Brazilian envoy to visit Aristide

[cal04]

Brazil is to send an envoy to South Africa for discussions with the exiled former President of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Mr Aristide was forced from power following an uprising in February.

Brazil currently leads the United Nations peacekeeping force in Haiti, which has been seen an upsurge in political violence in recent weeks.
Leaders of 19 Latin American countries discussed Haiti at the Rio Group summit, which ended on Friday.

The decision to engage directly with Jean-Bertrand Aristide was announced at a press conference by Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim. The choice of envoy has yet to be confirmed. One option being considered is to send someone with a religious background.

Mr Aristide was himself a priest before entering politics. Continuing unrest Brazilian officials insist the former president will not be invited to participate in efforts to restore peace in Haiti. They say this is simply a chance to brief him on peacekeeping, economic reconstruction and plans for elections.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3987593.stm

[aquart]

1. Holy fucking shit! PAY ATTENTION HERE!!!!!!!

Brazil has just made a move to become the powerbroker of the western hemisphere. They know we're bankrupt. They know there's a vacuum of power, and they are moving in.

And George thinks he can do a review of hemispheric relations and make a difference? All he has left are mercenaries and who the hell is going to pay them?

We are about to lose our influence in Latin America. They have our factories. What do they need with our unsavory politics?

[AP]

2. More powerful than US dollars: US bombs. How long before the CIA and State

Department try to fuck these guys over with some bullshit?

[aquart]

4. Uh, bombs COST dollars. We got no dollars.

And we have been running thru bombs, very expensive bombs, at a great rate.

Besides, bombs that aren't followed by invasion troops are pretty much wasted, except to engender pissed off survivors.

[AP]

6. Oh, we'll borrow against our future to buy bombs. At least until nobody

wants to buy US bonds any longer.

[aquart]

8. Who's betting George defaults?

Hand waving wildly in air.

[aneerkoinos]

7. Umm, you got plenty dollars

...problem is, they no value plenty ;)

[AP]

3. "They have our factories." Good fucking point. I guess greed isn't all

that good.

In the drive to drive down imput costs (like labor) and in the drive to destroy the value of labor America, we might have really fucked ourselves over.

[bemildred]

5. Means nothing. Purely a coincidence.

Nothing going on here, Aristide is irrelevant to politics in Haiti.

[globalcitizen]

9. Lula is good

I welcome Brazil getting involved in power brockering -- it's about time the rest of the Americans found their independence.

[bemildred]

10. I like Lula.

He has large problems to deal with. Brazil is naturally the
leader of Latin America, and in time should be a world player.

I'm being sarcastic above.

Any political solution in Haiti must involve Aristide and his
party, and there will be no non-political solution.

[struggle4progress]

11. kick for diplomacy

:kick: