The dictatorship is the name given to a system of government, mainly characterized by the centralization of the power in an individual and the annulment of the right and welfare of the people. According to historians, this system was created in ancient Rome, Tito Larcio being the first with the title. Furthermore, it is important to mention that there are different kinds of dictatorship, each with its own characteristics, among which we can mention the monarchical dictatorship, one-party dictatorship, one-person dictatorship and hybrid dictatorship.
What is a dictatorship
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The definition of dictatorship refers to a governmental system where all the powers of a state are centralized in one person or, failing that, in a group of them (political party). The dictator is characterized by not allowing them to oppose his decisions or ideas and by having absolute authority and power. It can be said then that it is an undemocratic government, in which the people have no participation whatsoever.
Taking republican democracy as an example, power is segmented into three parts, which are the executive power, the legislative power, and the judiciary, since in a dictatorship there is no place for such a division of power, since, as mentioned, power It falls on a single person or group, an important fact when it comes to understanding what a dictatorship is.
Similarly, it is worth mentioning that the concept of dictatorship also has certain aspects similar to the so-called totalitarian regimes, and is that generally, the dictatorship is established through force, that is, through threats to those who oppose it. his regime, coercion, or a coup.
To understand what a dictatorship is, it is important to know its history, according to historians, the notion of dictatorship in history can be traced back to the time of the great Roman Empire, where it was possible to delegate all power over a person, this by it was usually done in times of crisis, which by then were problems that arose from wars.
With the passage of time, dictatorships were characterized by the presence of a constant element, and it is the military presence, since through this force they manage to support the dictator, while the military is in charge of repressing all those who oppose the dictator, in turn, instill fear in order to avoid dissent.
On the other hand, there is also the concept of constitutional dictatorship, called that way since presumably the dictator respects the provisions of the law, but what he really does is violate the legislation in order to exercise his power. Taking into account the aforementioned meaning of dictatorship, it can be affirmed that a dictatorship is any force that executes an imposing domain, an example of this can be reflected in the following phrase: "the dictatorship of the internet is imposed on the youngest".
What is a dictator
How should it be logical, in a dictatorial system, the government leader is identified under the title of dictator, one of the most common characteristics of the dictator is that they have a strong and imposing personality, which they usually use to suppress freedom of expression and public opinion in general, thus managing to maintain its power, while maintaining social and political stability.
In politics, to understand what a dictator is, the first thing to know is that he is an individual (ruler) who assumes the authority of all state powers, and that therefore, is not under the control of any of the states. they.
The dictator is considered the highest authority in any area, both civil and military, generally the dictator ascended to the government illegitimately, such as by executing a coup d'état hand in hand with the military sector, or failing that The military sector is the one who accompanies a civil sector to execute it. The dictator does not respect what is established by justice, but on the contrary does what his will dictates.
One of the best-known dictators in the region was the Major General, Antonio López de Santa Anna, who was president of Mexico on at least six occasions, but only his last administration is classified as the dictatorship of Santa Anna.
Characteristics of a dictatorship
1. Power without limits: as the definition of dictatorship indicates, there is no limit or control over the decisions that the dictator makes. Over the years, dictators have been characterized by crossing legal and moral limits, without even bothering to give logical arguments to justify the actions they are taking. In this way they have committed atrocities, such as mass murders, unjustified deprivation of liberty, disappearance of people, etc.
2. There are no constitutional laws: another of the characteristics of the dictatorship is that due to the fact that there is no division of powers, the laws that are established are those presented by the authority figure of who is in power, that is, there are no constitutional laws. The people do not have laws that ensure their safety and well-being, since generally, the constitution is modified to meet the requirements of the dictator and the minority group he represents.
3. Intrusion into the private life of people: generally, in dictatorships, the armed forces have the authority or the capacity to deprive of liberty any individual who is considered a threat, they can also request objects and personal data, including They can violate private property without any type of judicial sanction.
4. Fading of the figure of the president: although it seems strange, many times the figure of the dictator is called president. Since the term president is the one used to describe the highest figure of a democratic government, it can be said that there is a fading of the figure of the highest representative. It should be clarified that even when in certain dictatorships, the dictator is called "president", he does not have a democratic apparatus to support him.
