CONFERENCE ON DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION AND CONSOLIDATION
Working Group 5: The Role of Armed Forces and Security Forces
Coordinator: Rut Diamint
Civilian Society, Violence and Security:
The Challenge facing the Latin American Democratic State
Raúl Benítez Manaut
Abstract
This paper examines the new models that determine the security of Latin America at
the beginning of the 21st century. Firstly, it contemplates the new terrorist threat as the
principal challenge. While this threat is transnational and exogenous to Latin American, the
entire continent runs the risk of becoming a target for an attack and the threat affects Latin
America specifically for two reasons: 1) because it threatens fundamental political values
such as freedom and democracy; and 2) because it jeopardises the stability of international
relations and places the entire system of nations and institutions in grave peril.
The paper also looks at the new power wielded by the civilian population, and how
citizen security has, within a democratic context, taken priority over state security.
Similarly, defence now also responds to new security parameters. Internally, it focuses on
protecting the population against natural disasters, common crime and organised crime
(such as that generated by drug trafficking); and externally, it works towards stabilising
international relations. Among these models, one important step forward is that linked to
the defence of human rights, as one of the principal elements of the new doctrine of
security.
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Today, Latin America must redouble its efforts to avoid becoming a target for attacks
carried out by Islamic terrorist groups, although some groups with an huge destabilising
potential still survive in certain countries, particularly Colombia.
Finally, the paper analyses some specific aspects of the Mexican security dilemma, a
dilemma mainly deriving from the fact that Mexico is a close ally of the United States and
shares borders with that country.
I. Introduction.
The 11 September 2001 marked the beginning of a new period of insecurity in the
world. With the suicide terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre
Towers in New York, a threat that had hitherto been thought to have a limited scope and
which had never before reached the United States mainland, has pushed the world to the
brink of a large-scale conflict.
Terrorism in Latin America is not linked to fundamentalist religious beliefs. During
the cold war, armed groups based their activities on ideological standpoints. Only with the
creation of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) group did the terrorist threat start
targeting innocent civilians.
Nor are there any large Muslim or Islamic groups in Latin America, and no known
terrorist groups identify with the modus operandi used in New York or Washington.
Nevertheless, given the incessant process of globalisation, economic, political, religious
and cultural transnationalisation and current levels of security, the attacks carried out on 11
September 2001 pose a threat to the security of all countries and citizens. Having broken
down borders, we must now face the consequences that go hand in hand with being allies.
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As far as they belong to a so-called western, Christian civilisation that is free and
democratic, Latin America and its newly-formed democracies also come under threat from
Islamic terrorism. These attacks are a threat to all Latin America, because it defends the
values of pacifism, democracy and the peaceful resolution of disagreements; and for this
reason, its security is at risk.
As of 11 September, terrorism is at the head of the list of security priorities. While
not the only threat, it is of such potentially destructive dimensions that it has forced both
governments and individual citizens to design and adopt novel defence mechanisms.
There are many aspects to the Latin American security agenda, but Latin America has
placed terrorism and solidarity with the United States firmly at the top of the list.
II.
The new power of Civilian Society
Authoritarianism and militarism are democracy’s principal enemies. As a result of
their long dominion in Latin America over almost two centuries, they are now endemic to
the area, their influence reaching far beyond the political arena to infiltrate the culture itself
and even family life. The transition to democracy in order to consolidate a political regime
based on the exercising of fundamental liberties should strive to combat cultural
authoritarianism, militarism and all expressions of these phenomena that are the result of
their deep-rooted and prolonged existence.
The democratic transition in Latin America has provoked a revaluation of civilian
society as a decisive factor in the configuration of political, social and cultural relations.
The participation and influence of Non-Governmental Organisations, the media, academic
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sectors and even a newly-emerging and influential international civilian society, are vital to
establishing a true democracy.
Nevertheless, within the civilian society itself, the benefits of democracy are not
shared evenly between the different social strata. The exclusive economic model, which
does little to benefit low income sectors, has resulted in the occurrence of structural
violence that, in some critical cases, threatens to jeopardise democracy itself.
There are certain Latin American countries, such as Colombia, for example, in which
social violence is deeply-rooted in all social strata. However, there are also other nations
with a very low history of violence which are now registering an alarming and extremely
dangerous increase in this area.
In Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela, El Salvador, Peru
and Haiti, public security problems have become a serious threat to citizen tranquillity,
democracy and the viability of the newly-established political regimes. The political
breakthrough of the establishment of fundamental liberties has created its own
Frankenstein: social violence and the incapacity of the state institutions responsible for
administrating justice to respond to the urgent claims of aggrieved citizens. The state
simply cannot cope. It tries different strategies but is unable to find a viable solution. In the
most serious cases, where the police have been unable to combat rampant delinquency,
recourse to the armed forces, with all the associated risks to internal security that this step
entails, is a last resort. Civilian society calls for social peace from its government and
demands that the liberties that guarantee the new democracy be effective. However, society
itself also nurses the germ of destruction: violence and delinquency.
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One radical proposal is that an organised and responsible civilian society, NGOs, the
media and academic sectors become actively involved in the state institutions responsible
for imparting justice and safeguarding citizen security, in order to strengthen the drive
towards the reestablishment of effective security. There is no better means of national
defence and security than that which begins on an individual level, and the defence and
security of the nation and the state’s democratic institutions are every bit as important as
the defence of the population itself. In this sense, the population has a fundamental
obligation to fight for the defence of its democratic institutions and to strive to ensure that
Democracy prevails in their country.
Threats to citizens’ security and civil liberties are also to be found within the
institutions themselves, as is the case for corrupt civil servants (an extremely common
problem in Latin America); the inability of the police force to combat delinquency;
organised crime, which has both national and international structures and networks; weak
judicial systems; and the fact that democracy itself lacks the force required to modernise
society.
In specific terms, citizens can exert pressure (either directly or indirectly) in order to
watch over the armed forces, the police force and the judicial system to ensure that they
work in the best interests of the population as a whole. Indirectly, they can contribute to
ensuring that their country’s Congresses constitute effective legislative supervisory and
monitoring commissions. Another vital element for reinforcing citizen security is the
exertion of active pressure to ensure the respect of basic human rights.
Knowing your country’s past is a great help when trying to implement public
policies, and is the best way of preventing human rights violations in the future. The fight
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to eliminate the discretionary power and impunity of military, police, judicial and political
forces is vitally important. Citizens’ struggles to suppress established privileges are central
to the successful elimination of impunity.
In Latin America, the formation of Research Commissions into historical events,
which aim to bring serious human rights violations to light, is one of the most important
elements of the mobilisation of the civilian society. The phenomenon first began in
Argentina with the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo movement, and later spread to Chile and
Central America, in particular El Salvador and Guatemala, after the signing of the peace
agreements.
The subject has become the focus of a large-scale debate regarding the
transition. The possibility of creating a Truth Commission to investigate the serious human
rights violations perpetrated by past governments is currently being debated in Mexico. The
main objective of this initiative is to uncover exactly what occurred during the famous
Massacre in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas on 2 October 1968.
These research commissions come face to face with one of the dilemmas of the
transition: the basic agreements between the forces of the old political regimes and the
those of the newly-emerging institutions.
III.
Civilian society, defence and security.
By definition, the governmental institutions responsible for defence and security in
any nation are faced with the dilemma of balancing their obligation to maintain efficiency,
social peace, the political order and international peace on the one hand, and their need to
respond to an active society that demands unrestricted access to and knowledge of the
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institutions in question on the other. This knowledge would, in a mature and consolidated
democracy, necessarily lead to a system of control and supervision.
Ministries of defence, military leaders, the police force and the various intelligence
agencies are institutions that, due to the sensitivity of the information they protect and the
nature of the missions they carry out, tend to operate with fair degree of discretionary
power and impunity. On the other hand, in a democracy, the civilian society demands the
opening up of these bodies, their control and the screens that protect their functions and
missions. It is a true political struggle, and in part, the extent to which democracy has been
implemented in a nation can be measured by the level of control exerted over these
institutions. Although not the only indicator, it is nevertheless a very important one.
As a result of democratisation, the civilian population has become an influential (and,
at times, decisive) force that voices opinions about and attempts to influence its government
regarding issues of security and defence. This is especially evident in the emergence of
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), the development of academic working groups
that focus their activities on security and defence and the appearance too of a specialised
media. The development of this phenomenon is also aided by the demilitarisation of the
state system as regards defence and security, mainly due to the creation of civilian defence
ministries. In the countries mentioned above, the state reform regarding defence and
security and the appointment of civilians to posts formerly restricted to members of the
military has been extremely successful.
Civilian ministries of defence have been established in Argentina, Chile and, recently,
in Brazil also, although this reform does not yet form part of Mexico’s short-term plans.
