MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

German Left leader warns on “extreme presidentialism” in Socialist Latinamerica

Gregor Gysi: “I’m a democratic Socialist”

Gregor Gysi the leader of Germany’s Left considers a serious problem the extreme “presidentialism” of the new left wing governments in Latinamerica and said Cuba was on the wrong track if it believes social justice demands sacrificing liberties.

For the German leader the main problem of the new Socialist governments in Latinamerica is that they are presidential democracies, too much power in the hands of the president and little in parliament, which makes work difficult for parties and movements.

“Of all the left wing presidents, Brazil’s Lula da Silva is the least left-wing but he is the most successful. Why is this? Because in other countries the political class is divided and strongly hates each other”, said Gysi.

“There’s no political competition, there’s an irreconcilable hate and this distracts governments from addressing the countries’ problems” he added.

Regarding Cuba, Gysi who leads the left wing group in the German parliament (made up of dissident Social-Democrats and the pro-communist of the former German Democratic Republic, DDR), believes the Castro brothers are on the wrong track following erred models that exclude basic freedoms.

“I’m a democratic Socialist and know very well what means the false alternative which is based on the argument that social justice forcibly excludes some liberties. For me such a model of alternatives does not exist. You must always go for both, they run parallel”, underlined Gysi.

Nevertheless the German leader believes that the regime of Raul Castro is committed to democratic changes.

“The privatization of the small businesses and farms, for example, is a leap forward for it creates another kind of structures and interests”. He also praised the fact that Raul Castro abolished capital punishment, which “is not a minor thing”.
In the German elections of last September the left garnered 11.9% of the votes. With 76 seats in parliament it has become the fourth out of five political forces with parliamentary representation, ahead of the Greens.