BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - DEMOCRACY in the Caribbean, for the most part, can be defined as the right to elect our dictators. In contemporary usage, dictatorship refers to a government controlled by one person, or a small group of people, who takes advantage of others. It is a form of maximum rule by a maximum leader, or small group of people, unrestricted by law, constitutions, conventions, or other social and political factors within the state.
We may look to distant continents like Africa to find dictators such as Paul Biya, President of Cameroon (1982-present), who after years of totalitarian rule allowed the creation of opposition parties in 1990 but whose re-elections have been marked by widespread fraud and intimidation; Hosni Mubarak of Egypt (1981-2011), former President of Egypt, who did not stand in a contested election until 2005 when a highly restricted democratic process was allowed but who was forced from power after a series of mass protests; Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe, (1980-present) who gained power through election and is repeatedly re-elected, but criticised for steps used to maintain power, including use of the police and militant groups to enforce policies and to prevent opponents from voting; Idi Amin (1971-1979), former President of Uganda, who was declared in 1976 as “president for life” but deposed in 1979 after declaring war on Tanzania; Sani Abacha (1993-1998), former President of Nigeria, who seized power in a coup, persecuted opposition and never stood for election; and the list can go on.
Although Caribbean leaders would retort by saying that their leadership is a far cry from the likes of those in Africa because it is not as blatant, it is however deadly subtle. Also, we can look closer to home in the Caribbean and Latin America to find our own dictators.
Manuel Noriega of Panama (1983-1989) was Commander of the National Guard and de facto military leader, widely described as a dictator; Forbes Burnham (1964-1985), Prime Minister and President of Guyana, who was elected but became increasingly dictatorial, held dubious elections and encouraged leftist religious cults (such as the People’s Temple) to settle in the Guyanese interior; Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), former President of Chile, who gained power in a coup, suppressed and exiled opposition with over 3 000 disappearances and 28 000 tortured; Hugo Chavez (1999-2012), President of Venezuela, appointed special powers, nationalised the media and oil companies and shut down opposition media; Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961), President of the Dominican Republic, who gained power in a coup, had a cult of personality, promoted racism against Haitians and ordered the massacre of 20 000 blacks; Francois Duvalier (1957-1971), President of Haiti, was elected but banned opposition, declared himself President for Life in 1964 and was highly repressive; Fidel Castro (1959-2006), gained power after revolution and was elected President after 1976 but within a one-party communist state; Fulgencio Batista was the elected President of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and a dictator from 1952-1959 before being overthrownas a result of the Cuban Revolution; and the list is not exhaustive.
Caribbean Constitutions give too much power to prime ministers who wield this ‘wild’ power over the legislature that they sometimes begin to think and act that they, the prime ministers, are the legislature.
When a prime minister can manipulate the legislature, thereby making the Speaker a mere puppet; when Caribbean elections are won by rigging and padding voter’s lists; when the press is seriously hamstrung in doing its work because government does not enact freedom of information legislation thus keeping vital information at bay from the electorate; when politicians use money to bribe people at election time and where there is no transparency in campaign financing in the absence of legislation to regulate it; when ordinary folks are lied to about the true state of the economy; when members of the executive are silenced in a Cabinet by an overpowering voice; when people are victimised because they have opposing political views and others cowed into silence for fear of losing their means to a daily bread; when politicians support garrison politics and badmanship; when governments rule for umpteen of years because of no fixed term limits; when politicians criticise the judicial system when it does not rule in their favour; and the right of a people to challenge the effectiveness of a sitting government through a motion of no confidence by the people’s representatives is denied, then we are faced with the ingredients of dictatorship.
It is important that Caribbean politicians examine their role, those in government and those aspiring to political office. Philosophers like Thomas Hobbes and John Locke tell us that people transfer their power and rights to a sovereign power (social contract) who will ensure that their fundamental rights and freedoms are protected.
Locke tells us that because by nature all people are free, equal and independent, no one can be subjected to the political power of another without his/her consent. However, he also said that citizens have the right to rebel against a government that doesn’t respect them.
We have had our fair share of dictatorships in the Caribbean and maybe some of our present leaders are using these dictators as role models.
