Since the election of Evo Morales in Bolivia’s December election, pundits the world over have been trying to put a label on the new face of Latin American populism. Is he a socialist, a communist, an extremist, a Bolivarian, a drug trafficker, what?
Like Jeffrey Sachs, in this week’s Radio Open Source (ROS) podcast, I’ve cast my lot and called Evo a populist. As Sachs noted, the fate of the populist often isn’t pretty. After expelling the imperialists and freezing their assets, the populist quickly runs out of funds, his legitimacy falters, and he is summarily thrown out of office. There’s no reason to believe that Evo would be exempt from this path of triumph to tragedy that has plagued so many Latin American populists.
For those of you who believe that anti-American sentiment is fueled by a distaste for Coca-Cola and trashy Hollywood movies, think again. There was nothing free-market about the Bolivian gas contracts negotiated behind closed doors in the late 90’s. Nor was there anything humanitarian about the Bolivian army and police, supported with American funds, terrorizing the peasant populations in the Chapare just because Americans can’t control their appetite for cocaine.
It’s no wonder that anti-Americanism is a hot commodity these days. I’ve spent a good deal of time in Bolivia, and can tell you first hand that Americans are received about as warmly as you could hope by 99% of Bolivians. It isn’t us that they hate, its our failed foreign policy that has left them frustrated and alienated.
The need to find a balance was the most striking theme of the ROS podcast. Yes, the new Bolivian president already has quite a balancing act on his hands.
The new socialist model in Bolivia must find a way to balance the need for greater market access with the requirements of social justice and equitable international relations. The government must find a way to mitigate the effects of corruption at all levels, internationally, nationally, and locally, so that Bolivia’s vast natural gas reserves can be extracted and the resources redistributed for the purpose of social and economic development.
Evo Morales is in the unenviable position of saying no the the economic hitmen, saying no to a failed US drug policy, while at the same time saying yes to foreign investment and foreign aid. A balancing act indeed.