Showdown in El Salvador Shows Growing Role of Military in Latin America
Showdown in El Salvador Shows Growing Role of Military in Latin America
"In a lot of countries, these classic images of stern-faced soldiers with rifles overseeing politics had become taboo," said AS/COA's Brian Winter to The Washington Post.
It looked like a scene from the 1970s: armed soldiers marching into El Salvador's congress as lawmakers considered a presidential request...
In a region that long suffered from military dictatorships, the assertiveness by the armed forces is raising fears that democracy is taking a step backward.
“In a lot of countries, these classic images of stern-faced soldiers with rifles overseeing politics had become taboo, really, over the course of 30 years,” said Brian Winter, editor in chief of Americas Quarterly. “Now it’s somewhat suddenly acceptable again.”...
Presidents might also be relying on the military because they’re less likely to be criticized by Washington than in the past.
“I cannot remember in the last 25 years a U.S. administration that did not put democracy explicitly at the center of its policy,” Winter said. “Lots of people in the region have questions about how committed Washington is to that right now.”
While President Trump has condemned authoritarian governments in communist Cuba and socialist Venezuela, Winter said, his administration “has been less clear about what it thinks of emerging authoritarianism on the right.”...
