A lot of people would like to say Balaguer, now that he is dead. He was very conservative, and, at the time that was a very positive thing. He knew the society and could work within the constraints of a too large military presence (yes, by letting them steal as much as possible) and a very class conscious society. He also knew where the bodies were buried. He was a builder, not a too long range thinker, but then he did bring in the Chicago Boys (Friedman and Co.) and got Herrera started, even if it later proved to be a mistake. On the negative side, he let the army do a lot of payback and there were several cases of newspapermen getting killed. Some of these have never been really cleared up...
I think the worst one was the killing of Amin Abel on the steps of his house. Never could forget that one. He was an effective leader.
Others will have to look further back...maybe they will find someone, but I tend to doubt it. Fernandez? Time will tell, he is young yet and if he governs again perhaps he can let some of the other people feed at the trough...
HB
|
(10)
Caceres, M.
