is at once a serious guide to humor and an entertain­ Recent ing embodiment of humor itself. Designed to cross disciplinary boundaries, it directs itself to the sense and nonsense of humor in contemporary individual and social life. Books on ISBN: 1-56000-001-5 (cloth) 192pp. $29.95 Anthropology ANTHROPOLOGICAL OTHER OR BURMESE BROTHER? STUDIES IN CULTURAL ANALYSIS & Culture Mel ford Spiro Classical anthropology has come under attack in recent years for its guiding belief in a common humanity between cultures as an Order from your bookstore or direct expression of Western hegemonic discourse. This volume refutes from the publisher. Major credit cards these views and defends classical anthropology. accepted. Call (908) 932-2280 CELEBRATIONS Transaction Publishers THE CULT OF ANNIVERSARIES IN EUROPE AND Department NRAC THE UNITED STATES TODAY Rutgers University William M. Johnston transaction^ New Brunswick, NJ 08903 Every year hundreds of historical anniversaries attract media at­ tention and government investment in ever greater degrees. This insightful volume explores the causes and consequences of this major phenomenon of our time. ISBN: 0^88738-375-0 (cloth) 196pp. $29.95 ENCOUNTER WITH ANTHROPOLOGY SECOND EDITION Robin Fox This volume is at once an introduction to anthropology, an ac­ count of a personal odyssey, and a call to rethink the discipline. After showing the range, potential, and weaknesses of anthropol- gy as a science, Fox outlines a new anthropology that will restore its original task of exploring human nature. ISBN: 0-88738-870-1 (paper) 346pp. $19.95 THE INVENTED INDIAN CULTURAL FICTIONS AND GOVERNMENT POLICIES James A. Clifton, editor This volume aims to reconstruct our understanding of the American Indian, past and present. It examines in careful, ac­ curate ways social myths about Indians and explores how these cultural fictions promote divisiveness and translate into policy. ISBN: 0-88738-341-6 (cloth) 300pp. $39.95

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 c 0 M M E

Caribbean Development Options

by Evelyne Huber and John D. Stephens

he structural adjustment alternative development model tourism and export manufacturing. policies of the Interna­ that combines growth, equity, and Local agriculture for the domestic tional Monetary Fund democracy. Such an opportunity m arket was first hurt by im port (IMF) and the World could extend to the reshaping of deregulation and then devastated Bank have been widely economic and political relations by a hurricane. This same hurri­ criticized for impeding am ong Caribbean nations as well. cane damaged traditional export Trather than promoting develop­ agriculture already suffering from Crafting an alternative develop­ ment in the Caribbean during the m ent m odel must begin by recog­ declining terms of trade. Finally, last decade. For instance, such poli­ nizing two basic changes in the local manufacturing for the domes­ cies have drastically curtailed gov­ world economy. First, that the grow­ tic market declined as a result of ernment expenditure on education ing international mobility of capi­ import deregulation. and health. As a result, a portion of tal and the related globalization of These shifts had serious con­ the region’s meager resources production greatly diminish op­ sequences for the comparative must be channeled into the mere portunities for effective economic abilities of the public and private rehabilitation of deteriorated physi­ intervention by national states. Sec­ sectors to influence the country’s cal infrastructure and human re­ ond, that the formation of regional economic development. The rela­ sources, leaving little or nothing trade blocs is posing new chal­ tive decline of bauxite/alum ina as for programs that broaden the lenges for the Caribbean, particu­ a foreign-exchange earner dimin­ population’s access to education larly for those countries that are ished the state’s economic weight and health care. Likewise, struc­ members of the Lome Convention. in collecting revenues and allocat­ tural adjustment policies not only On the positive side, these two ing resources; the diversity and neglect small-scale local agricul­ changes indicate a potential for decentralization of the ascendant ture—a significant source of em­ the expansion of intra-Caribbean exchange earners, tourism and ployment and food—they also trade. On the negative side, they nontraditional exports, made them expose it to formidable interna­ expose the smaller countries to more appropriate for private-sector tional and domestic competition competition from the larger coun­ activity and, therefore, less amena­ from export-oriented agribusiness. tries for access to North American ble to state intervention. In addi­ Consequently, small-scale agricul­ markets, and the Lome members tion, the interest-rate policies ture has declined to the point that to the loss of privileged access to prescribed by the IMF have con­ major investments are required just European markets. This array of centrated economic assets in the to achieve a modicum of recovery, opportunities and obstacles means hands of a few large groups based a situation that compounds the that skillful negotiation to promote in financial services. These eco­ Caribbean’s problems of unemploy­ cooperation among Caribbean nomically powerful groups, now m ent and purchasing power. countries and to shape their rela­ influential in domestic politics, Nonetheless, there is some de­ tions with the wider world will be have shown no inclination to invest gree of optimism for the 1990s. essential to any successful develop­ outside the financial, commercial, The end of the Cold War may per­ m ent model for the 1990s. and tourism sectors. mit the Caribbean to articulate an The case of Jamaica illustrates In this context, is it feasible for these opportunities and obstacles. Jamaica to return to the industrial- How might Jamaica’s policymakers ization-by-invitation model it fol­ Evelyne Huber and John D. Stephens maneuver in this setting? What are lowed in the 1950s and ’60s? Even are professors of political science and the implications for the Caribbean? overlooking the income inequality sociology, and Faculty Fellows of the associated with this model, there Center for Urban Affairs and Policy are several reasons why it would fail Research, at Northwestern University. Past Models in the 1990s. To begin with, indus­ They are co-authors (with Dietrich Since 1970Jamaica has been eco­ trialization by invitation was driven Rueschemeyer) o/Capitalist Devel­ nomically transformed. Its baux­ by foreign investment in bauxite/ opment and Democracy (Polity and ite/ alumina sector declined as a alumina and tourism. Investment University of Chicago Press, 1992). foreign-exchange earner relative to in these sectors, however, no

6 Hemisphere • Fall 1991 longer approximates the magni­ 1980s, the managerial weakness of lation. Would such a state-capitalist tude needed to generate sustained the state is even worse today. model be the most viable one in economic growth. Even assuming Another departure from the the 1990s, particularly since the the availability of sufficient foreign model of the 1970s, as well as from economic conditions of this de­ capital, past experience shows that that of the 1950s and ’60s, would cade will be similar to those of the foreign investment in the minerals have to be the use of more selec­ preceding decade? The state-capi­ and tourism sectors did not estab­ tive im port controls. In the long talist model could generate eco­ lish adequate linkages with the term, protection would have to be nomic growth if it recognized the remainder of the economy. More­ aimed at developing low import- necessity of a smaller state-owned over, generalized protection of do­ content, domestically oriented in­ economic sector, more efficient mestic industry—which was a vital dustries with a chance of becoming state apparatus, and more (though aspect of industrialization by invita­ selective) protection. A major prob­ tion—impeded economic develop­ lem, however, would likely appear ment in the long run throughout in the area of political strategy. the Caribbean and Latin America, Indiscriminate state Due to its negative consequences mainly by shielding inefficient for the distribution of wealth and local producers from competition. shrinking would income, the model of the 1980s Is it feasible, then, for Jamaica would require substantial govern­ to return to President Michael jeopardize previous ment expenditures on patronage— Manley’s democratic socialist path by definition, unproductive—in of the 1970s? That path, which, economic development order to maintain a base of popu­ practically speaking, stressed eco­ in key sectors. lar support. Complicating this prob nomic redistribution to the detri­ lem is the certainty that, in the ment of investment, requires state post-Cold War setting, no Carib­ access to a large new inflow of re­ bean regime could count on a spe­ sources from export earnings. Such cial relationship with the US like access is also required for a more competitive internationally. For that of Jamaica’s in the 1980s. Re­ investment-oriented state-led devel­ example, given the small size of its gimes pursuing a state-interven- opm ent model. Yet no such access home market, Jamaica might want tionist path, even a state-capitalist is on the horizon for the foresee­ to protect the manufacturing of fur­ one, would be particularly disadvan­ able future. Sources for foreign niture but not refrigerators. Still an­ taged in their relations with the US. borrowing will be scarce as well, other departure from the model of particularly for a democratic-social- the 1970s would have to be success­ ist government, which could not ful attempts to obtain higher and The Neoliberal Model afford the unpopular policies asso­ more stable prices for raw material Given that IMF policies currently ciated with IMF conditionality. The exports through agreements with hold sway, an obvious question is Jamaican state, therefore, would be other Third World producers. whether a pure neoliberal model unable to assume direct command Jamaica would also have to find would work in the 1990s. A basic of the economy outside its already niches for its nontraditional problem with this model stems established participation in the exports and to negotiate special from the fact that the Jamaican bauxite/alumina industry. Rather, trade relations with regional mar­ state was quite effective in areas its role would be one of economic ket blocs. such as the bauxite/alumina indus­ regulation. This role, however, Though Jamaican president try, banking, and importing es­ demands an efficient state appara­ Edward Seaga in the 1980s pro­ sential goods. Consequently, tus, the lack of which was a key rea­ claimed his adherence to a neo­ indiscriminate state shrinking son for the failure of Jamaica’s liberal model, he in fact pursued would jeopardize economic devel­ democratic socialism in the 1970s. policies that were much closer to a opment. An unregulated private As a result of the drastic deteriora­ state-capitalist model, with the im­ sector was apparently successful in tion of public-sector salaries in the portant exception of trade deregu­ tourism and export-platform manu­

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Commentary

facturing, but appearances are de­ bean countries for two reasons. social welfare or public-sector job ceptive. The state has conducted First, the post-World War II strate­ creation, simply because the re­ tourism marketing in both the US gic importance of South Korea and sources for such undertakings are and Europe through the Jamaica Taiwan provided them with mas­ unavailable in the 1990s. It concep­ Tourist Board; and in the early sive US aid, which their states chan­ tualizes redistribution not in terms 1980s Jamaican president Seaga neled into dynamic economic of government spending on con­ and US president Ronald Reagan sectors. Second, as a study by Wil­ sumption, but in terms of produc­ did the important complementary liam R. Cline shows, if all Third tive assets and access to health care work of managingjamaica’s inter­ World countries reached the ex­ and education. national political image. Mean­ port density of the Asian Tigers, In this setting, a political strate­ while the political negotiation of their manufactured exports would gy based on populist appeals would special access to the US garment rapidly confront protectionist re­ be counterproductive; either the market was crucial to the growth of sponses in the developed world. As promises could not be fulfilled or Jamaica’s export platforms, as like­ a result, 80% of such exports would the development policies would be wise were the devaluations that face problems of market access. derailed. W hat is required is pains­ greatly cheapened the cost of taking political organization, along Jamaican labor. with political education regarding In any case, if the essence of Toward an Alternative Model development opportunities and ob­ economic development is the im­ What conclusions can be drawn stacles. This approach is necessary provement of living standards by in­ for Caribbean development in the to forestall not only the political as­ creasing labor’s productivity, then 1990s? Arguably a development cendance of opportunistic popu­ a model based on thie degradation model for the Caribbean should lists whose irresponsible policies of living standards by cheapening concentrate on state intervention could thwart development efforts, labor cannot be effective. At the in the following spheres: promot­ but also the political alienation of least, implementing such a model ing special export markets; guiding the rank-and-file population dur­ in Jamaica would leave the coun­ investment into areas with high ex­ ing economically difficult times. try’s export platforms vulnerable to port potential; establishing link­ Political organization and educa­ competition from lower-wage coun­ ages between agricultural and tion should be directed at forging a tries in the Caribbean and else­ industrial development in both coalition between the middle and where. the use of local resources and the lower classes in support of this de­ The strongest argument against creation of a domestic market; and velopment model, as well as at fos­ a pure neoliberal model is the lack improving human resources. tering an accommodation with the of any historical precedent. No Within this framework, the state capitalist class. To be sure, pro­ small, export-oriented economy should carry out land reform to cre­ grams such as land reform could has ever become a successful late ate efficient family farmers, agri­ jeopardize such an accommoda­ developer by following this path. cultural service, and marketing tion, depending on the socioeco­ This fact is clear with respect to the cooperatives. Moreover the state nomic structure of the particular economic development of both should selectively protect domestic country. It is thus crucial that land small European countries and the industry and should promote free reform and related programs not “Asian Tigers” (Hong Kong, South trade with countries of roughly be orchestrated as general attacks Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan). In equal development. The latter on private property, and that invest­ both instances economic develop­ implies strong efforts to establish ment opportunities be created in ment revolved around the rela­ regional integration. The state other sectors of the economy. tively equitable distribution of should encourage foreign invest­ This development model and wealth in the primary sector and m ent where it will contribute to for- political strategy could be catego­ state protection of infant indus­ eign-exchange earnings or savings rized as social democratic or a mod­ tries, as well as a wider range of and where domestic resources are erate form of democratic socialism. state regulatory and entrepreneur­ insufficient. The issue of distribu­ It may seem a pale shadow of the ial activities. To argue that Carib­ tion should be addressed through development vision pursued in bean recovery and development state support for small enterprises, Jamaica in the 1970s or of demo­ can be accomplished through a both individual and collective, and cratic-socialist ideals in the 1990s. neoliberal model with indiscrimi­ through improved public health Nevertheless, in light of its corre­ nate tariff reduction, deregulation, and education programs, which are spondence to the successful mod­ and state shrinking is to completely essential to the development of a els of small late developers and its misread the comparative evidence. skilled labor force. consequences for Caribbean living Even if correctly read, however, The preceding is not a naive standards, the approach is more the experiences of the Asian Tigers wish list. It does not include in­ promising than that of the neo­ could not be replicated by Carib­ creased government spending on liberals. ■

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Base Christian Communities and Social Change in Brazil

W. E. Hewitt "A strong and valuable piece of scholarship. Hewitt's work is the most >mprehensive and well- >unded of recent empirical ts." - Daniel H. Levine, Hemisphere licjion and Politics in Latin

janger in A MAGAZINE OF LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN AFFAIRS

Provoking debate on the region’s problems, initiatives and achievements . . . 3 Nation in Argentina Providing an intellectual bridge between the concerned publics of North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. treatment of prostitution in of this topic for any Latin |- Lyman L. Johnson, author parties. Volume 1 in our $35.00 Hemisphere

A MAGAZINE OF LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN AFFAIRS 41 Provoking debate on the region’s problems, initiatives and achievements . . . Providing an intellectual bridge between the concerned publics

of North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Commentary

facturing, but appearances are de­ bean countries for two reasons. social welfare or public-sector job ceptive. The state has conducted First, the post-World War II strate­ creation, simply because the re­ tourism marketing in both the US gic importance of South Korea and sources for such undertakings are and Europe through the Jamaica Taiwan provided them with mas­ unavailable in the 1990s. It concep­ Tourist Board; and in the early sive US aid, which their states chan­ tualizes redistribution not in terms 1980s Jamaican president Seaga neled into dynamic economic of government spending on con­ and US president Ronald Reagan sectors. Second, as a study by Wil­ sumption, but in terms of produc­ did the important complementary liam R. Cline shows, if all Third tive assets and access to health care work of managing Jamaica’s inter­ World countries reached the ex­ and education. national political image. Mean­ port density of the Asian Tigers, In this setting, a political strate­ while the political negotiation of their manufactured exports would gy based on populist appeals would special access to the US garment rapidly confront protectionist re­ be counterproductive; either the market was crucial to the growth of sponses in the developed world. As promises could not be fulfilled or Jamaica’s export platforms, as like­ a result, 80% of such exports would the development policies would be wise were the devaluations that face problems of market access. derailed. What is required is pains­ greatiy cheapened the cost of taking political organization, along Jamaican labor. with political education regarding In any case, if the essence of Toward an Alternative Model rlevelnnm en t nnnnrtnnities :inr 1 nh- economic development i provement of living stan< creasing labor’s producti Subscribe now to Hemisphere] a model based on the dei of living standards by cht 1 Year (3 Issues): □ $20 US, PR, USVI □ $27 elsewhere labor cannot be effective 2 Years (6 Issues): □ $36 US, PR, USVI □ $50 elsewhere least, implementing such in Jamaica would leave tl □ Check or money order (US currency only) try’s export platforms vul Name enclosed competition from lowers Address □ Charge: □ VISA □ MasterCard tries in the Caribbean an where. City/State/Province/Zip_ Card No. _ The strongest argume Country______Exp. Date_ a pure neoliberal model Telephone Number _ Signature _ of any historical precedes small, export-oriented ec has ever become a succes Mail this form with payment to: Hemisphere, Latin American and Caribbean Center, Florida developer by following tl International University, Miami, FL 33199. This fact is clear with res] economic development c Or call (305) 348-2894 or fax (305) 348-3593 and charge it to your credit card. small European countrie “Asian Tigers” (Hong Ko Korea, Singapore, and T; both instances economic ment revolved around th tively equitable distributii Subscribe now to Hemisphere—and give as a gift! wealth in the primary sec 1 Year (3 Issues): $20 US, PR, USVI $27 elsewhere state protection of infant 2 Years (6 Issues): $36 US, PR, USVI $50 elsewhere tries, as well as a wider ra state regulatory and entr< Subscription for (check one): □ 1 Year □ 2 Years □ Check or money order (US currency only) enclosed ial activities. To argue thi Y o u r N a m e ______bean recovery and develc Address______□ Charge: □ visa □ MasterCard can be accomplished thn City/State/Province/Zip_ Card No. _ neoliberal model with in< Country______Exp. Date_ nate tariff reduction, den Telephone Number. Signature _ and state shrinking is to c misread the comparative Subscription for (check one): □ 1 Year □ 2 Years Even if correctly read, G if t N a m e * ______For additional gifts, please enclose a separate the experiences of the As Address______sheet of paper. could not be replicated b City/State/Province/Zip_ Country______

Mail this form with payment to: Hemisphere, Latin American and Caribbean Center, Florida International

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 University, Miami, FL 33199. Or call (305) 348-2894 or fax (305) 348-3593 and charge it to your credit card. Base Christian Communities and Social Change in Brazil

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Hemisphere • Fall 1991 9 Commentary