5. Control of the mass media: every dictatorial government is characterized by the supervision of the content that is handled in the media, in the same way it does with its workers, including journalists, thus controlling the information that comes to light and consequently keep the population under its control through persuasion.
It is common for this type of media to be intervened, since it is through them that positive aspects of the dictator are instilled in the population, this frequently causes the figure of the dictator to be elevated to that of a protective father who what he wants is the benefit for his people.
6. Breach of human rights: in those de facto governments (they are not recognized by any legal norm) the absence of citizens' rights is total, this includes human rights. In these governments there may be violent confrontations, such as war, for the sole purpose of justifying the acts of violation of human rights towards the citizens of that State, and may even cross borders violating the rights of other countries.
7. Control through fear: dictatorships generate and promote fear of persecution to their citizens. Every dictatorship controls and dominates the people through terror, dictators instill in the citizen the fear of being persecuted, tortured and even killed, all this if they do not comply with the orders issued by the dictatorship.
8. The church as a means of domination: another aspect to highlight is the fact that dictatorships throughout history needed spiritual approval, for this reason on several occasions these governments grant great power to the church (generally Catholic), and it is this institution that is in charge of "directing" again the souls of those people who had deviated their spiritual course.
9. Common errors of dictatorships: as a consequence of the fear that they generate in the people and everything that surrounds the dictator, the advisers of said ruler, try as much as possible to avoid expressing any type of opinion or criticism that differs from those expressed by the mandatary. For this reason, an environment is created in which errors are recurrent and in many cases can be the cause of the end of the regime.
Types of dictatorship
Military dictatorships
A military dictatorship is called an authoritarian type of government that is established in power, through the armed forces, taking full control of those public bodies with a legal, executive and legislative nature. A military dictatorship usually arises as a consequence of an unstable social, political and economic situation, which leads to the military forces speaking out against the current government, also executing what is known as a coup d'état, for that matter. way to eradicate it and establish a new order.
Likewise, it is possible that there will be a dictatorship of this type after electoral elections are held, in which the successful candidate is related to the military high command and for this reason grants them great political power.
In general, the arguments that are given when there is a military dictatorship is that what is sought with this is to restore stability again in said country, but with the exception that it will be done through the decree of a state of emergency or emergency, which implies a series of violent actions, also including the cessation of civil liberties and rights guarantees.
An example of this is the Argentine dictatorship that was installed in 1976, through a coup d'état that occurred on March 24 of that same year, said government was present until 1983, when it was elected through the vote. Raúl Alfonsín.
The military-type dictatorship in Venezuela dates back to the 1950s, specifically between 1953 and 1958, established by the Venezuelan military officer Marcos Pérez Jiménez. Although he is classified as a dictator, his legacy is recognized to date, due to the large number of works and advances that took place during that period, which is why he is known as one of the most emblematic Ibero-American dictatorships.
Likewise, the dictatorship in Chile, known as the military regime, was established in the country in 1973 and until 1990 that system of government was in force in that country. Which makes clear the constant presence of dictatorships in Latin America for several decades now.
Single party dictatorships
The definition of a single party dictatorship is used to describe another of the variants of the political system that makes up a dictatorial government, characterized mainly by the existence of a single political party. It is possible that other political organizations exist, but with a smaller size and without the possibility of representing a real danger for the objectives of the State.
Single-party dictatorships, unlike classic dictatorships, usually call for elections, in order to have some legitimacy. That is why in this type of scenario, the presence of “free elections” does not prove the existence of democracy. In single-party models, it is not always necessary to establish the illegality of opposition parties, since by maintaining control of the opportunities, advantages and institutions of the political order, they can guarantee the continuity of the single party.
The one-party system has certain elements that allow it to be differentiated from other government systems of the same type, among them the concentration of power, prevents or denies the right to political alternation, total control of electoral processes, openly interprets the principles Democrats and laws. It can also be divided into Fascist One Party, Nationalist One Party, Marxist-Leninist One Party, and Prevailing One Party.
