(8 of 8)
If the Latino individualist seems ever ready to fight, or at least duel, for his sacred personal rights, the record shows that he also goes in heavily for hero worship. Since Bolívar's day, Latin Americans have tended to follow men rather than parties or principles. They call themselves Peronistas, Arnulfistas (in Panama), Ibañistas (in Chile). Most of their caudillos, their strong men, have come from the army. Currently, military men preside over eleven Latino governments. Instead of confining themselves to the job of defending their country, Latin American militarists are entrenched as "the only well-organized political party" in every country except Costa Rica, Uruguay, Chile and perhaps Colombia. In many countries, the army consumes an inordinate share of the national income, and fosters the belief that it alone is fit to rule. It was armed power that put Batista back in Cuba. Other men had the votes; he had the guns.
Is It Wanted? Because revolutions often become epidemic, some fear that the Batista coup and last week's Bolivian revolt may be followed by explosions elsewhere, possibly in Ecuador or Colombia. But nobody in Latin America, except the Communists and the neo-fascist fringe, professes to want any other kind of government except democracy. In the long run, as hunger and ignorance are dealt with, democracy may yet win in Latin America, though it is likely to be quite different from the U.S. variety.
That democracy must come from within, not from without. It is up to Cubans, not the U.S., to make military coups obsolete. Meanwhile, so far as Latin America is concerned, the U.S. can only be the Good Neighbor, avoid undue interference, practice Point Four and cultivate the long view. The making of democracy takes, among other things, time.