Another area in which important progress is being made is Central America, mainly as the
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result of the signing of the peace agreements, an event that has done much to help reinforce
the process of democratisation. In Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala, the political
parties have become stronger, the media is much freer and, in general, the state machinery
of repression is slowly being dismantled. A reverse tendency, however, is currently
prevalent in Andean countries, where democratic conditions are deteriorating and the power
of the military increasing. In these countries, the civilian society has been neutralised and
driven into a corner, mainly as the result of death threats that are often carried out (as in
Colombia) and the promotion of retired members of the military, whose first move upon
gaining power is to repress the population’s fundamental liberties (as in Venezuela and
Bolivia).
Another phenomenon that has emerged as the result of popular pressure and is linked
to the transparency and creation of reliable mechanisms, both between different countries
and on an internal level, is the compilation of ‘White Papers on Defence’. The first such
document was published in Chile in 1998, and was soon followed by another in Argentina
in 1999. A similar document is currently being compiled in Brazil. The defence papers aim
to increase the interaction between civilians and members of the military, as well as
between civil servants and the civilian society, through the active participation of
academics and members of NGOs in their compilation.
IV.
Citizen security. The new centripetal focus of security.
In Latin America, the subject of security on a global, continental, national and
individual level underwent a thorough process of redefinition during the nineteen nineties.
This transformation was the result of diverse phenomena:
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The changing international scenario, marked by the break-up of the Soviet Union, the
end of the cold war and the spread of the western concept of democracy, resulted in the
forging of new links between nations (with greater co-operation), the disappearance of
areas of conflict (mainly due to the peace processes in Central America) and the general
democratisation of South America.
At a continental level, the end of the cold war had a profound impact in two ways: it
engendered the definition of what is known as ‘co-operative security’ and initiated a
process of transnationalisation of government forces in support of peace efforts. The
collaboration of different Latin American countries in the peace processes of Central
America between 1990 and 1996 were extremely important, as was the intervention of the
UN, the OAS and the continent’s military and political forces in the Haitian crisis.
At a national level, in almost all countries, the old national security doctrine based on
‘the security of the state’ has been replaced by a more participatory concept (which
includes political parties and even NGOs) and the national security agenda has been
expanded to include social, economic, ecological and even humanitarian issues and factors.
As for individual security, we should mention the extremely negative phenomenon of
increased ‘public insecurity’. This has given rise to a key debate regarding the role of the
civilian society in the active definition of public security policies, exerting pressure on
governments to initiate the process of professionalising the police force (Mexico and Brazil
are notorious examples of this) and accept the active participation of the civilian
population.
The above is a manifestation of a profound change in the way in which we understand
the concept of security. It has generated a generalised interaction and transnationalisation of
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efforts, since new national insecurity factors (such as drug trafficking and organised crime)
are considered multinational phenomena which can only be contained through international
co-operation.
With regard to this, we should consider two elements that serve to strengthen the
civilian society: a) the phenomenon of globalisation, and b) the development of new means
of communication and cultural promotion. These phenomena give citizens more power with
regard to the state and ensure that the civilian society does not remain restricted to within
its national borders.
Globalisation, a process that has become increasingly generalised since the fall of the
Berlin Wall in 1989 and is now expanding rapidly thanks to the communications
revolution, has had a profound impact on Latin America. Due to its influence on the growth
of the free-market economy and the opening up of national borders, as well as the role it
plays in cultural transnationalisation, mass communications and the transformation of intercitizen relations, the state that governs and controls the lives of the population has been
transformed – has changed from being a nation state capable of controlling the so-called
nation and its borders, to being an entity forced to interact with phenomena that it can
neither avoid nor control.
Even in fields that, according to classical political science theories, should be wholly
within the state’s sphere of influence, such as security (according to Thomas Hobbes’
paradigm), governments are losing their power as the result of the reduction of their
centralising capacity due to the emergence of a new type of citizen and social institutions,
and are now being challenged by internal and external non-governmental bodies, as well as
by the development of transnationalisation processes that are beyond their capacity to
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control. The result is a new type of internationally-aware citizen who forces the state to
submit to a set of hitherto inconceivable regulations.
One of the most notable effects of this process in Latin America is the fact that the
spread of Internet technology and the opening up and new-found freedom of the media
have generated a new breed of citizen concerned about security. Whether it be to scrutinise
the immediate past, full of blank spaces and protected by media and judicial silence pacts
(such as amnesties and the punto final laws in Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay), or to
attempt to participate actively in the establishment of policies, the civilian society, citizens,
diverse NGOs, the academic sector and the media feel it is their right (as, in some case, it
now legal is) to define security policies, question the state and play an active role in the
government of their country.
