NotiSur - Latin American Political Affairs
April 26, 1996
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L A T I N A M E R I C A D A T A B A S E
NotiSur - Latin American Political Affairs
ISSN 1060-4189 Volume 6, Number 17 April 26, 1996
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Copyright 1996, Latin America Data Base (LADB), Latin
American Institute, University of New Mexico
Director: Nelson Valdes
Associate director: Roma Arellano
Managing editor: Kevin Robinson
Staff writers:
Patricia Hynds, Carlos Navarro, Robert Sandels
In This Issue:
ECUADOR: COSTA RICA GRANTS POLITICAL ASYLUM TO
FORMER VICE PRESIDENT ALBERTO DAHIK
COSTA RICAN POLITICAL PARTIES NEARING
AGREEMENT ON SWEEPING ELECTORAL REFORMS
BRAZIL: POLICE MASSACRE OF LANDLESS CAMPESINOS SHOCKS NATION
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Multilateral Issues
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ECUADOR: COSTA RICA GRANTS POLITICAL ASYLUM TO
FORMER VICE PRESIDENT ALBERTO DAHIK
On March 29, the Costa Rican government granted asylum to
Alberto Dahik, Ecuador's former vice president, who fled that
country in October 1995 to avoid prosecution on corruption
charges. The Costa Rican decision was widely condemned within
Ecuador. Meanwhile, the scandal that led to Dahik's ouster
continues to have repercussions in Ecuador, crippling the
final months of President Sixto Duran Ballen's administration.
Dahik was the most prominent among many in the Duran
Ballen administration to be accused of unethical or criminal
activities. He set off the problems that led to his downfall
by remarking to reporters in August 1995 that the Duran Ballen
administration had to resort to bribery to implement its
policies (see NotiSur, 07/28/95 and 09/01/95).
After months of sparring, Dahik fled the country with his
wife and five children on Oct. 11, 1995, hours after Supreme
Court President Carlos Solorzano Constantine issued a warrant
for his arrest on charges of embezzling government funds (see
NotiSur, 10/13/95). The charges specifically related to the
misappropriation of more than US$6 million from discretionary
accounts under Dahik's control. The funds were designated for
expenses related to state security.
After arriving in Costa Rica, Dahik requested political
asylum, claiming that his life was in danger and that he was
a victim of political persecution. He blamed his problems on
a conspiracy by political opponents in Ecuador who were trying
to discredit him to protect their political interests.
Dahik said the leader of the conspiracy against him is
Guayaquil mayor Leon Febres Cordero, former president of
Ecuador (1984-1988). In a newspaper interview in Costa Rica,
Dahik said Febres Cordero resented his position as a political
rival. Dahik left Febres Cordero's Partido Social Cristiano
(PSC) in 1987 and joined the Partido Conservador (PC), winning
a seat in Congress in 1988. Dahik was elected vice president
on the ticket with Duran Ballen in 1992.
Dahik said Febres Cordero and his allies conspired
against him after he launched an anti-corruption campaign that
threatened their interests.
Dahik also charged that the Ecuadoran Supreme Court is
"politicized," because the judges are appointed by Congress
every two years, and they often have ties to the political
parties. For example, Supreme Court president Solorzano is
the brother of Hector Solorzano, a close political ally of
Febres Cordero. According to Dahik, this gives the former
president a great deal of influence in the judicial system and
explains why Solorzano persisted in the Supreme Court
investigation of his activities even after Congress absolved
him of bribery charges.
On April 1, the Costa Rica Foreign Ministry said that
Dahik's request for asylum had been approved a few days
earlier by President Jose Maria Figueres and Foreign Minister
Fernando Naranjo Villalobos. Costa Rican vice minister of
foreign relations Rodrigo Carreras said the decision to grant
asylum in no way reflected a position by the Costa Rican
government regarding Dahik's guilt or innocence.
"It is not the role of the government, nor of the foreign
minister, to determine the guilt or innocence of the person
requesting asylum," said Carreras. "The government simply
looked at whether sufficient grounds existed for Don Alberto
to argue that he is being persecuted for political reasons
that relate to the crime he is accused of, and whether that
would cause problems for him if he returned to Ecuador."
Although he has been granted asylum, Dahik must comply
with several restrictions. He cannot engage in "political
activities that could affect the internal order in Ecuador,"
and he cannot speak or write about political affairs in
Ecuador in a way that would compromise the Costa Rican
government.
After the Costa Rican decision was announced, Luis
Villacis, alternate deputy for the Movimiento Popular
Democratico (MPD) in Ecuador, condemned the ruling.
"While Dahik is on vacation, Ecuadoran jails are filled
with prisoners who have to spend years in prison without being
guilty of any crime," said Villacis, who put part of the blame
on the Ecuadoran Congress for failing to update legislation
governing extradition.
In addition, Ecuador's attorney general, Fernando
Casares, said that, while he respects the decision of the
Costa Rican government, he does not agree with it. Dahik is
not suffering political persecution, he is a "fugitive from
justice," Casares said.
Critics of the decision also pointed out that normally a
person who seeks asylum is an opponent of a government and is
threatened by that government for political reasons, but in
this case, the person claiming persecution is part of the
government in power.
An April 3 editorial in the Quito daily newspaper Hoy
said, "Meanwhile, the government of which [Dahik] is a part
continues governing, and the president even interceded on his
behalf. If Dahik were suffering political persecution, the
Foreign Ministry would have opposed asylum, but it made no
objection."
Congressional deputy Gustavo Larrea said he would
petition the Latin American Parliament (Parlamento
Latinoamericano) and the legislatures of other countries in
the region to pressure Costa Rica to reverse its decision.
"The surprising approval of political asylum by the Costa
Rican government interferes with the internal process of
justice in Ecuador," said Larrea. "This decision could become
a lamentable precedent that institutionalizes a new form of
political asylum to protect those implicated in acts of
corruption."
Nevertheless, the Costa Rican decision will not prevent
the Ecuadoran Supreme Court from proceeding with the criminal
charges against Dahik. The legal process, which began last
August, has now moved from the investigation stage to the
prosecution stage.
On April 15, Casares formally charged Dahik and four
other former government officials with illegal enrichment and
embezzlement. The other four are: former foreign minister
Diego Paredes; former minister of finance Mauricio Pinto; and
Dahik's two secretaries, Juan Mario Crespo and Gladys Merchan.
Paredes, Crespo, and Merchan, like Dahik, have all fled the
country.
In addition, former comptroller general Juan Carlos
Faidutti was charged as an accomplice, while former
superintendent of banks Ricardo Munoz and the acting
comptroller, Francisco Costales, were charged with being
accessories after the fact.
On April 3, Congress voted unanimously to censure and
fire Faidutti, even though he had submitted his resignation on
March 11 in a last-ditch effort to avoid the congressional
condemnation. Many of Faidutti's legal problems stemmed from
the same discretionary funds that cost Dahik his job.
Faidutti was responsible for oversight of the discretionary
accounts.
Normally, the comptroller reviews the records of
expenditures charged to the discretionary accounts and, after
verifying that the charges are legitimate, burns the records.
However, in the case of the accounts controlled by Dahik, the
bank microfilm showing the disbursement of the funds was not
destroyed. Faidutti insisted he was fooled by Dahik's
secretaries, who misled him about the use of the monies.
However, in Costa Rica, Dahik and his attorneys insisted
that Faidutti was completely aware of how the money was used
and approved all the expenditures. Dahik called Casares's
charges against him "an outrage."
"This shows the politicization that exists," said Dahik.
"Where is the money that I have taken, where is any proof that
state money has ended up in my accounts? It does not exist.
This is part of a huge frameup that has no substantiation."
Recently, Dahik said that if anyone could show that he
had profited from the discretionary accounts, he would return
to Ecuador and turn himself over to the authorities. Casares
said evidence submitted to the court shows that two checks
drawn on one of the discretionary accounts for a total of
US$26,000 were paid to the construction company that was
building Dahik's house. Dahik denied that he used any
government money for personal expenses.
As the scandal has unfolded, it has tainted all those who
received money from the discretionary accounts. When the bank
records were finally examined, they showed that nearly 250
institutions and individuals had benefitted from the monies
Dahik controlled, including politicians, the Catholic Church,
entertainment figures, athletes, and businesses such as travel
agencies and public relations firms.
