Latinnews Archive
Latin American Special Reports - 1 December 1984
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AGUIAR, Amador (BRAZIL). President of the Banco Brasileiro de Descontos (Bradesco), the country's biggest private bank with over US$5bn in assets. According to Institutional Investor, he is one of the world's wealthiest bankers, with an estimated personal fortune of US$200m. He is considered to be a progressive business leader, and his name has been consistently associated with the key political and economic debates of the day over the past 20 years. In Sao Paulo he is rated as a stout defender of the state's economic development. He will exercise important influence over the new President's economic team.
ALCONDA ARAMBURU, Carlos (ARGENTINA). Minister of Education in Raul Alfonsin's cabinet. Born in 1920, he graduated as a lawyer and doctor in law and social science at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata. He has been a magistrate and university teacher. In 1955, following the overthrow of Juan Domingo Peron, he became state attorney for the Province of Buenos Aires, and thereafter Interior Minister under President Pedro Eugenio Aramburu. Between 1963 and 1966 under the Radical administration of Arturo Illia, he became education and justice minister. As such he managed to get this department the highest budget it has had in the last 50 years, opening 50,000 literacy centres.
ALENDE, Oscar (ARGENTINA). Leader of the Intransigente Party, which incorporates sectors of the democratic left. He was born on July 6 1909 at Maipu, Buenos Aires province. A doctor by profession, from an early age he was a militant of the Union Civica Radical. When the party split in 1957, Alende went with Aduro Frondizi into the Union Civica Radical Intransigente (UCRI). When Frondizi became president in 1958, Alende became governor of the province of Buenos Aires. As such he was responsible for an energetic public works programme, especially in the field of public health. On Frondizi's fall in 1982, the two parted company. Frondizi set up the Movimiento de Integracion Desarrollo (MID), while Alende stayed on as head of UCRI -- which was subsequently renamed the Intransigent Party. He was presidential candidate in 1963 and 1973, and after 1976 became a forefront opponent of the military dictatorship. He brought together political groupings on the non -- violent left, was an active participant in the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights, and was once again a presidential candidate in 1983.
ALLENDE, Andres Pascal (CHILE). A sociologist, aged 40, he was Salvador Allende's nephew. In October 1973 he became general secretary of the Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionario (MIR). He got asylum in the Costa Rican embassy, and left Chile. Later, he returned to the country to lead the MIR in its 'prolonged popular war' against the Pinochet government.
ALMEYDA, Clodomiro (CHILE). Former minister of foreign affairs under Allende. He was arrested at the time of the 1973 military coup, and then deported to Romania in 1975. He was nominated to be general secretary of one of the fractions of the Chilean Socialist Party.
ALVA CASTRO, Luis (PERU). An influential figure in APRA, and the party's spokesman on economics. He could be Prime Minister if Alan Garcia becomes President. He was responsible for drafting Apra's Plan Peru. Its main points are law and order in the political and social sphere, and food and employment in the labour and economic sphere.
ANDRADE DIAZ DURAN, Fernando (GUATEMALA). Minister of Foreign Affairs under General Mejia Victores. He is actively engaged in the United Nations to get the Contadora plan converted into international law.
ANDREAZZA, Mario (BRAZIL). One of the figures of the military government most likely to retain influence under the democratic government. A retired general, 64, his last public post was interior minister under Figueiredo. In Brazil this post does not mean responsibility for internal security, but for regional and local development plans. A military moderate, he has been important in designing Brazil|s oil policy. He was a pre -- candidate for the presidency for the Social Democrat Party (with Figueiredo's backing) but was defeated by Maluf in the party's convention.
ARANIBAR QUIROGA, Ernesto (BOLIVIA). Ex-minister of planning and coordination, and leading figure in the Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria. He argues that Bolivia is incapable of making normal debt service payments, and that the government cannot postpone development nor risk democracy to please foreign creditors. He has supported the decision to suspend all debt payments to the international banks.
ARCINIEGAS ANGUEIRA, German (COLOMBIA). Born in 1900, he is a lawyer, writer, journalist, historian, and university lecturer. He occupied the post of cultural attache in various embassies, and has been ambassador to Israel, Italy, Venezuela and other countries. He set up and became secretary of the Colombian students' federation, was professor of psychology at the Universidad Nacional, the Universidad Libre, and the Externado. He has been director of several weekly publications, and writes regularly for a large number of newspapers and magazines in Latin America.
ARDILA LULLE, Carlos (COLOMBIA). At 49 he has become one of Colombia's most influential figures in the world of politics and finance. His group controls 55 companies, mainly in the textile and communications sectors. Since 1978 his organization has owned Coltejer, the country's biggest textile complex. From a provincial family of modest means, he is the classic example of the self -- made millionaire.
AREVALO ARDOQUI, Juan (MEXICO). A prominent military figure in a country in which the military does not figure large. Since December 1982 he has been secretary of national defence. With studies in the Heroico Colegio Militar, he received his diploma from the joint chiefs of staff in 1950. In 1958 he became a presidential adjutant, becoming chief adjutant thereafter. He became a divisional general in 1979.
ARGANA, Luis M. (PARAGUAY). Potential presidential candidate for the pro -- government Colorado party, of which he has been member since the age of 13 in 1946. He has been lawyer for severai multinational corporations, and is currently president of the supreme court.
ARIAS, Oscar (COSTA RICA). At 43 he is presidential candidate for the Partido de Liberacion Nacional, and will fight Rafael Angel Calderon, the candidate for the Partido Unidad Sociai Cristiana. He evokes the image of belonging to a new generation. 'Calderon's political weight comes from the past', he says 'mine is that of today, and that of the future'. He favours boosting the private and cooperative sectors.
ARRIAGA IRAHETA, Isodoro (HONDURAS). Cabinet minister and right-hand man to President Suazo. In 1982 he headed the Instituto Nacional Agrario. He justifies his country's 'mutual defence alliance' thus: 'in view of the fact that other countries in the area are acquiring sophisticated weaponry, Honduras has the right to build up its own capacity'.
AUGUSTINE, Fennis (GRENADA). Considered to be the main exponent of social democracy in Grenada. He was excluded from Maurice Bishop's Patriotic Movement, but is now trying to reorganize the left to provide it with a wide electoral appeal. He is a lawyer, and has worked closely with the rural population.
AYALA OLIVA, Ernesto (CHILE). A civil engineer, 68, he is president of the Sociedad de Fomento Fabril. He was previously manager of the Sistema Electrico de Pilmaiquen, and president of the institute of engineers.
AZPURUA ARREAZA, Manuel (VENEZUELA). The present Treasury minister. He graduated as a lawyer in the Universidad Central de Venezuela in 1965. At 41, he is married to the sister of Eugenio Antonio Mendoza, the multimillionaire, and works in the legal practice Mendoza, Palacios, Acedo, Borjas & Paez Pumar. Between 1978 and 1979 he was director of the Caracas Chamber of Commerce, and then vice-president of Mendoza. In addition he was director of the Cavain finance corporation, of the La Guaira Internacional bank, of Proagro, of Venepal, of the savings and loan association Bancarios, and of the housing foundation, Vivienda Popular.
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BACA GARBO, Raul (ECUADOR). President of congress from the opposition Izquierda Democratica party. Following the sharp tension between congress and the executive over how long supreme court judges should serve, his mediation paved the way for an improvement in relations.
BAENA SOARES, Joao Clemente (BRAZIL). General secretary of the Organization of American States (OAS). A law graduate from the Universidade Catolica, he immediately entered Itamaraty. He undertook diplomatic missions in Paraguay, Portugal, Guatemala, Belgium and at the United Nations. Since 1970 he has gone from one position of responsibility to another in Brasilia, gaining prestige in the eyes of the foreign ministries of other Latin American countries.
BARTLETT DIAZ, Manuel (MEXICO). A possible presidential candidate within the ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), he was the campaign coordinator for the election of President Miguel de la Madrid. Currently he is Interior Minister. He is a law graduate and a doctor in political and social science. From 1962 to 1964 he was an adviser to the public credit office. Then he was assistant secretary to the executive committee of the PRI, and ran Republica, the party newspaper. In 1976 he was appointed head of political affairs in the Foreign ministry, with the rank of ambassador.
BARRANTES LINGAN, Alfonso (PERU).The mayor of Lima, leader of the Izquierda Unida (IU) and presidential candidate for the 1985 general elections. Formerly an APRA militant, he was always closer to the marxist Jose Carlos Mariategui than to APRA's leader, Victor Raul Haya de la Torre. In 1980 he emerged at the head of IU -- a coalition made up of the Communist party, the Partido Socialista Revolucionario, the Partido Comunista Revolucionario, Patria Roja and other left-wing groups.
BERROCAL, Fernando (COSTA RICA). Ambassador at the United Nations, candidate for the post of deputy secretary general of the Organization of American States, and former secretary to the President, he is a prominent political figure.
BIRD, Lester (ANTIGUA). In June 1984 he became president of the ruling Antigua Labour Party (ALP), succeding his father, the veteran Prime Minister, Vere Bird. He has a rock-solid position within the cabinet, with the posts of minister of foreign affairs, economic development, tourism and energy. He is the heir apparent to his father. He upholds a more independent line than his father with respect to relations with the US. Vere Bird is conspicuously pro-American, but Lester Bird believes that Antigua should no longer be 'a US base in the eastern Caribbean'. He is also worried about Antigua's economic outlook and the political risks inherent in the vast participation of US multinationals in the domestic economy and the expansion of the gaming business. Though the business community dislikes his social democratic posture, this goes down well with most of the electorate.
BLANCO RUIZ, Eugenio (CHILE). One of five executives of the Permanent Stock Exchange Commission of the Americas, based in Buenos Aires. He is partner in various industrial enterprises, such as the Los Angeles wood company and the Vencedora mining company at EI Melon. He was president of the Santiago stock exchange and advisor to the production and trade confederation. He studied at the military academy and the agronomy faculty of the Universidad de Chile.
BOFF, Leonardo (BRAZIL). Theologian, and one of the fathers of liberation theology. His ideas provoked a strong reaction from the Vatican in 1984. Boff holds that the main danger to Latin America is not communism but capitalism. In his view, while the European church opens up a dialogue with the nonbeliever, the Latin American church should open up a dialogue with the poor and the oppressed. Boff did his theological training in the franciscan seminaries at Petropolis, Curitiba and Sao Paulo.
BONIFAZ GUTIERREZ, Oscar (BOLIVIA). Previously Finance minister. A lawyer trained at the Universidad Juan Misael Saracho in Potosi, he has always been strongly linked to the private mining companies. He is one of the Christian Democrat Party's oldest militants. He was the mining minister in 1969 in the Ovando government, and occupied the post again in 1979. In 1984 President Siles appointed him industry minister, but he stayed there only 20 days since he pushed hard for the adoption of 'realistic' pricing policies. A few months later he took over as finance minister.
BORJA CEVALLOS, Rodrigo (ECUADOR). Leader and founder of the Izwuierda Democratica party, which is affiliated to the Socialist International. ID was formed in 1970 as an off-shoot of the Liberal party. The Ecuadorean right see Borja as a 'communist menace', while the left considers him as a centre-right reformist anxious to prop up 'the privileges of the ruling class'. He was a presidential candidate in 1984, but was defeated by the current President, Leon Febres Cordero. Since then he has become the leading figure of the opposition.
BORRAS, Raul, (ARGENTINA) A civilian, he was minister of defense in a country which for years was under the absolute control of the armed forces. A member of the Union Civica Radical, he was under secretary of Agriculture and Lifestock during the Radical government of Arturo Illia. In the last constitutional government (ending in 1976) he was the national deputy for the province of Buenos Aires, in which - region he also maintained vast commercial interests.
BOUTERSE, Desi (SURINAME) He is the most poweful man in Suriname. But his oscillation between pragmatism on political and economic issues internationally and his neo-marxism has caused some concern -- particularly in his handling of his country's economic problems. It was primarily this that led him to promise a return to democracy in 1986.
BRADY ROCHE, Herman Julio (CHILE). Minister in charge of the national energy commission. He has been a lieutenant-general since 1979, a teacher in the military academy, an English interpreter and a private pilot. In 1975 he became minister of Defence, and personal adviser to President Pinochet in 1978. He took over at the Chilean nuclear energy commission in 1981.
BRIZAN, George (GRENADA), The killing of Maurice Bishop and the subsequent US invasion in October 1983 left Grenada bereft of political talent: Brizan, 42, has it. He is a former education minister and founder-member of the New Jewel Movement. At the beginning of 1984 he helped set up the National Democratic Party, and then allowed for it to be incorporated in the New National Party (NNP). When the NNP won the elections in December, Brizan took over the agriculture, fishing and tourism ministries under the new Prime Minister, Herbert Blaize. His problem appears to be his lack of determination in organizing his own powerbase and struggling for higher office. He may find himself overtaken by his rivals.
BRIZOLA, Leonel (BRAZIL). His Partido Democrtaico Trabalhista Brasileiro (PDT) was founded by Getulio Vargas. He was a federal deputy for Rio Grande in 1954, becoming governor in 1958, Following the resignation of President Janio Quadros in 1961, he led the legal resistance to the military action to block the succession of Vice-President Joao Goulart. In 1964, following Goulart's overthrow, he was forced into 16 years of exile. He returned in defiance of the government and new, younger leaders of his own party. Brizola, 62, is still a vigorous political leader with a strong appeal to large sectors of non-conformist democrats.
BUCHI BUC, Hernan (CHILE). President Pinochet's sixth Treasury minister. A civil engineer, a master in business administration from Coiumbia University, Buchi, 36, was described prior to his appointment as minister as 'congenial, unusual, a loner and libertarian. In 1975 he was advisor to the economy ministry, Promotion came quickly, He became an undersecretary for economy, for health, director of Odeplan and banking superintendent.
BULNES SANFUENTES, Francisco. (CHILE). A lawyer with considerable political and diplomatic experience. He studied at the Liceo Aleman, the Universidad Catolica and the Universidad de Chile. He became a deputy in 1946, and a senator for O'Higgins and Colchagua n 1953, and Chilean ambassador in Peru in 1976.
BURNHAM, Forbes (GUYANA). Leader of the People's National Congress, President of Guyana, and defence and national security minister. In Guyana's authoritarian political structure, he is the dominant personality. He faces severe problems on the economic front and from trade union unrest, but he recouped some prestige for his stalwart opposition to the US invasion of Grenada.
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CABALLERO, Marcial (HONDURAS). General secretary of the Union Nacional de Campesinos (UNC), the country's biggest rural union confederation,, hich is affiliated to the Christian Democrat Confederacion Latinoamericano de Trabajadores (CLAT). He is one of a new generation of rural leaders with a strong commitment to the peasants, who form 70% of the population of Honduras. He holds that it is 'the gringos with their machines' which have 'destroyed the peasants' crops and their homes'.