This phenomenon has emerged thanks to the coincidence of democratisation,
economic globalisation, the technological revolution, the transnationalisation of justice,
new defence systems and human rights organisations. Furthermore, due to the accelerated
integration of social mechanisms, concepts such as the ‘Cold War’ and the ‘Third World’
have given way to new types of wars (cyberwars) and an international community that is
segregated according to technology.
This in turn leads to a restructuring of the political power. The power of international
institutions and influential countries within the international community is increasing, while
the power of the nation state is decreasing (in Latin America, this is evident in Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela – some of the larger countries that
are both developed and well-populated). Similarly, the power of the civilian society within
its national borders is also increasing. It is a sort of pendular movement that oscillates
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between democratisation and transnationalisation. This phenomenon has as many positive
effects as it does negative ones (depending on each analyst’s own individual scale of
values): it increases the ability of NGOs and citizens in general to influence government
decisions (positive factor), but it also generates elements that are beyond the state’s control,
such as transnational organised crime (negative factor).
For this reason, security has become the object of de-nationalisation, with equally
contradictory consequences: while it is extremely positive for a responsible civilian society
to help and demand the right to participate in its definition, negative elements such as
common crime and national and transnational organised crime may also influence the
process, as may governments and international institutions with interests that conflict with
those security is, in theory, supposed to safeguard.
In regional terms, ‘security’ follows a contradictory evolutionary process, depending
on the country and sub-region in question. For example, Mexico, Cuba and Venezuela were
all politically ‘stable’ countries during the cold war. However, during the nineteen nineties
they experienced severe crises, mainly due to the breakdown of their political systems,
something which had a profound effect on security. These are examples of state crises, in
which the structures that traditionally guarantee security are seriously weakened also.
Mexico is currently undergoing the slow transition to democracy and ‘citizen
insecurity’ has increased. Similarly, phenomena such as the crisis in Chiapas that erupted in
1994 constitute a new challenge for the political system. In the face of the Chiapas crisis,
the civilian society – both national and transnational – has been extremely active in
criticising possible military options.
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In Cuba, the crisis of the political model is not as far-reaching as it is in Mexico or
Venezuela, for example. However, the concept of security has changed from being a sense
of military security within the framework of the conflict with the United States, to being a
endogenous concept based on national viability. Raúl Castro recently affirmed that:
‘Yesterday we said that beans were as valuable as canons; today we say that beans are more
valuable than canons’.
In Central American and Caribbean countries, NGOs play an active role in matters of
security. The civilian society became increasingly influential in El Salvador during the antiwar campaigns at the end of the nineteen eighties, and was the fundamental driving force
behind the emergence of the so-called ‘tired of war’ movement. This factor was also
present in Guatemala (through the so-called Civilian Society Assembly), along with active
participation by NGOs in the defence of the rights of the indigenous population, the
recovery of the ‘historical memory’ (in which a key role was played by the clergy) and the
condemnation of the military leaders responsible for mass genocides at the beginning of the
nineteen eighties (for example, Rigoberta Menchu is at the head of accusations against
General Efraín Ríos Montt in Spain). In Costa Rica, the concept of environmental security
stems from the activities of many NGOs dedicated to protecting the ecosystem. In Panama,
strong public opinion has had a notable influence on governmental negotiations regarding
the restoration of the Panama Canal and the Canal zone. In Puerto Rico, the active
opposition of a great number of NGOs has succeeded in putting a stop to military
manoeuvres carried out by the United States army on Vieques Island.
In Venezuela, the breakdown of the democratic two-party political system established
during the sixties, as the result of various factors including wide-spread corruption and the
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exponential increase in public insecurity, has, since the electoral triumph of Hugo Chávez
in 1998, given rise to a new military regime which is systematically eliminating the civilian
society’s autonomous channels of expression. This is a clear example of social regression in
response to the emergence of a new populist state.
In Andean countries, this type of regression is clearly evident. Columbia is suffering
from the effects of a civil war, in which the multiple efforts of the civilian society to find
means of mediation have repeatedly failed. In Ecuador, the political crisis has reached
unprecedented levels, with the emergence of civilian protests – in this case demonstrations
by the indigenous population – which have succeeded in damaging and exerting pressure
on the State, while offering no positive results in favour of democracy, but rather provoking
the reinstatement of military force as a decisive political factor. In Bolivia, President
Banzer (ex –military officer and key figure in the coup d’état) uses the State’s military
might to control protest movements, thereby denying the population its right to free
expression.