Referring to the prolonged political crisis that has
claimed several top government officials in the past year,
Solorzano said Ecuador is submerged in corruption.
"Ecuador lives immersed in a sea of corruption," said
Solorzano. "Corruption bleeds it to death and it is up to the
judiciary to change this." (Sources: Notimex, 03/12/96,
04/02/96; Inter Press Service, 04/02/96; Hoy, 03/13/95,
03/25/96, 03/26/96, 04/02-04/96; Reuter, 01/27/96, 04/01/96,
04/15/96; Agence France-Presse, 03/14/96, 03/21/96, 04/02/96,
04/03/96, 04/07/96, 04/09/96, 04/15-17/96, 04/23/96, 04/24/96)
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Party politics & elections
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COSTA RICAN POLITICAL PARTIES NEARING
AGREEMENT ON SWEEPING ELECTORAL REFORMS
Proposals for a thorough reform of the electoral code may
soon be reported out of a special legislative committee for a
final vote in the Legislative Assembly, possibly as early as
May. Among other things, the proposed reforms would place
strict controls on campaign contributions, reduce public
funding of election campaigns, and lengthen the term of office
for the president and legislative deputies. Most of the
proposals, if passed by the legislature, will go into effect
for the 1998 general elections.
Fifty-eight articles in the current version of the
electoral code are up for modification. In addition, some
laws will have to be changed to accommodate proposed
amendments to constitutional provisions related to the
electoral process.
Rafael Villegas, president of the elections tribunal
(Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, TSE), said in March that most
of the reforms had already been agreed upon in committee by
the governing Partido de Liberacion Nacional (PLN) and the
opposition Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC).
Some of the changes are merely procedural. For instance,
the committee has already agreed to eliminate the practice of
marking the ballot with the voter's fingerprint and to permit
the TSE to choose alternative means to prevent voter fraud.
For the 1998 elections, a special marking pen may be used, and
the TSE expects to move toward some form of electronic voting
in the future. There is also general agreement on permitting
citizens to cast their ballots anywhere within the country as
well as to vote from abroad.
Other reforms will more directly affect the way political
parties conduct their campaigns. For instance, parties would
be prohibited from accepting campaign contributions from Costa
Rican corporations or from any foreign source. The only
exceptions would be for contributions from those sources that
are intended for educational and technical purposes connected
with the electoral process.
The reforms also would place an annual limit on the
amount that could be donated by Costa Rican citizens to a
political party. That limit would be a equal to 30 times the
prevailing monthly minimum wage, which at present is about
US$200.
Furthermore, the treasurers of each political party would
have to submit a bimonthly report, both to the party
leadership and to the TSE, accounting for the amount and
origin of all campaign contributions the party has received.
"We are going to participate actively in the auditing of
the party's books," said Villegas.
Another proposal would end the practice of political
parties contracting for bus service to transport their party
members to the polls. The reformed electoral code would
require the operators of public transportation lines to
provide regular bus service on election day as well as the day
before and the day after.
Parties would not be permitted to publish campaign
advertisements, hold rallies, or engage in other kinds of
electioneering on election day, the day before, or the day
following the election. Public opinion polling would also be
prohibited on those days.
The government would enforce the parties' own internal
laws by requiring any party running candidates in a national
election to nominate their presidential, vice presidential,
and congressional candidates in adherence to their own party
rules.
Also under consideration is a requirement that all local
delegations that make up the national party organizations must
show that at least 40% of their members are women.
Of special importance is the issue of public financing of
campaigns, on which there has been agreement in principle
only. In the past, parties out of power have accused the
governing party of misuse of these public funds. Legislative
leaders Luis Villanueva of the PLN and Bernal Aragon of the
PUSC are in tentative agreement that the reformed electoral
law should reduce the total state expenditures for campaign
financing.
To make such a reduction, the Constitution would have to
be amended to change the formula by which the government's
contribution is calculated. Article 96 of the Constitution
says that the maximum amount the government may give to the
political parties is 2% of the average amount of the
government's regular budget during the three years prior to
the election.
