The Military in Politics

Max Cameron

Latin American Politics and Government

Poli 332, UBC

Sources of Military Intervention• Internal to FFAA - concept of guardianship

• External - civilian expectations of the military

• Historical patterns - need for strong government

• Institutional deficiencies in larger polity

The History of Coups

• 167 coups in 20th century

• 1.6 per year, or 8.8 per country

• Worst decades: 1910-19; 1930-39, 1960-69

• Best: since 1990

• Explanations: social question, depression, Cuban revolution

Types of Regimes

• Peronalistic or collegial?

• Institutional role?

• Ideological orientation?

• Type of civilian support?

Inclusionary or Exclusionary?

• Reformist/inclusionary– Peru 1968-1975

• Collegial, junior officers at first

• Institutional with tendency toward division

• Reformist, Third Worldist

• Workers, peasants, intellectuals

• Reactionary/exclusionary– Chile 1973-1990

• Collegial with strong personalism emerging

• Institutional, coherent and disciplined

• Reactionary, forerunner of neoliberalism

• Business elites, technocrats, US

Wars Against Subversion (1956-1990)

• Idea of “perception of threat”– Guatemala under Arbenz, Cuban

revolution, rise of BA states

• State of exception or “emergency”

• Logic of friends versus enemies

• Concept of total war: the Shining Path in Peru

Aftermath of Internal War: Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation

or Impunity and Amnesia?• Trade offs between truth and justice• Strategic logics and coalitions• Cases:

– Punto Final in Argentina– Rettig Commission in Chile– Peace Accords in Guatemala– Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Peru

Military in Politics Today

• Military control– None. There are no military regimes

• Military tutelage – Central America: e.g. Guatemala

• Conditional subordination– Andes: Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Chile

• Civilian control– Costa Rica, Uruguay

A new era?

• Election of Piñera in Chile

• Military support for Evo Morales

• Chavez and the military

• Parapolitica scandal in Colombia

• Coup in Honduras