In Peru, the protests of civilian pacifists were unable to prevent the political crisis that
resulted from the irregular electoral process, in which Fujimori used blatant fraud to ensure
his election to his third term of office. In Peru’s case, the reaction of other Latin American
countries, in particular Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico was a decisive factor in the decision
not to put pressure on the OAS Assembly to insist on a repetition of the elections. In this
case, the ‘inter-American system’ maintained its traditional stance and did grave damage to
the OAS’ international standing and image.
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V.
The new citizen and civilian society.
It is important to note that even in the most rigid societies where state control remains
almost immutable, as in Cuba, there is nevertheless a civilian society and an emerging type
of new citizen that cannot be repressed. Security policies and doctrines must incorporate
this model as one their fundamental bases. This is the challenge facing governments
throughout the continent. Whether it be on an institutional or informal basis, questioning or
supporting new democratic leaders, the figure of the citizen is a factor that is here to stay
and which, from this wave of democratisation onwards, will become the key to defining
national security in the future. No national is secure without safe citizens with a bright
future.
The continent’s democratic governments are gradually assimilating this model. Latin
America’s historical statism, which permeated both political and cultural systems, is now
being challenged by a new civilian society and a new type of citizen. Specific government
policies must now replace doctrine and prove their effectiveness. A government or leader’s
democratic legitimacy is a necessary condition, but not sufficient by itself, since it takes
second place to the reconstruction of institutions and the incorporation of society and
citizens in the list of priorities. Security, therefore, becomes synonymous with the defence
of democracy, and democracy means responding to the demands of the population.
VI.
Mexico. Security in the 21st century.
Security in Mexico, both as regards attitudes towards the Mexican contribution to
international security and, at more localised levels, as regards citizen and public security
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issues, has been gradually redefining itself since the change in government during the year
2000.
This change, which occurred after Vicente Fox’s triumph over the PRI party who had
held power for the previous 71 years, paved the way for the implementation of a complete
process of democratisation. One of the main challenges now facing Mexican democracy is
the need to improve national security, defence and public and individual security, in
accordance with the political change currently underway. The legacy of the old
authoritarian regime can be seen in security structures hampered by widespread corruption,
inefficiency and violation of human rights.
Security and defence at an international level are defined by principles of defensive
foreign policies based on the priority of effective judicial systems, non-intervention, state
sovereignty and international co-operation. This ensures that Mexico has no military
enemies. As regards the security of the American continent, the hemispherical security
policy is also being redefined, as evident in the rejection of the Inter-American Reciprocal
Assistance Treaty, now considered an obsolete instrument of the cold war.
Nevertheless, it is on the domestic arena that the Mexican government faces its
greatest challenges: endemic corruption in the police force; highly politicised pro-PRI
intelligence systems; and armed forces which operate with a large degree of autonomy.
Progress is being made, however, mainly in the task of closing the gap between the
legislature and the armed forces.
The new government does not endorse a policy of radical change in the security and
defence systems, since the transition process is being implemented gradually and with
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much negotiation in order to avoid generating institutional vacuums that may encourage the
development of national and transnational organised crime and common delinquency.
Nevertheless, the civilian society expects rapid changes, since it has based many of its
hopes on the new regime. Two areas in which much progress has been made are human
rights protection and the rooting out of corruption, although the institutional reform
required to link this to the demands of the population and the new democratic regime is
advancing at a much slower pace. The pressure most likely to ensure that changes in
security policy favour governability and democracy is that exerted by the civilian society
through NGOs, the media and the academic world.
At the OAS headquarters on 7 September 2001, Mexico proposed the need to review
the continent’s security structures. The Mexican government maintains that current
structures are not capable of responding to the new threats facing the continent’s security.
Following the terrorist attack on 11 September 2001, terrorism has become the number one
priority, and the need to develop collective security structures in the headquarters of
international organisations is now even more pressing, in order to ensure that no country on
the continent becomes the target of a similar terrorist attack.
VII.
Final reflections
· Much progress has been made in Latin America regarding democratic security.
· The triad formed by democracy, security and demilitarisation is becoming
increasingly consolidated.
· The civilian society has matured and has succeeded in imposing a social agenda for
security.
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· The majority of governments have consolidated their democratic institutions.
· Drug trafficking continues to be one of the principal threats to security.
· Public insecurity is the principal threat to the population’s security.
· Terrorism threatens nations, their infrastructure, state structures, laws and
population - it is an all-encompassing threat.
· We need to strengthen international co-operation in order to combat these threats.
· Mexico is increasingly sharing its security with the United States.
· Nations’ sovereignty and security must be fully defended both internally and
through international co-operation.
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