Coups D’Etat and Attempted Coups D’Etat

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      ¿Qué está pasando en Birmania?

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Coup in MyanmarDaw Aung San Suu Kyi Is DetainedWhat We KnowPhotosWho Is Aung San Suu Kyi?AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyGolpe de Estado en Birmania: esto es lo que sabemosLos militares de Birmania derrocaron al frágil gobierno democrático del país. Detuvieron a los líderes civiles, bloquearon el acceso a internet y suspendieron los vuelos.Un soldado hace guardia en una carretera bloqueada hacia el parlamento de Birmania en Naypyidaw el lunes, después de que los militares detuvieran a la lideresa del país, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, en un golpe de Estado.Credit…Agence France-Presse — Getty Images1 de febrero de 2021 a las 11:21 ETRead in EnglishLos militares de Birmania derrocaron el lunes al frágil gobierno democrático del país en un golpe de Estado, detuvieron a los líderes civiles, bloquearon el acceso a internet y suspendieron los vuelos.El golpe devuelve al país a un gobierno militar completo tras un breve periodo de cuasidemocracia que comenzó en 2011, cuando los militares, que estaban en el poder desde 1962, implementaron elecciones parlamentarias y otras reformas.Personas con protectores faciales, mascarillas y guantes de goma para evitar la propagación del coronavirus esperaban para votar durante las elecciones de noviembre en un colegio electoral de Yangon.Credit…Ye Aung Thu/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images¿Qué llevó al golpe militar en Birmania?El parlamento tenía previsto celebrar esta semana su primera sesión desde las elecciones del 8 de noviembre, en las que la Liga Nacional para la Democracia (LND), el principal partido civil del país, obtuvo el 83 por ciento de los escaños disponibles.Los militares se negaron a aceptar los resultados de la votación, que se consideró un referéndum sobre la popularidad de Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Ella, la jefa del LND, ha sido la lideresa civil de facto del país desde que asumió el cargo en 2015.Se esperaba que el nuevo parlamento refrendase los resultados electorales y aprobase el próximo gobierno.La posibilidad del golpe surgió en los últimos días. Los militares, que habían intentado argumentar ante la Corte Suprema del país que los resultados de las elecciones eran fraudulentos, amenazaron con “tomar medidas” y rodearon las cámaras del parlamento con soldados.La Radio y Televisión de Birmania retransmitiendo el anuncio hecho primero en la cadena de televisión Myawaddy, de propiedad militar.Credit…Radio y Televisión de Birmania vía Agence France-Presse — Getty Images¿Cómo se llevó a cabo el golpe?Los militares detuvieron el lunes a los líderes del partido gobernante, LND, y dirigentes civiles de Myanmar, incluidos Aung San Suu Kyi y el presidente U Win Myint, junto con los ministros del gabinete, los ministros jefes de varias regiones, políticos de la oposición, escritores y activistas.El golpe se anunció en el canal de televisión Myawaddy, de propiedad militar, cuando un presentador de noticias citó la Constitución de 2008, que permite a los militares declarar un estado de emergencia nacional. El estado de emergencia, dijo, se mantendría durante un año.Los militares tomaron rápidamente el control de las infraestructuras del país, suspendieron la mayoría de las emisiones de televisión y cancelaron todos los vuelos nacionales e internacionales, según los informes.Se suspendió el acceso al teléfono y a internet en las principales ciudades. El mercado de valores y los bancos comerciales estaban cerrados, y en algunos lugares se veían largas filas en los cajeros automáticos. En Rangún, la mayor ciudad del país y antigua capital, los residentes corrieron a los mercados para abastecerse de alimentos y otros suministros.Simpatizantes del partido Liga Nacional para la Democracia sostenían retratos de Aung San Suu Kyi en noviembre, cuando se celebraron las elecciones en Rangún.Credit…Sai Aung Main/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images¿Quién es Aung San Suu Kyi?Aung San Suu Kyi llegó al poder como consejera de Estado en 2016 tras la primera votación totalmente democrática del país en décadas.Su ascenso al liderazgo se consideró un momento crítico en la transición de Birmania a la democracia desde la dictadura militar. Aung San Suu Kyi, hija del héroe de la independencia del país, el general Aung San, pasó más de 15 años bajo arresto domiciliario.Su estancia en prisión la convirtió en un icono internacional, y fue galardonada con el Premio Nobel de la Paz en 1991.Desde su liberación, su reputación se ha visto empañada por su cooperación con los militares y su vociferante defensa de la mortífera campaña del país contra los