Women in Public Office

by Kathleen Logan

n February 14,1991, In addition to these high-profile The entrance of women into Dulce Maria Sauri successes, Latin American and public life via the ballot box and Riancho de Sierra took Caribbean women have won other public-sector employment comple­ office as the first woman important national offices in grad­ ments the well-known grassroots po­ governor of Yucatan, ually increasing numbers. Between litical activism of Latin American Mexico. In so doing 1975 and 1987 the growing num­ and Caribbean women. Since the O she joined C. P. Ana Rosa Payanber of women in the region’s parlia­ 1960s many women, especially Cervera, the first woman mayor of ments raised the female portion of those from low-income groups, Merida, and Ligia Cortez Ortega, national legislatures from 5% to have participated in the region’s the first woman chief justice of the 8%. In Dominica women hold community, religious, ecological, state supreme court, to form a tri­ more than 20% of the ministerial peace, human rights, and trade umvirate of women in the key state level positions—a percentage union movements. - offices of Yucatan. The presence of equaled or surpassed by only two women at the center of political other nations worldwide, Bhutan Grassroots Spin-Offs? power is not unique to Yucatan, and Norway. but indicates a Latin American and The growing number of women in Caribbean trend of increased fe­ public office, however, does not eas­ male participation in public life. ily translate into broader gains for Since the mid-1970s women women. For a variety of reasons, ad­ have begun to be elected to the The growing number vances for women are likely to be highest offices of Latin American incremental, built upon women’s and Caribbean nations. Lidia of women in public traditional caretaker roles or Geiler of Bolivia (1979) andVio- linked to efforts to improve condi­ leta Chamorro of Nicaragua (1990) office does not easily tions for citizens in general. were elected presidents; Eugenia Since public officials of either Charles of Dominica (1980) and translate into broader gender are elected by female as Maria Liberia Peters of the Nether­ gains for Latin well as male voters, they are likely lands Antilles (1988) were elected to focus on issues that mark the prime ministers. (Neither Isabel American and lives of women and m en alike, such Peron of Argentina [1974] nor as poverty and sectarian violence. Ertha Pascal Trouillot of Haiti Caribbean women. The issues that primarily affect [1990] was elected to the presidency women, such as abortion, rape, of her country.) And with the an­ pornography, family violence, gen­ nouncement of her presidential der discrimination, and exploita­ candidacy, Margarita Penon de tion of domestic workers, will likely Arias of Costa Rica becomes the Latin American and Caribbean continue to merit less attention most recent Latin American women also have a growing pres­ from both female and male of­ woman to seek her country’s top ence in local public offices and in ficials. governmental position. public-sector service jobs. Women The problems that female and such as Luiza Erundina and Pas- male politicians must confront-— cuala Rosado have been elected especially regarding the crises of mayors in such markedly different their national economies—are so Kathleen Logan is associate professor of cities as Sao Paulo, Brazil, and compelling that the issues that anthropology at Florida International Huaycan, Peru. In the region as a principally affect women occupy University and Hemisphere’s book re­ whole, an average of 20% of state secondary status. With limited re­ view editor. Her current research project administrators and managers are sources to combat grave national is En las Calles: Women’s Collec­ women, the highest levels being problems, politicians must set prior­ tive Organizing in Merida, Yucatan, those of Argentina (28%) and ities that often leave women’s is­ Mexico. Mexico (24%). sues unresolved.

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Commentary

Women in Public Office by Kathleen Logan

n February 14, 1991, In addition to these high-profile The entrance of women into Dulce Maria Sauri successes, Latin American and public life via the ballot box and Riancho de Sierra took Caribbean women have won other public-sector employment comple­ office as the first woman important national offices in grad­ ments the well-known grassroots po­ governor of Yucatan, ually increasing numbers. Between litical activism of Latin American Mexico. In so doing 1975 and 1987 the growing num­ and Caribbean women. Since the O she joined C. P. Ana Rosa Payanber of women in the region’s parlia­ 1960s many women, especially Cervera, the first woman mayor of ments raised the female portion of those from low-income groups, Merida, and Ligia Cortez Ortega, national legislatures from 5% to have participated in the region’s the first woman chief justice of the 8%. In Dominica women hold community, religious, ecological, state supreme court, to form a tri­ more than 20% of the ministerial peace, human rights, and trade umvirate of women in the key state level positions—a percentage union movements. offices of Yucatan. The presence of equaled or surpassed by only two women at the center of political other nations worldwide, Bhutan Grassroots Spin-Offs? power is not unique to Yucatan, and Norway. but indicates a Latin American and The growing number of women in Caribbean trend of increased fe­ public office, however, does not eas­ male participation in public life. ily translate into broader gains for Since the mid-1970s women women. For a variety of reasons, ad­ have begun to be elected to the The growing number vances for women are likely to be highest offices of Latin American incremental, built upon women’s and Caribbean nations. Lidia of women in public traditional caretaker roles or Geiler of Bolivia (1979) andVio- linked to efforts to improve condi­ leta Chamorro of Nicaragua (1990) office does not easily tions for citizens in general. were elected presidents; Eugenia translate into broader Since public officials of either Charles of Dominica (1980) and gender are elected by female as Maria Liberia Peters of the Nether­ gains for Latin well as male voters, they are likely lands Antilles (1988) were elected to focus on issues that mark the prime ministers. (Neither Isabel American and lives of women and m en alike, such Peron of Argentina [1974] nor as poverty and sectarian violence. Ertha Pascal Trouillot of Haiti Caribbean women. The issues that primarily affect [1990] was elected to the presidency women, such as abortion, rape, of her country.) And with the an­ pornography, family violence, gen­ nouncement of her presidential der discrimination, and exploita­ candidacy, Margarita Penon de tion of domestic workers, will likely Arias of Costa Rica becomes the Latin American and Caribbean continue to merit less attention most recent Latin American women also have a growing pres­ from both female and male of­ woman to seek her country’s top ence in local public offices and in ficials. governmental position. public-sector service jobs. Women The problems that female and such as Luiza Erundina and Pas- male politicians must confront— cuala Rosado have been elected especially regarding the crises of mayors in such markedly different their national economies—are so Kathleen Logan is associate professor of cities as Sao Paulo, Brazil, and compelling that the issues that anthropology at Florida International Huaycan, Peru. In the region as a principally affect women occupy University and H em isphere’s book re­ whole, an average of 20% of state secondary status. With limited re­ view editor. Her current research project administrators and managers are sources to combat grave national is En las Calles: Women’s Collec­ women, the highest levels being problems, politicians must set prior­ tive Organizing in Merida, Yucatan, those of Argentina (28%) and ities that often leave women’s is­ Mexico. Mexico (24%). sues unresolved.

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Changes for the better in the tention to these issues will also en­ they organize under the banner of lives of Latin American and Carib­ able female politicians to broaden feminism. In Latin America and bean women will come when more their support among women. If alli­ the Caribbean, the term “femi­ general conditions in the region ances are formed between women nism” is m ore controversial than improve. Economic reactivation, politicians and women grassroots in N orth America and Western Eu­ the end of political violence, and activists, they could begin to con­ rope. Although feminism is losing advances in education, health, and front those problems that almost its connotation as a North Ameri­ public services will incrementally exclusively affect women. can import of dubious value—and help women. In no case, however, will prob­ its long history as a home-grown The success of efforts to im­ lems such as family violence, rape, movement is gaining recognition— prove the conditions of life for pornography, abortion, gender to be labeled a “feminist” is still a women per se requires that female discrimination, and the exploita­ political handicap. political leaders ally themselves tion of domestic workers be easily In addition to the promise of with female grassroots activists. Suc­ resolved. For example, the ques­ alliances between women politi­ cess in forming alliances with such tion of abortion rights will provoke cians and women grassroots activ­ women will depend upon the the opposition of the Roman Cath­ ists, the election of women to leaders’ ability to capitalize on the olic Church, and that of pornogra­ public office promises other issues that most concern women at phy will provoke debate about long-term gains for women. The the grassroots. Many of the con­ censorship. The matter of rights prominence of female politicians cerns of these women grow out of for domestic workers will divide creates new, socially accepted roles their traditional roles as family and women by economic interests, for women and provides role mod­ community caretakers. Thus, issues while that of gender discrimina­ els for future generations of fe­ such as employment, education, tion will strike at the core of socie­ males. In the long run the growing health care, and public services are tal role definitions for women and presence of women in public life obvious rallying points for such an men. will help to redefine the Latin alliance. Since women at the grass­ In forming alliances with grass­ American and Caribbean gender roots have taken a special interest roots activists, women politicians description of power and influ­ in ecology and human rights, at­ are likely to be least successful if ence. ■

THE DUTCH IN THE CARIBBEAN

Prof.dr. C. CH. Goslinga

Volume III Volume I The Dutch in the Caribbean and 1791/5-1942 The Dutch in the Caribbean and on the Wild Coast 1580-1680 1990.848 pages Cloth Dfl. 142.50/ U.S. $ 84.00 About the emergence and the eminent role of the West India ISBN 90 232 2495 7 Company up to the Peace Treaty of Nijmegen in 1678. In the concluding volume the author completed the task in Out of stock filling a gap in the Caribbean History. The volume presents the history up to 1942 when Queen Wilhelmina announced in a memorable radio speech the post-war plans for a com­ Available through your books Her or direct from the publisher plete overhaul of the relationship between the Netherlands and her overseas dominions. Publishers______VAN GORCUM P.O Box 43,9400 AA Assen, Netherlands Phone: 05920-46846, Fax: 05920-72064 Volume II The Dutch in the Caribbean and in the Guianas 1680-1791 For orders in North America and Canada 1985.724 pages. Cloth Dfl. 124.00/ U.S. $ 73.00 ISBN 90232 2060 9 BOOKS INTERNATIONAL, INC. On the mainly commercial and agricultural activities of the P.O.Box 605, HERNDON, VA. 22070, U.S.A. Dutch until the demise of the Second West India Company. Phone: 703 534-7064, Fax: 703 689-0660

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 REP Chile: The Perfect Transition? by Pamela Constable

fter 18 m onths of civil­ Even General Augusto Pinochet, dignity during the labor purges ian rule, Chile’s smooth the dictator who once earned that accompanied Pinochet’s eco­ return to democracy worldwide pariah-hood as he pre­ nomic “shock treatment”; the from dictatorship is sided over a ruthless police state, is tens of thousands who were im­ being widely hailed as being gradually rehabilitated. “We prisoned, tortured, or forced into the “perfect transition.” have to give him credit for his eco­ exile after the 1973 military coup; BloodlessA and legally neat, the tran­ nomic success, and for behaving and the families of at least 700 pris­ sition period has been marked by well in a new institutional situation. oners who vanished in military an obsession with avoiding confron­ As he becomes less worrisome, peo­ custody. tation and reestablishing a sense of ple are judging him more mag­ The government’s response to normalcy after two decades of nanimously,” commented Eugenio the volatile issue of human rights traum a and conflict. Tironi, a government spokesman has been rhetorically bold but Halfjokingly, pundits are start­ and sociologist who once wrote legally timid. In March 1991 a blue- ing to complain that Chile has be­ books that detailed social injustice ribbon official commission pro­ come boring. A capital where cafes under Pinochet. duced a harrowing report that once flowed with wine and debate Abroad, the whitewashing of describes a systematic terror cam­ until dawn has been reborn, 17 Chile’s recent history has been paign by Pinochet’s secret police years later, as a businesslike hub of more blatant. In international fi­ and details more than 2,000 mur­ consumer culture and pragmatic nance circles, Pinochet’s record of ders at their hands. Aylwin pre­ politics. Every divisive issue is foreign-debt repayment and privati­ sented the report with an smoothed over or watered down zation were far better known—and impassioned appeal for justice, in endless negotiations. “Is there more relevant—than his record of and about 210 of the cases were no room left for dreams, illusions torture and prisoner disappear­ forwarded to the courts. But most and utopias?” worries Jose Joaquin ances. Now that other Latin Ameri­ cannot be prosecuted because of a Bruner, a leading sociologist, in a can democracies are scrambling to 1978 amnesty law, and hum an recent essay. copy Chile’s formula for economic rights lawyers expect the others to The government, a center-left revitalization, the darker side of its be overturned by higher courts, coalition headed by Christian Dem­ dictatorship is being conveniently still dominated by Pinochet-era ocrat Patricio Aylwin, has adopted forgotten. appointees. a modest agenda and compromis­ In a column in the Washington The one likely case with any ing style, aimed largely at appeas­ Post (August 23,1991), Michael chance of success stems from the ing its right-wing opposition in the Schrage even suggests that the 1976 car-bomb assassination of legislature and the armed forces. fumbling coup-plotters in Moscow Orlando Letelier, a former foreign Economic officials, once bitter could have “gotten some pragmatic minister under Marxist president critics of the free-market model advice from a despot who really Salvador Allende. Half a dozen imposed by the former military re­ knew how to run a coup”—General men have been convicted in the gime, have swallowed their pride Pinochet. “The ruthlessly efficient killing, but Chile’s supreme court and adopted the model nearly pragmatism of the Pinochet model refused to try or extradite the intel­ wholesale, keeping Chile’s growth may ultimately prove more appeal­ ligence officials who allegedly or­ and inflation rates among the ing than the still-elusive promises dered it. In August 1991 a Cuban healthiest in the continent. of glasnost and perestroikahe adds. exile from Florida confessed to being the trigger man, and a new high court justice ordered the case Pamela Constable is the Latin America Cynical Counsel reopened. Still, many Chileans correspondent for the Boston Globe. Conservative Chileans might agree, doubt the government will pursue She is co-author (with Arturo Valen­ but to others such cynical counsel the case to its full consequences zuela) of A Nation of Enemies: would be a slap in the face. They and challenge Pinochet’s formida­ Chile under Pinochet (W. W. Nor­ include the hundreds of thousands ble former secret police chief, ton, 1991). who lost their livelihood and General Manuel Contreras.

1 2 Hemisphere • Fall 1991 On the whole, human rights been undermined by an epidemic nomic growth, about one-third of seem to have degenerated from a of crime, several prison escapes, the populace remains below the noble cause to a political head­ and a number of terrorist killings poverty level, and desperation has ache—another “bargaining chip” blamed on ultra-leftist groups. The coincided with the end of a repres­ for the executive to use in its deli­ April 1,1991, slaying of Jaime sive police state to produce a verita­ cate power-balancing act with the Guzman, Chile’s leading conserva­ ble boom in thievery. In a recent conservative establishment. Despite tive senator, shocked the nation survey, 16% of Santiago residents his personal compassion, Aylwin’s and forced the government, which said their homes had been bur­ clear priority is political peace, and had freed a number of leftist pris­ glarized. so far he has not been willing to oners early on, to step up anti­ risk a serious attack on either the terrorist tactics. civilian or military right. Setting a New Agenda To a large extent, Aylwin’s While Chilean officials congratu­ hands are tied—both by the numer­ Human rights seem late themselves on achieving the ous authoritarian laws enacted by near-perfect transition, critics say the former regime, and by the fact to have degenerated the government is failing to con­ that Pinochet, who stepped down from a noble cause to front these and a host of other as president in March 1990, re­ problems, such as the need for con­ mains commander of a large, a political headache— stitutional and judicial reform, the modern army that he has sworn to so-called “social debt” to those who protect from civilian “interfer­ another “bargaining suffered economically under ence.” Under the 1980 constitu­ Pinochet, and the necessity of re­ tion, the 76-year-old general can chip” against ducing the size and autonomy of remain in this position for another the conservative the military establishment. six years. By defining itself as a transition By many accounts, Chile’s mili­ establishment. government and stressing the need tary establishment remains ex­ for consensus above all else, Ayl- tremely suspicious of civilian win’s administration may have for­ authorities. Formal relations are The progressive ruling coalition feited a unique opportunity to correct, and the few times Pinochet is further hamstrung by the re­ make changes essential to consoli­ has attempted to overstep the strictive political laws put in place dating democracy. Aylwin, though bounds of military authority, Ayl­ before Pinochet’s departure. One- a figure of impeccable moral au­ win has firmly resisted. But under­ fourth of the senate was appointed thority, has cast his presidency in a neath, many officers are angry at under military rule, as were almost deliberately limited role, refusing civilian attempts to control the all of Chile’s 300 mayors, and suggestions to extend his four-year armed forces and defiant over electoral regulations were skewed term and leaving most divisive is­ abuses committed in the name of a to favor conservative districts and sues for his successor. patriotic, anticommunist mission. tickets. Rightist legislators can effec­ As critics see it, Chile’s transi­ “There is a fundam ental mis­ tively veto any government pro­ tion is already safely past, and its trust,” says Cristian Labbe, a retired posal, requiring its supporters to leaders must start acting with more colonel and former close aide to constantly engage in deal-making. boldness and vision. “A govern­ Pinochet. “The government As one frustrated congressman ment that inaugurates a regime doesn’t understand us military said, Chile has become a “democ­ cannot avoid being foundational,” men. When they try to push us racy of forced accords.” writes social scientist Manuel Anto­ around it has the opposite effect. For its part, the public has nio Garreton in a recent essay. When one of us is attacked or in­ shown far more concern about ‘This is not an abstract debate. sulted, we all feel attacked.” concrete economic and social prob­ Pragmatism and minimalism are The government’s attempt to lems than abstract issues of justice. not just strategies—they are ideo­ redress military abuses has also Despite five years of steady eco­ logical options.” ■

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Reports: Bolivia

Bolivia: The Psychology of Drug War by Raul Barrios Moron

sychological operations” are an integral part of so- Coca-Producing Regions called low-intensity war- fare. By means of such operations a campaign’s organizers direct persua­ sive messages at target sectors of a population, according to the loca­ tion and the importance of those sectors in an actual or potential conflict. In light of the campaign’s political goals, the purpose of psy­ chological operations is to modify the attitudes, beliefs, and emotions of a target audience by manipulat­ ing images, symbols, and infor­ mation. In theory, psychological opera­ tions motivate allies, demoralize the enemy, and mobilize the sup­ port of neutral parties. Against the stark backdrop of military technol­ ogy and tactics, they are geared to winning hearts and minds. Indeed, the priority of low-intensity warfare is to sow the political seeds of vic­ tory before setting foot onto the military field of battle. In the 1990s the US government has defined the coca-producing re­ gions of Bolivia as fertile terrain for low-intensity warfare. The strategic objectives of the Bush administra­ tion coincide with its post-Cold Rene Ramos Rene War definition of the Andean re­ gion as a hemispheric security zone, owing mainly to the illegal Bolivia as War Zone merce, and the possible incursion trafficking of cocaine. by P eru’s Sendero Luminoso into With the US government’s finan­ Bolivia’s border areas. They regard cial support and technical backing, these as “nonconventional” ex­ the Bolivian army recently began ternal threats that justify the psychological warfare operations to strengthening of the military es­ Raul Barrios Moron is a researcher at com bat cocaine production as well tablishment. So, evidently, does the Facultad Latinoamericana de Cien- as associated terrorism and subver­ the Bush administration, which cias Sociales (FLACSO), in Bolivia. He sion. Army commanders are par­ boosted US military assistance to is the author o/’Bolivia y Estados Uni- ticularly concerned about two Bolivia from $5.8 million in 1989 to dos: Democracia, Derechos Huma- issues: the presence of Colombian $40.7 million in 1991. nos y Narcotrafico (1980-1982) (La drug traffickers in Bolivia’s zones This political climate represents Paz: Hisbol-FLACSO, 1989). of coca-paste production and com­ a crucial opportunity for the Boliv-

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 ian army to recoup its form er au­ this strategy was the signing, on the police with the military, there­ thority in matters of internal secu­ May 7, 1990, of Annex III to the by militarizing Bolivia’s task of rity, which has deteriorated since 1987 US-Bolivian bilateral antidrug maintaining internal security. Sec­ the transition to democracy began agreement, under which President ond, in so doing they redefine the in 1982. Contributing to the Jaime Paz Zamora agreed to order nation’s territory as a war zone, military’s renewed sense of mission the Bolivian army into the war on thereby imposing tight restrictions and indispensability has been the drugs. The new role of psychologi­ on the expression of public opin­ institutional breakdown of the po­ cal operations is thus to create a ion. In the latter respect, the lice, caused by widespread drug- social climate that paves the way strategy constructs dichotomous related corruption. for the inevitable entry of military categories of reference—for exam­ As a reflection of the new mili­ units into the vast theater of coun­ ple, that either you support the tary outlook, the Bolivian army terdrug operations. What, however, militarization of counterdrug oper­ established in 1990 what it calls are the implications of this strategy ations or you support the drug traf­ Departamento III de Operaciones Psico- for civil-military relations in the fickers. logicas. Departamento ///formulates setting of Bolivia’s efforts at The political construction of strategy for combating drug traffick­ democratization? such dichotomies is tantam ount to ing, which it identifies as “the prin­ Relevant to this question are two discrediting the critics of the milita­ cipal threat to Bolivia’s national objectives of “drug war” psychologi­ rization program. Thus authorities security.” The formal context of cal operations. First, they replace explained the protest marches by

Military drug-war poster

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Reports: Bolivia

campesinos in mid-1991 as the prod­ stage, in a tutelary, paternalistic, ence. Against a backdrop of ex­ uct of a conspiracy by intransigent and trustworthy spirit, pointing the treme rural poverty, Bolivian coca union leaders, opposition parties way for a respectful campesino man producers face a dual economic vul­ and nongovernmental organiza­ and woman. He guides them away nerability: the price instability of tions, and drug traffickers. The from a netherworld of evil and self- the coca/cocaine market and their official rhetoric of polarization im- destruction and toward a modern­ lack of production competitive­ plicidy defines the military’s anti­ izing rural life whose bedrock ness. To many campesinos—who, drug role as essential to Bolivia’s values are Catholic and patriotic. after all, turned to coca production national security. The underlying Illuminated by a radiant sun, the fu­ in the first place because of the message is that only the military ture setting revolves around a man absence of viable economic alterna­ can guarantee the nation’s survival and tractor at work in a field, sur­ tives—the military’s rural develop­ against the drug trade’s subversive rounded by a bridge, modern-style ment programs may appear to be impact. In this respect, psychologi­ campesino houses, a church, and the only guarantee of economic cal operations seek to impose, the Bolivian flag. The latter gener­ survival and progress. rather than negotiate, political ously displays the national banner’s Development programs, as sym­ consensus. colors of red, yellow, and green, bolized by the tractor and bridge The Paz Zamora administration thus extending a sense of citizen­ in the poster, are certainly not new is evasive when asked how Bolivia’s ship to the countryside. In spite of to military campaigns in the Boliv­ tenuous democracy could possibly the Catholic Church’s strong anti­ ian countryside. What the poster survive the escalation of social con­ militarization voice, the poster warns, however, is that Bolivia’s flict that is likely to occur—above portrays the Church as giving its current rural development pro­ all in rural zones—if the military blessing to the army’s antidrug war. gram, Desarrollo Altemativo, seems assumes the police’s role of main­ No less important, the poster as­ to have become a mere comple­ taining domestic security. The key serts the Bolivian—as opposed to ment for an incipient campaign of question is whether the country’s US—origins of the antidrug cam­ low-intensity warfare. The points of political parties, social groups, exec­ paign. reference for this campaign are the utive branch, and congress will This attempt at symbolic fusion Andean nexus with post-Cold War prove capable of tightening the between Bolivia’s armed forces and geopolitics and the permanence of reins on the military. campesinos is reminiscent of the extrem e poverty in Bolivia. In real­ military-campesino pact of 1961-74, ity, it is not drug trafficking but which sustained the period’s au­ rather the combination of Bolivia’s Propagandizing the Countryside thoritarian governments. Hence extreme poverty and the strategic A few of Bolivia’s coca-producing the poster reflects an attempt to impositions of the US drug war regions, such as Chulumani in the resurrect an old anticommunist that pose the principal threat to Yungas Valley of La Paz, have been alliance in a new political setting. Bolivian national security and the blanketed by the propaganda of In so doing the armed forces are consolidation of democracy. ■ psychological operations. Part of following a strategy of psychologi­ these operations is the dissemi­ cal operations to manipulate the nation of a poster titled “Por un vulnerabilities of the target audi- (Translated by Hemisphere staff) manana mejor” (“For a Better To­ morrow”). The poster’s graphic content depicts two antagonistic worlds. On the one side lies a fu­ ture of peace, prosperity, patriot­ ism, and tradition represented by New Publication an unarmed soldier smiling at a UKCLATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN CENTER hopeful campesino couple. On the other side lies the apparent alter­ native: the darkness, disorder, and The Changing Hemispheric Trade Environment: alien ways of the present. The orga­ Opportunities and Obstacles nization responsible for the poster is not indicated, undoubtedly a re­ Edited by Mark B. Rosenberg flection of the army’s lack of credi­ Prominent scholars and policymakers analyze options for hemispheric trade, including the bility am ong campesinos. likely impact of a North American free trade agreement and a single European market and the roles of Japan and the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The poster conveys an unequiv­ 165 pp. $11.95 (paperback) ocal understanding of the mili­ tary’s self-appointed role. An Latin American and Caribbean Center, Florida International University, unarmed soldier occupies center University Park, Miami, Florida 33199; (305) 348-2894; Fax (305) 348-3593.

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Reports: Mexico

Mexico: Free Trade and Ecology by Jan Gilbreath Rich

i

ree-trade negotiations They have significantly increased SEDUE is seeking, and the new have spurred a transfor- their pollution-monitoring person­ personnel indicate that SEDUE is mation in Mexico’s Secre- nel, closed 350 industries over a going to get tough with both do­ taria de Desarrollo Urbanoy three-month period for pollution mestic and foreign industries in Ecologia (SEDUE), which violations, and have finalized an Mexico, Reyes Lujan says. “If some has been frequently criti­ agreement with the to industry goes in the wrong direc­ cized both in Mexico and abroadprovide $100 million for new tion, we are going to close it,” for its inability to monitor indus­SEDUE financing. he claims. trial pollution. rAs concerns have surfaced both in Mexico and in the US Congress Skepticism over the environmental impact of a Reyes Lujan’s promises meet with North American free-trade agree­ Mexican officials deny skepticism, however, from Mexico’s ment, SEDUE officials have begun environmental community. “Plant to revamp their environmental that the abrupt closings tapered down dramatically programs and look for new inter­ improvements stem after the US Congress approved national funds to finance them. At fast-track procedures,” says Betty the same time, SEDUE began what from US debate over Ferber de Aridjis, spokeswoman for may be the agency’s most signif­ the Group of 100, one of Mexico’s icant crackdown on industrial the possibility of most prom inent environmental polluters. groups. “There is still a woefully in­ SEDUE officials deny that their worsened pollution adequate budget and there are still abrupt improvements emanate under a free-trade not enough [plant] inspections.” from the US public debate over the Environmentalists are equally possibility of worsening industrial agreement. concerned with their inability to ob­ pollution under a free-trade agree­ tain information on SEDUE’s ment, but they acknowledge that plans. The lack of a right-to-know their sometimes-beleaguered law in Mexico allows the agency to agency is experiencing a metamor­ Jjjjp operate in relative secrecy, com­ phosis. Sergio Reyes Lujan, SEDUE These changes, however, do not plains Aridjis. “It makes it difficult undersecretary for environmental make SEDUE a modern, effective to get accurate information or, programs, says, “We have every in­ agency. The new personnel, for ex­ sometimes, any information,” she tention to change our situation ample, will enhance what has only says. and the political will to do so.” been a token gesture in pollution EPA officials, however, are de­ Over the past few months, control. Until more than 50 new lighted at the changes in SEDUE. SEDUE officials have met every pollution inspectors were added to The agency’s transformation is week with their US counterparts in its staff in 1991, SEDUE had less mentioned frequently by US offi­ the Environmental Protection than a dozen inspectors for border cials touting the long-awaited reso­ Agency (EPA) to form an environ­ industries in the four-state area lution of border environmental mental management plan for the bordering Texas. issues. In the same spirit of cooper­ 2,000-mile US-Mexican border. Moreover, SEDUE’s budget ation, the US government has remains small by EPA standards. begun to make new offers of tech­ In 1990 the agency only had about nical assistance to SEDUE and to Jan Gilbreath Rich is an environmental $3.15 million for all pollution con­ offer some new funding, although policy specialist at the Lyndon Baines trol programs in Mexico. Such no loans or grants have been forth­ Johnson School of Public Affairs, Uni­ funding represents a mere fraction coming. The EPA recently agreed versity of Texas at Austin. Her publica­ of a single US state agency budget to give SEDUE about $150,000 for tions include “Bordering on Trouble, ” for pollution control. But the new a program on greenhouse gases, Environmental Forum (1991). World Bank funds, other loans for example, but has yet to pro-

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Reports: Mexico

duce funds to help SEDUE carry Mexico for the first time to assess EPA will have less incentive to out the joint border management its overall border pollution prob­ maintain their present momentum plan—now in its fifth draft. lems and the cost of resolving and follow through on an effective them, Reyes believes. Yet, US and border management plan. ■ Initiative of Its Own Mexican environmental groups warn that if attention is not con­ SEDUE is showing initiative of its tinually focused on natural re­ Editor’s Note: Adapted with permission own, however, by negotiating for a source issues in US-Mexican trade from El Financiero Internacional loan of $165,000 to shore up relations, both SEDUE and the (Mexico City), August 26, 1991. agency infrastructure. At the same time, it is forcing domestic and for­ eign industries to sign new agree­ ments limiting toxic air and water emissions in compliance with tech­ nical regulations unfolding under Mexico’s omnibus environmental M E X I c A act of 1988. Such agreements are a long-standing tradition in Mexican S T U D I E government, and they are fre­ quently criticized for being both voluntary and unenforceable. VOLUME 7 NO. 2 / SUMMER 1991 SEDUE has put teeth into the Clementina Diaz y de Ovando, Pedro Castera, agreements, though, by forcing companies to post bonds based on novelista y minero • Keith A. Haynes, the total investment promised by Dependency, Postimperialism, and the Mexican the company for pollution abate­ Revolution: An Historiographic Review • m ent programs. Guadalupe Pacheco Mendez, Los sectores del Plant shutdowns have also PRI en las elecciones de 1988 • Gerald sparked some new fears among for­ Michael Greenfield and Carlos E. Cortes, eign industries operating in Mex­ Harmony and Conflict of Intercultural Images: ico. When SEDUE recently shut The Treatment of Mexico in U.S. Feature Films down a General Motors (GM) and K-12 Textbooks • Jeffrey Bortz, Problems plant in Matamoros for 12 days, and Prospects in the Mexican and Borderlands the auto giant was forced to stop Economies • Jos6 M. Lopez, Profiles in some global car production, Reyes Vengeance • Allen Wells, Oaxtepec Revisited: said. As a result, GM has agreed to build new waste-water treatment The Politics of Mexican Historiography, 1968- facilities at 34 plants, he said. 1988 • Martin C. Needier, Metaphors, Models, SEDUE and the EPA are also dis­ and Myths in the Interpretation of Mexican cussing the idea of assessing user Politics fees against border industries that would by channeled into a “green fund,” to be used for monitoring □ Enter my subscription to MS/EM: border pollution and building in­ □ $19 Individuals □ $37 institutions frastructure improvement projects. □ $4 foreign postage (if outside US) Maquiladoras, now considered cost □ Payment enclosed. rather than profit centers, pay only □ Charge my: □ Visa □ MasterCard negligible taxes to Mexico. A legal Card # ______Exp. Date ____ framework to allow such user fees has already been established in Signature ______Mexican law, Reyes says. U nder Name ______new regulations that became effec­ S treet______tive in October 1991, even para- City______State _____ Zip. state industries can be charged Send orders to: University of California Press Journals, such fees, he said. 2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94720 mse2 SEDUE’s new financial and tech­ nical resources, and the coopera­ tive effort with the EPA, will allow

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Reports: Memoriam

In Memoriam: Gordon K. Lewis by Anthony P. Maingot

he lecturer could barely Lewis was passionately partisan: sically disliked the Leninist variety look over the five-foot he was a lifelong Fabian and also a of socialism but admired its most high lectern. All that lifelong Christian. In the pursuit of fervent Caribbean practitioner, could be seen of his head an understanding of Caribbean re­ Fidel Castro. were thick bifocals and alities, both belief systems took on In his Main Currents in Caribbean long hair pinned in the distinctly radical tones. He infused Thought (1983), Lewis condemns Tback with bobby pins. His lectures, those systems, not merely with an the Caribbean as an intrinsically in English, always seemed to go astonishing knowledge of the his­ racist region, yet concludes that if over the heads of his few and tory of human frailties, but with a racial democracy is to be created mostly Spanish-speaking students. capacity for moral indignation. anywhere it will be there. Perhaps To this student, fresh from four Lewis in 1983 was clinging to hopes years of competent but ideologi­ that everyday experience was prov­ cally uniform US education, his lec­ ing to be misplaced. This hope was tures were eye-openers. They were perhaps most directly expressed in a challenge to critical thinking as 1969 in his The Growth of the Modem well as a call to join action to West Indies. The correct path for thought. the West Indies, said Lewis, was “a This was in 1961 at the Uni- socialist ideology so that the nation­ versidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, alist ethic may be married to the an intellectual oasis in the Carib­ planned organization of social bean led by Jaime Benitez, one of equality.” Alas, the Caribbean— that extraordinary generation of and the world—is going in the men who had helped Luis Munoz opposite direction. Marin transform the island. The Lewis was not one to fly with the Universidad de Puerto Rico was also a flock or assert the popular view. bit of a sanctuary for the disen­ Yet his willingness to dismiss “prag­ franchised population of a bland matic considerations,” “public opin­ US academic environment, such as ion,” “majority consent,” or “mere ethnic and racial minorities, gays, utilitarian advantage” certainly did and those who, like Gordon K. not represent his general view on Lewis, were victims of Senator the Caribbean, whose majoritarian Joseph McCarthy’s philistine reign democracy Lewis m ore often than of ideological terror. To be sure, not applauded and promoted. Puerto Rico also had constraints While he was Welsh by birth, he Here, then, was Gordon K. on academic freedom. Lewis would was intellectually from the Carib­ Lewis, Welsh but also Caribbean; deal with these in his usual devas­ bean. He was firmly a part of those socialist but also the grand teacher tating style in his most im portant societies and cultures that, having of the philosophy of Edmund book, Puerto Rico: Freedom, and Power had to build from the vile rubble of Burke, British parliamentary prin­ in the Caribbean (1965). The univer­ slavery, developed in the process a ciples, and the American founding sity’s requirem ent that any political low threshold of tolerance for injus­ fathers. A complex man of many activities on campus not be parti­ tice and exploitation. Because such nuances but, above all, unequivo­ san, wrote Lewis, “is rather like re­ a stance is never without inner ten­ cally engaged. questing a system of marriage sions and contradictions, Lewis The Caribbean has lost its most without sex.” could not escape these either. He complete representative of the in­ was, for instance, always critical of tellectual enterprise. It is left, fortu­ the Puerto Rican “Estado Libre Aso- nately, with the literary legacy of ciado" status, but at the same time a that enterprise. Those who, like Anthony P. Maingot is editor of great adm irer of its fundamental this student, learned from him, will Hemisphere. architect, Munoz Marin. He intrin­ sorely miss him. ■

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 FA X

Insider briefs on people and institutions shaping Latin American and Caribbean affairs

. . . But We Can Still Be It’s All in the Body Language Best Seller #1 Friends . . . No substantive agreements on the Venezuelan author Arturo Uslar A minor tiff developed between North American free-trade agree­ Pietri donated, in August 1991, Brazilian authorities and General ment were reached at the Seattle $16,000 from the Premio de Novela Motors do Brasil. The dispute m eeting (August 19-20, 1991) of Romulo Gallegos to the Venezuelan erupted when the Sao-Paulo-based trade negotiators representing educational institute, Fey Alegria. vice president for GM’s Latin Amer­ Canada, the US, and Mexico. Uslar Pietri received the prize for ican operations, Robert B. Stone, There were, however, some sub­ his novel, La visita en el tiempo. announced on May 28,1991, his re­ stantive disagreements. The most Upon making the gift, the author tirement and pending replacement notable occurred when Mexico’s declared that education is Vene­ by Richard C. Nerod, president of commerce secretary, Jaime Serra zuela’s “most important, dramatic GM’s Mexico operations. Nerod Puche, corrected a US State Depart­ and fundamental problem.” He ob­ sent a strong message to Brazil’s ment translator on three occasions served that “with all the money we government by announcing that and offered his own translation of spend, we d o n ’t have in Venezuela GM’s regional headquarters would the press conference’s final ques­ education that emphasizes the move from Sao Paulo to Miami. tion. According to the Mexican offi­ country’s needs” (AgenceFrance According to a GM spokesperson, cial, the translator was giving the Presse, August 15,1991). “poor communications between forum’s questions a more con­ Brazil and other South American frontational meaning than was in­ countries” was one of the major rea­ tended by the Mexican journalists, sons for the shift in corporate head­ who were directing them at US Slow Flow in the Bayou State trade negotiator Carla Hills. quarters. GM indicated, however, Louisiana governor Buddy Roemer that its plans to invest more than has published “Closing the Busi­ $1 billion in Brazil would not be ness Gap with Latin America,” a altered. We’ve Heard This Before blueprint for the Bayou state’s new international trade strategy. Accord­ According to Echoes from Eco-Tours, ing to the August 1991 report, the a Panamanian newsletter, Pana­ state’s “molasses mentality” and the Cholera Update m a’s “best kept secret” is the absence of information for small Cholera has now appeared in US country’s accessible rain forests. firms have been major impedi­ waters—in Mobile Bay. How the dis­ Founded by Howard Wenzel, a US ments to the growth of trade be­ ease found its way to the Gulf of expatriate in Panama, Eco-Tours de tween Louisiana and Latin Mexico and into Alabama’s oysters Panama S.A. is dedicated to nature America. remains a mystery. The cause may and adventure tourism. The new have been contaminated sewage eco-enterprise has a special agree­ dumped by a ship carrying infected ment with the Smithsonian Tropi­ Mixed Message workers from South America. Or a cal Research Institute to run the Food and Drug Administration lab “Panama Canal Rainforest Adven­ The Guatemalan government, not adjacent to Mobile Bay may have ture.” According to the newsletter, known for its friendly treatm ent of accidentally released the bacteria. the “thrill of passing large ocean its indigenous population, is now Meanwhile, health authorities have liners and gigantic container ships marketing the music of Guate­ posted signs to keep boaters and in the Canal in a small boat, com­ mala’s native groups. A project swimmers away from the shellfish bined with the observation of mon­ directed by the Instituto Guatemal- shoals. keys, turtles, tropical birds and teco de Turismo is recording and dis­ other fauna and flora in the teem­ tributing the music of 24 native ing rainforest. . . make this trip groups, including the somber one of the most unique and enjoy­ sounds of the Kekchi Indians and Edited by Mark B. Rosenberg able jungle tours in the world.” the reggae rhythms of Black Caribs.

