I found this link, which will hopefully provide FMF, and no1 with the information about a certain aspect of latin american political culture. The culture of caudillismo. Its quite interesting in the way that its still present in latin america today, and it also helps understanding some of the worries of anti-zelaya hondurans.
The article is quite long, so I'll quote only parts of it, if you wish to see the whole article please visit the link.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203547904574280023928652200.html
The Cult of the Caudillo
The strongman may be Latin America’s most important contribution to political science. The crisis in Honduras has many terrified that power-hungry leaders are making a comeback
" Mr. Micheletti’s supporters say Mr. Zelaya was a dictator in the making, a modern-day caudillo, or strongman, who wanted to rewrite Honduran law to stay in power, perhaps indefinitely.
To understand what is happening in Honduras today, it helps to know a bit more about Latin America’s long love affair with caudillos, how these larger-than-life but power-hungry men damaged their countries, and why so many people are terrified that they are making a comeback."
"
Some argue that Latin America’s single most important—and colorful—contribution to political science is the caudillo. A Spanish word, caudillo is derived from the Latin capitellum or small head, and refers to a military or political leader. Spain’s Gen. Francisco Franco, adopted the title Caudillo de España por la Gracia de Dios (by the Grace of God) and ruled the nation from the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 until his death in 1975.
Caudillismo is so deeply rooted it has spawned its own literary genre. Discerning readers see Fidel Castro as the model for the aging, cow-obsessed strongman in Gabriel García Márquez’s “The Autumn of the Patriarch,” who wanders alone dragging his outsize testicles over the floors of his presidential palace. Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, in his novel “The Feast of the Goat,” portrayed the precariousness of life in the Dominican Republic under the rule of the predatory and brutal right-wing caudillo, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo."
"Caudillos come in all ideological stripes. Mr. Pinochet, whose famous photograph in sinister dark glasses was taken soon after his coup, became the iconic image of the right-wing Latin American military dictator. These days, most caudillos are leftist. Mr. Castro, el Comandante or el Caballo (the Horse), has the dubious distinction of being the longest-lived caudillo in Latin American history, owing his record-breaking stretch in power more to caudillismo than Marxismo. He’s passed on the torch to Hugo Chávez, the populist caudillo from Caracas, Venezuela."
"Many of Latin America’s most famous caudillos became dictators. But as Latin American societies evolved and political arenas became more important than military battlegrounds in the mid- to late-1800s, caudillos became politicians. While a dictator usually relies on brute force to keep power, modern caudillos use a combination of personal magnetism, patronage—and sometimes, selective brute force."
"In Latin America, the strength of the caudillo weakened the region’s institutions. Political parties centered on caudillos often collapsed after the caudillo’s death and never professionalized. As a result, Latin Americans seem perennially ready to trust their fate to a providential “man on horseback” who comes to their nation’s rescue, rather than on the ability of the nation’s institutions to provide security and prosperity.
Outsize personality—and outright megalomania—is a common characteristic of caudillos"
"While arms made the man in the 19th century, in the 20th, most caudillos have been careful to present themselves as champions of the people, wrapped either in the mantle of revolution—like Fidel Castro—or in that of democracy. Argentina’s Juan Domingo Perón used populism to endear himself to the nation’s poor, known as descamisados, or “shirtless ones.”
Continuing...
"Mr. Perón, like many other caudillos, sought additional legitimacy by preserving the forms of democracy, if only on paper. He won presidential elections, but his regime was hardly democratic: Perónists controlled the legislature, the courts, the bureaucracy, labor unions and the media. Anyone who got too far out of line faced arbitrary arrest"
"As far as the U.S. was concerned, the cause of democracy in Latin America often took a back seat to fighting Communism during the Cold War. For years, the U.S. either looked the other way or supported coups with the aim of preventing the spread of Communism in the hemisphere. Military coups became almost ritual. In the 1970s, Honduras endured so many coups that the capital was jokingly called Tegucigolpe, for the Spanish word golpe, or coup.
