[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 6 (Wednesday, February 4, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E91]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  LATIN AMERICA: PROGRESS IN DEMOCRACY

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                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 4, 1998

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, while members were in their districts for 
the recent recess, several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean 
held important political elections. In every instance, these elections 
were seen as free, fair and transparent as observed by representatives 
of the international community. These success stories have once again 
demonstrated the growing acceptance and strength of democracy in the 
region. This nation has worked very hard to promote regional democracy 
through our Agency for International Development as well as through our 
efforts here in the Congress. As Chairman of the Western Hemisphere 
Subcommittee, I believe we can be very encouraged by the progress that 
is being made and we should commend those nations, and others, for 
their commitment to democracy and free and open elections.
  I also want to commend the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean 
for the economic progress they are making as many of them progress to 
open market economies. According to a recent report by the United 
Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean 
(ECLAC), the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean experienced 
their best economic performance as a region in almost twenty-five years 
averaging a rate of growth of close to 5.3 percent while experiencing 
an average inflation rate of just 11 percent. This is truly good news 
and serves to reinforce the fact that the region is making steady and 
impressive progress.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate President Janet Jagan of Guyana, 
President Carlos Flores of Honduras, Prime Minister P.J. Paterson of 
Jamaica, President Miguel Rodriguez of Costa Rica, as well as all of 
the candidates for Congress and municipal seats in both Chile and 
Colombia who won their respective elections.
  Mr. Speaker, I am submitting a brief description of several of the 
elections which took place during the recess.
  Colombia--On October 26, 1997, Colombia held nationwide municipal 
elections. These elections portrayed the worst and best aspects of 
modern Colombian democracy. Unfortunately, leftist rebels (a.k.a. 
``narco-guerrillas) attempted to disrupt the elections, especially in 
the rural areas which they control, by kidnaping and murdering many of 
the candidates. These efforts were modestly successful in twenty 
municipalities where elections were not held. Despite this disruption, 
and more positively, over 10 million Colombians voted, showing their 
strong support for the electoral process. The right to choose municipal 
officers is only about ten years old, so this affirmation of that right 
is encouraging, considering the rebels and drug lords assault on 
Colombia's democracy.
  Guyana--The December 1997 presidential election was won by Janet 
Jagan's People's Progressive Party (the Chicago-born widow of the 
former president). However, this election was significant in that the 
opposition People's National Congress fomented rioting for several 
weeks after disputing the election results, charging fraud in the 
victory of the People's Progressive Party. Many experts, including 
those at International Foundation for Elections Systems, agreed that 
there were irregularities, but doubted that they had any conclusive 
impact on the outcome. Recently, the opposition signed an agreement 
with President Jagan to accept the results of the vote and end the 
street demonstrations.
  Honduras--The November 1997 presidential election was momentous for 
the fact that it allowed the citizens for the first time to vote in 
their residential districts using new national identity ID cards. As a 
result, there was much less confusion for voters and irregularities 
were held to a minimum as the Liberal Party's Carlos Flores won the 
presidency. Importantly, the army played a vital role of supporting 
democracy. Observers noted that if it had not been for the army's help 
in transporting the ballots and election results, the chances of fraud 
and diminished public confidence would have been much greater. The 
Honduran governments is committed to addressing problems for future 
elections as well: turnout has dropped off somewhat, and the voter list 
is not as accurate as it should be.
  Jamaica--The December 1997 parliamentary elections witnessed the 
historic second re-election of Prime Minister P.J. Patterson's People's 
National Party over the Jamaican Labour Party and the National 
Democratic Movement. While the elections were mostly free and fair 
across the country and the results are not in dispute, international 
observers, which included President Carter and Gen. Powell, noted that 
Jamaican politics still suffers from the problem of the garrison 
communities in the capital of Kingston. These are parts of the city 
wherein one of the major parties is dominant by means of patronage or 
intimidation; therefore, election results continue to return few or no 
opposition votes in these communities.
  Chile--The December 1997 congressional elections resulted in victory 
for the Concertacion, the center left ruling coalition, and improved 
showings for both the hard right and the hard left; the more moderate 
left- and right-wing forces did worse than last time out. Aside from 
some poll workers showing up late for work, a commonality in Latin 
America, and a high abstention rate, there were no irregularities, and 
the vote represents for many observers evidence that Chile's democracy 
is quite stable.

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