For example, in 1994 the public contribution was US$10
million, but that figure is expected to rise to almost US$38
million for the 1998 elections.
The two parties are currently in agreement that the
constitutional formula should be reduced from 2% to 1.5% in
1998. After 1998, that percentage would be split, with 1%
going to directly finance campaigns and the remaining 0.5%
earmarked for financial support of the parties between
elections.
Perhaps the issue that has divided opinion most is the
extension of the presidential term from four to five years,
though the proposal has received preliminary approval.
Another proposal would mandate the direct election of mayors
in by-elections. The term extension and the mayoral elections
are tied together in the same bill and both could be defeated,
according to Villanueva, by a coalition of deputies who think
a presidential term of four years is long enough and those who
oppose the added expense of local by-elections.
"This opposition is real and translated into votes, it
could sink the reform," said Villanueva.
As yet the legislative committee has not reported out a
proposal for sanctions that would be applied to parties in
violation of the reformed electoral law. (Sources: La Nacion,
01/20/96, 02/17/96, 03/09/96)
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Human rights & legal issues
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BRAZIL: POLICE MASSACRE OF LANDLESS CAMPESINOS SHOCKS NATION
The brutal massacre of at least 19 landless campesinos in
Brazil's northcentral state of Para has shocked the nation and
brought widespread condemnation of the militarized police
(PM). President Fernando Henrique Cardoso expressed his
indignation and called for immediate legislative action to
respond to the situation.
On April 17, about 1,500 campesinos blocked the highway
outside the town of Eldorado de Carajas in the state of Para,
about 650 km south of Belem, to protest the government's
inaction on their land demands. For the past year, about
3,000 campesinos have been occupying 40,000 hectares of land
on the Hacienda Macaxeira, where they are demanding to be
allowed to establish a settlement.
Late in the afternoon, after meeting with local
officials, they moved to the side of the road and were waiting
for buses that officials promised would be sent to take them
to meet with people from the agrarian reform institute
(Instituto Nacional da Colonisacao y Reforma Agraria, INCRA).
Ana Julia Carepa, a Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) deputy
who works closely with the landless movement, said the workers
were told by police they would be given food and buses to take
their year-old claims to the state capital of Belem.
Instead, the governor sent a contingent of PM officers to
clear the highway, which connects Belem with the cities to the
south. According to witnesses, about 200 police, under the
command of Col. Mario Colares Pantoja, began firing in the air
as they got out of their vehicles. The campesinos responding
by hurling rocks and sticks at the police, who then turned
their fire on the campesinos. However, members of the PM said
the campesinos fired on them first, provoking the police to
shoot back.
Wagner Goncalves, a government human rights attorney who
went to Eldorado de Carajas, said police "lost control," and
opened fire with machine guns when confronted by the
protesters brandishing sticks.
While officials put the death toll at 19, leaders of the
Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem-Terra (MST) said 23 campesinos
were killed and 50 more were injured. An investigation is
underway to determine whether the police removed the bodies of
some women and children after the massacre.
"What happened is unacceptable," said Cardoso. "This
time, those responsible will be brought to justice."
A congressional delegation immediately went to the site
of the massacre to look into what had occurred. In addition,
Cardoso sent both the Minister of Justice, Nelson Jobim, and
the head of the Casa Militar, Gen. Alberto Cardoso.
"I want Gen. Cardoso to investigate the incompetence of
the group that was supposed to ensure order," said the
president.
The landless campesinos association MST blamed Para
governor Almir Gabriel of the Partido da Social Democracia
Brasileira (PSDB), who ordered the police to clear the
highway.
Gabriel, in turn, blamed the deaths on PM commander
Pantoja who, he said, "lost control at a crucial moment."
Gabriel said he would carry out an exhaustive investigation.
He immediately dismissed Pantoja, later placing him under
house arrest. Meanwhile, all members of the PM unit were
confined to quarters and their duties taken over by army units
sent to the area.
"The order we gave was for the highway to be cleared and
remain cleared," Para's head of security, Paulo Sette Camara,
said. "Of course, if the militarized police were
excessive--and from what we can see they were--those excesses
will be investigated."
