Miguel Tinker Salas

Introduction: New Perspectives on Politics and Society

Mass disturbances in opposition to government-imposed austerity measures in February 1989 (the Caracazo) and the democratic government’s ensuing brutal repression exposed serious fissures in the Venezuelan political system. Venezuela has long been promoted as a model democracy for Latin America, but it soon became obvious that below the surface Venezuelan society exhibited a deep social divide and that the political system had become unresponsive to the needs of most of the people. This disparity was only made worse by the popular perception that, as a world supplier of oil, the country had ample resources to redress poverty. Recurrent national scandals involving government corruption and the collapse of banking institutions and the complete impunity surrounding these cases further incensed most Venezuelans. As the country experienced an intensification of class polarization, the continued growth of the informal sector, and a growing wave of social protest, it increasingly resembled others throughout Latin America. The social tensions evident in society were reflected in popular culture, including various musical genres, such as llanero music, salsa, and gaitas (as Light Carruyo shows in this issue). Two unsuccessful military coups in 1992 also put in evidence the widespread discontent. Throughout the 1990s the traditional political class scurried to repair the system without fundamentally addressing the causes of the problem. Yet even under these circumstances, many political leaders at all levels assumed that no fundamental change had occurred in Venezuelan politics. This complacency explains why Venezuela’s largest party, the social-democratic Acción Democrática (Democratic Action–AD), nominated a lackluster oldtime politician (Luis Álfaro Ucero) as its presidential candidate in 1998 in spite of the formidable challenge posed by the candidacy of Hugo Chávez. The election in 1993 of the octogenarian Rafael Caldera, former leader of the Christian Democrats, at the head of a diverse coalition of traditional politicalMass disturbances in opposition to government-imposed austerity measures in February 1989 (the Caracazo) and the democratic governments ensuing brutal repression exposed serious fissures in the Venezuelan political system. Venezuela has long been promoted as a model democracy for Latin America, but it soon became obvious that below the surface Venezuelan society exhibited a deep social divide and that the political system had become unresponsive to the needs of most of the people. This disparity was only made worse by the popular perception that, as a world supplier of oil, the country had ample resources to redress poverty. Recurrent national scandals involving government corruption and the collapse of banking institutions and the complete impunity surrounding these cases further incensed most Venezuelans. As the country experienced an intensification of class polarization, the continued growth of the informal sector, and a growing wave of social protest, it increasingly resembled others throughout Latin America. The social tensions evident in society were reflected in popular culture, including various musical genres, such as llanero music, salsa, and gaitas (as Light Carruyo shows in this issue). Two unsuccessful military coups in 1992 also put in evidence the widespread discontent. Throughout the 1990s the traditional political class scurried to repair the system without fundamentally addressing the causes of the problem. Yet even under these circumstances, many political leaders at all levels assumed that no fundamental change had occurred in Venezuelan politics. This complacency explains why Venezuelas largest party, the social-democratic Acci6n Democritica (Democratic Action-AD), nominated a lackluster oldtime politician (Luis Alfaro Ucero) as its presidential candidate in 1998 in spite of the formidable challenge posed by the candidacy of Hugo Chavez. The election in 1993 of the octogenarian Rafael Caldera, former leader of the Christian Democrats, at the head of a diverse coalition of traditional political

Introduction: Mexico 2006-2012: High Stakes, Daunting Challenges

The presidential election scheduled for July 2, 2006, dominates Mexican political debate. In this Mexico is not alone; 2006 looms as the year of elec tions in Latin America, with presidential contests scheduled in Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Venezuela. In December 2005 Bolivi ans overwhelmingly elected the indigenous leader Evo Morales from the Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement for Socialism?MAS) as their next president. Chileans will choose a president in a runoff scheduled for January 2006. Throughout South America, support from mass movements and indig enous groups and popular discontent have led to the election of reformers, neo-populists, and even radicals. Though not united by a common ideology, the leaders of Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil have generally pro moted regional integration, opposed unilateral U.S. action, and adopted poli cies that tend to favor the lower socioeconomic sectors of society. Initially, Mexico appeared to join this trend when in 2000 the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party?PRI) suf fered its first-ever defeat in a campaign for the presidency. In July of that year public discontent and the strategy of the voto ?til (useful vote) by which opponents of the PRI, including many prominent leftists, supported Vicente Fox of the conservative Partido de Acci?n Nacional (National Action Party? PAN) produced the election of the first non-PRI national administration in 70 years. Fox exploited the wave of mass discontent in Mexico, campaigning with a pseudo-populist rhetoric that he quickly abandoned once in office. In fact, next to Alvaro Uribe of Colombia and Tony Saca of El Salvador, Fox has been one of the most trusted U.S. allies in Latin America. With the exception of the war in Iraq, where Mexican popular sentiment overwhelmingly opposed the U.S. invasion, he has faithfully supported U.S. initiatives on trade,