CALDERA, Rafael (VENEZUELA). President between 1969 and 1974. A lawyer, a professor in labour law and historian, he founded Venezuela's Christian Democrat party, Copei. As Copei s presidential candidate in the 1983 general electons, he was defeated by Jaime Lusinchi. His campaign publicity presented him as an exceptional statesman, one of the fathers of modern democracy in Venezuela, and the only person capable of leading his country in a moment of crisis. The scant popularity of President Luis Herrera Campins -- also from Copei, but one of Caldera|s rivals within the party -- helped ensure Copei|s defeat. However, the campaign did much to resusitate Caldera's own standing, and to some extent, that of Copei.
CALDERON BERTI, Humberto (VENEZUELA). Many claim that he is the person who saved OPEC from collapse in 1983, when he carried out a sensitive mediation between Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Britain to stop a price war. He is one of the key experts in Latin America on international oil policy. He was director of the Universidad de Oriente's school of oil engineering, as well as being board member of the Venezuelan oil corporation. He was minister of energy and mining between 1979 and 1983.
CALERO PORTOCARRERO, Adolfo (NICARAGUA). Leader of the Frente Democratico Nicaraguense (FDN), the contra organization which includes former members of Somoza's national guard. He got a degree in business management at Notre Dame University, Indiana. He then got a doctorate in law at the Universidad de Managua. He was a member of the opposition broad front under Somoza. With the Sandinista takeover in 1982 he became the leader of the Partido Conservador Democratico. He went into exile in Miami, where he became the political leader and military commander of the FDN. Thereafter he moved to Honduras to direct the operations of the 'contras'.
CAPUTO, Dante (ARGENTINA). President Alfonsin's foreign minister. He is a graduate in social sciences from the Universidad de El Salvador, the recipient of a doctorate from the Sorbonne in political sociology, and he has undertaken various other courses in the US. He worked in a diplomatic post in the United Nations and the Organization of American States. He was then a lecturer as the faculty of economic science at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. From 1976 till the election of Alfonsin he was director of the Centro de Estudios Sociales sobre el Estado y la Administracion Publica. According to opinion polls, Caputo -- after Alfonsin -- is the most popular cabinet member.
CARRANZA, Roque (ARGENTINA). Industrial engineer and expert in planning, Carranza is minister of public works. He was the secretary of the national development council during the Arturo Illia government. Following the overthrow of the Radical government he undertook jobs within United Nations organizations. He was one of the leading forces behind Alfonsin's Movimiento de Renovacion y Cambio from its inception. He was one of the writers of the Radical Party's economic platform on which it fought the October 1983 elections.
CARVAJAL PRADO, Patricio (CHILE). A retired admiral, and key figure in the Pinochet regime. He was Pinochet's defence minister (1973-74), and has come back to this position, having been foreign minister in the meantime. From 1974 to 1977 he led Chile's delegations to the United Nations, where he had to ward off attacks on Chile on the issue of human rights.
CASTILLO SUAZO, Amilcar (HONDURAS), Appointed defence minister in February 1983, and confirmed n the post in August 1984. He supports the reactvation of the Consejo de Defensa Centro Americano (CONDECA). It is alleged that he plays an important part in antisandinista operations, According to Casti 10 the military alliance between Honduras and El Salvador was signed to protect Honduras borders and the country|s sovereignty, not to threaten Nicaragua.
CASTRO CASTRO, Jaime (COLOMBIA). Interior minister. Under the Conservative administration of Misael Pastrana Borrero he was the justice minister. In 1976 he was made ambassador in Itay, He has been a professor of public and administrative law in three Colombian universities. He became active in politics in 1977 when he was elected to Congress. He became a senator in 1978, and is president of the Liberal Party's central political committee.
CHAMBERS, George (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO). Took over as Prime Minister on the death of Eric Williams in 1981. Even though he has become the dominant personality in his party -- the People's National Movement -- he has hit resistance in reforming party structure. He wants to outlaw from the PNM anyone tainted with corruption, marxist leanings and associations with black power. He is supported by public opinion, and even his austerity measures have won backing.
CHAVES DE MENDONCA, Antonio Aureliano (BRAZIL). Vice-President to Figueiredo (1979-85), he is a businessman and politician capable of retaining his influence during the transition to democracy. An engineer, 65, he has long experience in dealing with public works. In 1961 he was technical director of Electrobras. In 1964 he became secretary for education, and the following year secretary for transport and public works. He presided over the study commission for Itaipu. He was a deputy for the Alianza Renovadora Nacional and also governor of Minas Gerais province. Last year he was one of the 'presidenciables'.
CIENFUEGOS, Ferman (EL SALVADOR), His real name is Eduardo Sancho Castaneda and he is 37. In 1967 he began organizing peasants in Usulatan. In 1970 he set up an organization called 'el grupo', jointly with the Communist and Christian Democrat youth sections, In 1972 he was one of the founding members of the Ejercito Revoluc onario del Pueblo, from which he split in 1975 to form Resistencia Nacional. He is secretary general of Resistencia, and since 1981 a member of the general command of the FMLN.
COLLADOS NUNEZ, Modesto (CHILE). Previously minister of Economy and of the Treasury. He graduated as a civil engineer from the Universidad de Chile. In 1964 and 1965 he was minister of Public Works, and in 1966 minister of Housing. His links with the technocrats predate the military government. In special government commissions he carried out various socio-economic studies: into coal (1945), into the rationalization of wood production (1959), into structuring the housing ministry (1975) and into educational programmes (1976).
CORVALAN LEPE, Luis (CHILE), Former senator for Valparaiso and Aconcagua. General secretary of the Communist party. He has lived in exile since December 1976 when he was exchanged for the Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky. Corvalan propounds outright struggle against the Pinochet government by whatever means.
CROTTOGNINI, Juan Jose (URUGUAY). President of the broad front composed of Christian Democrats, socialists, ex -- colorados and ex -- blancos. A doctor, 76, he was teacher and dean at the medical school, and running mate to Liber Seregni in 1971. He was the broad front's presidential candidate in the 1984 elections.
CRUZ PORRAS, Aduro (NICARAGUA). He consistently opposed Somoza. He studied political science and economics at Georgetown University in Washington. In 1955 he joined the Conservative party, of which he is still a member. After the overthrow of Somoza the Sandinista government appointed him president of the Central Bank. In 1980 he joined the governing junta. But growing differences with the Sandinistas caused him to resign after ten months. He was appointed ambassador to Washington, but also resigned the following year. He was the Coordinadora's candidate in the 1984 elections.
CUADRA LIZANA, Francisco Javier (CHILE). As general secretary to the cabinet he holds ministerial rank. He studied law at the Universidad Catolica de Chile, and taught at the journalism school there. In 1979 he became a functionary of the Pudahuel mining company and assistant manager of the Banco Continental with responsibility for special credits.
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DA SILVA, Luis Inacio (BRAZIL). Lula, as he is known, is president of the Partido dos Trabalhadores, the most outspoken of the Brazilian opposition parties. He was head of the poweful metalworkers' union of Sao Bernardo dos Campos, before being ousted by Jair Meneghelli. Lula was a vociferous supporter of the campaign for direct elections. When the campaign failed the PT decided not to vote in the electoral college, which it considered 'illegitimate'. Three PT congressrnen, however, voted for Neves, risking a split in the party. Most of the PT, however, is against Neves' proposed social pact, and seem likely to form a strong opposition to the new administration.
D|AUBUISSON, Roberto (EL SALVADOR). President of the Salvadorean assembly. Army major, and rapidly ascending as a political leader. He was forcibly retired from the army when he was accused by Col. Adolfo Arnoldo Majano -- a member of the governing junta -- of plotting and of having a list of people to be executed. In 1981 he set up the Alianza Republicana Nacionalista, which came second in the March 1982 elections. He is generally thought to be the main figure behind the 'death squads'.
