It is always beautiful to see what is right, actually happening. I do not believe that President-elect Morales is a saint. But he is definitely bringing in a new era. My favorite expression: It was about time!!!Bolivia winner prepares for power
Evo Morales, Bolivia's socialist president-elect, is planning to be inaugurated on 22 January in La Paz.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4554276.stm
It was about time that an Indian (or we may say indigenous Bolivian) take power in Bolivia. It was about time that someone stand for the rights of the meek, when facing the almighty, and savagely capitalist USA. It was about time that some level of social responsibility be brought back to governments in Latin America (look at Venezuela, Brasil, and yes, Cuba).
Now, for the left, it is time to deliver. Will they? I truly hope so, as I believe that we need a viable alternative to the current World order. I still wonder...
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"... the almighty, savagely capitalist USA."(?) Gimme me a break. You don't even believe that line yourself. Do you?
On the other hand, word on the street is that "Cocaine Futures" took a big hit on the Columbian markets after Morales announced that he would increase the cultivation and production of Bolivian cocoa. That's Cocoa as in Cocaine, not Cacao as in Chocolate.
This could create a big problem for Morales with the drug cartels across the region who up to now have maintained an iron-clad grip on the trade. Unless of course Morales gets military backing from his buddies Chavez and Castro or has worked out some other deal with the appropriate "authorities".
I'm personally not against an indigenous native taking the reins of power of a South American nation. After all, it has been the Spanish and Portuguese and their direct descendants who have run the show for the past several hundred years in Central and South America, the results of which we can all clearly see today. Interesting history about the Africans who were foreceably re-settled to that part of the New World too.
Having said that, I am sure that the Bolivians could come up with someone from their indigenous people who is more qualified to run the country than Morales seems to be. Remember Manuel Noriega of Panama in 1989? Invasion of his country, loss of job, and 40 years without the possibility of parole in a Florida federal prison. No air conditioning.
Correction to a misspelling:
"That's Coca (Koka) as in Cocaine, not Cocoa (Cacao) as in Chocolate."
I always mess those words up...:-)
Brother BRE,
As much as I love the country where I live, the US is - and I insist - savagely capitalist. The common phrase in the 3rd world is "The US doesn't have friends, just interests". And a quick look at how poorly (even the non-crooked) trade unions are treated here. And then we can start talking about the salaries of CEOs vs. employees here. And then we can talk about Wal-Mart (They just had a loss in court). And then we can talk about the Military Industrial Complex, ("so dear" to Eisenhower I believe). And then we can talk about Aramco. And then we can look at the reasons why Kuwait was such a precious country to defend, and not Rwanda (although I must give Clinton some credit for having some heart with the Somalia issue... he was misguided though... but that's not the point).
And I know you are probably going to come at me with the cynical response: all countries are out for themsleves at the expense of others. The US is not the only one. Maybe it's not, but that does not make it right, does it? I mean for a country that sputters the rhetoric of doing what is right, and defending freedom, what a poor (and very greedy) record, don't you think? Especially (if we don't count slavery times), after the 50's.
I mean, by now, you know I love straight talk, and I try to stand for the people. Chavez, Morales, Lula, and yes, in his own very imperfect (and sometimes reprehensible) way, Castro, stand for their people. Now let's see if they can deliver.
As for the Coca plants. Would you ask Native Americans to stop growing Marijuana, because it nay be used as an illegal drug? I mean Coca is comestible, and has been a staple food for centuries for these people. And even for drugs, the problem is not the poor Indian growers. The problem is the people in between them, and the drug market. You destroy the Coca plantations, you virtually KILL Bolivia, or at least render it at the level of many African countries, having to rely totally on Foreign Aid, and being at the mercy of the lenders/Aiders. Not a situation I would want to be in.
And that's what Morales seems to stand for, and the people love him for it. As for your last statement about the Florida prison, I am not sure what you mean. If you mean that Moralaes is risking to be toppled, aren't you proving the point I made in the first place about the US?
God Bless the USA... and every other damn country in the Universe, for Chrissake.
Hmmph. Good reply. We'll see what happens with Evo Morales in the next couple of years.
Don't try to justify the cultivation and exportation of coca as an inalienable right of the native population to practice their centuries old traditions and culture. Look next door to Columbia to see how well that works. I'm not saying that Bolivia needs to erradicate coca crops, but they need to better control the crime that is so closely tied to the cultivation and manufacture of coca products. BTW, Europa is the new growth market for cocaine, not the U.S.A.
I left an update on Evo Morales over at Chippla's blog the other day. Checkout the December 27th feature article on Evo Morales at the PINR Dispatch site:
http://www.pinr.com/index.php
There is a great blog post on Evo Morales (and Chavez) over at Radio OpenSource. The December 19th post is titled "Latin America's New Socialism" and the podcast is scheduled for today, January 3rd. Guest star for the podcast will be none other than Dr. Jeffrey Sachs.
Here is the link to the post:
http://www.radioopensource.org/latin-americas-new-socialism/
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