Suriname's politics

A former Dutch colony puts its 1980s strongman back in power


SINCE returning to democracy, most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have tried to distance themselves from their Cold War military dictatorships. Yet while Suriname’s South American neighbours are locking up their generals of yesteryear, the former Dutch colony is poised to restore its erstwhile strongman to power. Following an election on May 25th in which the Mega Combination coalition led by Desi Bouterse won a plurality of seats, the former military dictator is guaranteed a return to office.

A former track star and army boxing coach, Mr Bouterse seized control of Suriname following a coup in 1980. His rule is best remembered for his ties to Moscow, the execution of 15 political opponents in 1982, and a bloody counterinsurgency against the Jungle Commando guerrillas. He resigned in early 1988 but briefly retook power almost three years later, when he phoned the president to inform him that he was being deposed.



Apart from his political career, Mr Bouterse has allegedly been involved in drug-trafficking. In 1999, the Netherlands convicted him in absentia of smuggling cocaine, and issued an international warrant for his arrest. As a result, he risks capture if he leaves Suriname. He is also currently on trial at home for the 1982 killings.

None of this makes for an enticing political biography. The last time Mr Bouterse’s party won an election, in 1996, he left the presidency to an ally, with whom he later squabbled. It then lost elections in 2000 and 2005. But this year’s environment was much more favourable for Mr Bouterse. Even though Suriname’s economy has done well under Ronald Venetiaan, a 73-year-old former mathematics teacher, voters have tired of him after a decade in office. His unwieldy eight-party coalition slowed decision-making. Mining and oil have brought growth but not many direct jobs.

Meanwhile, Mr Bouterse proved a surprisingly adept campaigner. Despite his 64 years, he wisely courted voters too young to “remember 1982”, as Mr Venetiaan’s advertisements suggested. “Bouta,” as his supporters call him, set his rallies to Bob Marley tracks, breezily delivered jokes in a mix of official Dutch and the widely spoken Sranan Tongo language, and boasted of the factories built under his rule (most of which later went bust). He managed to convince many under-35s that he was a candidate of change, in contrast to the stodgy Mr Venetiaan.

Even so Mr Bouterse’s Mega Combination took only 40% of the vote, while the parties that previously made up Mr Venetiaan’s New Front received 49%, largely from older voters. But since the last election the New Front has splintered into three rival groups, allowing the Mega Combination to emerge as the largest united block. Mr Bouterse has secured tentative alliances with two ethnic parties that would give him the support of two-thirds of the legislature, enough both to make him president and modify the constitution. Even if they fall apart, Mr Bouterse will still regain power: if no party holds a two-thirds majority, a separate assembly of lawmakers and local representatives convenes to choose the president, and the Mega Combination won a majority of its members in the election.

The campaign did not focus on policies, but the most contentious issue is gold mining in Suriname’s jungle interior. Gold’s rising price has drawn freelance miners from Brazil and Guyana, and attracted foreign investors. These prospectors rub shoulders with the Maroon peoples, descended from slaves who escaped Dutch plantations 200 years ago. The Maroons led the rebellion against Mr Bouterse’s dictatorship, and staged an anti-Brazilian riot last Christmas. Mr Bouterse wants the government to register the wildcat miners, tax them and subject them to environmental regulation. He opposes a proposed terms of an investment by Newmont Mining, an American firm, saying it amounts to exchanging Suriname’s natural bounty for a mere “apple and an egg.”

But what matters most to Mr Bouterse is his own trial. It began in 2007 but has been slowed by procedural challenges. As president, he might let it proceed, and simply pardon himself if he is convicted. Being head of state could also shield him from the Dutch arrest warrant, although travelling abroad would still be a risk. The Surinamese must hope that such perks of office will not tempt Mr Bouterse to try to stay in power again if he is voted out in 2015.