Personalistic dictatorships
Custom dictatorships are regimes in which power rests with one person, this type of dictatorship differs from the rest by the fact of accessing important political positions, and also by being subject, in most cases, to the will of the dictator smart person. In this case, the personalist dictator may belong to the high command of a political party, or, failing that, to the armed forces, however neither the political party nor the army exercise their power independently of the dictator, in the same way in the dictatorship Customized senior positions are generally held by the dictator's close circle (friends and family), who are usually handpicked to fill those positions.
Monarchical dictatorships
Monarchical dictatorships are those in which the dictator (of royal descent) rises to power thanks to the laws or legal practices that the constitution establishes in that state. It should be clarified that a regime cannot be classified as a dictatorship, if the position of the monarch is primarily ceremonial. The monarch must exercise real political power so that it can be considered as a monarchical dictatorship, for their part the elites are usually the monarch's own relatives.
Hybrid dictatorships
The concept of hybrid dictatorship is used to describe the government structure that fuses elements of personalist, military and one-party dictatorships. When this combination occurs, it is given the name of “triple threat”, the most frequent forms of hybrid dictatorship being the personalist / one-party hybrid and the personalist / military hybrid.
Academically speaking, what is known about hybrid dictatorships is relatively new, its first appearance in the history books was in the texts on democracy by Philippe Schmitter and Guillermo O'Donnell, where they cite “the transition from an authoritarian government it can generate a democracy or, failing that, it can end up in a liberalized authoritarian regime, or a restrictive liberal democracy.
Some of the countries with dictatorships of this type are Singapore and the Arab countries, the latter in recent years have been incorporating elements of democracy such as the constitution, multi-partyism, representative institutions, the legal system of law, among others.
History of the world's dictatorships
In ancient times in Rome, the dictatorship was seen as an extraordinary institution of unlimited duration, which is resorted to when there were extreme emergency situations, following certain procedures and within constitutional limits, in this way the consuls were ordered to appoint to a dictator, to take power until the situation normalizes. This title was originally supposed to cover a maximum of 6 months, and then it was extended to 12 months.
The powers that were granted to the dictator were total, but in the same way the dictator had to answer for his actions before the law, which demanded a justification after the period of the dictatorship expired.
According to historians, the dictatorship arises following a proposal by Tito Larcio, who also was the first to be named dictator. The position was designated to fulfill a specific objective and in spite of the breadth of its powers, they were not limited.
Already with Caesar and Sila, the dictatorship that had been in decline for a long time, took a new course, since its duration and powers were extended, which allowed its use for personal purposes. The Cesarist connotation, which more closely resembles tyranny than the dictatorship tomás, had dictatorial figures in the Middle Ages and in the Modern, related to republican forms of government.
The first modern dictatorship was the French Jacobin, established between 1793 and 1794, which differed from its predecessors by having the control tools typical of a centralized state, in addition to having the support of the people mobilized by the idea of the national sovereignty, as well as by the concentration of power in the executive to the detriment of the legislative power.
The dictatorship model had as a consequence different abuses, which, far from stopping, became more and more followed due to the personal exercise of government actions. In the Europe of the Middle Ages it declined due to the feudal distribution of power structures, in the same way with the emergence of modern states in the 15th and 16th centuries a new approach was given to monarchies.
The perfect dictatorship
The perfect dictatorship is the name of a Mexican film that was released in 2014, belonging to the genre of comedy and political satire. Its director and producer was Luis Estrada, while the libretto was a collaboration between Jaime Sampietro and Estrada himself. Among the actors who participated in this film we can mention Damián Alcázar, María Rojo, Silvia Navarro, Osvaldo Benavides, Alfonso Herrera, Joaquín Cosío and Salvador Sánchez.
The film strongly criticizes the government of former president Enrique Peña Nieto, who was still in that position for the premiere of the film, it emphasized the corruption network that he established with the Televisa company, the most important media company of communication from all over America. The perfect dictatorship was recorded at the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, representing Mexico at the 2015 Goya Awards.
