An amazing story slipped by me last week. I am writing about it today because, given the turbulence of the Pennsylvania primary, it probably slipped by many of you as well.
If there has been one country in Latin America that seemed that it was permanently sunk into a morass of reactionary totalitarianism, it is Paraguay. Paraguay, the longtime fiefdom of Gen. Alfredo Stroessner, notorious retirement village of departed Nazis. Of all of the countries in the region, this was the one where one could bet change would not come. That may be one reason that President Bush followed "Reverend" Sun Myung Moon in buying a huge tract of land in Northern Paraguay. (Follow down the thread.)
And then a week ago, guess what?
Paraguay chose as its new President Fernando Lugo, a man knows as "the bishop of the poor."
This has been diaried before -- prospectively, by FishOutofWater, here, then with a report on the election results, by ceti, here, and finally a look at the results in regional context, by redsmear1, here. And yet, I don't think all three combined -- which you all should please read -- give sufficient attention to this enormous development.
Paraguay! Of all the countries that we Reagan Era activists on Latin American thought would never change, it would certainly have been at the top. (Now it seems more likely that Mexico is the one that will somehow find its way to never electing progressive leadership, but that too will no doubt someday change.) Paraguay is a symbol of ossification and retrenchment, but that symbol is changing its colors. With the excitement of Pennsylvania past us, I hope that we can take a moment to appreciate what has happened here, and that it was even possible.
George W. Bush is sometimes characterized as being fairly popular in Africa, where some of his policies are apprarently seen being relatively enlightened. (I won't argue the point here.) But the continent where he has done the most good may well be South America. He took our attention away from it, squandered our military resources in Iraq so that we don't have a credible threat to invade it, and has been such a repellant leader that he has helped motivate people to reject those associated with him.
A new President who actually supports human rights and self-determination in Latin America will be able to bring countries back onto our side. But I have to give President Bush credit for helping drive people and countries away from being tied to the worst imperialist instincts of the U.S. Happily, the U.S. is better than the worst of our policies. Increasingly, if and when we elect decent leaders, we will find partners in Latin American with whom we can work for the betterment of all. Bush didn't intend it this way, but he gets some "credit."
One of the most stubborn locks holding down the rights of people there has been oiled enough to where it has unclasped. That is cause for celebration. So, even though most of us probably missed it, let us celebrate today.
Here's a little bit from Wikipedia to whet your appetite:
Lugo is a former bishop who resigned from the priesthood in December 2006 in preparation for his presidential bid. As a priest, he required a permit from the Vatican to become directly involved in politics prior to 2006. However, the Paraguayan constitution prohibits ministers of any faith from standing as a political candidate. Despite his resignation, the Vatican regards priesthood as a lifelong commitment but has suspended him from his duties.
As bishop of San Pedro, a poor region, for ten years beginning in 1994, his support for landless peasants earned him a reputation as "the bishop of the poor". He is an advocate of land reform and other measures to address poverty, but has distanced himself from leftists such as Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales, saying that he is not left-wing or right-wing but "in the middle". He vowed to end the Colorado Party's 61 year rule, fight corruption, and make Paraguay "a new country". According to Lugo, he believes "in the people's self-determination and in recovering sovereignty and independence". Lugo is backed by the Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC), which includes both left and right wing groups, notably the conservative Authentic Radical Liberal Party.
To learn more about this development, please read those three diaries to which I have linked above.