Arab Immigrants in Latin American Politics

"In the run-up to the 1996 presidential elections, all of the three most likely candidates were of Lebanese extraction: Vice President Alberto Dahik Garzozi; the mayor of the capital city, Jamil Mahuad Witt; and former governor Jaime Nebot Saadi." No, this is not my description of Lebanese or even the Syrian presidential elections, but those of Ecuador. Outsiders tend to forget not just the presence of a (mostly Christian) Levantine and Arab population in Latin America, but even more its out-sized political importance.

This comes to mind on reading an account of the March 2004 presidential elections in El Salvador by Matthew Ziegler in Beirut's Daily Star newspaper. The election was bitterly fought between what Ziegler calls a hard-line capitalist with strong American ties and a Cuban-style communist. The first is Tony Saca, the second Schafik Handal, and both descend from families that emigrated from Bethlehem in 1913. More than 100,000 of El Salvador's 6 million population are of Middle Eastern descent and almost all them from Bethlehem; names like Siman, Dabdoub, Safie, Nasser, Gadala and Jacir fill the country's highest social and economic strata. (April 27, 2004)

	Carlos Slim Helu, now deemed the world's richest person.

Aug. 4, 2004 update: Another reminder comes from a Syrian Arab News Agency report on a meeting between Syria's minister of expatriates, Buthaina Shaaban, and the Greek Orthodox archbishop of Mexico, Venezuela and central America, Anton Shedrawi. According to the news report, not only did the two stress the "necessity of boosting Syrian-Mexican relations in all domains" but Shedrawi pointed out that 12 percent of Mexico's Senators, Parliamentarians, and provincial governors are of Arab origins, "a matter that requires coordination and efforts to display the true image of Syria's history and position abroad." His Eminence also noted the importance of Arabs in the media. For her part, Dr. Shaaban reiterated her ministry's interest in working with expatriates and stressed the role of clergymen in both keeping children conscious of their patrimony and communicating with the old country.

July 3, 2007 update: It's not politics, but worth noting: Sentido Común, a Mexican financial website, has crowned Carlos Slim Helú, a 67-year-old turnaround specialist of Lebanese Christian origins, the world's richest person. His $67.8 billion exceeds the $59.6 billion belonging to Bill Gates of Microsoft.

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