20 Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Environmental Music Who Is Gaspar Morn? Mexican citizenship. Although the interviews are somewhat dated, Milton Nascimento, considered by Many know Gaspar Ilom as the they once again reveal Ponia­ many to be Brazil’s leading popu­ hero of Men of Maize, Nobel laure­ towska’s rich interviewing skills. lar musician, has turned his at­ ate Miguel Angel Asturias’s novel tention to the country’s festering of Mayan life in Central America. debate over the environment. He In recent times, “Gaspar Ilom” has has released a new album, TXAI been the nom de guerre of a Watch Out (Columbia Records), which in the leader of the Organization Revolu- The Smithsonian Institution is now language of the Kaxinawa Indians cionaria del Pueblo en Armas, one of publishing New World, a quincen­ means “the other half of me.” The Guatemala’s antigovernment insur­ tenary publication “dedicated to album interprets the threats to the gencies. The person behind the the Americas.” The newsletter Brazilian rain forest and the in­ nam e is actually Rodrigo Asturias, mixes scholarly analysis with news digenous groups who live there. the oldest son of the elder Asturias. notes on cultural activities that are The album includes brief segments being scheduled around the 500th of music from Amazonian tribes, anniversary of Columbus’s arrival juxtaposed with Nascimento’s in the Caribbean. Volume two of usual mix of jazz and rock. Ac­ Jet-Set Migrants the publication provides in-depth cording to Times of the Americas Miami has become a mecca for analyses of Columbus’s impact (August 21, 1991), the indigenous Latin American pop stars, who are from the African-American per­ sounds are the “real soul of the now establishing residences in the spective through essays by Franklin recording.” South Florida city. Among those W. Knight, ajohns Hopkins Univer­ who periodically call Miami home sity historian, and Sydney March, a are Venezuelan singer Jose Luis Jamaican poet who edits the Conti­ Rodriguez (“El Puma”), Nicara­ nent, a Washington-based African- guan salsa singer Luis Enrique, American news publication. Castro’s Future Argentine balladeer Maria Marta Serra Lima, and Dominican The almost breathless pace of folk/merengue star Juan Luis changes in the USSR and Eastern Guerra. They join Spanish super­ Worth Visiting Europe raises the inevitable ques­ stars Paloma San Basilio and Julio The Monterrey Museum of Con­ tion about Cuba: How m uch Iglesias, who also reside in Miami. temporary Art opened its doors on longer can Fidel Castro maintain June 29, 1991, with an exhibit that his power? A 1991 Freedom House displayed 300 works by 62 artists publication, “Cuba in the Nine­ Best Seller #2 from 17 countries. The $11-million ties,’’ provides insight into the issue project is symbolic of Mexico’s through analyses by leading ob­ One of the hottest books in Mexico emerging role as a mediator and servers of Cuban affairs, including is Elena Poniatowska’s Todo Mexico interpreter between Latin America Senator Claiborne Pell, Jorge (Mexico, DF: Editorial Diana, and the US. Dominguez, Wayne Smith, Luis 1990). The text is a collection of in­ Aguilar, Irving Louis Horowitz, and terviews conducted by the renown Carmelo Mesa-Lago. The magazine- Mexican author with notable per­ length publication is one of the sonalities from the world of His­ On the Move first documents to be published by panic affairs, including Spain’s Richard Nuccio, formerly of the “The Cuba Roundtable,” organized most famous bullfighter, Manuel Inter-American Dialogue, is now by Freedom House to provide a Benitez, “El Cordobes”; Jorge Luis on the staff of the House Subcom­ forum for the discussion of current Borges, the Argentine writer; and mittee on Western Hemisphere Af­ developments in Cuba and their im­ the acclaimed filmmaker Luis fairs. Nuccio replaces long-time pact on US-Cuban relations. Bunuel, a Spaniard who took staffer Nancy Agris.

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 FEAT Restructuring Argentina by William C. Smith

Carlos Menem’s neoliberal policies have achieved short-term success in tranquilizing Argentina’s raging inflation. But can his program of “creative destruction”reverse the economy’s long-term structural decline?

arlos Saul Menem as­ pain that would soon afflict Argen­ gency measures—such as a 170% sumed the presidency on tine society. currency devaluation, 200-640% July 8, 1989, with Argen­ The economic logic of Menem’s hikes in public-sector tariffs, and re­ tina obsessed by raging neoliberal project is undeniable; its ductions in state subsidies—as well . From Au­ social and political viability, how­ as an ambitious blueprint for a new gust 1988 through July ever, remains highly problematic. model of economic development. C1989, consumer prices soared A key issue concerns the changing Steps toward this new model were 3,610% and wholesale prices balance of power between the exec­ taken with congressional approval 5,062%. Menem responded with utive and legislative branches of of a “revolutionary project” calling radical, neoliberal “free-market” re­ government, on the one hand, and for the rapid downsizing of the forms that explicitly repudiated the between the state and the most in­ Argentine state and the drastic de­ populist and statist economic postu­ ternationally competitive sectors of regulation of the country’s semi­ lates defended by Peronism since business, on the other. Another closed economy. the 1940s. Indicative of changes to issue is the willingness of the rest of The start was auspicious. The come, key members of the presi­ society—middle-class consumers, Menem government’s image of au­ dential entourage grandly spoke of organized labor, the weaker, do­ thority, combined with positive a “new bloc of social, political, eco­ mestically oriented segments of business expectations and con­ nomic, and perhaps military urban and rural business, and oth­ sum er enthusiasm generated by power,” whose task was nothing ers—to shoulder the huge social Peronism’s conversion to neo­ less than the “reconstruction of Ar­ costs resulting from the shrinkage liberalism, quickly cooled the fires gentine capitalism.” Menem him­ of the state’s economic role and of hyperinflation. The Banco Cen­ self expressed the intention to the “freeing” of the market. tral s foreign-exchange position “pulverize the crisis.” He warned and the state’s fiscal situation im­ his fellow citizens to brace them­ Menem’s “Productive proved dramatically, and a simula­ selves for “a tough, costly, and se­ crum of normalcy was restored. vere adjustment,” requiring “major Revolution” Macroeconomic stability, however, surgery without anesthesia.” How­ The thrust of Menem’s “productive proved extremely fragile. The fiscal ever vivid the language, the new revolution” was first revealed in the surplus was insufficient to cover president was not exaggerating the “Plan BB,” named after Bunge & the Banco Central s escalating in­ Born, Argentina’s most powerful terest bill, and the cycle of public- multinational corporation and, for sector borrowing and domestic William C. Smith is associate professor Peronism, long a reviled symbol of debt accumulation proceeded of political science at the University of vendepatria (“sell out”) capitalism. without interruption. Miami. He is the author of Authoritar­ Unveiled by Miguel Roig and By December 1989 renewed ianism and the Crisis of the Argen­ implemented by Nestor Rapanelli, currency speculation against the tine Political Economy (Stanford his successor as economy minister, austral forced Rapanelli to gamble University Press, 1989). the Plan BB consisted of emer­ on major modifications of the

2 2 Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Plan BB, including a unilateral months ending in March 1990, the privatization and/or liquidation of moratorium on the internal debt. consumer price index had risen a the state’s largest enterprises. In Public uproar from entrepreneurs, phenomenal 20,594%. October Menem went further, sign­ agrarian producers, organized Yet another emergency package ing a decree mandating the privati­ labor, and the political parties— was decreed to bring the madly zation within six months of many including the Peronists—forced careening economy under a sem­ state-owned companies, such as Rapanelli’s resignation. His replace­ blance of control. Relying on a the YPF petroleum company, Gas ment was Antonio Erman Gonza­ strong fiscal shock, the measures del Estado, Segba, Agua y Energia, lez, who had served as secretary of enacted by Erman Gonzalez and Obras Sanitarias, the post office, economy of La Rioja—Argentina’s his team checked hyperinflation and the port administration. Con­ poorest province—during the and improved public finances, tracts to private companies were 1970s under then provincial gov­ albeit at the expense of public awarded for secondary oil and natu­ ernor . services, including education and ral gas exploration. Not even the Confronted by rising inflation, the judicial system. military-industrial complex was to renewed speculation, and the be spared in this privatizing frenzy, threat of a run on the banks, as many industries belonging to Erman Gonzalez announced the the holding company Fabricaciones “Bonex Plan,” whose centerpiece Militares were slated for transfer to was the compulsory conversion of private ownership. commercial bank time deposits Yet another emergency Privatization was plagued with greater than 1 million australes measure was decreed multiple difficulties. Critics alleged (slightly more than $500) into ten- that hasty privatization favored the year, dollar-denominated bonds to bring the madly powerful grupos economicos (e.g., paying 6% annual interest. This Perez Companc, Bunge & Born, unilateral action wiped out most careening economy Techint, Pescarmoma, Acindar, of the public-sector’s short-term Celulosa Argentina, Bridas) with domestic debt, replacing it with under a semblance of huge unearned profits. The medium-term external debt. control, based on a privatization drive was marred by By causing a sharp reduction in considerable improvisation, if not the nation’s liquidity, the Bonex strong fiscal shock. by downright incompetence. Com­ Plan exacerbated Argentina’s al­ pounding these problems was the ready steep recession. Yet the dol­ failure to put a regulatory frame­ lar continued to rise, a problem work into place before companies compounded when the Interna­ such as Aerolmeas Argentinas and tional Monetary Fund (IMF) ENTEL, the telecommunications suspended the release of funds With the threat of hyperinfla­ monopoly, were placed on the under an earlier agreement. De­ tion receding somewhat, the auction block. spite the government’s promises of M enem government concentrated Meanwhile, increasingly harsh deepened austerity, Washington on advancing its neoliberal agenda anti-inflation policies plunged the deemed that Argentina had made of dismantling the interventionist economy into “hyper-recession.” insufficient progress to be included state and opening the economy to Deindustrialization continued, as in the debt renegotiations envi­ the rigors of international com­ did the contraction of real wages. sioned under the Brady Plan. petition. In July 1990 Erman Gon­ Indeed, blue-collar industrial wages This difficult scenario set the zalez enacted liberalizing measures were now sufficient to acquire only stage for what the Buenos Aires to deregulate imports and elimi­ 40% of the market basket of basic financial newspaper AmbitoFinan- nate protectionist measures bene- goods and services, while unem­ ciero baptized as a “market coup” fiting local industry. In August the ployment and underem ploym ent responsible for a new round of viru­ Ministerio deEconomia was given surpassed the unprecedented mark lent hyperinflation. For the 12 broad new powers to accelerate the of 17%.

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Features: Argentina

The Menem government mate in anti-inflation shock ther­ immediately exchange their aus- greeted this dismal economic news apy: on April 1 the austral became trales for dollars, leaving the Banco with equanimity, even suggesting freely convertible into dollars. Fur­ Central s coffers empty. that massive social dislocations ther, the congress passed a new law The Argentine economy was were positive signs that market- prohibiting the Banco Central from already extensively “dollarized”: oriented policies were working. printing money to cover budget the value of greenbacks in circula­ The only bright spot was that Ar­ deficits unless new emissions were tion was estimated to be greater gentina’s 1990 trade surplus had fully backed by gold or foreign cur­ than the sum of australes in the risen significantly. The main rea­ rency. To liberalize foreign trade hands of the public and on deposit son for this rise, however, was the and to make industry more compet­ in the banking system. This fitct collapse of domestic demand and itive, the government slashed im­ gave the plan plausibility and investment, which put a damper on port duties. Argentina joined Cavallo a chance to achieve the imports. Another reason was the se­ Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay in elusive goal of reactivating at least vere overvaluation of the austral, forming MERCOSUR (Mercado some economic sectors (e.g., agri­ caused mainly by tight monetary Comun del Cono Sur) to bolster the business and high value-added policy and the hoarding of dollars region’s bargaining power in nego­ manufacturing industries capable by many firms to meet their pay­ tiating a framework agreement of exporting) without endangering rolls and tax obligations. with the US concerning a possible monetary stabilization. But if this By the end of 1990 Menem’s hemispheric megamarket. latest version of neoliberalism re­ neoliberal project found itself at a structuring were to breathe life dangerous impasse: despite the re­ into the prostrate Argentine cession, inflation for the year sur­ economy, the state would have to passed 1,800%. Nevertheless, achieve a substantial and enduring Menem and his economic team Like poker players fiscal surplus while also maintain­ chose to stay the course. In Decem­ ing a large trade surplus. An agree­ ber Erm an Gonzalez further liberal­ betting the ranch, ment with Argentina’s creditor ized foreign trade, imposed yet Cavallo and Menem, banks and the IMF to reduce ex­ another “deflationary shock,” and ternal debt service and to attract a approved a “tax amnesty” permit­ risked Argentina’s modest flow of overseas investment ting the repatriation of “black” dol­ capital was also imperative. All lars without fear of legal penalties. $5.5 billion in foreign these propositions were dubious These improvisations, plus new reserves in a desperate at best. emergency course corrections in In sum Menem’s aggressive anti­ January 1991, touched off a specula­ effort to halt inflation statist, pro-market policies accen­ tive frenzy, causing the austral to tuated the dismantling of the lose 50% of its value against the in its tracks. country’s industrial base that had dollar. gathered momentum under the M ounting scandals over corrup­ post-1976 military dictatorship and tion in high places—such as the continued unchecked under Raul “Swiftgate” affair in which US Alfonsin after 1983. Despite draco­ ambassador Terrence Todman The Cavallo Plan, as the new nian deflationary policies, prices accused high functionaries of de­ package was dubbed, represented continued to rise at moderately manding payoffs from US multina­ the 13th modification of the neo­ high rates. Moreover the “hyper­ tionals—and the threat of another liberal model since Menem as­ stabilization” strategy resulted in hyperinflationary spike set off a sumed office. It was a dramatic the worst recession in the history of tragicomic round of musical chairs. gamble. Like poker players betting Argentine industry. When the dust settled, Menem’s the ranch, Cavallo and Menem The consequences of this reces­ new cabinet lineup saw Domingo risked Argentina’s approximately sion could be clearly seen in the Cavallo leave the Ministerio de Rela- $5.5 billion in foreign reserves in a state’s fiscal policies. For example, ciones Exteriores to take over at the desperate effort to halt inflation in as recently as 1987 public-sector sal­ em battled Ministerio de Economia. It its tracks. The risks were as high as aries represented 12% of gross do­ also saw Guido Di Telia, previously the stakes: the “convertibility” com­ mestic product (GDP), but recent Argentina’s ambassador in Wash­ ponent of the Cavallo Plan meant austerity policies (including the dis­ ington, shift to Relaciones Exteriores, that should wealthy Argentines per­ missal of 60,000 public employees and Erman Gonzalez transfer to ceive that the government lacked and pledges to trim thousands the Ministerio deDefensa. the will or the hard-currency re­ more) have reduced this figure to In March 1991 new economy serves to maintain the austral at less than 6%. Curtailment of public- minister Cavallo prescribed the ulti­ 10,000 to the US dollar, they could sector investments triggered a vio-

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 GDP BY SECTOR CONSUMER PRICES

Growth rates Growth rate 20 3.2

- Agriculture • Manufacturing Construction

1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

Source: Inter-American Development Bank Source: Inter-American Development Bank

REAL WAGES DEBT SERVICE

rate of manufacturing wages As percentage of exports 60 |------—------I

1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

Inter-American Development Bank Source: Inter-American Development Bank lent decline in the construction sec­ Social Costs of Neoliberalism policies engendered tension, con­ tor (a major employer of unskilled flict, and contradiction. labor) and in the strategic capital Menem’s embrace of free-market The industrial sector’s deepen­ goods sector. Reduced expendi­ economic reforms jeopardized his ing crisis and the continued shrink­ ture, higher tax revenues, and prof­ personal popularity and threat­ age of the domestic market have its from the sale of state enterprises ened to undermine the allegiance profound implications for distribu­ resulted in small fiscal surpluses of Peronism’s populist social base. tive justice. GDP per capita de­ that have drastically reduced the Neoliberalism also posed serious clined more than one-fourth state’s absorption of credit. While questions about the future of demo­ during the 1980s—regressing to the latter put downward pressure cratic consolidation. From the lofty the figure reached around 1960— on interest rates, prolonged re­ heights of neoclassical economic with income inequalities worsening cession meant that even much theory, the logic of neoliberal re­ as well. The share of national in­ cheaper credit was insufficient in­ structuring and the exigencies of come going to one-tenth of the centive to reignite private-sector in­ democratic politics may have population is about 46%, up vestment. Stagnation continued, seemed compatible and even sharply from 35% in 1974. The with few hopes for quick economic mutually reinforcing. At least in poor are now estimated as repre­ reactivation. the short run, however, Menem’s senting at least 30% of the nation’s

