DICTATORSHIPS IN LATIN AMERICA - #VOTEBEM

Military dictatorship – Nature and typology

A military dictatorship is a form of government where the political power resides with the military. Although there are exceptions, military regimes usually have little respect for human rights and use whatever means necessary to silence political opponents. A military regime is also rarely willing to leave power unless forced to by popular revolt, whether active or imminent.

Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East have been common areas for military dictatorships. One of the reasons for this is the fact that the military often has more cohesion and institutional structure than most of the civilian institutions of society.

Since the 1990s, military dictatorships have become less common. Reasons for this include the fact that military dictatorships no longer have much international legitimacy, as well as the fact that many militaries having unsuccessfully ruled many nations are now inclined not to become involved in political disputes. Furthermore, the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union made it more difficult for military regimes to use the threat of communism as justification for their actions, or to gain support from foreign sources.

Nations with a legacy of military dictatorship(s) – In the Americas:

Argentina, Bolívia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicarágua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. 

Dictatorships in Latin America – The USA’s influence

The World War Two and the Cold War consolidated the United States influence over the Latin America countries. The North-American government affirmed its hegemony in the region through technical help, loans and economical deals that opened the Latin-Americans to the consumer goods produced by the USA.

Against any soviet threat the North-American government organized or stimulated military interventions in many Latin-American countries. That’s what happened in Guatemala, ruled by Jacob Arbenz whose land reform proposal affected the North-American companies’ interests in the country. CIA agents set up an overthrow, deposed the Guatermalan president in 1954 and installed a dictatorship government. The laws created by Arbenz – minimum wage, limitation of hours worked per day, freedom of speech, etc – were canceled under the dictatorship of coronel Carlos Castillo Armas.

In Chile, Salvador Allende was the last civil president before the military overthrow. Elected by a group that gathered democrats, socialists and communists, Allende nationalized the copper mines, the financial system and promoted a land and educational reform in the country. These actions displeased the most conservative sections of the Chilean society and some countries, like the USA. Therefore, with the support of the North-American government, the military forces organized a state overthrow.

Allende tried to refuge in the government’s main office, the de La Moneda Palace, which was a bombardment target. With nowhere to go, and before the troops broke into the place, the president committed suicide. General August Pinochet took over the power and started a brutal dictatorship in the country.

In power, Pinochet proved to be vicious, destroying the existing political system, engaging in extensive human rights abuses, and privatizing industry while taking services away from the lower classes. Although supported by the United States, Pinochet's military dictatorship dealt a staggering blow to democracy, freedom, and reform. Until handing partial power back to civilian leaders in 1990, Pinochet provided a classic example of a military dictatorship.

In Argentina, the situation was also very tense. The inflation was rising, the salary was losing power and the political manifestations flapped the country. In 1976, the military forces deposed the president Maria Estela Martínez de Perón, known as Isabelita, Perón’s second wife.

The dictatorship established in Argentina lasted to 1983 and it’s considered the most violent in Latin America. According to humanitarians groups about 30 thousand of people were killed in the country by the government.