DEL VALLE, Jaime (CHILE). Foreign minister. He took on the post in 1983 after a long academic career. In 1983 he told the United Nations that Chile was well on the road back to democracy. The process, he said, might be slow, but the government could not deny the Chilean people of their treasured wish to have a 'mature democracy'.
DEMAS, William (CARIBBEAN). President of the Caribbean Development Bank since 1974. He is the most influential figure in Caribbean integration, and has turned the presidency of the bank into a political platform. In 1983 he supervised the preparation of a document presented to the Caribbean heads of state at the Bahamas meeting. The document proposed a sharp 'structural adjustment' as the only way of reviving the region's economic weaknesses. He is now actively involved in getting countries to accept this programme.
OE MATOS, Delio Jardim (BRAZIL). Previously airforce minister. He became well known for being one of the more liberal military commanders
D'ESCOTO, Miguel (NICARAGUA). Foreign minister. A priest, 50, he studied engineering at Berkeley, and then entered the church at a seminary in Chicago. He set up the magazine Orbis. In 1975 he joined the Frente Sandinista de Liberacion. Despite pressure from the Nicaraguan hierarchy against the 'popular church' and priests being involved in government, he has stayed with the Sandinista government. However, the Vatican has suspended him from priestly duties.
DIAZ DIAZ, Daniel (MEXICO). Minister of Transport and Communications. He gained a degree in civil engineering at UNAM. In 1956 he became a sectional head in the communications ministry. He became programme director, director of investment analysis. Then he became under-secretary for infrastructure in the communications and transport ministry.
DORNELLES, Francisco (BRAZIL). Tancredo Neves' nephew and former treasury secretary under the Figueiredo government. He is Brazil's new Finance minister. He has a degree in law, and though he is regarded as a competent tax specialist, he has little practical grounding in economic or financial affairs. He is disliked by the PMDB and the PFL which suspect him of wanting to continue with the military government's economic policies. They also fear the influence he could have in making Neves' already conservative tendencies more pronounced. Dornelles was instrumental in giving Neves direct access to ministers and military chiefs, helping Neves to keep abreast of what was going on at the top of both groups.
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EDWARDS, Agustin (CHILE). President of the Banco Edwards and leader of the Edwards group, which has interests in wood products, paper and cardboard. The group also runs the daily El Mercurio newspaper and is a powerfui force in Chilean politics.
ENRIQUEZ SAVIGNAC, Antonio (MEXICO). Minister of Tourism. He has a degree in business management, and did postgraduate study at Harvard. He has worked in the Interamerican Development Bank, the Banco de Mexico, the national tourism development fund and the Banco Nacional de Mexico.
ERRAZURIZ CORREA, Hernan Felipe (CHILE). President of the central bank. He has been closely associated with the Pinochet regime since 1973. He was a lawyer in the central bank before being appointed vice-president. He became Mining nninister in 1981, and in 1982 he became secretary to the presidency. He is a relative of Juan Braun Lyon, a key figure in the Cruzat empire.
ESCOBAR CERDA, Luis (CHILE). Former Finance minister. He supported the raising of import tariffs and the introduction of a preferential exchange rate for debt-ridden companies. He was director of the economics faculty of the Universidad de Chile. He was formerly minister of Economy, Development and Reconstruction under Jorge Alessandri (1961-63).
ESQUIVEL, Manuel (BELIZE). Became Prime Minister after the election victory of the United Democratic party in December 1984. He is a teacher by training. He inherited severe economic difficulties from the George Price administration due to the fall in the world sugar price. He wants Britain to maintain its presence in Belize, not just to support him against Guatemala, but to prevent US troops being sent to Belize.
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FARRELL CUBILLAS, Arsenio (MEXICO). Minister of Labour and Social Security. He has a doctorate in law and is a graduate of the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). He was a lecturer in various faculties of the university, an advisor to the Chapala electrical company, president of the nationai chamber of sugar and alcohol industrialists and director general of the Mexican social security institute.
FAVELIC, Roberto (ARGENTINA). Textile industrialist. He is executive president of the Union Industrial Argentina.
FERREIRO, Domingo (BRAZIL). Naval captain and author of essay 'The Brazilian Navy, An Emerging Power.' He argues that Brazil's top priority should be to avoid any conflict which might prejudice national interest. He says it is important to avoid repeating the tight US-Brazil alliance of past years. 'It's obvious', he says, 'that President Reagan cannot force Brazil to become a protagonist in East-West conflict. In a world of multiple poles Brazil will not accept US domination in its foreign policy making. Nor will it allow the Soviet Union to pose a direct threat to national objectives.'
FERREIRA ALDUNATE, Wilson (URUGUAY). The most important person in the Partido Nacional (Blancos). Following a lengthy exile in Argentina, Peru, Britain, and Spain throughout the dictatorship, he returned in 1984 as candidate for his party. When he landed, however, he was immediately arrested by the security forces. In the 1971 elections the Partido Nacional came second, even though Ferreira -- its main candidate -- -got more votes than the winning Colorado party. The peculiarities of the country's electoral system (in which each party presents various candidates and the president is chosen by which of the party candidates gets most votes) gave the upper hand to Juan Maria Bordaberry.
FERRER, Aldo (ARGENTINA). Economist. President of the Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. He took a hard line on debt negotiations: the country should pay no more than it could really afford as fixed by the debt service ratio to exports. He is the author of numerous essays and books. One, 'Living Off What We Produce' (Vivir con lo nuestro) has had a major impact recently. It argues that Argentina should promote its own economic autonomy and create the conditions for growth. Unlike the adjustment programmes of the IMF, he argues that this would produce benefits for the majority. Ferrer was a minister under two military governments -- those of Levingston and Lanusse -- but had no links with the military regime which took power in 1976.
FONTECHA FERRARI, Manuel (HONDURAS). Appointed minister of Finance and Public Credit in August 1984, when there was a reshuffle in the cabinet owing to pressures from the IMF and the armed forces.
FRANCO, Albano (BRAZIL). Became a senator in 1983, and now is president of the powerful national industry confederation. According to Franco, the industrial sector is prepared to make great sacrifices to help the country overcome the debt crisis. But at the same time he argues that Itamaraty needs to be more determined to renegotiate the debt.
FREELAND, Adolphus (ANTIGUA). Minister of Labour, Housing and Cooperatives. He made an unsuccessful bid to win the leadership of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) in 1984. He is closely linked to the commerce and work trade union set up over 40 years ago by Vere Bird. If Bird's son, Lester Bird, succeeds his father as Prime Minister, Freeland would probably be nominated first vice-president of the party, and so consolidate his position as one of the country's major political leaders.
FRONDIZI, Arturo (ARGENTINA). President between 1958 and 1962. He was overthrown by the military. He is a developmentalist, favouring during his government foreign capital on condition that it promoted national industrial development. For him, 'there can be no security without development, nor development without security'. He founded the Movimiento de Integracion y Desarrollo (MID) along with economist Rogelio Frigerio.
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GALAN, Luis Carlos (COLOMBIA). At 37 he was the candidate for Nuevo Liberalismo in the general elections in 1982. One of the rising stars in Colombian politics, he left the traditional Liberal Party to form a new tendency which holds out for land reform and nationalization of the oil industry. He is editor of the weekly magazine Nueva Frontera.
GARCIA DEL SOLAR, Lucio (ARGENTINA). Ambassador in Washington. He studied in Paris at the Institut de Sciences Politiques de Paris (1956). He entered the foreign ministry in 1945. He was an advisor to the Argentine delegation at Unesco in Paris, and charge d'affaires (1958-61), head of the OAS division at the foreign ministry (1961), assistant delegate to the mission at the United Nations.
