Much to Washington's chagrin, the plethora of presidential elections and democratic fervour in Latin America propels leftist leaders to power, writes Gamal Nkrumah The existential angst that gripped Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s no longer exists. The continent, once pejoratively nicknamed "America's backyard" was previously characterised by a long period of disordered discontent and military dictatorship. Today, the region might not be at peace with itself, but there is an unmistakable and all-pervading sense of purpose and political maturity. And, most importantly, there is a consensus about how to improve things. Moreover, in sharp contrast with African or Middle Eastern countries, there are rarely complaints about abuses in vote counts or election violence, notwithstanding the occasional stand-off between opposing political groups. The new generation of elected leaders in Latin America have no great desire to doggedly grasp all levers of power, and, to the benefit of their respective countries, believe that their nations need a clean break from the past. Sunday's presidential and parliamentary elections in the tiny Central American country of Nicaragua is a prime example. Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega has made an impressive comeback, securing 50 per cent of the vote. Ortega, who toppled the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza in 1979, spearheaded an anti-imperialist and Marxist-inspired revolution that initiated sweeping social reforms -- humbling the powerful landed elites and empowering the landless and impoverished peasants. The reaction of the United States was swift and harsh. The US-backed Contras war against the Sandinistas claimed the lives of 50,000 people. After winning a decisive electoral victory in 1984, the Sandinistas were severely chastised by the powers that be in Washington and chased out of office in 1990. This is Ortega's fourth attempt at becoming elected president. Like almost every country in Latin America, the Nicaraguans have moved leftward. Instead of swimming against the regional tide, Nicaragua confirmed it once again. At this week's presidential poll, Ortega's main rival -- the conservative presidential candidate Eduardo Montealegre Rivas of the Liberal Alliance -- scored a paltry 20 per cent. The Sandinistas won a decisive victory in 1984. However, there has been successive and largely ineffectual right-wing elected presidents beginning with Violeta Chamorro in 1990, Arnoldo Aleman and ending with the incumbent, the lacklustre Enrique Bolanos in 2006. Some 80 per cent of Nicaraguans live on less than $2 a day, and Nicaragua remains the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere after Haiti. The other cause in the decline of the conservative party vote was social unease. What Ortega describes as "savage capitalism" has widened the gap between rich and poor in the country -- and also the income differential gap between the indigenous mixed race and black population on the one hand and white on the other. US President George W Bush might have his hands drenched with blood in Iraq and Afghanistan, but nearer home he should be worried about the growing trend of the rise of leftist leaders in Latin America. It is barely a decade ago that the entire Central American and Caribbean region was aflame with revolutionary insurrection. The Sandinistas were one of many such revolutionary groups. For many Nicaraguans, memories of those emotional, patriotic and revolutionary days are still fresh in their minds. It is in this context that the Bush administration laughably claims that Ortega has links with Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Today, the people of Latin America are tired of the upheavals of the past and are now more focussed on their immediate interests -- and no more so than in Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan presidential poll was free and fair and there were no allegations of vote-rigging. No heavy-handed election tactics took place. The same applies to the Brazilian presidential elections last week when Lula da Silva won 60 per cent of the vote. And then, there is the Bolivian presidential poll which swept Bolivian President Evo Morales into office -- the first indigenous leader of a Latin American country to hold the highest office in the land. The victory of Bolivia's Morales was an unequivocal landmark in Latin American politics. The country has the second largest reserves of natural gas in Latin America and Morales vowed to nationalise his country's gas sector. Moreover, two- thirds of the Bolivian population is of indigenous extraction and the indigenous voters stood firmly for Morales and his radical politics. Bolivia and Brazil, like Nicaragua, are nothing if not tenacious in their conviction that they can buck the trend in Latin American electoral politics. And, contrary to all the bad publicity in the Western -- and especially American -- media, in countries such as Venezuela where the opposition has shown any teeth, political tolerance has seldom worn thin. Indeed, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will again have his democratic credentials tested on 3 December when he is widely expected to win enough votes to secure a third term in office. The Venezuelan opposition, despite or because of its unsuccessful resort to hollow threats and bluster in a vain attempt to overthrow Chavez, will in all probability be soundly defeated once again. Are these all chips off the old blocks? Is Ortega a blast from the past? The political comeback of Ortega is a propitious reminder that Latin America is a continent where impressive economic growth rates and a deep yearning for the traditional leftist ideals of social justice go hand in hand, and need not be antagonistic. The democratically elected presidents of 2006 were mainly left-leaning. Even in the once conservative bastion of Chile, a left-of-centre Michele Bachelet was voted into office. The new breed of Latin American leaders are avowed leftists. All of them have a history of working for the underdog. Brazil's Lula might not be as vociferously anti-American as Venezuela's Chavez, Bolivia's Morales or Nicaragua's Ortega, but he is a man of the people. Lula may be vulnerable to pressure from people around him and his party might be prone to corruption, but the poor of Brazil could not care less about this as they voted for him into power. There is no mistaking Lula's democratic credentials and internationally perceived legitimacy of his presidency is in no doubt. In Brazil, and notwithstanding Lula's Workers Party's shameful corruption scandals, the right-wing opposition is in disarray. The countries of Latin America that are churning left- leaning leaders make excellent democratic models for the rest of the developing countries of the South. The political establishments of the region are fast changing colours as they succumb to the urgings of the voters -- the majority of whom are still underprivileged and were until recently politically marginalised and disenfranchised. The exceptional nature of the Latin American economy over the past two years is startling. The region is booming thanks in large measure to high oil prices. Indeed, the region has scored its fastest pace of economic growth in any two consecutive years since World War II. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently released its Regional Economic Outlook which forecast average economic growth in Latin America of 4.75 per cent in 2006. According to the report, giant Latin American economies such as Brazil and Mexico are leading an investment boom fuelled by strong domestic consumer demand. In some Latin American countries such as Nicaragua, there are worrying and widening income differentials. The gap between rich and poor is growing in a few South and Central American countries. However, the IMF report also pointed out to a widespread reduction of poverty in the region. Indeed, it pointed out that the income of the poorest half of the population is growing twice as much as the wealthiest top 10 per cent. The report also noted that high oil prices benefited major oil and gas exporters such Bolivia, Venezuela, Mexico and Ecuador. With the economy of the region purring along, prospects for higher standards of living are growing and a general air of optimism fills the air. Nobody pretends that there are no serious problems to contend with in Latin America, but at least there is much hope for a better future. It may take them several years to come up with a convincing alternative to leftist elected leaders in Latin America, but for the time being, the left is destined to reign supreme in the southern reaches of the Americas.
