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people, peasants and leftists (majorityists) who have successfully asserted the rights of the people in Latin America to benefit from their own resources and determine their own fates, or who MIGHT do so.
And, yes, this is extremely worrisome. Bushites/Corporatists HATE democracy in general, and they particularly hate it in Latin America, where US global corporate predators have had free reign to loot and rape the natural resources in collusion with fascist elites, with US military/CIA enforcement (death squads like those run by the Iran/Contra murderers--Negroponte et al--assassination of democratic leaders, military coups, heinous dictators).
An extraordinary, peaceful, democratic, leftist (majorityist) revolution has swept through Latin America--while the Bush Junta has been busy looting the U.S. and destroying Iraq to get at its oil--with popular leftist governments elected in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela and Bolivia, and strong leftist movements, likely to win elections in Ecuador (soon) and Peru (next cycle). The common themes are justice for the vast poor of Latin America (history of brutalization and exploitation by the rich), national and regional self-determination, anti-U.S. "war on drugs" (war against peasants and leftists) and other interference, and anti-U.S./World Bank/IMF policies (privatization of resources; crippling loans, with onerous terms, such as defunding education and other social programs, and opening your country to resource rape by U.S. and other global corporate predators; the loans are often associated with corruption, the rich steal off the top and toady to U.S. and other interests in exchange).
A good example of the revolution is Argentina, whose economy and society was nearly destroyed by the World Bank/IMF, and the corrupt governments that took the big loans. There was a popular uprising, with the poor and the middle class joining forces and going around with tiny hammers and breaking every bank ATM display window in the country. Three governments later--in quick succession--they finally got a good left/center government which promised to get Argentina out of World Bank debt, and never to get into such debt again. With help from Venezuela, which bought up some of the debt on easy terms, Argentina is now recovering and all indicators are up. Argentina's economy has gotten so strong, in fact, that they are in discussions with Brazil about a regional currency (like the euro--to get off the dollar).
Another example is Bolivia. Bechtel Corp. privatized the water in one Bolivian city and then jacked up the prices to the poorest of the poor, even charging poor peasants for collecting rainwater! Another popular uprising. The Bolivians threw Bechtel out of their country, and elected socialist Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia. Morales campaigned with a wreath of coca leaves around this neck (sacred plant of the Andes, essential to survival in the icy cold, thin mountain air), and opposes the US "war on drugs" (highly corrupt militarization of the issue, brutal repression of extremely poor people). He also wants to nationalize Bolivia's large gas reserves. Thousands of Andes Indians came down out of the mountains to perform a special ceremony to honor Morales' inauguration.
It is Evo Morales who has said: "The time of the people has come."
It is remarkable to see pictures of Chavez, Morales and Ollanta Humala (leftist candidate in Peru who came close to winning). All BROWN faces, leaders of their countries. Latin America is MOSTLY brown--yet we are used to seeing white European faces in the news, as presidents and ambassadors. Chavez is mixed indigenous, black and Spanish. Morales is pure 100% Andes Indian, as is Humala. Indigenous indians have been the bottom of the heap of Latin America's previously very unjust societies and economies--the most exploited, the most disregarded and despised. Their hero is the great revolutionary leader Simon Bolivar, who led the revolt against Spain and freed the slaves, and who dreamt of a "United States of South America" (but died too young to realize it). Hugo Chavez presented Simon Bolivar's sword to Evo Morales when he was elected. Chavez and others call their movement the Bolivarian Revolution. Empowerment of the poor (the majority). Regional cooperation and self-determination.
Morales is right ("the time of the people has come"). Justice for the poor. Democracy. Majority rule. Every time it has arisen in Latin America, it has been smashed--by the "land of the free, home of the brave." But THIS revolution feels very different from previous ones. One of its bases has been TRANSPARENT elections--the long hard work of the OAS, the Carter Center, EU election monitoring groups, and local civic groups. Another is peacefulness. It has a spiritual dimension, very akin to Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement (also a product of "the land of the free, home of brave"--our good side).
The Bush Junta wants to impose brutal military power on the beautiful, tolerant, brown-skinned people of the Andes and their democracy movement. And our Corporate cabal lusts to have free reign to steal their oil, gas, mineral reserves, timber and other resources, and to enslave them in sweatshops and mines. The Latin Americans are at last, EFFECTIVELY, and peacefully and democratically resisting. It is a very powerful and, I think, unstoppable movement. However, that doesn't mean that the Junta cannot wreak havoc upon these countries, with more coup attempts, brutalization and interference.
This revolution is also occurring in Mexico (where only massive election fraud could keep it out of power), and in Nicaragua (Ortega getting elected), and had a fitful start in Haiti (which the Bushites destroyed). It covers virtually the whole continent of South America, but there are some remnant dinosaur states, like Columbia and Paraguay. The Bushites have poured military resources into Columbia ($600 million this year alone) in the name of the "war on drugs" (typical Bushite hypocrisy). Paraguay has a very weak government, 'easy pickins' for the Bushites, and Plan Columbia forces are already on the move in Paraguay. US taxpayers have paid for a state-of-the-art US military air base in Paraguay. And Paraguay is where the Bush Cartel is purchasing a 200,000 acre private enclave, more than likely the launching pad for a private corporate war against neighboring democracies (like Bolivia).
Possibly this is where Rumsfeld is headed. They haven't created enough death and destruction and chaos in the Middle East. They now feel they have to "reclaim" Latin America for the Corporate Rulers. But one of the things that most worries me about these developments is that most of the Democrats in the new U.S. Congress are ALSO Corporatists, and are also hogtied to military spending. They are not at all a strong bulwark against U.S. interference in Latin America. They almost all owe their power to the rightwing corporations who now control our elections with TRADE SECRET, PROPRIETARY programming code in all the new electronic voting systems--code so secret that not even our secretaries of state are permitted to review. By this means, and many others, our Corporate Rulers have shaped a U.S. Congress that does not really even come close to reflecting the majority of North Americans--SEVENTY PERCENT of whom oppose Bush's war on Iraq, for instance. The Democrats' opposition to the war has been, at best, tepid. We have a long way yet to go to restore democracy HERE. Many of these Congressional Democrats voted for our taxpayer dollars to be poured into Venezuelan elections, on the side of the rich oil elite (against Chavez), in violation of Venezuelan law! They WANT the corporations and the rich to win. We North American leftists (majorityists) have a bit more say with the Democratic Party leadership, but not much.
It is an issue that we must get on--if we don't want to see another Reagan/Iran-Contra era, with liberal bishops slain on their altars, bodies of raped and murdered nuns on the roadside, teachers and mayors slaughtered for their politics, more coup attempts, torture, and death, and democracy under siege throughout the southern hemisphere.
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