Despite Chavez and the gang, there are signs of strengthening Democracy in South America

I continue to urge Americans and our government to keep an eye on Chavez, who this week has been, with the approval of neighboring President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, has been assisting with negotiations with FARC (Forzas Armandas Revoluncionarias de Colombia), a drug dealing, terrorist, revolutionary group that the US has been trying to help Colombia eradicate for decades. If Chavez makes progress here, it will certainly strengthen his standing even further in the region--uh oh.

But, in the meantime, there are signs of strengthening Democracy further south on the continent. In Brazil, two high ranking members of President Lula da Silva's Workers' Party (PT, in Brazil) will face the courts. As a fan of Lula, as the president is known in his country, it might shock some that I am pleased that both Delubio Soares, the treasurer of the PT and Jose Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva, Lula's Chief of Staff, are both facing corruption charges. The word came down this week from Brazil's Supreme Court and it is big news. And, I would argue, it is a sign of health in Brazil's democracy. Unlike in Venezuela, Brazil's highest levels of the Judiciary are not under the thumb of the executive branch. And, unlike in the not too distant past, high ranking members of the ruling party are going to have to face the music.

I was studying in Brazil during the 1992-1993 national protests to remove then President Fernando Color de Melo, from power. President Color had been the first president in a long while to be democratically elected in South America's largest country. His election had been a source of pride in Brazil, but massive corruption in his government, caused the people to call for his impeachment. Massive protests all over the country--some with as many as a million people at a time spilled into the streets. I remember my father warning me to stay far away from the rallies (which were pretty hard to avoid if I wanted to get home through the center of Sao Paulo), because there was such a history of violence in Latin American politics. But I was there and I saw people painting their faces green and yellow and dancing samba and singing songs--in a very new, but very Brazilian, style of protest. And I wasn't afraid. I was happy. I was excited. I was in the middle of history. It was a very good sign for democracy in Brazil. Power passed to the vice president and everyone talked about the fact that this new president, known by his first name, Itamar, was not married, but had a younger girlfriend. And on things went. It was fantastic. No bullets.

But, even though Color was peacefully removed from office, even though the corruption was wide-spread and on a large scale, no one went to court. Now, times are changing and for the good. O Globo news agency in Brazil quotes Lula as saying, "Ninguem tem mais etica e moral que o PT." (Nobody has more ethics and morals than the Workers' Party". And from following Brazilian politics for a couple of decades, I'd say he may be correct. Corruption in Brazil, and much of Latin America, is and has been endemic for five centuries. It came with the governing systems that the Spanish and Portuguese imposed on the region and it has grown, mutated and survived ever since. Seeing corruption cases in the courts is a good thing. We must hope and watch to be sure that this crack-down on corruption continues regardless of which party is in power. The signs are good.

At the same time that Brazilians are watching to see how their officials do in court, their neighbors to the south, the Argentines, are waiting to see if their most famous soccer star, Diego Maradona, will go to jail. Almost as amazing as official corruption charges in Brazil, is the thought of a soccer god like Maradona facing jail time in Argentina. O Globo reports on its website that when Maradona returns to Argentina (he is currently out of the country), he will have to spend some time in jail for a traffic accident last year that injured innocent by-standers. The soccer legend and tv personality, who has skirted the law for decades, mostly in regards to his well-publicized cocaine use, is finally going to have to face some real consequences--like an actual human being.

It is worth noting, that while the Diego Maradona story was big news on the main page of O Globo's site, while I scrolled through the entirety of Buenos Aires' El Clarin yesterday, and never saw a mention of the soccer star's fate. It may be that Brazil, long a major soccer rival to Argentina, may be taking a bit of pleasure in the star's plight. But, Argentina, let me say that there is a bright side to this story. No one is above the law in a democracy, and the up side of seeing your hero in jail, is that it represents democracy and equality in action. Democracy is not all celebrations. Democracy is hard. Both rivals, Brazil and Argentina, two countries, close to my heart, may be learning this lesson together.

Still, we must be vigilant. The struggle of democracy is not yet won. Chavez and the gang must be watched very carefully. In addition, another southern neighbor, Chile, had protests turn violent last week. During protests calling for higher pensions, and better education, housing and health care, more than 50 demonstrators and 18 police were injured after police fired tear gas into the crowd and starting swinging clubs to break up the rallies. Senator Alejandro Navarro, of President Michelle Bachelet's Socialist Party was clubbed in the head by police during the ma lay.

We also need to keep an eye on Peru, whose government is facing strong criticism after it failed to react quickly to the needs of its coastal communities, flattened in the earthquake just a couple of weeks ago. The complete failure of its communications systems meant that officials in Lima had no idea of the extent of the damage in the initial hours after the tragedy. The damage to the already limited road network, held up the rescue effort even further. We need to support this young democracy, to be sure that it survives and thrives.

But this week, I am happy to report, that there are some healthy signs to our south.