Challenge the Jefe Maximo: #2

Likewise, Cuaderno Latinoamericano blog member, monisha, asked me the following question: "In Brazil, the left is challenging the very liberal Lulu. Has a similar situation occured before? If yes, when?"

I found this question to be one that had many possible avenues for seeking an answer. I do have an answer, but perhaps it is not the one that monisha specifically had in mind, so I'll ask her to confirm and explain if I've gone down a different path.

My answer would be: Yes, a similar situation has occurred before in Brazil. I would point to the Presidency of Joao Goulart, a leftist populist who took over the office after the enigmatic Janio Qadros resigned in 1961. While Goulart certainly was a nationalist/populist leader that relied on traditional leftist elements of the Brazilian electorate, he was also subject to criticism from the more radical left wing of the Brazilian political milieu for not going far enough to support leftist causes. Unfortunately, Goulart's presidency was short-lived as the right-leaning Brazilian military ousted him from office in 1964.

Now, if we look outside of Brazil, we can also see examples of leftist politicians losing the critical support of many elements of their ideological colleagues on the left as well. An obvious example would be that of Salvador Allende, the Chilean President from 1970-1973, whose efforts to lead a constitutional and peaceful transition to socialism were thwarted by a variety of forces, both internal and external, leading to his ouster and death in the military coup of 9/11/1973.

I would also add another example from recent history ... one that I have witnessed with my own eyes. The FMLN in El Salvador recently fielded a candidate for the last Presidential election by the name of Shafik Handel, an ex-guerrillero and leftist leader of the revolutionary forces in that country. However, Handel's candidacy was received with no small amount of division among the various factions of the left. And some of these groups among the left were openly critical of Handel's candidacy.

So, there you have it ... If monisha would like to add something to this explication, I would love to hear it.