rohinyás, un grupo étnico minoritario musulmán. En 2019, representó al país en un juicio en la Corte Internacional de Justicia, en el que defendió a Birmania de las acusaciones de limpieza étnica.Muchos creían que la cooperación de Aung San Suu Kyi con los militares era un movimiento pragmático que aceleraría la evolución del país hacia la plena democracia, pero su detención el lunes pareció demostrar la mentira en el compromiso de los militares con la democracia.El comandante en jefe Min Aung Hlaing el año pasadoCredit…Foto de consorcio de Ye Aung Thu¿Quién es el comandante en jefe Min Aung Hlaing?El ejército dijo que había entregado el poder al jefe del ejército, el comandante en jefe Min Aung Hlaing.Esta medida prolonga el poder del general Min Aung Hlaing, que se supone que dejará de ser jefe del ejército este verano. Su red de apoyos, centrada en lucrativos negocios familiares, podría haberse visto socavada por su jubilación, especialmente si no hubiera sido capaz de asegurar una salida limpia.Bajo el antiguo acuerdo de reparto de poder, el general Min Aung Hlaing presidía dos conglomerados empresariales y podía nombrar a tres miembros clave del gabinete que supervisan la policía y la guardia de fronteras.El ejército nunca estuvo bajo el control del gobierno civil. En los últimos años, el ejército, con el general Min Aung Hlaing al frente, ha supervisado campañas contra varios grupos étnicos minoritarios del país, como los rohinyá, los shan y los kokang.Russell Goldman es editor sénior de la sección internacional de The New York Times, se enfoca en la narración digital y las noticias de última hora, y vive en Hong Kong. Ha sido galardonado con el Premio a la Excelencia de la Sociedad de Editores de Asia. @goldmanrussellAdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Running Out the Clock on Trump Is Cowardly and Dangerous

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storyOpinionSupported byContinue reading the main storyRunning Out the Clock on Trump Is Cowardly and DangerousForget the 25th Amendment. It’s Congress that was attacked and Congress that must act.Opinion ColumnistJan. 8, 2021Members of the National Guard early on the morning after the Capitol was attacked.Credit…Todd Heisler/The New York TimesThe most shocking thing about Wednesday’s assault on the Capitol is that it happened. A mob of Trump supporters, some of them armed, stormed and vandalized both chambers of Congress, sending duly-elected lawmakers into hiding and interrupting the peaceful transition of power from one administration to the next.That this was whipped up by the president — “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them” — makes it an actual attack on the separation of powers: an attempt, by the executive, to subvert the legislature by force and undermine the foundation of constitutional government.Nearly as shocking as the attack itself has been the response from Congress. On Wednesday night, its members resumed their count of the electoral vote and certified Joe Biden as the next president of the United States. So far so good. But then they adjourned into recess. It was Thursday afternoon before the Democratic leadership — Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the soon-to-be Senate Majority leader, Chuck Schumer — called for the president’s removal. And even then, they urged the vice president, Mike Pence, to use the 25th Amendment to do it, with impeachment as a backstop.This is backward. A physical attack on Congress by violent Trump supporters egged on by the president demands a direct response from Congress itself. Impeachment and conviction is that response. To rely on the executive branch to get Trump out of the White House is to abdicate the legislature’s constitutional responsibility to check presidential lawbreaking.There’s also the question of those members of Congress, like Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, who helped bring the president’s mob into fruition by backing the effort to contest and overturn the electoral vote, an effort they carried on even after the Capitol was breached and terrorized Wednesday. Even if it’s just a motion to censure, Congress needs to act.The alternative — to go slow, or worse, to take no action at all — will only create a sense of impunity. And American history offers ample evidence of how impunity in the face of mob violence can lead to something much worse than the chaos and mayhem on Wednesday. As it is, five people have died as a direct result of the mob attack on the Capitol.On Sept. 14, 1874, more than 3,500 members of the White League — a paramilitary force of ex-Confederates and Democratic partisans — seized control of the Louisiana state house in New Orleans, as well as the city hall and the arsenal. They aimed to depose Gov. William Pitt Kellogg, a Republican, and install his Democratic opponent from the previous election in 1872.It almost worked. White Leaguers overwhelmed an opposing force of Black state militia (led by James Longstreet, a Confederate general turned staunch supporter of the state’s Reconstruction government), took control of the city and even held an inauguration for the man, John McEnery, who would lead a “redeemed” Louisiana. Within days, however, news of the coup reached Washington, where an enraged President Ulysses S. Grant ordered troops to New Orleans. Rather than fight a pitched battle for control of the city, the White League surrendered, allowing Kellogg to return as governor shortly thereafter.There was no punishment for the men who planned this attempted coup. So there was no reason not to try again. After the 1876 election, the White League seized New Orleans for a second time, ensuring victory for Francis T. Nicholls, the Democratic candidate for governor, and effectively ending Reconstruction in the state.Just as important, the White League became a model for others in the South who sought an end to “Negro rule” in their states. In 1875, “White-Line” Democrats in Mississippi began a campaign of terror ahead of an election for state treasurer. They targeted Republican officials for assassination, sparked riots where Black citizens were beaten and killed, and sent armed vigilantes to break up campaign meetings and drive Black voters away from the polls. “Carry the election peaceably if we can,” declared one Democratic newspaper editor in the state, “forcibly if we must.”The next year, in South Carolina, white Democrats used a similar approach — violence, fraud and intimidation — to “redeem” the state from Republican control and to try to deliver its electoral votes to Samuel Tilden, the Democratic nominee for president.The toppling of Reconstruction was not the inevitable result of white racism. It was contingent on any number of factors, with uncontrolled violence near the top of the list. The vigilantes and paramilitaries — the White Leagues and Red shirts — operated with virtual impunity as they beat, killed and terrorized Black voters and their Republican allies. They demonstrated, again and again, that the state was weak and could be challenged and taken.Despite its violence, the mob on Wednesday was, in many respects, very silly. Once inside the Capitol, they took selfies with police and posed for photos with each other. There were livestreams and a few people even wore costumes. They also took the time to grab souvenirs; a podium here, a letter from the Speaker’s office there. It was a big game, a lark.But a lark can still have serious consequences. This particular mob successfully breached the Capitol in an effort, however inchoate, to install Donald Trump as president for a second time, against the will of the majority of voters and their electors. The mob failed to change the outcome of the election, but it showed the world what was possible. If the mob and its enablers — the president and his allies — walk away unpunished, then the mob will return.Again, five people are dead who were alive when Wednesday began. Next time, it might be dozens. Or hundreds. Next time, our government might not bounce back so easily. Here, Congress doesn’t need courage. It just needs a sense of self-preservation.The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      The Capitol Riot Showed Us America's Ugly Truth

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storyOpinionSupported byContinue reading the main storyWe’ve Seen the Ugly Truth About AmericaBut if the Democrats dare to use their power, a brave new world might be possible.Contributing Opinion WriterJan. 7, 2021, 7:51 p.m. ETNational Guard troops on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during a Black Lives Matter protest on June 2, 2020.Credit…Win Mcnamee/Getty ImagesThere are two images. In one, National Guard troops, most with no identifying information on their uniforms, stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in anticipation of violence from people peacefully protesting the killing of George Floyd. In the second image, thousands of protesters — domestic terrorists, really — swarm the Capitol. They wear red MAGA hats and carry Trump flags and show their faces because they want to be seen. They don’t seem to fear the consequences of being identified. More images — a man sitting in Nancy Pelosi’s office, his feet on a desk, a smirk on his face. A man carrying a stolen lectern, smiling at the camera. A man in the Senate chamber doing parkour.On Wednesday, Jan. 6, Congress was set to conduct a largely ceremonial count of the electoral votes. There were rumblings that a few ambitious, craven politicians planned to object to the votes in several states. The president openly pressured Vice President Mike Pence to thwart the vote