GARCIA PEREZ, Alan (PERU). A lawyer, 34, Garcia is APRA candidate in the April 1985 general elections. He did his doctorate in Spain and studied psychology at the Sorbonne. He returned to Peru in 1977, and immediately set to work within the APRA party apparatus. He was shortly after put in charge of party organization. In 1978 he was elected for APRA in the constituent assembly, and as deputy in 1980. He became the party leader shortly after the death of Haya de la Torre.
GARCIA ROBLES, Alfonso (MEXICO). Diplomat, born 1911. He is thoughtto be the author of the Tlatelolco treaty, signed on 12 March 1977, by which Latin America declared itself the world's first nonnuclear zone. He joined the diplomatic service in 1939. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982 for his contribution to peace and disarmament. He was ambassador in Brazil and Foreign minister in 1976, and thereafter his country's permanent representative at the disarmament conference in Geneva.
GARCIA VAZQUEZ, Enrique (ARGENTINA). Ex -- president of the central bank. Along with Economics minister Bernardo Grinspun, he was responsible for the negotiations which preceded his country's agreement with the IMF. He held that reforms to the financial system should be accompanied by an anti-inflation policy.
GASS, Adolfo (ARGENTINA). President of the senate foreign relations commission. He graduated in medicine in 1941, and has been a member of the Union Civica Radical since 1924. He has held several posts in the party hierarchy. He was exiled to Caracas from July 1976 to April 1982, but returned to Buenos Aires in 1982.
GOMEZ ORTEGA, Miguel Angel (MEXICO). Admiral. Navy minister since 1982. He was Mexico's naval attache in Brazil, and president of the technical commission with responsibility for handling oil spills and other forms of marine pollution.
GREEN, Hamilton (GUYANA). One of Forbes Burnham's five vicepresidents, minister of Agriculture, and the President's personal representative. He is held to be one of the PNC's most violent politicians.
GRINSPUN, Bernardo (ARGENTINA). Planning minister, and formerly Alfonsin's first Economy minister. During the Illia government (1963-66) he was executive secretary of the national development council, director of the central bank, and secretary of the economic and social cabinet. In 1965 he was appointed assistant governor at the IMF, and from 1967 to 1969 he was regional advisor to the United Nations. His contacts in Europe -- especially in Italy, France and Spain -- are thought to have been of central importance in the renegotiation of Argentina's foreign debt. He favours state intervention in the economy to regulate impartially exchange rates, credit, monetary variables and budget policy.
GUAROADO, Facundo (EL SALVADOR). A guerrilla leader, 28, with a long record of involvement in armed struggle since the 70s. From an early age he was involved in agriculture, and was one of the prime movers behind the Federacion Cristiana de Campesinos Salvado: renos and the Union de Trabajadores del Campo. As general secretary of the Bloque Popular Revolucionario he was arrested in 1979. When he was set free he went underground.
GURRIA, Angel (MEXICO). Head of public credit since 1983, and the man behind Mexico's attaining its 'jumbo' loans to help the country survive the falling price of oil and high US interest rates.
GUTIERREZ, Gustavo (PERU). Considered as the 'father' of liberation theology. His book A Theology of Liberation, published in 1971, had an impact far beyond Peru's borders, giving rise to a school of thought among the Latin American catholic clergy.
GUTIERREZ, Ramon Dario (BOLIVIA). Owner of the country's second largest sugar refinery, San Aureliano. He also has interests in industry, cattle and banking, as well as being an influential regional leader.
GUZMAN REINOSO, Abimael (PERU). Born in Mollendo, Arequipa, in 1934, he later became a philosophy teacher and lawyer. He is one of the founders of the 'Sendero Luminoso' guerrilla movement. He formerly taught at the Universidad Nacional de Huamanga in Ayacucho.
H May 6, 1985THAYNES, Ritchie (BARBADOS). Financial expert within the opposition Democratic Labour party, he will be the main candidate for the leadership of his party once Errol Barrow decides to retire. His prominent handicap is his lack of experience in government, which his rivals pick on as a major drawback. He became a member of parliament only two years after the fall of the last Labour government.
HECTOR, Tim (ANTIGUA). Former activist in the black power movement, he leads the leftist Antigua Caribbean Liberation Front. The Front, Antigua's only serious opposition party, refused to take part in the 1984 general elections. He is a friend of Lester Bird, and is thought to be a major source of inspiration for Bird's centrist policies. However, he sharply denounces government corruption, and his newspaper, Outlet, is well considered throughout the Caribbean region and is Antigua's biggest selling paper.
HERNANDEZ CERVANTES, Hector (MEXICO). Minister of Trade and Industrial Development since December 1982. A graduate in economics from the Escuela Nacional de Economia at UNAM, he did post-graduate studies at Melbourne, Australia. He has been an economist at the Banco de Mexico, assistant director of financial studies at the Nacional Financiera, director general of industry and trade at the SIC.
HERRERA, David (HONDURAS). Regional leader of the Union Nacional de Campesinos (UNC), he has sharply denounced the aggression used against peasants by both landowners and the military. He has survived several attacks on his person.
HYDE, Ewan (BELIZE). Former 'black power' leader in the US, Hyde returned to Belize ten years ago. He set up a paper, Amandela, which has gained influence and prestige in Belize.
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IGLESIAS, Herminio (ARGENTINA) He was the Peronist candidate for provincial governor of Buenos Aires in the 1983 elections. He was a union leader of the so-called 'verticalist' tendency, of unconditional support to Peron and, after his death, to Isabel Peron. Many consider him to be the person most responsible for the Peronists' defeat in 1983. He is accused of fascist leanings, and his aggressive style may have put off former Peronist sympathisers in the middle class. His appointment as general secretary of the Peronists at the end of 1984 prompted a split. He is supported by certain trade union leaders in the industrial sector and some low-income groups.
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JACKSON, Rashleigh (GUYANA) Foreign minister since 1978. Before that he was the ministry's permanent secretary and Guyana's ambassador in the US for five years. He is one of the Caribbean's most experienced experts in international relations. His name does not appear on the long list of Forbes Burnham's collaborators accused of corruption. He has tried to improve relations with Cuba, and to revive the flagging Caribbean community. He is a key figure in the present government.
JARPA REYES, Sergio Onofre (CHILE). Former interior minister. He began the dialogue with different groups with a view to a future democratisation of the country. In 1984 he offered his resignation, but Pinochet refused to accept it. He accused the church and trade unions of making his task impossible. In January 1985, however, he tendered his definitive resignation. He is a well-established figure on the Chilean right. In 1938 he participated in a coup attempt against Arturo Alessandri. In 1966 he helped form the Partido Nacional, grouping together different factions on the right. He was one of President Salvador Allende's most bitter critics, and gave his full weight to the 1973 coup.
JAVELLY GIRARD, Marcelo (MEXICO). Since 1982 he has been minister with responsibility for urban development and ecology. From 1977 to 1982 he was the director of the Fideicomiso Liquidador de Instituciones y Organizaciones Auxiliares de Credito. He was also coordinator of the group responsible for streamlining the national banking and insurance commission.
JULIN MENDEZ, Antonio (HONDURAS). President of the Asociacion Nacional de Campesinos Hondurenos (ANACH), an organisation linked to the regional labour grouping, ORIT. He argues that it will take 30 years to produce any visible effects from the land reform enacted by the government since it took power in 1982. He says that the existing legislation lacks teeth to deal with powerful and influential landowners.
JUNGUITO BONNET, Roberto (COLOMBIA). Treasury minister under Belisario Betancur. A graduate of the Universidad de los Andes, he did post-graduate studies in the US. Politically he belongs to the conservative 'Alvarista' wing of the Conservative party, the followers of Alvaro Gomez Hurtado, the party's most likely candidate for the 1986 elections.
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LABASTIDA OCHOA, Francisco (MEXICO). Minister of Energy, Mines and Federal Industry. He was minister with responsibility for state companies and industrial development in 1982. He is a stout defender of Mexican support for OPEC, by Mexico's being prepared to cut production to prevent a price collapse.
LANDAZABAL REYES, Fernando (COLOMBIA). Former Defence minister. He has been a retired general since February 1984. He has sharply criticised the scope of President Betancur's amnesty for the guerrillas, declared at the end of 1982. He has 25 medals and has undertaken missions to Panama, Korea, the US, Britain, West Germany, Brazil, and Ecuador.
LECHIN OQUENDO, Juan(BOLIVIA). A skilful politician, 72, he is executive secretary of the Central Obrera Boliviana. He has controlled the COB since it was created in 1952, and was re-elected in 1984. He is a possible candidate for the presidency in the 1985 elections for an alliance between the radical left and the unions.
LEWIS, Vaughan (CARIBBEAN). Director-general of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) since 1981. He has been a lecturer in social sciences in the University of the West Indies. He was at the head of the OECS at the tricky moment when the US used the OECS treaty as a pretext for its invasion of Grenada in October 1983. He incurred the wrath of many left-wing academics when he failed to resign as a sign of protest. Instead he stayed on, trying to convert the OECS into a body with a clear mission to promote greater cooperation between the small and vulnerable islands in the eastern Caribbean.
LIRA OVALLE, Samuel (CHILE). A lawyer, 51, he is President Pinochet's Navy minister. He was a lecturer in the law faculty of the Universidad de Chile, an advisor to the Sociedad Nacional de Mineria and director of the Corporacion de Fomento de la Produccion.
LIZANO, Eduardo (COSTA RICA), President of the central bank. He was a business leader and president of the Union Costarricense de Camaras y Asociaciones de la Empresa Privada. A well known economist, he is an economics lecturer at the Universidad de Costa Rica. He studied at the London School of Economics and was a financial advisor to the Vatican.
LLOREDA CAICEDO, Rodrigo (COLOMBIA). Former Foreign minister of the Betancur government. He was governor of the Valle de Cauca province, a Cali city councillor and senator. He was also manager of the Cali newspaper El Pais and board member of Andiarios. His first post in government was as minister of education between 1978 and 1980.
LOPEZ ARIAS, Victor (BOLIVIA). General secretary of the federation of Bolivian miners, the FSTMB, having held the post for more than ten years. His post is number two to the executive secretary, Juan Lechin Oquendo, who has held sway since 1944. Lopez was president of Comibol, the Bolivian mining corporation in 1983.
LUDER, Italo Argentino (ARGENTINA). The Peronist presidential candidate in the 1983 elections. Though he began his political career in the Radical party, he became a Peronist in 1949, when he played an important role in the convention which reformed the constitution. In 1955 he was one of the lawyers who defended exPresident Peron in the trial he faced for treason from the government which overturned him. He became a senator, vice-president of the Frente Justicialista de Liberacion (a coalition led by the Peronists), provisional president of the senate, and -- during a short part of the Maria Estela Martinez de Peron government -- provisional president. He was a lecturer at the Universidad de la Plata and at the Universidad Catolica Argentina.
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MAHABIR, Errol (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO). Though only Labour minister, Mahabir is the only person capable of challenging the leadership of Chambers. His role during the long and violent strike at Texaco in 1984 showed a dynamism that contrasted sharply with the resigned stance taken by Chambers. He strongly denies that he is interested in appealing specifically to the Asian half of the population, but has had conspicuous success in gaining popularity among Asians.
MAJLUTA AZAR, Jacobo (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC). An active and longstanding member of the ruling Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD). He seems to have a strong chance of being elected president in the 1986 general elections. He was Vice-President during Antonio Guzman's government, and on Guzman's death brief y became President.
MALUF, Salim Paulo (BRAZIL). Though defeated by Neves, he is the clearest political figure to have emerged from 19 years of military rule. He is 43, and in 1978 was elected governor of Sao Paulo state. In 1984 he pushed himself to the fore and won the nomination of the progovernment Partido Democratico Social (PDS). This step even took President Figueiredo by surprise. He lost in the electoral college to Neves. Neves appeared as the figure offering a wider political opening, capable of winning more popular support in the transition period to democratic rule. Maluf could turn out to be a successful opposition leader.
MARIATEGUI CHIAPPE, Sandro (PERU). Former Prime Minister and Foreign minister of the Belaunde government. A longstanding colleague of Belaunde's. He resigned from the government to apply himself to getting re-elected to the senate in the elections of April 1985. He was Economy minister in 1967.
MARQUEZ DE LA PLATA, Alfonso (CHILE). President Pinochet's secretary-general to the cabinet. An agricultural engineer, 51, he graduated from the Universidad Catolica de Chile in 1956. He was president of the Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura, president of the Banco de Santiago, minister of Agriculture (1978-80), and member of the fourth iegislative commission of the military government.
MARTIN SAEZ, Manuel (CHILE). A civil engineer, 55, he is a banker and personal friend and advisor to President Pinochet. He was Economy minister in 1982. He is one of the main shareholders of the Banco Sudamericano. He has always been a fervent anti-communist. His friendship with the Pinochet family helped him become a member of the Corporacion de Estudios Nacionales, which is run by the President's elder daughter.
MARTINEZ, Victor (ARGENTINA). Vice-President. He belongs to one of the most traditional families in Cordoba province. He graduated in law from the Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, specialising thereafter in agrarian and mining law. Under Illia, he became intendente in Cordoba, and gained considerable prestige in the post. He belongs to an independent strand in the Radical party, which maintained its autonomy from Ricardo Balbin who was for years party leader. In 1983 he was elected as first vice-president of the national committee, and then as Vice-President with Alfonsin, Balbin's old party rival.
MARTINEZ VILLICANA, Luis (MEXICO). Minister with responsibility for agrarian reform. An agricultural engineer -- specialist in plants -- he was the head of the Banco de Mexico's agricuitural project evaluation section. He was the operations head of the Banco de Mexico s agicultural guarantee and promotion fund.
MATTHEI AUBEL, Fernando (CHILE). Commander-in-chief of the Chilean airforce, and one of the four members of the junta. As a member of the junta he has shown himself to be more in favour of dialogue with civilians than his three other colleagues. He has gone on record as saying he is prepared 'to sit down at the table with the marxists' He caused a rumpus when he said that the transition to democracy should be completed by 1989. He wants a congress to be elected in 1986 to prepare the final move towards democracy in 1989, the timescale proposed by Pinochet.
McLEOD, Errol (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO). President of the powerful oilworkers' union, and one of the main forces behind the Texaco strike. He is linked to the new marxist committee for worker solidarity and to the council of progressive trade unions. He disagrees with the labour congress which is linked to the PNM, and has argued in favour of breaking away from it.
MENDOZA DURAN, Cesar (CHILE). The director general of the uniformed carabinero police force. He has been a member of the junta since September 1973.
MERINO CASTRO, Jose Toribio (CHILE). Commander-in-chief of the navy, with the rank of admiral. Member of the junta since September 1973. He was a lecturer in the naval academy and commander-in-chief of the first naval zone.
MERCADO RODRIGUEZ, Gualberto (BOLIVIA). Former Finance minister and president of the foreign debt negotiating commission. Formerly he was head of the Banco del Estado. He has been general secretary of the Colegio Nacional de Economistas and executive secretary of the Confederacion de Profesionales. He was the brains behind the economic platform of the Unidad Democratica Popular, the winners of the 1980 elections.
MOREIRA SALLES, Walther (BRAZIL). President of the Unibanco group in Rio de Janeiro. Institutional Investor inciudes him in its list of the world's richest bankers, He was previously finance minister and ambassador in Washington.
MUNROE, Trevor (JAMAICA), General secretary of the Jamaica Workers' Party. Like many other left-wing leaders in the Caribbean Community he has found that his position has been seriously affected by his links with the Grenadian revolutionaries. The People's National Party -- over which Munroe and his own party used to have considerable influence -- now keeps him at a discreet distance. Even so, he is still a prominent figure both in Jamaica and in the Caribbean generally. No doubt his will be a critical voice in the left's reevaluation of the situation in the region in the wake of developments over the past two years.
MUSA, Said (BELIZE). A lawyer, and son of Palestinian traders, Musa was brought into the People's United Party (PUP) by George Price to balance the weight of more longstanding and conservative members. He is seen by many as being Price's most likeiy successor. However he is continually attacked by Sylvestre for being a 'Communist'.
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NAARENDORP, Harvey (SURINAME). Foreign minister in the national military council government of Dersi Bouterse. He is the general secretary of the February 25 Movement, and Bouterse's main advisor. He is a dynamic personality, and has considerable personal charisma.
NERI, Aldo (ARGENTINA). Minister of public health and social action. He is one of Argentina's most distinguished specialists in sanitary medicine. As a lecturer he occupied the post of director of the school of public health in the Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires. He was an advisor to the World Bank and to the Panamerican Sanitary Office. He is the author of numerous books on the administration of public health.
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OJEDA PAULLADA, Pedro (MEXICO). Fisheries minister. A lawyer, aged 52, he has been Labour and Social Security minister, attorney general, and president of the executive committee of the PRI.
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PATTERSON, P.J. (JAMAICA). Executive president of the People's National party, the main opposition party headed by former Prime Minister, Michael Manley. He is the most likely heir to the leadership, should Manley retire. When the party was defeated in 1980, Patterson took a year off from politics, but he is now once again in the thick of it. He is the main spokesman for the centre right of the PNP, and has laid special stress on the importance of there being a clear distinction between the social democratic ideology of the party, and other more radical positions to the left.
PAZ ZAMORA, Jaime (BOLIVIA). Former Vice-President. Aged 45, he was exiled during the Hugo Banzer government. In what afterwards became known as the 'Caracas Pact' in 1977 he reached a political agreement with the current President, Hernan Siles Zuazo, and this alliance was to form the basis of the Union Democratica y Popular (UDP). In 1983 he parted company with Siles, and since then has been a sharp critic of the Siles government. He even went so far as to recommend that the congress should get rid of Siles and appoint him instead in his capacity of Vice-President. He is a candidate in the 1985 elections for a fraction of the Movimiento de la Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR).
PEREZ HORMAZABAL, Sergio (CHILE). A minister and executive vice-president of the Corporacion de Fomento de la Produccion. An official of the army command, he is also a graduate in economics, and has a postgraduate qualification in industrial relations from the University of Oklahoma. He has been a teacher in several academies and universities since 1969. He has also been an under-secretary of economy, governor of the Maule region, and a director of the Oficina de Planificacion Nacional (ODEPLAN).
PRADO ARANGUIZ, Jorge Jose (CHILE). Agriculture minister. Founder and president of the Asociacion de Agricultores de San Vicente de Tagua Tagua. From 1973 to 1975 he was vice-president of the Confederacion de Productores Agricolas. Following three years studying law, he got a scholarship to study agricultural organisation in France. Then he went to Norway to study agricultural cooperatives.
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RADIX, Kendrick (GRENADA). Former Industry minister, and attorney general during the New Jewel Movement government. Despite his pompous personal style and his links with Cuba, which have brought him many headaches, his political activity keeps the activities of the far left on the front pages of the newspapers.
RAINFORD, Roderick (CARIBBEAN), General secretary of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) since 1983. Coming from Jamaica, he took over when Caricom was passing through a particularly difficult phase. Shortly after taking office he had to try to handle divisions caused in the community by the Grenada crisis.
RAMIREZ OCAMPO, Augusto (COLOMBIA). Foreign minister. He is an economist and took part in the foundation of the Asociacion Latinoamericana de Libre Comercio (ALALC). He was President Pastrana Borrero's delegate in drawing up the text of Andean Pact Article 24, which regulates foreign investment in the Andean region. He is one of President Belisario Betancur's confidants. In 1982 he became a Conservative party deputy.
REY PRENDES, Julio Adolfo (EL SALVADOR). Minister of the presidency, and personal advisor to President Jose Napoleon Duarte. He participated in the government's delegation in the conversations with the rebels. He was the reserve general secretary of the ruling party.
REYES, Simon (BOLIVIA). A leader of the Communist party and the person in charge of international relations at the miners' federation. He is a union leader at the forefront of the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB).
REYES HEROLES, Jesus (MEXICO). Minister of education since December 1982. A lawyer, aged 63, he was a teacher at UNAM, and an advisor to the labour ministry. Between 1952 and 1958 he was an advisor to the President, and in 1964 took over as general director of Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex).
RIVERA Y DAMAS, Arturo (EL SALVADOR). Archbishop, and successor to the murdered Oscar Romero. He presided over the negotiations between the government and the rebels.
ROMERO, Dionisio (PERU). Powerful banker. He is president of the Banco de Credito del Peru. According to Institutional Investor, he is one of the world's richest bankers.
S Holds a doctorate in physical and mathematical sciences, and is a writer. In 1984 he won Spain's Cervantes prize for literature. He presided over the investigative commission appointed by President Alfosin to look into the disappearance of people during the military government. The final draft of this report is known as the 'Sabato Report'.
SALINAS DE GORTARI, Carlos (MEXICO). Minister of Planning and Federal Budget, he did a master's in political economy and government at Harvard University. From 1979 to 1981 he was the technical advisor to the President's economic cabinet. He has been a university lecturer for several years and participated in the drafting of the PRI's programme of action.
SANCHEZ, Luis Alberto (PERU). Veteran leader of Apra, who would become first vice-president if Apra win the 1985 presidential elections. He is a senator, and played a key part in Alan Garcia's meteoric rise within the party hierarchy to become presidential candidate.
SANCHEZ DE LOZADA, Gonzalo and Antonio (BOLIVIA). Owners of the powerful private mining company, Compania Minera del Sur (COMSUR). Have interests in banking, property and tourism as well.
SANDOVAL ALARCON, Mario (GUATEMALA). Leader of the Movimiento de Liberacion Nacional, the far-right wing of the ruling party. He thinks that the military solution is the only way out for Guatemala's problems. He was one of the key men behind the 1954 coup which removed Col. Jacobo Arbenz Guzman. He was Vice-President between 1974 and 1978. His anti-democratic stance did not restrain him from putting down his candidacy for the 1985 elections.
SANJINES, Oscar (BOLIVIA). Member of the Communist party (PCB) and general secretary of the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB).
SANTO DOMINGO, Julio Mario (COLOMBIA). Prominent industrial leader, controlling some 90 firms -- including Bavaria, the giant beer monopoly. He has interests in the cement business, and is an important shareholder of Avianca.
