Authoritarianism and the “Pink Tide”

During the 21st century, popular elections brought many left-wing governments into power in Latin America in a movement known popularly as the “Pink Tide.” The movement rose up in 1999 in response to the demise of decades-long, right-wing governments that were supported by the United States, and gained ground because of popular disillusionment with the structural adjustment and austerity measures imposed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Countries that have experienced Pink Tide administrations include Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Argentina.

But now, many critics call attention to the increasingly authoritarian tendencies of Presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia, Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, and Rafael Correa of Ecuador. For instance, Venezuelan model Genesis Carmona was killed in protests against the Maduro government in 2014. Shortly after, one of her family members asked, “How long are we going to live like this? How long do we have to tolerate this pressure, with them killing us?” While some Pink Tide governments, such as the government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina, have recently fallen to more conservative politicians, most others have stayed in power despite a recent spike in opposition towards them.

The political situation in Brazil offers an emblematic example of a Pink Tide government experiencing backlash due to its authoritarianism. Though President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, the original Pink Tide leader of the country, has left office, he has been replaced by his ideologically and politically similar successor, President Dilma Rousseff. Lula’s and Rousseff’s ascent to power are perfect examples of how “Pink Tide” leaders were swept into office after 1999. Lula was elected president in 2003 after serving as a union leader during the Brazilian military junta that governed Brazil from 1964 to 1985. Rousseff is a former Marxist guerrilla who was tortured during the junta’s rule. But now, Dilma Rousseff’s government, one of the most democratic of the Pink Tide, is falling apart. In late 2015, the Chamber of Deputies authorized impeachment proceedings against Rousseff after she was accused of being involved with the Petrobras scandal by illicitly paying kickbacks to government officials involved with the Petrobras petroleum company. Additionally, she raised eyebrows when she named her predecessor, Lula, as her chief of staff. Protesters numbering in the millions are calling for Rousseff’s resignation. Furthermore, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, the biggest party coalition in the legislature, broke off relations with Rousseff’s coalition. Rousseff will attempt to form a new coalition, but she is in massive political trouble. The Petrobras scandal infuriated Brazilians who were already outraged by the costs associated with the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and the upcoming cost of this year’s Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, another Pink Tide leader, has also struggled recently Correa was elected in 2007 after running on a platform of ending structural adjustment policies and austerity measures that harmed the poor. But Correa’s authoritarianism quickly came through when he criticized U.S.-based comedian John Oliver after the latter made fun of when Correa greeted a popular clown on stage during one of his addresses to the nation, and later when Correa explicitly singled out Tweeters who denounced his administration. The skit itself, however, was not the end of the story. Correa bluntly suggested that Oliver was not funny and that the comedian expressed oversensitivity in regard to the Tweeters. Oliver then used this series of events to play a game with his audience, asking them to point to the locations of Latin American countries on a map. When much of his audience failed to locate several key countries, Oliver exposed the widespread ignorance Americans have about Latin American countries and their governments.

The very scope of “Latin America” lacks universal clarity. Thomas Skidmore and Peter H. Smith, authors of Modern Latin America, define the region as consisting of 20 nations and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. These nations stretch throughout most of South America and some of North America. As one would expect, the region is far from homogeneous. For example, while most Latin Americans speak Spanish, Brazilians speak Portuguese and Haitians speak French. Enmity has historically existed between some of the countries, such as between El Salvador and Honduras, as immigration issues between those two countries long predated what became the Soccer War of 1969 (which was actually largely unrelated to soccer). In short, there are obvious divisions and distinctions between Latin American nations because of their differing histories and lived experiences.

But despite their longstanding differences, Latin American nations occasionally follow similar political currents and ideas. Positivism, for instance, was the predominant philosophy at the turn of the 20th century, and military juntas (often funded by the United States) overthrew civilian governments in the 1950s and in every decade until the 1990s. The Pink Tide is just another example of a current spreading throughout much of the continent. There are even similarities in how the Pink Tide governments came to be. For example, several of these leaders included former rebels that were against military governments, including the Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional in Nicaragua and the Frente Farabundo Marti de Liberacion Nacional in El Salvador. In short, it is no surprise that the “P ink Tide” contains common themes and origins throughout numerous Latin American nations.

The nations of Latin America certainly merit more widespread coverage in the United States. The “Pink Tide” produced many leaders who bypass term limits and abrogate human rights. This is evident across the board in Latin America. Nicolas Maduro’s government in Venezuela, for example, cracks down harshly on dissidents, as we saw with the killing of a model who was protesting. Or Evo Morales’ government in Bolivia, which changed the nation’s constitution so that Morales could serve a third term. Then there is Correa, whose anger at his critics could eventually lead to reprisals and violence against them by his followers. And while Rousseff may continue to lose power in the coming weeks, the other authoritarian Pink Tide governments will remain.

Hopefully, the Pink Tide governments will become more lenient and democratic as time passes. Even adherents to right-wing ideologies sometimes prefer a democratic leftist government to an authoritarian rightwing regime. Fortunately, much of the support for the Pink Tide is collapsing; some pundits are writing about how the Pink Tide is “turning.” Also fortunate is the fact that supporters of more democratic left-wing governments, such as the government of President Tabare Vazquez of Uruguay, are starting to make their voices known. Even democratic right-wing politicians, such as Mauricio Macri of Argentina, are gaining power. Perhaps the moderates will finally prevail over the radical right and the far left for the first time since the mid-1990s.

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