ratification — something not in Mr. Pence’s power to do.But I don’t think any of us expected to see radical, nearly all white protesters storming the Capitol as if it were the Bastille. I don’t think we expected to see Capitol Police basically ushering these terrorists into the building and letting them have the run on the place for a ridiculous amount of time while the world watched in shock and disgust. I don’t think we expected to see some of those police officers taking selfies with the intruders. I don’t think we expected that the violent protesters would be there by the explicit invitation of the president, who told a raucous gathering of his supporters to head over to the Capitol. “You have to show strength, and you have to be strong,” he said.On Wednesday, the world bore witness to white supremacy unchecked. I nearly choked on the bitter pill of what white people who no doubt condemned Black Lives Matter protesters as “thugs” felt so entitled to do.After the Capitol was cleared of protesters, Congress returned to work. Politicians peacocked and pontificated in condescending ways about the Constitution and flawed state voting procedures that, in fact, worked perfectly. Senator Ben Sasse smarmed about being neighborly and shoveling snow. He took a bizarre, jovial tone as if all the moment called for was a bit of charm. Senator Mitt Romney tried to take the role of elder statesman, expressing the level of outrage he should have shown over the past four years. It was all pageantry — too little, too late.Barack Obama famously spoke of a more perfect union. After this week, I don’t know that such an ambition is possible. I don’t know that it ever was. I don’t know that this union could or should be perfected.A pro-Trump extremist sitting at a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office on Wednesday.Credit…Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA, via ShutterstockPoliticians and pundits have promised that the guardrails of democracy will protect the republic. They’ve said we need to trust in checks and balances and the peaceful transition of power that the United States claims is a hallmark of our country. And many of us have, however tentatively, allowed ourselves to believe that the laws this country was built on, however flawed, were strong enough to withstand authoritarian encroachments by President Trump and Republicans. What the days and weeks since the 2020 election have shown us is that the guardrails have been destroyed. Or maybe they were never there. Maybe they were never anything more than an illusion we created to believe this country was stronger than it was.As Americans began to process the Trump-endorsed insurrection, the blatant sedition, public figures shared the same platitudes about America that they always do when something in this country goes gravely wrong. Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase; Joe Biden; Maria Shriver; Republican senators; and others declared that this is not America, that we are better than this, with “this” being the coup attempt, or Trump’s histrionics, or the politicians who, with a desperate thirst for power, allowed Trump’s lies about the election to flourish, unchallenged.This is America. This has always been America. If this were not America, this coup attempt would not have happened. It’s time we face this ugly truth, let it sink into the marrow of our bones, let it move us to action.With everything that took place in Washington on Wednesday, it was easy to forget that Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock won their Senate races in Georgia. Their victories were gratifying and cathartic, the result of solid campaigns and the hard work of organizers on the ground in the state, from Stacey Abrams’s Fair Fight to Mijente and many others. Years of activism against the state’s dedication to voter suppression made these victories possible. The easy narrative will be that Black women and Black people saved this country. And they did. And they should be celebrated. But the more challenging narrative is that we now have to honor our salvation by doing something with it.For the first time in many years, Democrats will control the House, the Senate, and the presidency. Real change is not as elusive as it seemed before the Georgia runoffs because Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s administration is well positioned to enact many of their policies. If the Democrats dare to use the power they have amassed, a brave new world might be possible.In the coming weeks, we’ll undoubtedly hear the argument that now is the time for centrism and compromise and bipartisan efforts. That argument is wrong. There is no compromise with politicians who amass power, hoard it, and refuse to relinquish it when the democratic process does not work in their favor. There is no