In Latin America, dictatorships were once the rule of many countries, but over the past 30 years, democratization has progressed despite political instability. However, even in "democratic governments" established through elections, there are many countries where the activities of opposition parties are restricted and politicians are imprisoned or jailed, and political violence is still occurring. Perhaps for this reason, there has long been a strong sense of caution in the Japanese community regarding political activity by Japanese people of Latin America. During the postwar nationalistic and military regimes, this tendency was strong, and while important government positions were welcomed, opposition or anti-government political activity was considered taboo. In fact, I still remember the fierce opposition I received when I told my parents as a high school student that I wanted to major in political science at university1 .
In South America, even if democratic politics are carried out on the surface, violence exists behind the scenes, and governments often restrict freedom of the press and political activity. During elections, candidates are often seen yelling at each other and engaging in personal attacks, and policy debates are centered on ideological conflicts, with little substantive discussion of the issues and reforms of the day.
In both national and local elections, the candidate's family may be threatened, or the candidate's life may be targeted, leading to actual injury or murder (assassination). In the past, news of politicians being murdered was common in Colombia and Peru, but in recent years, news of young, aspiring politicians and novice candidates being murdered in Mexico has been reported frequently. 2 Also, in this year's Brazilian presidential election, former soldier and right-wing candidate Bolsonaro was stabbed with a knife while campaigning and sustained serious injuries (September 6, 2018) 3. As he was a highly visible candidate, the media from around the world covered the incident, but the reality is that many similar incidents that occur in local elections and other places rarely come to light. For this reason, prosecutors and judges in charge of important cases are always accompanied by bodyguards. This fact shows the current state of "democracy" in South American countries.
Perhaps because of this political situation, when Fujimori became president in Peru in 1990, the Japanese community had very mixed feelings. They were thrilled and happy, but also feared that if his administration failed, the sanctions and bad publicity would extend to the Japanese community, damaging their precious social status and trust. In fact, when the president subsequently fled to Japan, was arrested in Chile and handed over to Peruvian judicial authorities, the concerns of many Japanese leaders increased. Contrary to the community's fears, the impact on the Japanese community was limited after the former president was indicted and imprisoned. Now, his daughter Keiko and son Kenji are active in politics, and it is said that there is a good chance that Keiko will win the presidential election in 2021. Nevertheless, the community's feelings are still mixed4 .
The first generation of Japanese immigrants insisted that if Japanese people were to give back to society in any way, it was important for them to hold important positions in government organizations. I remember them proudly talking about how in the late 1970s in Brazil, Japanese people had become federal legislators and cabinet members. In today's Peruvian society, there are Japanese politicians and bureaucrats active in local and central politics, with some serving as policy advisors to legislators and parliamentary committees, and some even serving as ministers' secretaries, bureau chiefs, or directors-general, while some have become senior officers or directors-general in the military and police authorities.
Notes:
1. In 1978, when I graduated from high school, Argentina was still under military rule, and several Japanese-Brazilian activists had already disappeared or been imprisoned. At the time, these facts were "adult secrets," and I didn't know much about them. It was only after the establishment of a civilian government in 1983 that I learned that a dozen Japanese-Brazilians had been imprisoned for anti-government activities.
2. “Violencia without funds in Mexico”, Ambito Financiero (June 10, 2018)
In July 2018, Mexico held presidential elections, congressional elections (election of 500 representatives and 128 senators) and local elections (election of 9 state governors). In June, Fernando Pron, a congressional candidate in the northern state of Coahuila, was murdered after a campaign rally. According to the private investigative firm Etellekt, there were 400 cases of political violence between September 2017 and June 2018, and of the 112 murders in 10 months, 28 were primary candidates and 14 were officially reported by candidates. Many mayoral candidates were victims, and 127 politicians and their families were threatened. Even after the elections, winners and their aides were killed, with 175 politicians losing their lives in the year leading up to the end of August. ( Etellekt )
3. Candidate Bolsonaro will win the runoff election and be inaugurated as President of Brazil on January 1, 2019.
4. In November 2018, the Peruvian Prosecutor's Office arrested Keiko Fujimori on charges of receiving illegal political donations from the Brazilian company Odebrecht, and decided to detain her for 36 months due to the risk of her fleeing. This is not yet a full arrest, and the prosecutor's office will be gathering evidence from now on, but it is unusual for a politician to be detained under such circumstances. For this reason, some believe that this is a conspiracy by political opponents or political obstruction to prevent her from running in the next presidential election.
© 2018 Alberto J. Matsumoto
