Latin American Political Armies in the Twenty‐first Century

Abstract

Outlining the debate1 Twentieth-century Latin America has been the continent of political soldiers and military politicians. Effectively, the true significance of the Latin American armed forces is in their political nature. As a 'stabilising force', as 'disinterested arbiter', as a 'protecting power of the constitution', as 'guardian of national development', the military constantly intervened in political matters. In this intervening capacity, generals became politicians in uniform, more than the leaders of soldiers. Political militarism continued to affect Latin America during the 'third wave' of d?mocratisation (Diamond, 1999). During the 1980s and early 1990s, military discontent with the civilian governments' performance erupted into barrack revolts or attempted coups in Argentina and Venezuela. The military in Brazil and Chile gave occasional shows of force to air their views on key issues such as constitutional reform, labour policy, or human rights. In Peru, the military backed the 'self-coup' of elected president Alberto Fujimori in 1992. In Venezuela, former revolt leader Hugo Chavez was elected president in 1998, while in Bolivia former military strongman and dictator Hugo Banzer made a political comeback through the ballot box. After Guatemala's presidential elections in December 1999, the former military dictator Efrain R?os Montt became the president of the nation's congress. Not only did elected presidents resort to the instrument of the military-backed coup and former dictators or putchists re-entered politics through the ballot box. The classical pronunciamiento also renewed its lease on life. In Paraguay, Colonel Lino Oviedo helped bringing down the long-standing regime of the old dictator Alfredo Stroessner in the late 1980s. Subsequently promoted to general,