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Features: Argentina

population and more than 40% of and promote the “flexibilization” Underlying these political and the population of metropolitan of the labor market by eliminating economic transformations stands a Buenos Aires. Not only have living rules favoring workers within enter­ striking contradiction. On the one standards worsened for the poorest prises. M enem ’s policies have pro­ hand, neoclassical prescriptions groups. In addition there has voked an open rift within the ranks call for rolling backing the state’s emerged a category of “new pau­ of the Peronist labor movement. role in the economy and society; pers”—workers and middle-class The officially recognized Confedera­ on the other hand, the state bu­ employees who formerly obtained tion General del Trabajo-San Martin reaucracy must assume additional a reasonable standard of living, but has given its grudging support to roles and responsibilities (for who in recent years have fallen into Menem’s policies; in contrast the which there is little social legitima­ poverty. antigovernment CGT- Azopardo, tion) in support of a market- Prospects for economic stabili­ which includes many public-sector driven economy. In fact, greater zation and, more optimistically, economic orthodoxy may well re­ long-term growth hinge on the quire not less but more state inter­ emergence of an internationally vention—albeit with different competitive model of development Neoliberal objectives and different benefici­ to replace the post-World War II aries—as well as more power con­ model of import-substitution indus­ prescriptions call for centrated in the hands of the trialization. But Menemstroika re­ rolling backing the state’s bureaucratic elite. structuring faces a major political This smaller but m ore agile obstacle—the dismantling of the state’s role in the (and in some respects more power­ populist coalition (long favored by ful) state has quite naturally been both Peronists and Radicals) of economy and society. welcomed by the dom inant players business and labor interests tied to in the local and transnational busi­ the domestic market. The irony is Ironically, though, ness communities. The agro-export that the Menem government’s neo­ they may well require interests and industrial capitalists liberalism has encountered signifi­ capable of exporting successfully to cant opposition from within the not less but more state world markets, however, have been ranks of the entrepreneurs them­ extremely reluctant to assume their selves. In an effort to force the gov­ intervention. role as investors—a requirement of ernment to eliminate export taxes, Menem’s plans for industrial recon­ rural producers of grains, vegeta­ version and greater international ble oils, and meat have frequently competitiveness. refused to exchange their foreign employees and other militant Moreover, the grupos economicos currency at the Banco Central. Mean­ unionists, has strongly opposed (such as Perez Companc and while, industrialists producing both plans for privatization and liberali­ Bunge & Born) and business’s dom consumer durable and nondurable zation. The CGT has consistently re­ inant industrial, financial, and agro items have voiced misgivings about pulsed governmental demands for export sectors have consistently the emphasis on agriculture and pe­ a social truce and openly sought to used their enhanced leverage to troleum in the government’s plans rally support for an alternative pol­ make several demands: the elimina­ to return Argentina to the ranks of icy to reactivate the economy. tion of the fiscal deficit, the end of the world’s leading commodity ex­ Moves toward revitalization within price controls, the introduction of porters. More generally, many en­ Peronist labor could spell serious a favorable exchange-rate regime, trepreneurs fear that if the trouble for M enem ’s project. and a heavier hand with organized economy is opened too rapidly, Not surprisingly, the strongest labor. Some of the more conserva­ and if state subsidies are slashed supporters of Menem’s policies are tive business sectors—im patient too drastically, the private sector to be found in an emerging center- with the cumbersome procedures will be sacrificed on the twin altars right alliance between ardently of democratic politics—have even of international competitiveness menemista sectors of Peronism and urged Menem to steamroll the con­ and fiscal austerity. the conservative Union del Centro gress and to implement market- Organized labor, which con­ Democratico. Peronism’s “historic oriented reforms through the tinues under Peronist hegemony, is identity” and its commitment to so­ executive’s decree powers. Evi­ another key member of the popu­ cial justice will be sorely tested at dently at least some entrepreneurs list coalition. Ultimately, the viabil­ the level of rank-and-file loyalty. It harbor a nostalgic longing for the ity of the neoliberal model will may also have to cope with possible “efficiency” of policymaking by hinge on the state leadership’s abil­ electoral and parliamentary realign­ authoritarian edict. ity to contain labor militancy, im­ ments in future congressional and Tragically, given an economy plem ent a restrictive wage policy, gubernatorial elections. seriously weakened by decades of

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 mismanagement, this aggressive neoliberalism probably will not en­ gender vigorous growth and devel­ opment. In view of Argentina’s Latin American current political and economic con­ ditions, free-market policies may Labor News militate in favor of a perverse out­ Sponsored by the Center for Labor Research and Studies and the come—the institutionalization of Latin American and Caribbean Center of Florida International University speculative habits by business, labor, and consumers. An economy based on the logic of plunder and get-rich-quick speculation is hardly conducive to the “creative destruc­ tion” so adm ired by advocates of John D. French, Editor unfettered market economies. The only publication exclusively dedicated to: Despite the reforming zeal of the Menem team and its 1991 success News on Latin American trade unions in slashing inflation, Argentina’s long-term scenario may be one of and their struggles high inflation, low investment rates, and mediocre macroeco­ News on Inter-American labor solidarity nomic performance. The long-term implications of The latest research Menem’s neoliberalism for demo­ cratic politics are troubling as well. about labor, workers, and women To be sure, the specter of authori­ tarianism has certainly receded News on labor studies organizations and projects and the prospects for consolidation of the electoral and representa­ tional aspects of democracy have improved considerably. Neverthe­ □ Please enter my subscription (two issues) for US $15.00 (US $30.00 institutional). less, the economy’s decline is Back issues US $7.50 individual / $15.00 institutional. deeply at odds with the forging of a □ Please send me stable democratic class compro­ sets of the English and Non-English bibliographies of recent books and articles on mise encompassing the congress Latin American labor at US $6.00. and the major political parties, as ___ copy(ies) of "Labor Studies in Brazil," by Sonia de Avelar (Occasional Paper #1), at well as capital, labor, and the mid­ US$1.00 each. dle class. ___ copy(ies) of "Recent Studies on Organized Labor and the Working Class," by Hobart Argentina’s politics are im­ A. Spalding (Occasional Paper #2), at US$2.50 each. mersed in a sea of embittered and ___ copy(ies) of "Colombia Balance Huelgui'stico de 1990," by Alvaro Delgado fractious interests, whose horizon (Occasional Paper #3), at US 2.50 each. of hopes and expectations often copv(ies) of Robert Alexander: The Complete Bibliography of a Pioneering Latin fails to surface above the impera­ Americanist at US $12.00. tive of immediate needs. As was true of earlier resistance to authori­ Please make check payable to "Florida International University." tarianism, contemporary struggles for democracy will be inextricably linked to Argentina’s Sisyphean search for social justice and a via­ Address ble model of economic growth. ■

Mail this form with your payment to: Latin American Labor Studies Publications Editor’s Note: Revised version of the Center for Labor Research and Studies postscript to the paperback edition of Florida International University University Park-W MO TR #2 Authoritarianism and the Crisis of Miami, Florida 33199 the Argentine Political Economy (1991).

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Features: Argentina

Abandoning the “Third Position”

by Aldo C. Vacs

mong the surprising access to foreign markets for Argen­ to criticize the role of the US in policy turns taken by tine goods while opening Argen­ Central American conflicts. More­ Argentine president tina’s market to foreign capital and over the administration shelved the Carlos Menem was his goods. Cavallo’s replacement as idea of promoting a bloc of Third- decision to abandon minister of foreign relations, for­ World debtors, aligning instead the nationalist, non- mer ambassador to the US Guido with the US position in favor of A Di Telia, has deepened the na­ individual-country negotiations aligned path of Peronism’s “Third Position.” Upon entering the presi­ tion’s commitment to this domes­ with international creditors. dency in 1989, Menem declared a tic and international approach. In his first meeting with Presi­ new, pragmatic approach to for­ dent George Bush, Menem eign policy. Domestically the ad­ pledged his support for the war ministration adopted a neoliberal against drugs, promised to honor economic strategy designed to re­ Menem declared a Argentina’s debt obligations, and duce the external debt and attract agreed that democracy should be investment capital. Along the same new, pragmatic restored in Panama. The Menem lines, the administration initiated a government mildly criticized the in­ foreign policy geared to improving approach to foreign vasion of Panama as a violation of relations with the US and the Euro­ policy, geared to the principle of nonintervention. pean Community (EC), reestab­ Nonetheless, the government care­ lishing relations with Great Britain, improving relations fully refrained from condemning and continuing the process of eco­ the invasion, declaring that the US nomic integration with the coun­ with the US and the action would not impair Argentine- tries of the Southern Cone. US relations. Likewise, to gain Menem embarked upon this EC, reestablishing favor with the US, Menem decided new path of domestic and foreign relations with to ignore strong opposition at policy by appointing Domingo home and to stand alone among Cavallo—a Harvard-trained econ­ Great Britain, and Latin American countries by partici­ omist and form er president of pating in the anti-Iraq mobilization Argentina’s Banco Central—as min­ continuing the orchestrated by the UN. ister of foreign relations in July During Bush’s December 1990 1989 and then as minister of econ­ process of economic visit to Buenos Aires, he congratu­ omy in January 1991. Cavallo integration with the lated Menem for having quelled a viewed Argentina’s economic prob­ military rebellion, praising Ar­ lems as resulting from the nation’s rest of the Southern gentina’s president as a “world conjuncture of “socialism without a leader in the field of privatization” plan and capitalism without a mar­ Cone. and stating that US-Argentine rela­ ket.” His response fits squarely on tions “are now excellent and will the market side, seeking to gain continue to improve.” Bush prom­ ised to support Argentina in its An initial obstacle to this ap­ debt negotiations with interna­ proach was US distrust, which was tional banks, but made it clear that Aldo C. Vacs is assistant professor of rooted in the tradition of Peronist the country should not expect im­ government at Skidmore College. populism and nationalism, as well portant concessions. Among his publications are “A Delicate as Menem’s contradictory cam­ The development of cordial rela­ Balance: Confrontation and Coopera­ paign statements. In response, the tions, however, did not eliminate tion between Argentina and the United Menem administration reduced bilateral problems. In December States in the 1980s, ’’Journal of Inter- Argentina’s profile in the support 1990 US ambassador Terrence american Studies and World Affairs group for Central America’s Con- Todman set a letter to minister of (1989). tadora peace process and refused foreign relations Cavallo and min­

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 ister of economy Erman Gonzalez, of Brazilian manufactured prod­ is how successful this approach will denouncing the alleged attempt by ucts. Most im portant, on March 26, be. So far, the benefits to Argen­ several unnamed high Argentine of­ 1991, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, tina have been meager: a number ficials to obtain bribes from US and Uruguay signed an agreement of symbolic diplomatic rewards, companies before authorizing busi­ creating MERCOSUR (Mercado but no economic rewards of the ness transactions. Though the Comun del Cono Sur). They are magnitude necessary to arrest the Menem administration rejected currently negotiating the in­ national economy’s long-term struc­ the accusations, the controversy corporation of Chile and other tural decline. Indeed, US and West­ reduced the prospects for new US South American countries, such ern European agricultural and investment and credit. In mid-1991 as Bolivia and Peru, into the com­ trade policies have worsened Ar­ another problem arose when a US mon market. gentina’s plight by maintaining congressional investigation indi­ It is likely that Argentina’s export subsidies and denying cated that several members of foreign-policy tilt toward the US Argentine exports access to the Menem’s inner circle, such as the and Western Europe will continue, leading foreign markets. In sum, president’s sister-in-law and audi­ as the Menem administration seeks while Menem’s foreign policy has ences secretary, Amira Yoma, and diplomatic support for its debt reduced the chances of confronta­ her former husband and chief of negotiations with multilateral insti­ tion with the US and Western Eu­ customs at Argentina’s main in­ tutions as well as foreign aid and rope, it has yet to be translated into ternational airport, Ibrahim al investment for its structural adjust­ the economic concessions antici­ Ibrahim, appeared to be involved m ent programs. W hat is less clear pated by the policy’s architects. ■ in money-laundering transactions with drug traffickers and the Bank of Credit and Commerce Inter­ national. As for Western Europe, Menem and Cavallo announced their inter­ est in ending Argentina’s feud with Great Britain over the Malvinas- Falklands, which led to the Febru­ Links ary 1990 reestablishment of HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT REPORT Argentine-British diplomatic rela­ tions as well as various trade and in­ vestment agreements. Cavallo later “Links provides the best signed an accord with the presi­ overview I have seen of dent of the Council of Ministers of the EC to promote the develop­ critical issues affecting the ment of Argentina’s economy and health of disadvantaged social services and to cooperate in peoples. It is a must for scientific-technological programs and joint ventures. Reflecting the anyone concerned with the renewed interest of European links between health and investors was the fact that consortia social justice.” of Italian and Spanish companies purchased two major Argentine —David Werner, state companies: ENTEL, the state author of Where There phone and telecommunications en­ terprise, and Aerolmeas Argentinas, Is No Doctor the national airline. Menem’s Latin American for­ □ Subscription to Links: eign policy has focused on strength­ ening trade relations and creating $12 for one year; $25 institutions and foreign; joint enterprises with Brazil as well $3 for individual copies as fostering economic integration with Brazil and other neighboring Send your name and address along with a check to: countries. Argentine-Brazilian trade has been on the upswing, Links, P.O. Box 202, New York NY 10276. based on Argentina’s increased ex­ ports of food products and imports

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Features: The Caribbean

Lessons from Caribbean Elections by Robert A. Pastor

A free and fair election is but one stride toward democracy. Given their deep-rooted economic crises and social conflicts, countries such as Suriname and Guyana must clear additional high hurdles in their quest for democracy and development

emocracy is a process nation’s economic crisis because so­ while simultaneously opening the under the rule of law lutions often require austerity and political process to groups that are whereby a people select sacrifices for long-term benefit. often making desperate demands and replace their leaders This is why the transition from an for food, jobs, health, and educa­ at regular intervals in an authoritarian government to a con­ tion. Although the governments of atmosphere that permits solidated democracy is often both Latin American countries seem al­ D most paralyzed by strikes, they have choice. Democracy requires a free tenuous and dangerous. election, but it is m ore than that. been more courageous than Presi­ That is why we talk of monitoring dent George Bush, who has been an entire electoral process, and not unwilling to close the US fiscal or just an election. For analytical and One problem with trade deficit as much as they have policy purposes, it is useful to di­ been compelled to do. vide the democratic process into the democratic While the actors in each country four stages: pre-election, election, feel their particular difficulties are transition, and consolidation. Each transitions is that special, there is an almost uncanny stage poses specific challenges that the governments face pattern to the litany of problems must be surmounted before the and complaints. In the experience country can successfully move on a double bind: they of the Council of Freely-Elected to the next one, arriving ultimately Heads of Government in monitor­ at a consolidated democracy in need to broaden social ing electoral processes and demo­ which civilian leaders have effective access to the political cratic transitions, the opposition in authority over the military. every country was deeply suspicious Democracy is not a panacea for process while also of both the incumbent government social and economic problems. In­ and the electoral process. This dis­ deed, in the short term democracy slashing social trust is born from a long and tragic may seem poorly suited to solving a history, and it is not without con- programs. temporaryjustification. After every adverse incident, opposition lead­ ers extrapolate from the single in­ Robert A. Pastor is professor of political stance that a free election is not science at Emory University, Fellow at One problem with the demo­ possible, or that it is part of a con­ the Carter Center, and executive secre­ cratic transitions in Latin America spiracy to rig the election. In most tary of the Council of Freely-Elected and the Caribbean today is that the cases there was a problem, but it Heads of Government. Chaired by new democracies face a double was not as large, ominous, or wide­ Jimmy Carter and based at the Carter bind: they need to reduce the size spread as the opposition thought. Center, the Council includes 19 leaders of their governments and eliminate More important, most of these from, the hemisphere. their fiscal and external deficits, problems could be resolved.

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 What We’ve Learned

The Council of Freely-Elected Heads of Government has moni­ tored electoral processes and demo­ cratic transitions in Nicaragua, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Suriname, and Haiti (the democratic transition of the latter, of course, having suffered a tragic setback with the military coup of September 1991). In the course of its efforts the Council has learned a great deal, sometimes by making mistakes. What follows are six of the fundamental lessons drawn from its experience. First, the Council of Freely- Elected Heads of Government con­ siders monitoring the electoral process or the democratic transi­ tion only if invited by all the key parties—the government, its oppo­ sition, and the election officials.