PT deputy Pedro Wilson, interim president of the
congressional human rights commission, said the massacre was
the nation's worst ever recorded, adding that "this brutal
crime cannot go unpunished or it will discredit the justice
system and the very rule of law."
According to the congressional investigation, at least
ten of the campesinos were killed execution style. The doctor
from the University of Rio de Janeiro, Nelson Massini, who
examined the bodies of the victims in the Legal Medical
Institute in Maraba, said the majority of the victims were
shot at point-blank range. Seven campesinos were evidently
beaten to death.
The plight of landless campesinos has simmered for years
in Brazil. Stressing the importance of the land issues,
Cardoso made agrarian reform a major plank in his campaign
platform in 1994. After assuming office, Cardoso initiated a
program to distribute unused land. Under that plan, the
government distributed parcels to 40,000 families in 1995 and
planned to give parcels to another 60,000 families this year,
according to government spokesperson Sergio Amaral.
However, the MST says that, at the rate the government
program calls for land to be distributed, it would take 50
years to meet the needs of Brazil's 4.8 million landless
families, or about 12 million people.
The Catholic Church's commission dealing with land issues
(Comissao Pastoral da Terra, CPT) says 80% of productive land
in Brazil belongs to just 10% of landowners. However, Brazil
has about 81 million ha. of uncultivated land, which the MST
says could be divided among about 4 million families.
According to official statistics, the land conflicts have
cost the lives of nearly 1,000 campesinos during the past
decade, some at the hands of police and other killed by
paramilitary groups hired by landowners. The situation in the
countryside has been exacerbated because many of the urban
poor have streamed south and westward in search of plots to
work and call their own. More than 37,500 families have now
taken over 168 farms or ranches in 109 townships to press
their demands for land.
The MST encourages groups to invade private estates which
are not being used for farming to pressure the government to
speed up its program. But those invasions frequently meet
violent opposition from landowners and police.
"This is the worst massacre of landless that has ever
happened and worse still, it had been predicted," said Joao
Pedro Stedlhe, national director of the MST.
Last year, nine campesinos were killed by police during
a forced eviction in Rondonia near the Bolivian border (see
NotiSur, 10/06/95). Stedlhe said that, after the killing of
the campesinos in Rondonia, the MST warned the government that
failure to speed up the land reform program would mean more
bloodshed.
James Cavallaro, Brazil director of Human Rights
Watch/Americas, urged authorities not to allow the deaths to
go unpunished like previous massacres, including the one in
Rondonia.
"We hope this case serves to bring home to Brazil the
need for concrete measures to address violence," Cavallaro
said.
The MST and the CPT have begun an international campaign
to ensure that those responsible for the Para massacre do not
go unpunished. They said Cardoso must bear some
responsibility for the tragedy, because he had been warned
about the explosive situation in Para.
A spokesperson for the campaign criticized the
administration for claiming a lack of resources to justify not
pushing ahead with agrarian reform, while at the same time,
"the government has spent millions and millions to save banks
and large landowners who were facing bankruptcy."
On Apr. 22, Cardoso held a meeting with the presidents of
the Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF), Jose Sepulveda Pertence,
and of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, Jose Sarney y Luis
Eduardo Magalhaes, respectively, in an attempt to speed up the
agrarian reform and curb the violence.
Cardoso called on the leaders to give their "most urgent"
attention to a bill that would make Brazil's military police
answerable to civilian courts, a government spokesperson said.
The bill, which human rights groups say is crucial to curbing
Brazil's violent police but which has been stuck in the
Senate, would put an end to the internal tribunals which
rarely punish officers for rights abuses.
Other proposals include a constitutional amendment to
take human rights crimes away from state courts--where
political influence is often strong--and hand them over
instead to federal authorities.
"The government is analyzing every bill related to land
reform stuck in Congress to pinpoint what can be done," said
a government source in Congress. "They knew before that the
situation was serious, but this episode surprised everyone
because of the level of violence that was used." (Sources:
Inter Press Service, Notimex, 04/18/96; Reuter, 04/18/96,
04/19/96, 04/22/96; Agence France-Presse, 04/18/96, 04/20/96,
04/22/96, 04/23/96)
