Cheating the People to Save Democracy

Another military adventure in Ecuador has come to an end, and one could say democracy has been preserved. Yet the people who were supposed to benefit from this have been tremendously shortchanged in these tragic events.

After all was said and done, the institutions, the executive and the army all were weakened. This does not bode well for the newly installed president, Gustavo Noboa. The real tragedy, however, is that the deposed president, Jamil Mahuad, who was constitutionally elected, fell prey to the political groups that put their own interests above those of their nation.

Last year was a troubled and sobering year for Mahuad. Convinced that the recurrent border problem with Peru had altered the perception of reality in both countries, this young and studious politician with a Harvard degree took it upon himself to solve the problem once and for all. Within three months of his election in August 1998, he had signed a peace treaty with Peru--a huge accomplishment.

But an economic crisis was looming. The destructive effects of El Nino had taken a toll on Ecuador, bringing havoc to agriculture along the coast. Floods devastated both export and subsistence crops. The road system was destroyed. The banks, which only a few years earlier had liberalized their controls, began to collapse.

The downfall of Ecuador’s main bank forced the government to improvise measures designed to guarantee deposits. As a result of the investigations that ensued, the corrupt practices of some banks were exposed. Other banks began to fail. By April 1999, the government had intervened in 70% of the banking system, falling hostage to legislation that forced it to guarantee all deposits without any limitations.

To meet this demand, the Central Bank began to issue currency. Inflation skyrocketed to 60%-plus, the sucre plunged in value and, perhaps more important, trust in the ability of the authorities to handle the situation was lost.

People took to the streets to protest, blocking traffic and paralyzing cities and towns. And the government reacted, yielding to the demands of those who protested the loudest.

In the countryside, the indigenous people, a small but respectable group of citizens, created their own organizations seeking to influence the decisions that would soon affect their lives. The authorities met with them to seek ways to find common ground. Overwhelmed with the economic crisis, however, the government could not fulfill its promises regarding tax and fiscal reform.

The military, whose ranks come mostly from the poorest sectors of the population, had sent clear signals that they would not attack the protesters, the very people they identified most closely with.

The momentum of the indigenous movement kept on growing with the support of leftist groups, so-called progressive intellectuals and nongovernmental organizations. Their goal, however, seemed unrealistic. They wanted to form a popular government. In doing so, they ignored a simple rule: You can’t achieve democracy through undemocratic means. Their movement had grown because it was inherently democratic. Yet to implement their revolutionary ideal, they used undemocratic tools.

Mahuad’s government failed to understand the writing on the wall. The discontent of the people was such that a coup d’etat seemed inevitable. The vast majority of the population already was asking for Mahuad’s resignation.

After a prolonged period of hesitation, Mahuad finally announced his plan to adopt the U.S. dollar as Ecuador’s currency. Many people believed that this measure would allow the president some room to maneuver. The indigenous movement and the left, however, would not give him the benefit of the doubt.

The coup came about when the insurgents took over the Congress and then marched to the National Palace, only to find the president had left. At that moment, they named three of their peers to a governing junta. They had no strategy, no clear objectives and no concrete plans as to how they would govern. The whole revolutionary experience was mostly an emotional outpouring.

At first, the president refused to resign, but he did abandon the presidential palace. That was all the senior army officials needed. Pressured by the United States, they sought a constitutional end to the crisis. By Jan. 22, Noboa, the former vice president, had assumed the presidency within a constitutional framework.

Yes, Ecuador was able to preserve democracy, but at what cost? And who will pay for this tragedy? I assume it will be the people.