The Pinochet affair is taking on very interesting aspects here in Bolivia. As I noted in other missives, Gen. Hugo Banzer took power through a coup here in Bolivia in 1971, and remained in power until 1978. During his time in power he formed part of what a local journalist has aptly called the "MERCOSUR of Terror", that is, the formal alliance of southern cone dictators, who through Operation Condor (and other mechanisms) did each others' dirty work, such as deproting/repatriating people to their deaths. In the documents that seek to extradite Pinochet to Spain from England, Banzer and Bolivia are mentioned, causing pathetic gyrations and disclaimers here. The "collateral damage" caused by the Pinochet affair is really opening up the past here. Some details follow. First, Banzer pathetically falls all over himself to deny any knowledge of Operation Condor. "I tell you," he said yesterday, "as an article of faith between men [this is the sort of macho shit such dictators cannot purge from their language] I never knew of the existence of Operation Condor, because as far as I know, it never operated in this country, and as such that it would be impossible for me to have been involved in it." Nonetheless, senator Hugo Carvajal of the Bolivian MIR, an ally of Banzer's ADN party since 1989 and current member of his coalition government, stated categorically "Bolivia was involved and we can't lie about it." The evidence seems to suggest Carvajal is right. For example, on 2 April 1975, Graciela Antonia Rutilo Artes, the daughter of Spanish parents, was captured in the Bolivian city of Oruro, and turned over to Argentinian authorities, never to surface again. And on 13 November 1976 Julio de Transito Valladares was turned over by Bolivian authorities to their Chilean counterparts. He too disappeared. These two cases are cited in judge Garzon's documents; others cases are well known to the Bolivian human rights community. All of these cases suggest real coordination between dictators. MERCOSUR indeed. And as I noted before, it is unimaginable that the US, given it's level of support to regional dictators (Banzer was a School of the America's graduate, etc.), wasn't fully aware and supportive of such coordination. Other details: * Banzer was confronted by a 29 year old jounalist on these details, and he responded: "you were 3 years old at the time ... so how could you have evidence?" * The head of Banzer's ADN party, Enrique Toro, noted that the cause of all the hoopla is an international leftist conspiracy. Later he elaborated further, suggesting the "Spaniards have decided to return to being the Conquistadores of America," likening Spanish judge Garzon to Pizarro, Almagro, and Cortez. With what moral authority, he asked, could the Spaniards, a monarchy, criticize Bolivian democracy? The bottom line, he stated, is that Pinochet took power by force, wrote his own constitution, and was voted out by the Chilean people. In contrast, Banzer came to power by force, yes, but in an alliance with the two most important political parties of the time. Further, he was democratically re-elected. (Note: all of this is true, but does not lead to the conclusion this functionary would like us to draw. Rather it shows: (a) political parties here are hopelessly corrupt and opportunistic; (b) politicians, as always, take as a positive mandate the outcomes the results of negative lesser-of-two-evils elections; and (c) the peculiarities of Bolivias current political system: if no party obtains a simple majority, the horse trading between parties starts, the results being unholy alliances of opportunists who barter votes to form coalition governments. Democracy? * According to the Madrid newspaper El Mundo, Banzer's wife Lucia Hiliart says old Augusto doesn't yet know he's under arrest, of that his diplomatic passport is not being "respected." She noted "If Augusto finds out about what's going on, he'll have an attack of rage and die." Hmm. Anybody want to let it slip to the old fucker? Tom PS:As I am writing from a cybercafe, please don't respond by hitting ctrl + r. Send responses to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