compromise with politicians who create a set of conditions that allow a coup attempt to take place, resulting in four deaths, countless injuries, and irreparable damage to the country both domestically and internationally. These people do not care about working with their colleagues on the other side of the proverbial aisle. They have an agenda, and whenever they are in power, they execute that agenda with precision and discipline. And they do so unapologetically.It’s time for Democrats to use their power in the same way and legislate without worrying about how Republican voters or politicians will respond. Cancel student loan debt. Pass another voting rights act that enfranchises as many Americans as possible. Create a true path to citizenship for undocumented Americans. Implement a $15 minimum hourly wage. Enact “Medicare for all.” Realistically, only so much is possible with a slender majority in the Senate, but the opportunity to make the most of the next two years is there.With the power they hold, Democrats can try to make this country a more equitable and generous place rather than one where the interests of the very wealthy and powerful are the priority. If they don’t, they are no better than their Republican counterparts, and in fact, they are worse because they will have squandered a real opportunity to do the work for which they were elected. Over the past four years, we have endured many battles for the soul of the country, but the war for the soul of this country rages on. I hope the Biden-Harris administration and the 117th Congress can end that war, once and for all.Roxane Gay (@rgay) is a contributing Opinion writer.The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Never Forget the Names of These Republicans Attempting a Coup

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storyOpinionSupported byContinue reading the main storyNever Forget the Names of These Republicans Attempting a CoupThis time they’ll fail. But their disloyalty to America is clear.Opinion ColumnistJan. 5, 2021, 7:00 p.m. ETCredit…Erin Schaff/The New York TimesThe New Testament asks us in Mark 8:36: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, but lose his soul?”Senators Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson and all their fellow G.O.P. coup plotters clearly have forgotten that verse — if they ever knew it — for they are ready to sacrifice their souls, the soul of their party and the soul of America — our tradition of free and fair elections as the means for peacefully transferring power — so that Donald Trump can remain president and one of these sleazebags can eventually replace him.The governing “philosophy” of these unprincipled Trump-cult Republicans is unmistakably clear: “Democracy is fine for us as long as it is a mechanism for us to be in control. If we can’t hold power, then to hell with rules and to hell with the system. Power doesn’t flow from the will of the people — it flows from our will and our leader’s will.”From left, Senators Ron Johnson, Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz. Credit…From left: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP; Samuel Corum/Getty Images; pool photo by Susan WalshFor America to be healthy again, decent Republicans — in office and in business — need to break away from this unprincipled Trump-cult G.O.P. and start their own principled conservative party. It is urgent.Even if only a small group of principled, center-right lawmakers — and the business leaders who fund them — broke away and formed their own conservative coalition, they would become hugely influential in today’s closely divided Senate. They could be a critical swing faction helping to decide which Biden legislation passes, is moderated or fails.Meanwhile, the Trump-rump G.O.P. cult would become what it needs to become for America to grow together again — a discredited, powerless minority of crackpots waiting around for Trump’s latest tweet to tell them what to do, say and believe.I know that fracturing an established party is not easy (or likely). But the principled Republicans, those who have courageously and dutifully defended Joe Biden’s electoral victory, have to ask themselves: “In a few days, when all of this is over, are we going to just go back to business as usual with people who are, in effect, attempting the first legislative coup d’état in American history?”Because when this episode is over, Trump will be doing or saying something else outrageous to undermine Biden and to make collaboration impossible, and the Trump lap dogs, like Cruz, Hawley, Johnson and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, will be demanding the party go along to serve their political interests, putting the principled Republicans in a daily bind. Every week there will be a new loyalty test.There is simply no equivalence now