Two elections kept Latin America in vigil. The Peruvian run off and Mexico’s midterm elections to elect members of congress; governors and mayors. In Peru a cliffhanger result that seems to favor Mr Pedro Castillo over Keiko Fujimori a fixture in Peruvian elections for the last decade and a half. Results reflect the Latin American tragedy. Modernity is half way through everywhere in the region. Dualism is well and kicking in every nation south of the Rio Grande. In Peru the urban population was defeated by the rural country that abhors globalization and holds the United States and capitalism accountable for their despair and oblivion. To their minds the relative prosperity of the Peruvian elites is a direct consequence of their predicament as they are exploited and abused to steal from them their fair development share. And while their plight is against their domestic leadership given that such leadership has significant ties with the US our country becomes part of the enemy to defeat. In Mexico the urban population had a day in the fair. Those Mexicans that have flourished under the development benefits brought about by what used to be known as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) are not ready to let Mr Lopez Obrador destroy progress so far made. And through effective organization they denied Mr Lopez Obrador the path to change the constitution, stay in power for ever and bring down all democratic inroads made after the Ernesto Zedillo administration. But the fight is not over. For the next three years Mexicans will need to stay alert and mobilize against Mr Lopez Obrador ‘s approach to government which is a sprout from Francisco Villa. Further , the Villa approach to government will slow down the arrival of the next golden development age for Mexico. This is the time when most US corporations will establish their manufacturing arms in Mexico or near shore in Mexico in this post COVID 19 days. Near shoring will give Mexico an even stronger development push than that of NAFTA because it will consolidate up and down stream ties among economic units on both sides of the Rio Grande. Further, the Mexico that benefited from NAFTA needs to plant the seeds of development in Southern Mexico which has failed to participate in the bounty.
In Peru the route to progress is full of boulders. First the rural population that supported Castillo is larger than the urban population supporting Keiko Fujimori. Then there is the ill conceived political reform of the past decade when the two chamber congress turned into a one chamber entity. This entity was given extraordinary powers to control the executive. As a result, Presidents in Peru need to govern with congress. Should they follow an independent path, congress simply brings them down. And down have come four presidents in the last presidential mandate. Castillo will thus face either paralysis or removal. Meanwhile the country’s credit ratings will head south while his followers belief that he will be sacrificed for attempting to liberate them from the exploiting elites will head north. In short, political instability will settle in Peru which so far was the sole economy in Latin America poised to rebound strongly from Covid19.
The lessons to be drawn from the outcome of these elections is that it is essential to break this the fateful and suicidal behavior of the non-modern sectors of Latin America’s population . This demands restoring hope in those citizens . They need to believe that everyone can achieve better levels of well-being. To do this, it is necessary to engage in wealth creation so as to grow their middle classes. Businessmen must stop extracting income and begin to create wealth. No more protection through regulations and trade barriers to the business community. It is also paramount to give back to citizens the power to decide on their immediate environment, which are the cities where their homes are . Elected officials need to stop focusing win the urgent to concentrate in the fundamental issue of empowering citizens to earn their living. To achieve this goal the non-encounter between education and employment creation in the digital economy must be resolved once and to all.
In Peru the route to progress is full of boulders. First the rural population that supported Castillo is larger than the urban population supporting Keiko Fujimori. Then there is the ill conceived political reform of the past decade when the two chamber congress turned into a one chamber entity. This entity was given extraordinary powers to control the executive. As a result, Presidents in Peru need to govern with congress. Should they follow an independent path, congress simply brings them down. And down have come four presidents in the last presidential mandate. Castillo will thus face either paralysis or removal. Meanwhile the country’s credit ratings will head south while his followers belief that he will be sacrificed for attempting to liberate them from the exploiting elites will head north. In short, political instability will settle in Peru which so far was the sole economy in Latin America poised to rebound strongly from Covid19.
The lessons to be drawn from the outcome of these elections is that it is essential to break this the fateful and suicidal behavior of the non-modern sectors of Latin America’s population . This demands restoring hope in those citizens . They need to believe that everyone can achieve better levels of well-being. To do this, it is necessary to engage in wealth creation so as to grow their middle classes. Businessmen must stop extracting income and begin to create wealth. No more protection through regulations and trade barriers to the business community. It is also paramount to give back to citizens the power to decide on their immediate environment, which are the cities where their homes are . Elected officials need to stop focusing win the urgent to concentrate in the fundamental issue of empowering citizens to earn their living. To achieve this goal the non-encounter between education and employment creation in the digital economy must be resolved once and to all.
“The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author”.
