HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: World


April 24, 2005, 12:54AM

Power to the people or mob rule?

Popular uprisings, such as the one that toppled Ecuador's president, are on the increase throughout fragile Latin American democracies

By JOHN OTIS
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

QUITO, ECUADOR - Voted out of office by Congress and with angry protesters calling for his head, Ecuadorean President Lucio Gutierrez hatched a desperate escape plan.

Associated Press
Hundreds of people filled a runway at the Quito, Ecuador, airport last week as they blocked a plane carrying Lucio Gutierrez, just voted out of the presidency by Congress, from taking off. Political observers say popular uprisings have replaced military coups in Latin American countries.
The democratically elected leader fled from the roof of the national palace by helicopter Wednesday, then boarded a small plane at Quito's international airport. But the crowds caught up with him.

Thousands of flag-waving protesters broke through a barrier and formed a human shield across the runway with their bodies and vehicles. Gutierrez jumped back on the chopper and holed up in the Brazilian ambassador's residence.

Hailed as a victory

Gutierrez, who was granted political asylum by the Brazilian government, was expected to depart Quito today on a military aircraft sent from the city of Porto Velho, in western Brazil, that nation's foreign ministry said.

Many Ecuadoreans call the downfall of Gutierrez — widely viewed here as a conniving, authoritarian leader — as a victory for people power, proof that the will of average citizens can prevail.

"People are so tired of corrupt politicians that they took the law into their own hands," said Cathy Yumbla, a university student who took part in the protests.

Some analysts, however, call last week's developments in Ecuador the latest example of a mob-rule mentality that appears to be taking hold across much of Latin America.

Instead of waiting for the next round of voting, protesters angry at their elected leaders have taken to the streets. In some cases, they have helped force out presidents, including three in Ecuador since 1997.

"This is the modern way of coup-making," said Eduardo Gamarra, who heads the Latin America and Caribbean Center at Florida International University in Miami. "Instead of the constitution and electoral results, there's this idea that legitimacy is granted through street mobilizations and public opinion polls."

Ecuador's vice president, Alfredo Palacio, was sworn in Wednesday to replace his former boss.

Legality questioned

But by Saturday, neither the United States nor any Latin American nation had come forward with formal recognition of his government. The Organization of American States questioned the legality of Gutierrez's ouster and said it would send a high-level delegation to Quito to investigate.

In a statement issued from the Brazilian ambassador's residence on Friday, Gutierrez, 48, insisted that last week's congressional vote dismissing him was illegal. As grounds for their decision, lawmakers had cited a a vague constitutional clause that allows the removal of a president for "abandonment of position."

"Without having abandoned the post, they have taken me out of the presidency," Gutierrez said. "There has to be justice, respect for democracy and for the constitution."

Many Ecuadoreans say, however, that Gutierrez — a former army colonel who helped lead a popular uprising that toppled President Jamil Mahuad in 2000 — made a mockery of democracy.

Campaigned as populist

They point out that Gutierrez campaigned for the presidency on a populist, anti-corruption platform. But once in office, they contend, Gutierrez approved harsh economic austerity measures, installed family members in government posts and cut deals with corrupt politicians rather than jailing them.

"You give them your trust, and they do the exact opposite of what they promise," said Carlos Tamayo, a taxi driver in Quito. "They suck the blood of the people like bats."

The move that seemed to seal Gutierrez's fate was his temporary alliance with Abdala Bucaram, a former president who fled to Panama after being ousted from office in a 1997 uprising.

Pro-Bucaram legislators briefly gave Gutierrez a razor-thin majority in Congress. Gutierrez persuaded lawmakers to fire the Supreme Court and then reconstituted the judicial body with his cronies. The new court annulled corruption convictions against Bucaram, paving the way for the ex-president to return to Ecuador earlier this month.

The move sparked a wave or protests that came to a head Wednesday. Fearing a blood bath if they were ordered to fire on demonstrators, Ecuador's army and police withdrew their support from Gutierrez, and the Congress voted to dismiss him.

