|
(Argentina), Tabarae Vasquez (Uruguay), Lula da Silva (Brazil), Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua), Michelle Batchelet (Chile)--all elected presidents--and the millions and millions of grass roots activists, citizens and voters of South America are achieving an amazing, peaceful, democratic, leftist (majorityist) revolution, after decades and centuries of often U.S.-backed brutal oppression and exploitation. Paraguay will likely be next (where Fernando Lugo, the "bishop of the poor," is ahead in the presidential polls). It is a wonderful thing to behold, and contains many lessons for us up here in the north, among them the critical importance of transparent elections.
The OAS, the Carter Center, EU election monitoring groups and local civic groups have done decades of hard work on transparent elections and democratic institutions in Latin America. The results are stunning. The vast poor population of South America is finally coming into its own as political force. This infusion of political energy has sparked important and far reaching developments--a rebirth of the notion of social justice, and a goal of Latin American self-determination that harks back to Simon Bolivar, the revolutionary hero who helped free South America from European colonization, and who dreamt of a "United States of South America." Much of the original thinking and impetus for reform is coming from Venezuela, by supporters of Hugo Chavez, including establishment of the Bank of the South (regional lending that supports social justice goals) to challenge the World Bank/IMF (loan sharks for global corporate predators), and regional fair trade (as opposed to "free trade") agreements/organizations, aimed at a South American "Common Market" and common currency.
Our war profiteering corporate news monopolies demonize Chavez, not because there is anything to demonize, but because democracy is not to be tolerated wherever large reserves of oil, gas, minerals, forests, fresh water and other rich natural resources might fall into the hands of the people who live there, and benefit them, at the expense of global corporate predators. Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador--all rich in natural resources--are particular Bush/corporate predator targets for destabilization and the toppling of leftist governments. The Bush State Department also must maintain a war mentality toward South America to justify massive theft of U.S. taxpayers--billions and billions of dollars--larded on the worst governments in Latin America (rightwing regimes in Colombia, Peru, Mexico), for the corrupt and failed U.S. "war on drugs--in reality a war on union organizers, small peasant farmers and political leftists. Big police state/military boondoggle, that--rivaling the war on Iraq and "homeland security."
Further, should Bushite (U.S. taxpayer) funding of efforts to destabilize and topple leftist democratic governments succeed, or should plots by "war on drugs"-connected rightwing paramilitary death squads and U.S. mercenaries hit the jackpot, and knock off some of these leaders, and throw their countries into chaos, the American people need to be sufficiently anesthetized and kept sufficiently ignorant that hardly anybody notices what has been done in our name, and nobody protests it.
For these reasons, DUers need to be well-informed about the democracy movement in Latin America, and Bush/U.S. behavior there (and nefarious intentions). I welcome a forum for that purpose--to concentrate our information and analysis. I hope that DUers will make an effort to inform themselves, and will be heartened to hear of countries that have suffered horrors of oppression, for many decades, at last achieving truly representative government and social justice reform, and will be impressed with the various leaders that South Americans are electing to lead this revolution. We need transparent elections here. We need grass roots organization here. We need better leaders here. We need to think bigger here. South Americans are showing us the way.
Viva la revolución!
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
