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Context:
The Uribe government has been hit with a huge scandal, involving very close ties between the government and rightwing paramilitary death squads--including the chief of the military, the former head of intelligence and many Uribe office holders (probably including some sitting right there in the congress)--with the paramilitaries involved in chainsawing union leaders and throwing their body parts into mass graves, torture and murder, and big drug trafficking, and--not incidentally--a plot to assassinate Hugo Chavez and possibly other leftist leaders in neighboring countries (Bolivia, Ecuador) and destabilizing their countries for rightwing military takeovers.
Some of this horror and corruption has been raised in the U.S. Congress, by some of our better Democrats, to try to stop or limit military aid to Colombia. Bush has been larding Colombia with billions of our tax dollars, for the phony and failed "war on drugs." And you can just imagine how corrupt this is, with Bushites in charge. U.S. corporate interests are also very much involved (for instance, Chiquita Banana, who has been making big payments to the hit squads, supposedly for protection from leftwing guerrillas, but really to prevent labor organization). And many war profiteers--including Blackwater. This is where Latin Americans are trained and recruited as mercenaries for Iraq (Latin American mercenaries are cheaper, and receive, shall we call it, "pre-training" in torture and oppression). (Ah, me.)
MEANWHILE, yesterday, Hugo Chavez visited Colombia in an effort to free some hostages held by the leftwing guerrillas. He is pardoning a bunch of rightwing paramilitary death squadders who were involved in a plot against HIM. And now it gets really interesting. I picked up--in my widespread reading about Latin American politics--that Uribe had felt obliged to distance himself from the plots against Chavez, and that he refused orders from the Bush Junta on this matter (my wording--that was the gist of it). I'd also picked up that the opposition rightwing candidate in Venezuela, running against Chavez in the Dec '06 election, had publicly disavowed a rightwing plot to promulgate false polls (USAID/NED? the Einstein institute? James Carvelle?), the day after the election, claiming the election was stolen, as trigger for another rightwing military coup attempt in Venezuela. (Chavez won the election with 63% of the vote, his biggest win yet--in a highly monitored, transparent voting system). THEN, in March '07, when Bush went on a "tour" of Latin America, I was astonished to read that he got publicly lectured, from Brazil to Mexico, on the SOVEREIGNTY of Latin American countries, and the rightwing president of Mexico (Calderon) even mentioned Venezuela as an example. Really, this was amazing. I was so surprised. What was going on?
Oh, and one more thing. After Chavez made his "smell of sulfur" remark at the UN (that Bush is "el diablo")--which got smiles and applause at the UN, but gave the Bush State Dept. heartburn--Latin American leaders were told that they must distance themselves from Chavez and Venezuela. This was also around the time of the '06 election. And guess what their response was? Argentina's president Nestor Kirchner said, "But he's my brother." Ecuador's leftist presidential candidate, Rafael Correa (who won the election with 60% of the vote) laughed and said that it was "an insult to the devil." (--his polls shot up). And Lula da Silva, the former steelworker president of Brazil, made a point to visit Chavez and Venezuela, for the opening of the Orinoco Bridge, two weeks before the election. Another thing that occurred is that Uruguay's president Vasquez turned down Bush's proffered "free trade" deal--a major defeat for Bush, who was desperately trying to "divide and conquer" to prevent development of South American FAIR trade agreements within the region (--a movement toward a South American "common market," led, of course by Chavez and Venezuela). News came also that the rightwing government of Paraguay had joined the Bank of the South (--another Venezuelan project, to elbow the World Bank/IMF loan sharks and global corporate predators out of the region).
What we were seeing here is Bush lose, lose and LOSE, time and again. He couldn't deliver for his corporate predator pals. He couldn't even keep Uribe on board for assassinating Chavez. The whole of Latin America--even the rightwing governments--are seeing the advantages of Latin American SELF-DETERMINATION, one of the key goals of the Bolivarian Revolution, of which Chavez is the most well-known--but by no means the only--spokesman and leader. Further, the combined goals of social justice and Latin American self-determination are enormously popular throughout the continent, and are a peaceful, democratic, grass roots-driven revolution. There are many, many leaders--union leaders, indigenous leaders, human rights and environmental activists and groups, community organizers, as well as artists and intellectuals, helped also by the professionals and bureaucrats of the OAS, the Carter Center and other groups working on transparent elections and democratic institutions. People like Uribe are seeing the "handwriting on the wall." This is an unstoppable movement, and George W. Bush is therefore persona non grata, throughout South and Central America, for his junta has been trying, by every nefarious means, to overturn the will of vast majority of Latin Americans, achieved through great suffering and grief, by peaceful and democratic means.
Who knows where Rep. David Dreier, California Republican, fits into this story? He is more than likely a conduit--or wants to be a conduit--for corrupt "war on drugs" money. But it is interesting that the Uribe people were the first to take offense at his faux pas. Perhaps they are trying to cozy up to the Democrats, who will likely take the White House and sweep Congress next year (let's hope with not too many "Blue Dog" traitor Dems). Money will have to come from them. Or perhaps they're all just fed up and sick unto death of the Bushites. Not every rightwinger is a death squadder, and many may have a certain pride in their culture, a feeling of solidarity with other Latin Americans, and may find the notion of self-determination attractive. The leftist guerillas in Colombia (and also in Guatemala) have become a small and not very important force in Latin America. The future lay in the social justice movement, in electoral politics and in the left (the majority) TAKING POWER, and running governments--as they are in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, and Nicaragua, and soon will be in Paraguay, and possibly also in Guatemala (and a bit later in Peru and in Mexico, where the leftist came within a hairsbreadth--0.05%--of winning the presidency last year). None of these governments has shown the slightest tendency to oppress the rightwing. They are all aiming at mixed socialist/capitalist economies. They are not confiscating property. They are not forcing anything on anyone. They are simply winning elections--and they have a passionate commitment to constitutional government and the rule of law. They are making none of the mistakes of the Russian revolution, for instance. So there is NOTHING for the rightwing to be afraid of, except a fairer, most just, safer society that everyone shares in, and less opportunity to accumulate ungodly and unfair wealth. The greedy are unhappy. But they are still alive, free to organize (lawfully), free to run for office, free to vote, free to speak, and they still have--and will continue to have--great wealth in comparison to others. The Bushite plotters have made them look bad--very bad. People have been enticed into evil schemes maybe who otherwise would not have been--if Bush largesse and rotten ideas on gaining illegitimate power hadn't been available.
Anyway, this odd little incident with Dreier may be a reflection of Latin American rejection of Bushite crudity, and of the continent pulling together for their own well-being. I very much hope that this is true--for the good people in countries like Colombia, whom I'm sure are the majority.
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