"The person who violated the constitution was the president," said Gustavo Larrea, director of the independent Latin American Human Rights Association in Quito. "The people were calling for a return to a state of law. This was an exercise in direct democracy."

Similar protests, sometimes followed by presidents high-tailing it to the border, have played out in recent years across much of Latin America, a region plagued by chronic poverty, wide gaps between rich and poor and a political class often unwilling or unable to reform itself.

Street uprisings

In 2003, anger over free-market economic policies led to a popular uprising in Bolivia that helped bring down President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada. His replacement, President Carlos Mesa, threatened to resign last month amid another round of street protests.

"Mesa will probably be knocked out" of office, predicted Gamarra, a Bolivian. Street uprisings "are now viewed as a legitimate way to get rid of a president."

In Venezuela, anti-government demonstrations led to a coup that briefly ousted President Hugo Chavez in 2002. But huge numbers of the president's supporters took to the streets in counterprotests that helped convince the military to restore Chavez to office.

Military sidelined

Since 2000, street protesters have helped run unpopular presidents out of office in Haiti, Peru and Argentina.

John Walsh, a senior associate at the Washington Office on Latin America points out that, unlike the 1970s when military dictators ruled much of the region, people are now more willing to raise their voices and demand that their leaders be held accountable.

The protests often escalate, because presidents fear that sending in troops to put down demonstrations could lead to bloodshed and further erode support for their governments.

In Ecuador, neither the military nor opposition politicians were directly involved in last week's protests, unlike demonstrations in 1997 and 2000 that helped bring down presidents.

The recent protests were carried out by a disparate, leaderless group of students, laborers, and middle-class families. Demonstrators hooked up by using cell phones, the Internet and a call-in program on Radio La Luna, a Quito station that opened its microphones to the fledgling movement.

"Someone would call the station and say: 'Let's get together tonight,' " said Paco Velasco, director of Radio La Luna. "Then, a woman would call in and say: 'OK, we'll all meet at 9 p.m. on this street corner.' And suddenly, the protests caught fire."

But rather than a political renaissance, some critics fear that Ecuador may be heading toward anarchy.

The country has gone through six presidents in the past 8 1/2 years, with the average time in office about 17 months.

People still distrustful

Some protesters distrust Palacio, a 66-year-old heart surgeon and a former health minister, and want him to call early elections.

Others focus their wrath on Congress, since legislators are widely viewed as willing to sell their allegiance to the highest bidder. On Wednesday, protesters pounced on several lawmakers after the vote to oust Gutierrez.

"The mob attacked me," said Miguel Lopez, an opposition legislator who was kicked, punched and beaten with sticks until he was rescued by police. "They don't distinguish between good and bad congressmen."

Legislators are now so fearful of riots in Quito — ground zero in the recent protests — that they plan to hold their next session Tuesday in the coastal city of Guayaquil.

There is even a push among some of the protesters to dissolve all three branches of government and to appoint new officials through a series of "people's assemblies" in towns and villages. Spray-painted graffiti near the presidential palace says: "Out with everyone!"

But in attempting to cobble together new governments, Ecuador and other Latin American nations have seemed incapable of recasting their political systems, said Bruce Bagley, a professor of international studies at the University of Miami.

Political parties often ignore the demands of the people as they wheel and deal for government jobs and perks, Bagley said.

Meanwhile, "there are no new political vehicles to channel citizen participation in constructive ways," Bagley said. "So, the people can paralyze things, but they can't reform things."

Walsh, of the Washington Office on Latin America, said people power doesn't necessarily lead to more democracy.

Mob rule worries

"Mob rule lends itself to any configuration," Walsh said. "The next time it happens, (people) might not agree with the result, and, in that sense, it's very dangerous."

But Maria Paula Romo, a Quito lawyer who helped organize the recent protests, said that as long as politicians lie, cheat and steal, outraged citizens will clash with police and march on presidential palaces.

"Democracy isn't just about having a stable government," Romo said. "If democracy doesn't make life better, we will continue to have people taking to the streets."

johnotis2002@yahoo.com

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