This ensures that the Council will Ramos Rene be viewed as fair and that its recom­ m endations will be taken seriously. Second, the Council tries to get play is to try to encourage local par­ fraud, it first tries to correct it, and involved early in the electoral pro­ ties to work out as many of their if this effort fails, then the Council cess. An election-monitoring group problems among themselves as denounces the fraud. Since all par­ that arrives a day or two before an possible. This is essential because ties know this is what the Council election can actually do a disservice observers cannot resolve all the will do, this approach serves as a to democracy. problems that a culture of distrust rather effective deterrent. Third, the Council has learned evokes, and part of the democratic to listen closely to all charges of process requires that all parties electoral irregularities, but not to compromise and work together. A Broader Caribbean Strategy leap to any conclusions. Finding In a consolidated democracy These lessons apply to the pre­ the truth in a polarized society the opposition views the election election and election stages. The requires a great deal of work; as fair. In transitional elections the Council has also been working on solving a problem requires even opposition does not have confi­ issues of democratic transition and more. dence in the government or the consolidation. W hat is needed now Fourth, the Council tries to process, and the government re­ is a general US strategy to deal with work with all sides to identify the jects the idea that the opposition the newly emerging democracies priority problems and seek their should be able to veto the legiti­ in a broader Caribbean context. resolution. The fairness of an elec­ macy of a free election. The role of First, the Caribbean needs to tion usually turns on the resolution the observers is to mediate the break loose from its past depend­ of two to five crucial issues: the reg­ problems and serve as a surrogate ence on foreign aid and to adopt a istration process, the campaign, for a fair process. new economic strategy based more the security of candidates and Sixth, the Council has learned on self-reliance. US aid and fi­ voters, access to the entire voting to stay away from an electoral pro­ nance should complement and re­ process by opposition poll watchers cess unless it can be certain that at inforce, rather than substitute for, and international observers, and the end it will be able to detect a such a program. The new eco­ the vote count. The Council makes significant pattern of fraud. Two of nomic strategy for the Caribbean clear to all parties that its ability to its most important techniques are should include trade liberalization judge a fair election depends on its the random selection of sites to ob­ with an export-bias; fiscal self-reli- success in resolving these issues. serve the election and a “parallel ance with an effective tax system; Fifth, the Council has learned count” to prevent manipulation of economic policy favoring invest­ that the best role observers can the count. If the Council detects ment over consumption; and de-

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Features: The Caribbean

regulation and privatization. This recipe for success is politically cost­ ly, and that is why it is difficult to implement, let alone sustain. After the new policies are implemented, I © HMDSSD/CHILE then the US should take a similarly Area de Relaciones Internationales y Militares bold step to increase aid and mar­ BRIDGES OVER THE TURBULENCE ket access. Latin American Political Concertation in the 80’s The Caribbean Common Mar­ by Alicia Frohmann ket (CARICOM) should accept the PUENTES Dominican Republic, Suriname, The eighties were not just a “lost decade’ in the develop­ SOBRE and—if the Aristide regime regains ment of Latin America. This was also the decade of the region’s LA TURBULENCIA UCO:**C£Rf M iOfi PO im tA UTl'OVffRifA-W power—Haiti, but only after chang­ redemocratization and of the creation of new mechanisms of ing CARICOM’s treaty to guaran­ political dialogue and consensus, such as those which gave tee democracy in its current and birth to Contadora and to the Group of Eight (or Rio Group). new members. The region should The development of these novel ways of dealing with agree to the steps it would take as a regional politics was a slow, gradual process, which involved unit if democracy were threatened learning from past experiences and establishing mutual trust. in any country. At the General As­ Both the process of concertation, expressed through the sembly in June 1991, the Organiza­ achievement of political consensus, as well as the process of tion of American States (OAS) integration, which seeks opening up markets and establishing walked up to this question for the mutually complementary economies, mature at a slow pace, fo­ first time and proposed that the llowing an almost biological rythm after the initial impulse. This OAS meet within ten days of a book deals with the various phases of the Latin American concertation process during the eighties, coup in a member country. This the successive challenges which had to be confronted, as well as the achievements and limita­ is a small, but encouraging first tions which became manifest throughout the years. step, which was put into practice in Send your order to FLACSO / CASILLA 3213 / CORREO CENTRAL / SANTIAGO / CHILE October 1991 when the OAS de­ nounced the coup in Haiti and im­ posed trade sanctions. Because of its long-standing democratic tradi­ tion, CARICOM should advance cono sur this idea several steps by defining the diplomatic, economic, and mmm CONO SUR is published by the area of International Relations and Military Affairs of military sanctions that the demo­ the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, FLACSO-Chile. It is oriented towards the analy­ cratic community of CARICOM sis of issues affecting Latin American international relations, especially those concerning rela­ would take to prevent military tions with the United States and the region. The views are presented from a Latin American coups or to reverse them if they perspective, with an interdisciplinary focus and the aim of promoting a peaceful coexistence and occur. promoting a better understanding among nations. The US should reinforce these Caribbean efforts with a parallel ■■■ CONO SUR is published six times a year and has provided an important link among strategy, taking a long view and members of the academic world, professionals, government officials, politicians, student and union realizing that a relatively small leaders, members of the armed forces and the church in Latin America. This journal attempts to investment can yield a bountiful reach not only specialists in international relations, but also makers of public opinion and dividend in assuring a democratic government decisions, who need a global perspective on issues concerning the external links of the region. The contributors to CONO SUR are specialists on the issues covered and come and prosperous neighborhood. The US should offer the Caribbean from regional, U.S., and European research centers, universities, international agencies and governments. a place at the table of the negotia­ tions for a North American free- ■ ■ ■ The director of CONO SUR is Augusto Varas and the editor is Alicia Frohmann. The trade agreement. The Caribbean board of directors consists of Pilar Armanet, Sergio Bitar, Fernando Bustamante, Robert Devlin, should first eliminate tariffs within Joaquin Fermandois, Jorge Heine, Jos6 Miguel Insulza, Luis Maira, Carlos Eduardo Mena, Emilio CARICOM and lower its common Meneses, Francisco Orrego, Francisco Rojas Aravena, Luciano Tomassini, Manfred Wilhelmy external tariff. But one way to accel­ and Boris Yopo. erate that process is to provide the Caribbean with an incentive, and mmm Annual subscription: AMERICA LATINA US$ 10 (air mail US$ 2) U.S., CANADA AND OTHER nothing would be better than an COUNTRIES US$ 20 (air mail US$ 5). invitation to join a wider North Send your check to FLACSO / CASILLA 3213 / CORREO CENTRAL / SANTIAGO / CHILE American free-trade area. ■ I

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Suriname Tries Again by Gary Brana-Shute

n Christmas Eve of 1990, liament, was put in place, headed agreements of proportionality and Deputy Commander by the powerless and, some would access to financial and political Iwan Graanoogst of Suri­ argue, senile septuagenarian Johan­ resources by the major ethnic name’s national army nes Kraag. The vice president and groups—the Afro-Surinamese, the telephoned the presiden­ premier was the ambitious, tough, East Indians, and the Javanese— tial palace in Paramaribo, and smart of the each of which was represented by O where a cocktail affair was underNational Democratic Party (NDP), its own political party. The military way, and inform ed the members of who had headed an appointed gov­ and its civilian patrons ruled the the civilian government that they ernment in the mid-1980s and country until 1987, when elections were dismissed from their posts. whose party maintains close ties were finally held. The three major President Ramsewak Shankar and with Suriname’s powerful military. ethnic groups confederated into the cabinet dutifully obeyed the An NDP cabinet including some the Front for Democracy and Devel­ telephone coup, and Suriname was fairly competent technocrats took opment in order to contest the elec­ off on another round of post-coup over the levers of state, dominated tions and, in a public mandate for election preparation. Practice the mass media, and began its own civilian control of the government, makes perfect. Following the coup state-sponsored election campaign. won 41 of the 50 seats in the in 1980, election preparation took national assembly. seven years; this time it would take Constitutionally the president six months, with elections being was chief of state and com m ander scheduled for May 25, 1991. The power of the in chief, while a vice president The Christmas Eve coup was served as premier, a cabinet super­ largely a result of military com­ military—including its vised the running of government, m ander Desi Bouterse’s fury at be­ and a national assembly comprised ing detained incommunicado in puppet insurgencies in the legislature. Yet none of this cor­ the Netherlands while there with the interior regions responded to reality. Through the President Shankar in early Decem­ — military police and commando ber 1990. Shankar did nothing to neutralized the units, the military indirectly ruled assist Bouterse, Suriname’s de facto the country. The power of the mili­ ruler. In a damaging photo—much civilian leadership. tary—including several puppet like that of a helmeted US presiden­ insurgencies in the interior re­ tial candidate Michael Dukakis in a gions—neutralized the civilian lead­ tank—Shankar is shown forlornly ership. The Front stumbled along standing in the rain sans paraplu Meanwhile the Front, a coalition until the 1990 coup when, morally outside the Dutch foreign minis­ party of Afro-Surinamers, East In­ and intellectually bankrupt, the co­ ter’s residence. Back in Parama­ dians, and Javanese, was caught alition managed but a whisper of ribo, Bouterse called Shankar a dead in the water. It mobilized for protest. joker and, in a pun on the presi­ the promised elections merely by Foreign observers and local dent’s first name, ridiculed him as renaming itself the New Front and independent commissions pro­ “Ram the Weak.” incorporating the small Suriname nounced the May 1991 elections to Following the coup, an interim Labor Party into its fold. be free, open, and fair. To a large government, appointed by Bou­ degree they were correct, at least terse and approved by a rump par- Politics in Disarray for the city and coastal countryside. Nonetheless, the expansive, jungle- The 1980s were a troubled decade covered interior district of Sipali- Gary Brana-Shute, an anthropologist, for Suriname, the polyethnic for­ wini—home to several American has written extensively on Suriname, mer colony of the Netherlands. Indian groups and to the sizeable where he served as an election monitor The 1980 military coup overthrew Maroon population—was generally for the Organization of American States a fragile parliamentary democracy sealed off from the campaigns of in 1991. that was based on consociational the New Front and the third partici­

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Features: The Caribbean

pating party, Democratic Alterna­ elections, the 1991 elections were funded, well-oiled NDP secured sec­ tive ’91 (DA ’91)—a collection of somber, a reflection of the public’s ond place with 12 seats (up from young dissidents who had aban­ frustration with the Front’s inabil­ three in 1987). DA ’91 landed nine doned the New Front. Sipaliwini ity to carry out the massive man­ seats. Smaller parties secured a houses five or six insurgent move­ date of its 1987 victory. The smattering of votes, but not ments, several of which are manipu­ promised removal of the constitu­ enough to win seats. lated by the military and hence tional clause permitting military in­ Following the election the New support the NDP. Hence, the NDP tervention remained on the books, Front entered into a tailspin, as its enjoyed access to the area while and ironically the military had unexpectedly poor performance the other parties (and the civilian grown in strength. In addition, be­ set off a round of internal bicker­ police force) did not. neath the jovial, happy-go-lucky ing. Aggravating the party’s disar­ The biggest surprise of the elec­ Suriname spirit was a layer of para­ ray was its fierce competition over tions was DA ’91. In a masterpiece noia, spawned by insurgencies in the division of ministerial seats. In of organization, DA ’91 mobilized the jungle interior and urban ter­ this context the New Front has in all ten districts of Suriname with rorism in the form of unexplained been determined to form a govern­ a scant six m onths of preparation. murders and drive-by shootings in ment without cross-aisle coopera­ In what is usually the political kiss Paramaribo. tion from either the NDP or DA of death in Suriname, the party ’91. Therein lies the hitch: in the actually discussed concrete and absence of interparty cooperation, thorny issues and did not pass out a constitutional clause requires a free food and drink. Young, pro­ Beneath the jovial two-thirds majority in the national gressive, capitalist, and pro- assembly to elect a president and Netherlands and pro-US, DA ’91 Suriname spirit was may bring the political process to a successfully united the dissident fac­ grinding halt, possibly clearing the tions that had abandoned the New a layer of paranoia, path once more for military inter­ Front while playing by the ethnic spawned by jungle vention. Yet the constitution has a rules of the game. The DA ’91 loophole, which the New Front was membership came from the three insurgencies and bent on exploiting despite its po­ traditional ethnic blocs within the tential for triggering chaos. old Front plus Maroons, who had urban terrorism. Although Suriname’s president formerly been taken for granted by is elected by a two-thirds majority the old Front’s Afro-Surinamer of the 51-member national assem­ bloc. bly, the New Front’s total of 34 In the meantime, the treasury- In the past Suriname’s elections seats falls short by four votes. The controlling NDP concentrated on were less about choice than they constitution specifies, however, grassroots organization in rural were immense national rituals that if after two rounds of voting villages and urban ghettos. This whose outcomes were foregone within the national assembly no campaign strategy was eerily remi­ conclusions. Not so now, as voters presidential candidate receives a niscent of 1970s vintage Michael could choose from three major two-thirds majority, the selection Manley with an overlay of Maurice parties with distinctive ideas about process is thrown into semi-public Bishop’s socialist populism. As the how to run the country. Demo­ forum at the level of local People’s military stayed scrupulously in the graphic, intellectual, and ideo­ Councils. These require only a sim­ background, technocrats tinkered logical change had transformed ple majority to elect a president. with their spreadsheets and party Suriname. The country had be­ People’s Councils were inaugu­ hacks passed out favors, promo­ come younger and m ore urbane, rated in the 1987 elections in an tions, and promises to all who with a new generation of politi­ attempt to reform the colonial listened. Many voters did listen, cians schooled in European and political structure. There are over especially the young ones who were Third World ideologies. Suri­ 800 council seats, whose distribu­ fed up with the impotent old tim­ name’s returning emigres were tion overwhelmingly favors Para­ ers of the Front and saw no future unwilling to tolerate the authori­ maribo. In spite of the New Front’s for themselves in the middle-class tarian good ol’ boys. damaging losses in the 1991 elec­ DA ’91. The NDP promoted itself tions, it managed to win more as ethnically faceless. To some ex­ Electoral Results than 600 of the council seats. This tent this was true, though the party means that while voters indicated is mainly identified with left-wing The elections yielded few surprises. their displeasure with the old- Afro-Surinamers. Of the national assembly’s 51 seats, guard leadership of the New Front, In contrast to the carnival the old-guard New Front won 30 they remained relatively comfort­ jump-up atmosphere of the 1987 (down from 41 in 1987). The well- able with the New Front as a famil­

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 iar political party. In any case the transshipping operations. In any relationship with Suriname. This New Front won much more than event the military can cast itself as would involve monetary union with the majority of local council seats protector of the urban population the powerful Dutch guilder; collab­ required to elect a president. from the “jungle barbarians” (as oration in, or monitoring of, Suri­ On September 6, 1991, about the insurgent groups are perceived name’s foreign affairs; some sort of three months after the general elec­ in Paramaribo), perhaps eventually judicial and military coordination; tions, the People’s Council elected in the form of negotiating a truce. and—heavens to colonial Betsy— New Front candidate Ronald Vene- Internationally there is military open travel access to the Nether­ tiaan as . and nonmilitary posturing, with lands. The idea has been greeted Venetiaan, a 55-year-old mathe­ the US and Brazil doing the former with anticolonial bombast in some matics professor and member of and the Netherlands the latter. US circles and misty-eyed nostalgia for the Afro-Surinamese faction of the rhetoric is relatively unimaginative, the neocolonial days in others. New Front, received 645 votes centering on threats of armed inter­ Whether it is serious or not re­ against 116 for his main rival, for­ vention to dispatch the Suriname mains to be seen. mer vice president Jules Wijden- military once and for all. In the With its economy shot and its bosch, and 56 for DA ’91’s Hans aftermath of US armed interven­ politics in turmoil, Suriname now Prade. tion in Panama and Iraq, however, languishes. The military has not Does the election of a civilian this is an unlikely event. In con­ budged and its closest ally, the president from the New Front sig­ trast, Brazil continues to support NDP, has become stronger— nal the end of military dominance? Suriname’s military with handsome thanks to free elections. The Probably not. Whether or not the weapons sales and training pro­ country’s insurgencies and drug NDP is a military handmaiden, the grams, having caught Washington trafficking continue, while nearly party is on a roll and can anticipate and the Hague by surprise with its 10,000 Maroon refugees remain in future success. After all, the New harsh critique of a possible Euro- French Guiana, uncertain of their Front will inherit an empty trea­ Suriname union as the reestablish­ status and fearful to repatriate sury. And weakened as it is, the ment of a colonial empire on New until a relocation policy is defined New Front is unlikely to do little in World shores. and their safety guaranteed. What the way of serious policymaking. Although signals from the will happen next is unclear. There W hether the New Front will hold Hague are mixed, there is talk of might just be more free and fair together or disintegrate into antag­ reestablishing a commonwealth elections around the corner. ■ onistic ethnic blocs is anybody’s guess.

Knowns and Unknowns There are several other ingredients in this political witches’ brew. Do­ mestically, three of the insurgen­ cies with military connections (i.e. Mexican Academic Clearing House those of the American Indian (MACH) Tukuyana, the Angulla Maroons, and the Mandela Maroons) could substantially increase the civilian Materiales Academicos de Consulta stress level, as the interior of Suri­ Hispanoamericana/Mexican Academic Clearing House (MACH) name has become divided between has been exporting library materials worldwide since 1969. warlords and the military. Ronnie Brunswijk and his Jungle Com­ mando, who have been fighting • MACH sells single and multiple copies of Mexican books the military off and on since 1986, and serials, including government publications. are hunkered down in a wait-and- • MACH handles selective blanket order services for see posture and may even be collab­ academic libraries. orating with their old enemy. The • MACH gives free referral service and periodical book reason is Brunswijk’s goal of becom­ lists. ing warlord king of East Suriname. This is only possible with the ap­ Write for further information to MACH, Apartado Postal 13-319, Delegation proval and compliance of the mili­ Benito Juarez, 03500 Mexico, D.F. Telephone numbers (915) 674-05-67 and tary, which could use Brunswijk to (915) 674-07-79. Fax number (915) 673-62-09. protect its narcotics processing and

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Features: The Caribbean

Vision for a Free Guyana by Cheddi Jagan

his is a crucial time that and prosperity. The PPP has a of our state enterprises was effi­ “tries men’s souls”—a brilliant track record. We have dem­ ciently managed, providing needed time of tremendous onstrated our capacity to inspire services and making profits—Guy­ changes worldwide. We production and to invigorate eco­ ana Airways Corporation, Guyana in the People’s Progres­ nomic life. As government in the Electricity Corporation, Guyana sive Party (PPP) have rec­ 1957-64 period, the PPP showed, in Rice Marketing Board, Guyana T spite of harassment, an average an­ Marketing Corporation, Guyana ognized these changes in charting a dynamic new course for the na­ nual growth rate of 7% in bauxite, Rice Development Corporation, tional reconstruction of our coun­ 7% in sugar, 8% in manufacturing, Transport and Harbours Depart­ try. Guyana needs sound economic and 10% in rice. And our vision ment, Guyana Telephone Corpo­ policies, involvement for our peo­ ration, and Guyana Industrial ple, and revival of national confi­ Development Corporation. Ours dence. We need accountable was a success story! government with a management Our promotion of industrializa­ orientation free of corruption and tion through Guyanese capital was with transparency in its financial If the People’s innovative and impeccable. Need I affairs. remind you of the establishment of These features were last seen Progressive Party can the Ruimveldt Industrial Estate, in the PPP government of 1957 to the Industrial Development Corpo­ 1964. That was the only period in follow its footsteps of ration, and the massive agricultural our country’s history with a clear schemes—Black Bush Polder, direction and sustained growth, 1957-64, it will make Tapakuma, etc.? Need I remind based on the encouragement of pri­ Guyana into the you of our assistance, including vate capital, a vibrant cooperative crop bonuses and subsidies to farm­ sector, and with a small, efficient breadbasket of the ers, and protection of Guyanese and profitable state sector. business such as Continental Agen­ Somewhere I heard the story of Caribbean. cies Paint Factory, Banks Brewery, a couple who wished to rejoin each the Chipboard Factory, stone quar­ other on their life’s journey. Upon ries, rice mills, sawmills, etc.? inquiring how this could be done, That legacy, coupled in the the wife was told: “Have faith in immediate postindependence pe­ your partner. Walk confidently riod with a golden handshake, for­ ahead and he will follow.” The produced the Bank of Guyana, the eign investment, and overgenerous wife again inquired: “But how do I Guyana School of Agriculture, and US aid, had caused one commenta­ know he is really coming with me?” the University of Guyana, which tor to observe that Guyana would Came the answer: “If you trust him, some had deemed ‘pagan’s Night become a m odel for the Third you will recognize his footsteps.” School.” We solved problems in World. That same commentator re­ I invite you to recognize our electricity, telecommunications, cently wrote that Guyana was bleed­ footsteps. They have left indelible drainage and irrigation, transport, ing to death. Yet the architects of prints in the annals of our coun­ health, housing, education, and so our tragic bloodletting are today try’s search for real development on. The people had abundant and pleading for another “chance” and cheap food. If we can again follow “continuity”! W hat a shame! those footsteps, we will make Guy­ But we must not forever merely Editor’s Note: Edited excerpts of an ana into the breadbasket or food look behind us with nostalgia. address by Cheddi Jagan, general secre­ bowl of the Caribbean! Rather, we must walk boldly for­ tary of the People’s Progressive Party of Those footsteps have not only ward, in unity and in confidence. Guyana, to businessmen and profession­ led us to successes in business and We must feel fortified only by the als, on June 8, 1991, in Georgetown, state management. They were the fact that we made strides before Guyana. source of national pride. Every one and that we can repeat our per-