SEGUEL MOLINA, Rodolfo (CHILE). Union leader, aged 31. He was president of the powerful copperworkers' union, the CTC. Politically he is close to the Christian Democrats, but does not belong to the party. He was detained in 1983 by the military government for breaking the state security law by organising a national day of protest.
SEJAS TORDOYA, Simon (BOLIVIA). Commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and commanderin-chief of the army in 1984. He is President Siles' closest ally among the military. He ordered troops in to handle demonstrations in La Paz in March 1985.
SEPULVEDA AMOR, Bernardo (MEXICO). Foreign minister. He graduated in law from the Universidad de Mexico, got as master's thereafter at Cambridge University, and finally a doctorate at San Diego, California. From 1971 to 1981 he devoted himself to international relations, when Miguel de la Madrid was minister of Planning and Budget. He was general secretary for international affairs of the ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) in 1981 and 1982. Thereafter he was appointed ambassador in Washington, where he stayed until getting his present job as Foreign minister.
SEREGNI, Liber (URUGUAY). He was a retired general when he presented himself in 1971 for the Frente Amplio, a coalition including Christian Democrats, Socialists, Communists, and other left-wing groups. In 1973, following the military coup, he was tried for subversion, treason and other crimes against the security of the state. He spent 11 years in prison, and was freed in March 1984, though his political rights remained in suspense.
SETUBAL, Olavo Egydio (BRAZIL). Owner and president of the Banco Itau of Sao Paulo, Brazil's second biggest commercial bank. He is Foreign minister in the civilian government.
SILVA HERZOG FLORES, Jesus (MEXICO). Minister of Treasury and Public Credit. He is an economics graduate, and did postgraduate studies at Yale. In the English-language press he is often portrayed as one of Latin America's most capable public officials. He was a member of the administrative council dealing with the main public financial entities in Mexico, and member of the permanent commission on banking and insurance. In the treasury ministry he was the director-general of credit on two occasions, the under-secretary in 1979, and minister since 1982.
SILVA RUETE, Javier (PERU). Formerly finance minister during the military government of President Morales Bermudez. He is now closely linked to Apra, and is a probable minister in a future Aprista government.
SOURROUILLE, Juan V, (ARGENTINA). Minister of Finance. Previously he was the planning secretary. Ten years ago he was under-secretary of economy, when Aldo Ferrer held the post of economy minister. He is author of Argentina's five-year plan. He has claimed that 'it is possible to expand the economy and reduce inflation at the same time'. He has published a number of books on economics.
ST JOHN, Bernard (BARBADOS). Deputy Prime minister and Labour minister. He adds political weight and technical competence to the present government. He took an active part in the Lome Ill talks which regulated trade relations between the European Community and its former colonies in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. He showed himself as being one of the most skilful negotiators in the Barbadan team.
STORANI, Conrado (ARGENTINA). Energy secretary in the Alfonsin government. He holds that it will be possible to increase his country's coal production from 600,000 tonnes a year to 2m tonnes by 1988. He is an aggressive bargainer in his dealings with private oil companies. However he has climbed down from his previous view that there should be no private participation in oil exploration and production.
SWETT MORALES, Francisco (ECUADOR). Finance minister. He belongs to no political party, though it is clear that he shares many of the conservative notions of President Leon Febres Cordero. He is an economist and specialist in public administration and international affairs. He has been an advisor to the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB), and has worked at the World Bank, in the Foro agency, and in the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA). In 1967 he became an advisor to the Ecuadorean central bank and president of the Junta Nacional de Planificacion -- now called Conade.
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TERAN TERAN, Edgard (ECUADOR). Foreign minister, aged 45, and member of the Conservative party. He graduated as a lawyer at the Universidad Central de Ecuador in 1964. He was an advisor to the President's office in 1968 and 1969 during the Jose Maria Velasco lbarra government. He has also been general secretary of public administration, president of the foreign trade institute, and Ecuador's representative on the Andean Pact.
THOMAS, Clive Y. (GUYANA). An economics lecturer, he is president of the Institute of Deveiopment Studies at the University of Guyana. He is a leader of the Working Peoples' Alliance, and close friend of the murdered Walter Rodney. He is one of the Burnham government's most hostile critics, both on human rights and on its management of the economy. He is one of the key intellectual figures of the left in the Caribbean region. He argues that a marxist society is compatible with democratic freedoms.
TROCCOLI, Antonio (ARGENTINA) Minister of the Interior. He is one of the best-known leaders of the 'authentic balbinist' current, the section of the Union Civica Radical led by Ricardo Balbin up until his death. Troccoli is a lawyer, formerly a lecturer in political economy and is a deputy.
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UNGO, Guillermo Manuel (EL SALVADOR). President of the Frente Democratico Revolucionario (FDR). He was born in San Salvador in 1931. He studied graphic an at the Carnegie Institute of Technology at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1963 he graduated as a lawyer at the Universidad de El Salvador, where he later taught. He was a member of the junta thattook power in 1960 with the overthrow of Jose Maria Lemus. He also became a junta member in 1979, when Col. Carlos Humberto Romero was overthrown. Since becoming FDR president he has worked strenuously at a diplomatic level.
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VALDES, Gabriel (CHILE). President of the Christian Democrat party, and a leader of the opposition. He graduated in law at the Universidad Catolica de Chile, where he became a lecturer in economic policy. He was foreign minister in the Frei government. During the Allende government he was in the Caribbean area as regional director of the United Nations programme for Latin America. He is now the leader of the Alianza Democratica, a grouping which incorporated the Republican right, social democrats, Radicals, one section of the Socialist party in addition to the Christian Democrats.
VIDES CASANOVA, Carlos Eugenio (EL SALVADOR). Defence minister and thus responsible for leading the campaign against the guerrillas. He has had to face intense international pressure for the armed forces to disassociate themselves from the 'death squads'. His ultra-conservative colleagues consider him a liberal.
VILLALOBOS, Joaquin (EL SALVADOR). Studied economics up to fourth grade, and was leader of the Salvadorean students' association in 1971. In 1973 he became a member of the Ejercito Revolucionario del Pueblo (ERP).He became general secretary of the ERP in 1977, and today is a member of the FMLN joint command.
VOLLMER, Gustavo (VENEZUELA) A top business figure. He is president of the Banco Mercantil y Agricola de Venezuela, and heads a highly diverse economic empire. Institutional Investor ranks him as one of the world's richest bankers.
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WEBB, Richard (PERU). President of the central bank. He is an economist who has specialised in income distribution. His independence has led him to clash openly with the government and with President Belaunde personally. His prognosis for the Peruvian economy for the next few years is pessimistic.
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ZALDIVAR LARRAIN, Andres (CHILE). President of the World Union of Christian Democrats, in succession to the Italian Mario Rumor. He was President Frei's treasury and economy minister. He believes that the Allende government had led to the dictatorship of the proletariat. However, he opposes the military government. He has lived in exile since 1980, when the Pinochet government tired of the criticisms he was making about the referendum of that year.
ZAMORA, Ruben Ignacio (EL SALVADOR). He is the secretary of the foreign commission of the Frente Democratico Revolucionario. He studied at the Universidad de El Salvador, at the Universidad Catolica de Chile, and Essex University in Britain, where he picked up a master's in political science. His political involvement began in the Christian Democrat party, in which he was an executive committee and political committee member up till 1980. He was minister of the presidency and secretary of the military junta which overthrew Gen. Carlos Humberto Romero. He broke with the Christian Democrats when he found their policy increasingly repressive, and founded the Movimiento Popular Social Cristiano. In April 1980 this splinter group became a part of the FDR, the political wing of the Salvadorean guerrillas.
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