The end of the Cold War radically changed politics in Latin America. As civil wars and guerrilla insurrections in Central America ran out of steam, pampered military establishments suffered deep budget cuts. The U.S. and the rest of the world made it clear that coups would not be tolerated anymore. The Organization of American States, which represents 34 countries throughout the hemisphere, adopted a democracy clause in its charter in 2001. By that point, Cuba remained as the only non-democracy.
While democracy has spread throughout Latin America, caudillos never vanish, they just adapt to changing times. Gone is the old-fashioned military coup, replaced with a new strategy for power that could be called “coup by stealth,” or “coup by democratic means.” "
"The primary architect of this new blueprint is Mr. Chávez, a strongman with one foot grounded in the past and the other firmly placed in the future of caudillismo"
"Using the tools of democracy—referendums and elections—Mr. Chávez has subverted democracy and become a new, modern caudillo. He has won referendums over the years that have allowed him to rewrite the constitution, twice, to his specifications, including ending constitutional restrictions on term limits, thus allowing him to run for re-election indefinitely. He has gutted the courts, shut down and gagged the media and purged the army; he exercises total control over the congress. Venezuela still holds elections, but it is far from a full democracy."
"The Chávez blueprint for power is now being imitated by other caudillos in the making. Bolivian President Evo Morales, a former leader of a militant coca leaf growers’ union who led street riots that helped topple two Bolivian leaders, also won a referendum that allowed him to rewrite the constitution. One change: overturning a ban on re-election. Ecuador’s Rafael Correa has used a constitutional rewrite to get term limits lifted, too. Both men used populism and disappointment with existing political parties to cast themselves as their nation’s saviors. "
...
Mr. zelaya certainly fits the profile, of a typical modern caudillo.
Originally posted by generalissimoNothing new for me here. I noted the specific references to Pinochet and Franco.
I found this link, which will hopefully provide FMF, and no1 with the information about a certain aspect of latin american political culture. The culture of caudillismo. Its quite interesting in the way that its still present in latin america today, and it also helps understanding some of the worries of anti-zelaya hondurans.
The article is quite lo ...[text shortened]... to endear himself to the nation’s poor, known as descamisados, or “shirtless ones.”
Originally posted by SeitseHe is a surly little sausage. And a very very active debater. With "no1moron" he was landing a blow to the chin, you see.
no1moron?
Gee, that's a very mature way to debate "seriously".
This thread is worthless because the opening is proper of a 5 year old.
0040 hrs here. Off to bed.
Originally posted by FMFvery good FMF, you're just as good as scherzo and seitse when it comes to comedy.
He is a surly little sausage. And a very very active debater. With "no1moron" he was landing a blow to the chin, you see.
0040 hrs here. Off to bed.
Off to bed? LOL, se ya tomorrow madam.
Originally posted by generalissimoMy favorite points were
I found this link, which will hopefully provide FMF, and no1 with the information about a certain aspect of latin american political culture. The culture of caudillismo. Its quite interesting in the way that its still present in latin america today, and it also helps understanding some of the worries of anti-zelaya hondurans.
The article is quite lo ...[text shortened]... to endear himself to the nation’s poor, known as descamisados, or “shirtless ones.”
1) how the caudillos have historically come from BOTH the LEFT and the RIGHT.
2) how the Caudillo in modern times has evolved to use the modern means of the state such as referendum
Originally posted by eljefejesus2) how the Caudillo in modern times has evolved to use the modern means of the state such as referendum
My favorite points were
1) how the caudillos have historically come from BOTH the LEFT and the RIGHT.
2) how the Caudillo in modern times has evolved to use the modern means of the state such as referendum
which is why the worries about zelaya were valid.
His rhetoric was similar to that of modern caudillos, and so were his methods.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8150940.stm
Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has said his supporters have "the right to insurrection" in their bid to see him reinstated.
Mr Zelaya said Hondurans were within their rights to demonstrate, go on strike, or even rise up against the interim Honduran government.
I see, so mr.zelaya is basically using his charisma and influence to incite his supporters to be violent and try changing things by force, sounds caudillo-like to me.
International efforts are underway to resolve the Honduran crisis peacefully.
they're gonna have a hard time if mr.zelaya decides to do things his way.