between our two major parties. In the primaries, an overwhelming majority of Democrats, led by moderate African-Americans, chose to go with the center-left Biden, not the far-left defund-the-police-democratic-socialist wing.Across the aisle, Trump’s G.O.P. became such a cult that it decided at its convention that it would offer no party platform. Its platform would be whatever its Dear Leader wanted on any given day. When any party stops thinking — and stops drawing any redlines around a leader as unethical as Trump — he’ll keep taking it deeper and deeper into the abyss, right up to the gates of Hell.Where it’s now arrived.We saw that this weekend with Trump’s Mafia-like effort to squeeze Georgia’s secretary of state to just “find” him 11,780 votes and declare him the state’s winner by one vote over Biden.And we will see it in an even uglier version in Wednesday’s session in Congress. The Trump cultists will try to transform a ceremony designed exclusively to confirm the Electoral College votes submitted by each state — Biden 306 and Trump 232 — into an attempt to get Congress to nullify the electoral votes of swing states that Trump lost.If I were the editor of this newspaper, I’d print all of their pictures on a full page, under the headline: “Never Forget These Faces: These Lawmakers Had a Choice Between Loyalty to Our Constitution and to Trump, and They Chose Trump.”If you have any doubts that these people are engaged in seditious behavior, their more principled Republican colleagues do not. Speaking of Hawley’s plan to challenge the vote count, Lisa Murkowski, the Republican senator from Alaska, said: “I am going to support my oath to the Constitution. That’s the loyalty test here.” Added Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, “Adults don’t point a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government.” Said Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, “I cannot support allowing Congress to thwart the will of the voters.”So, the coup-plotter caucus will fail. But ask yourself this: What if Trump’s allies controlled the House, the Senate and the Supreme Court and got their way — actually used some 11th-hour legislative maneuver and nullified Biden’s victory?I know exactly what would have happened. Many of the 81,283,485 Americans who voted for Biden would have taken to the streets — I would have been one of them — and probably stormed the White House, the Capitol and the Supreme Court. Trump would have called out the military; the National Guard, directed by governors, would have split over this, and we would be plunged into civil war.That is the sort of fire these people are playing with. Of course, they know it — which makes the efforts of Hawley, Cruz, Johnson and their ilk even more despicable. They have so little self-respect that they’re ready to lick the shine off of Donald Trump’s boots down to his last second in office, in hopes of inheriting his followers — should he not run again in 2024. And they are counting on a majority of their more principled colleagues voting to certify Biden’s election — to make sure their effort fails.That way, they’ll get the best of all worlds — credit with Trump voters for pursuing his Big Lie — his fraudulent allegation that the elections were a fraud — without plunging us into civil war. But the long-term price will still be profound — diminishing the confidence of many Americans in the integrity of our free and fair elections as the basis for peacefully transferring power.Can you imagine anything more cynical?How do decent Americans fight back, besides urging principled Republicans to form their own party? Make sure we exact a tangible price from every lawmaker who votes with Trump and against the Constitution.Shareholders of every major U.S. corporation should make sure that these companies’ political action committees are barred from making campaign contributions to anyone who participates in Wednesday’s coup attempt.At the same time, “we the people” need fight the Trump cult’s Big Lie with the Big Truth. I hope every news organization, and every citizen, refers to Hawley, Cruz, Johnson and their friends now and forever more as “coup plotters.”Make all those who have propagated this Big Lie about election fraud to justify voting with Trump and against our Constitution carry the title — “coup plotter” — forever. If you see them on the street, in a restaurant on your college campus, politely ask them: “You were one of the coup plotters, weren’t you? Shame on you.”Adopt Trump’s method: Repeat this Big Truth over and over and over until these people can never get rid of it.It won’t be sufficient to fix what ails us — we still need a new conservative party for that — but it sure is necessary to give others pause about trying this again.The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More