by Rod Hughes

The testimony of former Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal before a special Legislative Assembly committee probing FARC penetration into the political culture has hardly produced the dramatic revellations lawmakers sought. But Berrocal apparently wanted to extend his 15 minutes of fame yesterday.

The former minister, a member of President Oscar Arias’s National Liberation Party, strongly criticized what he called “Arismo,” a manufactured word meaning undue influence of the president and his brother, Rodrigo, Minister of the Presidency, on the party’s functioning. Indirectly but clearly, he accused the president of dictating to the party the next election’s presidential nominee, current Vice President Laura Chinchilla.

Arias has indicated that he would not be displeased at having a woman president in 2010. This irked several party stalwarts including San Jose mayor Johnny Araya, who may have his sights set on the same goal although as yet unannounced. Chinchilla has tried to stay aloof from this bickering. But Berrocal, whose own political career has been sadly bent, predicts an “insurrection” within National Liberation “in the next few weeks” in response to Arias’s allegedly dictatorial influence.

Berrocal was Security Minister for nearly two years, compiling an admireable record of confiscated narcotics. Then, he announced that he expected Colombian authorities to find links between the Colombian guerrilla/narctoics traffickers/terrorists FARC and local politicians. This did not happen and his boss, the President, was highly peeved and indirectly accused his top cop of demoguery, firing him in a most abrupt way.

The Legislative Assembly named a committee to investigate Berrocal’s startling assertion, expecting him to name names, but have been disappointed. Without this concrete date, the committee appears at a dead end, although it may continue to meet for the remainder of its 30-day term, just for appearances’ sake.