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 formance. We must feel capable of strate social responsibility. To para­ ture and put back on line our idle making our beloved country ten phrase the words of John F. Ken­ productive capacity, which will times more beautiful! nedy, the private sector must ask impact directly on our nation’s Unfortunately we are starting not what the country can do ability to produce and export. In from a position of collapsing physi­ for it, but what it can do for the other words, we envisage support cal and social infrastructure, rec­ country. As I said at the PPP Port for a mini-Marshall Plan as pro­ ord low levels of production in the Mouran rally: “Now is the time posed by the Caribbean Council of major sectors of the economy— when we must all give a little more Churches’ Mission to Guyana. Guy­ sugar, rice, and bauxite—and alien­ for our freedom; we must care a lit­ ana must maintain its credit worth­ ation of our people, which have led tle more for our people; we must iness, which our rules wantonly to mass migration of our youths sacrifice a little more for the great­ surrendered for many years. A new and of our most productive people. er good of our nation and her government will not break with the The prospects for revival are daunt­ future.” International Monetary Fund, but ing and m onum ental and will re­ will negotiate modified terms and quire the trust and support of all if conditions that will not penalize we are to restore Guyana to its for­ our people and affect the ability to mer splendor. For us, economic re- Since the root-cause increase output in the productive uivcil m nct hp KcispH nn twr» nill^rs1 sector. Experience is showing that of the crisis is low devaluation, high interest rate/ production, the PPP credit squeeze, and wage freeze/ wage restraint policies are not only urill go all out to contradictory, but are the very op­ posite to the intended stabilization reactivate the and recovery. We believe, as the former Bar­ economy. The party badian central bank governor, expects the private Dr. Courtney Blackman, repeatedly stated, that devaluation as an instru­ sector to play a pivotal ment of economic policy has palpa­ bly failed in Guyana. The UN 1989 role. world economic survey also noted that Bolivia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mex­ ico, and the Philippines, which have undergone World Bank aus­ The state sector has taken a lick­ terity measures, have not funda­ ing, primarily because of political mentally altered their economic interference, leading to misman­ structure. agement. The present rulers have Countries like Guyana need re­ helplessly resorted to divestment flation, not , of the econ­ from a position of weakness and in omy. Businessmen want stability in a manner shrouded in secrecy. The currency and interest rates and a PPP holds no dogmatic position on strong and independent central divestment. While we see no future bank, like the US Federal Reserve nationalization, our government System. In the market economy, will critically examine every enter­ the way to reflation is a low interest prise in the public sector, and in rate and the way to attract invest­ consultation with the business com­ m ent capital is a stable currency munity and the labor movement rate. we will seek out ways to ensure In Guyana not a low but a high their viability. interest-rate policy was adopted by We will ensure a conductive the rulers. While this was deemed business environment. In this re­ necessary to curb inflation and the gard a democratically elected gov­ parallel market in currency trad­ ernm ent will count on the goodwill ing, at the same time it squeezed of overseas Guyanese, friendly gov­ the local businessmen, thus defeat­ ernments, and multilateral lending ing one of the major “recovery ob­ agencies to provide the foreign in­ jectives”—increased production for flows to refurbish our infrastruc­ export and foreign earnings.

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Features: The Caribbean

Vision for a Free Guyana by Cheddi Jagan

his is a crucial time that and prosperity. The PPP has a of our state enterprises was effi­ “tries m en’s souls”—a brilliant track record. We have dem­ ciently managed, providing needed time of tremendous onstrated our capacity to inspire services and making profits—Guy­ changes worldwide. We production and to invigorate eco­ ana Airways Corporation, Guyana in the People’s Progres­ nomic life. As government in the Electricity Corporation, Guyana sive Party (PPP) have rec­ 1957-64 period, the PPP showed, in Rice Marketing Board, Guyana Tognized these changes in charting spite of harassment, an average an­ Marketing Corporation, Guyana a dynamic new course for the na­ nual growth rate of 7% in bauxite, Rice Development Corporation, tional reconstruction of our coun­ 7% in sugar, 8% in manufacturing, try. Guyana needs sound economic and 10% in rice. And our vision policies, involvement for our peo­ ple, and revival of national confi­ dence. We need accountable government with a management orientation free of corruption and with transparency in its financial If the People’s affairs. These features were last seen Progressive Party can in the PPP government of 1957 to 1964. That was the only period in follow its footsteps of our country’s history with a clear direction and sustained growth, 1957-64, it will make based on the encouragement of pri­ Guyana into the vate capital, a vibrant cooperative sector, and with a small, efficient breadbasket of the and profitable state sector. Somewhere I heard the story of Caribbean. a couple who wished to rejoin each other on their life’s journey. Upon inquiring how this could be done, the wife was told: “Have faith in your partner. Walk confidently ahead and he will follow.” The produced the Bank of Guyana, the wife again inquired: “But how do I Guyana School of Agriculture, and know he is really coming with me?” the University of Guyana, which Came the answer: “If you trust him, some had deemed ‘Jagan’s Night you will recognize his footsteps.” School.” We solved problems in I invite you to recognize our electricity, telecommunications, footsteps. They have left indelible drainage and irrigation, transport, prints in the annals of our coun­ health, housing, education, and so try’s search for real development on. The people had abundant and cheap food. If we can again follow those footsteps, we will make Guy­ Editor’s Note: Edited excerpts of an ana into the breadbasket or food address by Cheddi Jagan, general secre­ bowl of the Caribbean! tary of the People’s Progressive Party of Those footsteps have not only Guyana, to businessmen and profession­ led us to successes in business and als, on June 8, 1991, in Georgetown, state management. They were the Guyana. source of national pride. Every one

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 formance. We must feel capable of strate social responsibility. To para­ ture and put back on line our idle making our beloved country ten phrase the words of John F. Ken­ productive capacity, which will times more beautiful! nedy, the private sector must ask impact directly on our nation’s Unfortunately we are starting not what the country can do ability to produce and export. In from a position of collapsing physi­ for it, but what it can do for the other words, we envisage support cal and social infrastructure, rec­ country. As I said at the PPP Port for a mini-Marshall Plan as pro­ ord low levels of production in the M ouran rally: “Now is the time posed by the Caribbean Council of major sectors of the economy— when we must all give a little more Churches’ Mission to Guyana. Guy­ sugar, rice, and bauxite—and alien­ for our freedom; we must care a lit­ ana must maintain its credit worth­ ation of our people, which have led tle more for our people; we must iness, which our rules wantonly to mass migration of our youths sacrifice a little more for the great­ surrendered for many years. A new and of our most productive people. er good of our nation and her government will not break with the The prospects for revival are daunt­ future.” International Monetary Fund, but ing and m onum ental and will re­ will negotiate modified terms and quire the trust and support of all if conditions that will not penalize we are to restore Guyana to its for­ our people and affect the ability to mer splendor. For us, economic re­ Since the root-cause increase output in the productive vival must be based on two pillars: sector. Experience is showing that democracy and people. This is the of the crisis is low devaluation, high interest rate/ heart and soul of our liberal and production, the PPP credit squeeze, and wage freeze/ humane socialist belief! wage restraint policies are not only It is our cherished belief that udll go all out to contradictory, but are the very op­ the human factor for mobilization posite to the intended stabilization and development can thrive only reactivate the and recovery. in a climate of freedom and in an We believe, as the former Bar­ environment of participatory de­ economy. The party badian central bank governor, mocracy. This we can achieve expects the private Dr. Courtney Blackman, repeatedly under our proposed ethnic-bal- stated, that devaluation as an instru­ anced and class-balanced broad- sector to play a pivotal ment of economic policy has palpa­ based government—a government bly failed in Guyana. The UN 1989 that must be a partnership between role. world economic survey also noted labor and capital; a partnership be­ that Bolivia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mex­ tween local and foreign enterprise; ico, and the Philippines, which a partnership of the whole people have undergone World Bank aus­ for the common good of Guyana. The state sector has taken a lick­ terity measures, have not funda­ The concepts of “enemies of the ing, primarily because of political mentally altered their economic state” and “mafias” must have no interference, leading to misman­ structure. place in a free Guyana! agement. The present rulers have Countries like Guyana need re­ Since the root-cause of the helplessly resorted to divestment flation, not deflation, of the econ­ present crisis is low production from a position of weakness and in omy. Businessmen want stability in and poor productivity, the PPP in a manner shrouded in secrecy. The currency and interest rates and a governm ent will go all out to reacti­ PPP holds no dogmatic position on strong and independent central vate the economy and breathe new divestment. While we see no future bank, like the US Federal Reserve life into every sector. In this task we nationalization, our government System. In the market economy, expect the private sector to play a will critically examine every enter­ the way to reflation is a low interest pivotal role. As such, government prise in the public sector, and in rate and the way to attract invest­ will act as a catalyst to facilitate consultation with the business com­ m ent capital is a stable currency growth by removing red tape and munity and the labor movement rate. allocating resources to stimulate we will seek out ways to ensure In Guyana not a low but a high productive endeavors. I share the their viability. interest-rate policy was adopted by view of [Jamaica’s] Prime Minister We will ensure a conductive the rulers. While this was deemed Michael Manley that the state must business environment. In this re­ necessary to curb inflation and the empower the entrepreneur and gard a democratically elected gov­ parallel market in currency trad­ empower the people for devel­ ernm ent will count on the goodwill ing, at the same time it squeezed opment. of overseas Guyanese, friendly gov­ the local businessmen, thus defeat­ The private sector must not, ernments, and multilateral lending ing one of the major “recovery ob­ however, expect to be spoonfed. agencies to provide the foreign in­ jectives”—increased production for It must show initiative and demon­ flows to refurbish our infrastruc­ export and foreign earnings.

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Features: The Caribbean

The key to a stable currency is ther, that they would have, under a Your new government will increased production and produc­ changed government, the advan­ strengthen the system of industrial tivity. This can be achieved, consid­ tage of real political stability. I said relations. The absence of industrial ering our potential natural and it must be clear that our economic, strife and trust and confidence be­ other resources. What is needed is social, and environmental objec­ tween workers and m anagem ent to overcome “man-made” problems tives must be fully recognized, and are important in our overall strat­ and to attract our Guyanese man­ that due regard be given for our egy of partnership between labor power here and overseas. This laws, independence, and sover­ and capital and will lead to growth means deliberate policies aimed at eignty. and expansion of our economy. In reducing the cost of living for the this regard we will insist on scrupu­ working people through subsidies lous observance of collective bar­ of basic commodities, price con­ gaining rights, fair employment trols on selected items, and an practices, safe working environ­ abundant and cheap supply of Foreign investors will ment, and protection for women food. We did this before and we be welcomed to play a workers. In our national demo­ can do it again! cratic state, adequate wages and It also means real incentives partnership role in good working conditions are not for investment. A new government gifts, but sound investments. will review taxation rates at the Guyana’s economic We believe our party’s dream personal and especially at the cor­ for Guyana is the same dream of porate levels, including the con­ development, as long the businessmen, the professionals troversial consumption tax. We as they respect the as well as the working people. The recognize that high taxation can be dream of partnership is vital for counterproductive, reducing the country’s economic, confidence-building: the confi­ ability to mobilize capital to fi­ dence of the people in the future nance investments for economic social, and of our country, in the currency of growth. It also leads to tax evasion environmental our country, in the government of and capital flight. Additionally, ef­ our country. forts will be made to open up new objectives. It is because of this common industrial estates, some of which dream and destiny, of this vision of will be linked to, and integrated what is good for Guyana, that the with, agribusiness. PPP has decided to involve repre­ Export credit facility will be sentatives of various socioeconomic established at interest rates that In December 1990, in New York organizations such as the Chamber put our exporters in a position to City, I told the Leucadia Company of Commerce, the Guyana Manu­ rapidly increase exports. Red tape officials that we wanted foreign par­ facturers’ Association, CAGI, the that adversely affects the efficient ticipation, but not as in the days Labour Movement, etc., in the processing of applications for in­ when I grew up on a sugar estate, planning and execution of the centives and hinder production and British Guiana was called programs for reconstruction, eco­ and export will be removed. “Bookers’ Guiana.” We want for­ nomic growth, and human develop­ Insofar as multinational corpo­ eign capitalized economic growth ment. It is also for this reason that rations are concerned, the PPP rec­ to be in consonance with our na­ my party rejects “winner-takes-all” ognizes they will bring with them tional goals and tempered with politics and is including a civic com­ capital, technology, management, social justice. ponent on its electoral slate. expertise, and markets needed in Let me say a word or two about Given your support and man­ our revival drive. In order to attract what is described as the “informal date, my party intends to form a foreign investors into Guyana, we economy” and as “illegal traders.” plural democratic government to will look at a num ber of archaic We admire their enterprise and tackle the tasks of reconstruction laws such as the “Capital Issues drive. We recognize their activities ahead and to lay the viable founda­ Control Act.” grew out of distortions in the do­ tions for Guyana to enter the 21st In July 19901 told a group of mestic economy. We will do every­ century with honor and in prosper­ about a dozen American business­ thing possible to assist them and to ity. Let us collectively achieve the men in Washington at the office of bring them within the overall for­ dreams that all of us so fervently Caribbean and Central American mal economy. In this regard we will share. Let us aim at returning our Action that they would be wel­ consider the reduction of custom nation to the pedestal it once oc­ comed, preferably in joint ven­ duties, especially on foodstuff and cupied in the region. I invite you tures, to play a partnership role in other consumer items to help all to join us in this noble en­ our economic development; fur­ bring their activities on line. deavor. ■

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Ne

Florida A & M University Press & VARDAS January 272 pp. 6 X 9 Cloth $29.95 The Libro de las profecias of Christopher Columbus Conchtown USA # * An en face editon Bahamian Fisherfolk in Riviera Beach, Florida c ♦ Translation and commentary by * Photographs and Text by Charles C. Foster Delno C. West and August Kling N o n r Folk Songs and Tales collected by Veronica Huss “Perhaps the most important “The combination of folklore, oral history, and photo­ single volume on Columbus ever graphs makes this a work of interest to general readers and published in English.... The scholars alike.”—Stetson Kennedy authors’ classification of Columbus’s Florida Atlantic University Press piety as ‘evangelical’ will be contro­ April 160 pp. 8 1/2X11 Paper $24.95 versial, but is exactly right. He was as cosmopolitan in his piety as in his Amphibians and Reptiles cosmography.”—Leonard Sweet, of the West Indies president, Union Theological Seminary University of Florida Press Descriptions, Distributions, & Natural History May 288 pp. 8 1/2x11 Cloth $49.95 Albert Schwartz and Robert W. Henderson “A definitive synopsis of West Indian herpetofauna. ” Through your local full-service bookseller, or direct from: —George R. Zug, National Museum of Natural History, University Presses of Florida, 15 N.W. 15th St., Gainesville, Smithsonian Institution Florida 32611. 904-392-1351. Include $3.00 (UPS) or $2.00 University of Florida Press (bookpost) shipping for the first book, $.50 for each additional May 740 pp. 7 X 10 Cloth $75.00 book. Florida residents add 6% sales tax to book price.

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 REVIEW Castro’s Premature Biography by Lisandro Perez

Guerrilla Prince: The Untold for example, appeared 34 years have some waiting to do. Along Story of Fidel Castro after his death. Time had to elapse with other previous biographers of by Georgie Anne Geyer. Little, Brown before some of the most important Castro, she is unable to maintain and Company, 1991. 445 pp. $22.95. informants would speak openly, be­ even a minimal detachment from fore the subject would cease to be her subject. In her case it is evident omeday, somebody is hopelessly mired in acrimony, and she dislikes the Cuban leader in­ going to write the defini­ before the true impact of the per­ tensely. While her negative per­ tive biography of Fidel son could be judged. The defini­ spective may well be justified, it is Castro. None of the ones tive biography of Castro will need a seldom kept in check. The result is produced thus far, includ­ a biography in which the biogra­ ing Guerilla Prince: The pher is at war with the subject, SUntold Story of Fidel Castro, can lay stooping at times to innuendo, claim to being that definitive work, gossip, and gross exaggeration, fre­ but, by and large, that is not the quently in tones of irony and ridi­ fault of those who have written cule. For example, the chapter on about the Cuban leader. The obvious way in Castro’s economic programs is en­ In the case of Georgie Ann titled ‘The Dictator of the Cows” Geyer, it is clear she has spent years which the biography is and includes passages such as this doing research, examining every premature is that the one: “. .. it was cows that truly riv­ source, and interviewing anyone eted him, cows that became the ful­ who could even remotely shed story is not over. The crum of his obsession to control light on the subject. And yet, it is every living thing on his island, if still lacking. The main thing it final chapter—which not the world ... he had created a lacks is time. It is a prem ature may turn out to be the revolution against all odds . .. now biography. he would create new life beyond The obvious way in which it is most revealing and other odds .. .” (p. 328). premature is that, of course, the Apparently in an attempt to story is not over. The final chap­ dramatic of all— elicit from the reader contempt for ter—which may turn out to be the the subject, Geyer frequently goes most revealing and dramatic of cannot yet be written. way beyond the data and sources all—cannot yet be written. But it into flights of imagination and spec­ also lacks the research possibilities, ulation that significantly detract distance, and perspective that only from the work’s notable contribu­ time can give to any biography, tions. Those lapses of seriousness and especially the biography of are exemplified by the following someone who has been both unfortunate passage, which should praised and dam ned, loved by biographer as consummate and de­ have fallen to an editor’s pencil. some and hated by others. The de­ tached as Huey Long’s. T. Harry It refers to Castro’s visit to the US finitive biography of Huey Long, Williams was a seasoned Civil War in April 1959: “Everywhere he historian who turned his attention went, the Americans he feared and to Long without any previous re­ hated lionized him. Men who wore search experience (or baggage) on proper three-piece suits to the of­ Lisandro Perez is associate professor of the man or his era. The work won fice and dutifully shaved twice a sociology and director of the Cuban Re­ the Pulitzer Prize and the National day now, in their fantasies, imag­ search Institute at Florida International Book Award. ined themselves a Fidel Castro. University. His publications include We may not have to wait as Women with spindly-legged hus­ “The 1990s: Cuban Miami at the Cross­ much as 34 years after Castro’s bands who left their bungalows roads, ’’Cuban Studies/Estudios death for his biography, but it is every m orning for desk jobs and re­ Cubanos (1991). clear from Geyer’s book that we turned tired and irritable at night,

40 Hemisphere • Fall 1991 for a moment had the daring to but not biography. In fact, the last he learned the importance of oper­ see themselves in Fidel Castro’s four or five chapters are little more ating outside established institu­ arms” (pp. 230-31). than an overview of the major tions, that electoral processes Indeed there is a certain ob­ events in Cuban history during the would get him nowhere, that it session in this work with Castro’s 1970s and 1980s. There is almost was important to recognize and purported sensuality and with his exclusive dependence on second­ seize the precise political moment, sexual life. Those are, of course, ary sources and there is little that is that there should be little hesita­ valid topics for any biographer. new to anyone who has followed tion in the use of violence, and Nonetheless, perhaps because Cas­ Cuban affairs. that preemption and vengeance tro has been secretive about that as­ were critical for survival. The vola­ pect of his life, Geyer frequently tile political climate of the Autentico treats it with a tone akin to a tat­ years honed a mind that, from tling expose complete with hearsay childhood, was exceptionally guile­ and trivialities. ful. After reading those chapters, This biography suffers from an­ and with the benefit of hindsight, other shortcoming linked to its pre­ Only the last few one can only conclude that the maturity. As can be expected, the chapters deal with chances were very remote that this bulk of the large number of inter­ man, once in power, would have views she has put together refer Castro’s life since the agreed to establish a participatory exclusively to Castro’s life prior to democracy. the mid-1960s. Of the 26 chapters 1960s. The reason is Geyer is at her finest in those in the book, only the last four deal early chapters. She largely sticks to with Castro’s life since the 1960s. obvious: most of the the testimonies she assembled, The reason is obvious: most of informants are living places them in their proper Geyer’s informants, those who pro­ context, and arrives at plausible vided the material that gave the outside of Cuba and analyses without overreaching, early chapters their richness, are trivializing, or engaging in flights living outside of Cuba and had had parted company of the imagination. parted company with Castro by the Despite, or perhaps because of, late 1960s. Those who have been with Castro by the late her dislike for Castro, Geyer insists by his side since then are not (yet) 1960s. on presenting a picture of the available to talk. Cuban leader as a political super­ And so it is that Geyer is able to man, a man with incredible mental give us details from testimonies resources for the task of political about Castro’s actions and words survival, for staying ahead and on when he was in high school, at the top, for successfully maneuvering university, and in the Sierra. We and using people to his advantage. get vivid images of the night before Despite all its shortcomings, this This is a man who anticipates a situ­ the Moncada, of the trips to the book is worth reading, if only for ation and is meticulous in his at­ US, and even of his activities dur­ the early chapters. This is especially tempts to control it. ing the Bay of Pigs and the Missile true for chapters four and five, If such a portrayal is accurate, Crisis. On the other hand, there is which focus on the years in the uni­ and indeed there is little basis for nothing with such biographical versity and Castro’s initiation into arguing against it, it has implica­ depth on the decision to enter Af­ politics and violence as well as the tions for anticipating the eventual rica, the Angola campaign, the cri­ relation between the two. No other end of Castro’s rule. After reading sis of the Peruvian embassy, Mariel, biographer of Castro does a better this book, it is difficult to avoid the or the invasion of Grenada. Those job of presenting a coherent pic­ conclusion that Castro’s rule will events and periods are dealt with in ture of the political socialization end either on his deathbed or with the style of history or journalism, of the man. Geyer describes how an ignominious whimper. ■

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 P U B L I C A T

Structural Adjustment Policies in Argentina by Marian Goslinga

considerable amount of current literature on Latin America focuses on programs of economic stabilization and structural adjustment, which are central to international political controversies over how to reactivate Latin American economies and promote their development. In 1991 Argentina’s structural adjustment program under President Carlos Menem has contributed to a dramatic fall in the country’s rate of inflation and the approval of major new foreign loans. But what are the long-term economic and social implications of M enem’s program? The literature listed below dates from 1989.

Ahorro, inversion y financiamiento Argentina: The Farce Continues. Herzog, Ramon Lecuona V., eds. en Argentina y Filipinas: un analisis The Latin American Times, v. 10, Mexico: Centro de Estudios Mone- comparado. Jose Maria Fanelli, no. 5 (November 1990), p. 1-6. tarios, 1990-91. 2vols. [About the Roberto Frenkel, Guillermo experiences of the central banks in Rozenwurcel. Integration Latino- Argentina: hacia una economia de handling the foreign debt problem americana, v. 167 (May 1991), p. 64- mercado. Fundacion de Investi­ and financing economic develop­ 89. [Includes a commentary by gations Economicas Latinoameri- ment.] Pablo Gerchunoff.] canas. Buenos Aires: Manantial, 1990. 174 p. El Banco Mundial y el Plan Baker: Algunas reflexiones y perspectivas analisis del caso argentino. Alfredo sobre el endeudamiento extemo Argentina: Menem Ditches the Garcia, SilviaJunco. Boletin Infor- argentino. Carlos Melconian, Dogma. Norman Peagam, Charles mativo Techint (January/February Rodolfo Santangelo. Monetaria, Scott. London: Euromoney Publica­ 1989), p. 33-61. [Includes general v. 12 (January/M arch 1989), p. 27- tions, 1990. 28 p. [1990 Summer background information on the 56. [Discusses foreign exchange Supplement to the periodical loans received by Argentina from rates, interest rates, and foreign Euromoney.] the World Bank and the economic debt conversion schemes.] policies adopted in accordance Argentina: Reforms for Price Stabil­ with the loan agreements.] Argentina y Brasil: ajuste, creci- ity and Growth. World Bank. Wash­ miento e integracion. Aldo Ferrer. ington, DC: The Bank, 1990. 290 p. Beharrungsinflation und Comertio Exterior, v. 41, no. 2 (Febru­ [Discusses the recent economic sta­ “heterodoxe” Stabilisierungs- ary 1991), p. 135-44. bilization policies.] politiek: Erfahrungen aus Argentinien, Brasilien und Israel. Argentina, 1946-1983: The Eco­ The Argentine Economy: Policy Re­ Friedrich L. Sell. Kredit und Kapital, nomic Ministers Speak. Guido di form for Development. Eduardo R. v. 23, Heft 1 (1990), p. 60-85. [Ex­ Telia, Carlos Rodriguez Braun. New Conesa. Lanham: University Press amines the causes and characteris­ York: St. M artin’s Press, 1990. 219 of America, 1989. 124 p. $27.50. tics of inertial inflation and the p. $59.95. [Based, in part, on pa­ [Published in cooperation with the reasons for the failure of hetero­ pers presented at a symposium Center for International Affairs, dox stabilization programs in Is­ held in Toledo, Spain, 1984. In­ Harvard University.] rael, Argentina, and Brazil in the cludes the opinion of each author­ 1980s. Summaries in English and ity on the policy applied and the Austerity and Regional Develop­ French.] restrictions faced.] ment Strategy in Argentina and Latin America. Alejandro Rofman. El Chaco: una economia “reajus- In Lost Promises: Debt, Austerity, and tada.” Andres Rabossi. Realidad Development in Latin America, edited Economica, no. 6 (1990), p. 121-36. by William L. Canak. Boulder, [Assesses the economic situation in Colo.: Westview Press, 1989. the province of Chaco; concludes Marian Goslinga is the Latin Ameri­ that regional development policies can and Caribbean librarian at Florida Banca central en America Latina: adopted since the 1970s have failed International University. selection de textos. Jesus Silva- to foster economic growth.]

42 Hemisphere • Fall 1991 El control de cambios en la Argen­ 1990. 125 p. [Discusses Argentine El gasto publico en la Argentina, tina: la liberation cambiaria y economic policy measures.] 1960-1988. Fundacion de Investi­ crecimiento. Fundacion de Investi- gaciones Economicas Latinoameri­ gaciones Economicas Latinoameri- Exchange Liberalization and canas. Buenos Aires: FIEL, 1991. canas. Buenos Aires: Manantial, Growth: Exchange Controls in Ar­ 1989. 164 p. gentina. Fundacion de Investigaciones Getting Tough, Argentina Tries to Economicas Latinoamericanas. Bue­ End Subsidies to Industries that Control de pretios e inflation: la nos Aires: FIEL, 1990. 45 p. Drain the Nation: Severe Foreign- experiencia argentina reciente. Debt Trouble Spurs Efforts to Re­ Fundacion de Investigaciones Eco­ The Fall of Labor’s Share in In­ form a Leaky System of Taxes. nomicas Latinoamericanas. Buenos come and Consumption: A New Peter Truell. The Wall Street Journal Aires: FIEL, 1990. 92 p. [Evaluation “Growth Model” for Argentina? (May 31,1988), p. 211-12. of anti-inflation measures, espe­ Adriana Marshall. In Lost Promises: cially price controls, adopted be­ Debt, Austerity, and Development in Historia de dos hiperinflaciones: tween 1983 and 1989.] Latin America, edited by William L. de Sourrouille a Erman Gonzalez. Canak. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Walter Graziano. Buenos Aires: The Crisis of Argentine Capitalism. Press, 1989. Fundacion Gabriel y Dario Ramos, Paul H. Lewis. Chapel Hill: Univer­ 1990. 251 p. sity of North Carolina Press, 1990. Fijacion de precios en la industria IMF Conditionally: Coercion or 573 p. $49.95. [Focuses on the im­ manufacturera bajo condiciones de Compromises? Kendall W. Stiles. pact of Peronism and the role of hiperinflacion: el caso argentino. World Development, v. 18 (July 1990), pressure groups.] Juan Pablo Villanueva, Juan Carlos p. 959-71. [Analyzes IMF decision­ Echeverry. Desarrollo Econdmico, making on its terms of intervention A Delicate Balance: Confrontation v. 31, no. 121 (April-June 1991), and the extent the IMF staff re­ and Cooperation between Argen­ p. 73-89. [Discusses the period sponds to various economic condi­ tina and the United States in the 1982-89.] 1980s. Aldo C. Vacs. Journal of Inter- tions in the borrowing nations. Includes a case study of Argentina.] american Studies and World Affairs, El financiamiento extemo v. 31, no. 4 (Winter 1989), p. 23-59. argentino durante la decada de El impacto fiscal del pago de la 1990: agenda y cursos de action. deuda externa: la experiencia ar­ Democracy, Distributional Con­ Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones gentina, 1980-1986. Marta Beker- flicts and Macroeconomic Policy­ Internationales. Buenos Aires: man. Desarrollo Econdmico, v. 29, making in Argentina, 1983-1989. Sudamericana, 1989. 299 p. [Col­ no. 116 (January-March 1990), William C. Smith. Journal of Inter- lection of articles dealing with p. 529-51. american Studies and World Affairs, measures adopted to deal with the v. 32 (Summer 1990), p. 1-42. Argentine foreign debt problem, La inflation argentina contempo- [Traces the economic aspects of including a discussion of foreign ranea: consecuencia de las con- the transition from military rule to investments.] ditiones de acumulacion de civilian government.] capital. Ruben Leon Guillen. From Stabilization to Growth. Realidad Economica, nos. 1/2 L’economie argentine a l’horizon. RudigerDombusch. Washington, (1990), p. 198-213. Jorge Schvarzer. Notes et etudes DC: World Bank, 1990. 52 p. [Pre­ documentaires, no. 2 (1989), p. 97- pared for the Second World Bank Inflation y estabilization en 112. Conference on Development Eco­ America Latina: nuevos modelos nomics, held in Washington, DC, estructuralistas. Edward J. Amadeo, Estado y grupos economicos, 1983- April 26-27, 1990, this paper as­ et al.; Eduardo Lora, ed. Bogota, 1989. Oscar Madoery. Buenos Aires: sesses the prospects for the Latin Colombia: Tercer Mundo, 1990. Centro Editor de America Latina, American economies in the 1990s.] [Includes a section on Argentina.]

Hemisphere • Fall 1991 Publications Update

Inflation—Are We Next?: Hyperin­ the government’s recent economic sonajes, las conexiones, las claves flation and Solutions in Argentina, policies.] secretas. Luis Majul. Buenos Aires: Brazil, and Israel. Pamela S. Falk, ed. Editorial Sudamericana, 1990. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Pub­ Opening Late-Industrializing Econ­ 292 p. lishers, 1990. 166 p. $22.00. omies: Lessons from Argentina and Australia. Gary W. Wynia. Policy Sci­ Programas de ajuste y estrategias Inflation in Argentina: Stop and Go ences (Amsterdam), v. 23 (August politicas: las experiencias recientes since the . Miguel A. 1990), p. 185-201. [Emphasizes de la Argentina y Bolivia. Vicente Kiguel. World Development, v. 19, trade liberalization strategies in the Palermo. Desarrollo Economico, v. 30, no. 8 (August 1991), p. 969-86. 1970s.] no. 119 (October-December 1990), p. 333-66. [This article was re­ La integration en la Cuenca del La politica economica de Menem: viewed by Adolfo Canitrot in De­ Plata. Antonio Sanchez-Gijon. del estado de bienester a la sarrollo Econdmico, v. 31, no. 121 Madrid: Cultura Hispanica, 1990. reestructuration conservadora. (April-June 1991), p. 125-33; the 278 p. [Appraisal of economic co­ Arnaldo Bocco, Gaston Repetto. author (Palermo) replied to this operation among countries of the Realidad Economica, no. 6 (1990), commentary in the same issue on Rio de la Plata basin.] p. 5-27. [Analyzes the economic p. 134-39.] orientations of President Carlos Los limites de las politicas indus­ Menem.] The Progress of Policy Reform in trials en un periodo de reestruc- Latin America. John Williamson. turacion regresiva: el caso de la Politica economica y deuda exter­ Washington, DC: Institute for Inter­ informatica en la Argentina. Daniel na en America Latina. Jose Ramon national Economics, 1990. 88 p. Azpiazu, Eduardo M. Basualdo, Garcia Menendez. Madrid: Instituto [Discusses the Argentine case.] Hugo NochtefF. Desarrollo Econd­ de Estudios Politicos para America mico, v. 30, no. 118 (July-September Latina y Africa, 1989. 430 p. Public Enterprise at the Cross­ 1990), p. 151-72. [Discusses the ef­ [Examines the monetarist policies roads: Essays in Honour of V. V. fects of economic policy on the adopted in the 1970s and their role Ramanadham./o/m Heath, ed. Lon­ electronics industry.] in the foreign debt crisis of the don: Routledge, 1990. 301 p. [Dis­ 1980s; emphasizes the countries of cusses experiences and policy Las logicas de la economia argen­ the Southern Cone.] options, including privatization, tina: inflation y crecimiento. with emphasis on developing coun­ Guillermo Vitelli. Buenos Aires: Politica industrial: lecciones de la tries. Includes a case study of Ar­ Prendergast Editores, 1990. 446 p. experiencia international. Ramon gentina.] O. Fradiani. Boletin Informativo El “menu de opciones” y el pro- Techint (January/February 1990), Radicalismo y empresas publicas, grama de capitalization de la p. 35-61. [Presents options for 1983-1989. Aida Arango de Maglio. deuda externa argentina. Roberto Argentina.] Realidad Economica, no. 6 (1990), Bouzas, Saul Keifman. Desarrollo p. 29-54. [Lists measures adopted Economico, v. 29, no. 116 (January- Political Change and Public Enter­ towards public enterprises during March 1990), p. 451-75. prise Performance: Argentina as a the Alfonsin administration; some Case Study. Robert E. Looney. emphasis on privatization policy.] Un modelo sin retomo: dificul- Rivista intemazionale di scienze tades y perspectivas de la econo­ economiche e commerdali (M ilan), Reforma del Estado y transfor­ mia argentina. Jorge Schvarzer. v. 37 (January 1990), p. 77-91. mation national. Carlos Menem, Buenos Aires: CISEA, 1990. [Measures impact of regime Roberto Dromi. Buenos Aires: Edito­ change, 1961-81. Also examines rial Ciencias de la Administration, Negotiating Debt: The IMF Lend­ macroeconomic problems, bureau­ 1990. 246 p. ing Process. Kendall W. Stiles. cratic authoritarianism, and na­ Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, tional stabilization.] Las relaciones de poder economico 1991. 211 p. [Cites the specific en la Argentina actual: una aproxi- experience of Argentina.] Politicas de estabilizacion e hiper- macion. Martin Asbomo. Buenos inflacion en Argentina. Jose Maria Aires: CICSO, 1990. 115 p. Observaciones sobre los vinculos Fanelli, Roberto Frenkel. Buenos existentes entre los subsidios y la Aires: Centro de Estudios de Es­ sQue hacer con el Estado?: privati- decadencia economica de la Ar­ tado y Sociedad, 1990. 232 p. zar para los monopolios o demo- gentina. Julio J. Nogues. Desarrollo cratizar la gestion economica. Economico, v. 30, no. 117 (April- Por que cayo Alfonsin: el nuevo Carlos Mendoza. Buenos Aires: June 1990), p. 86-107. [Criticizes terrorismo economico, los per- Ediciones Dialectica. 1990. 127 p.

Hemisphere • Fall 1991

Hemisphere Non Profit Org. Latin American and Caribbean Center U.S. Postage Florida International University PAID University Park Miami, FL 33199 Miami, Florida 33199 Permit No. 3675