Reply #17: Duarte's highly corrupt center-right party is facing a serious challenge this year [View All]

[Peace Patriot]

from Paraguay's beloved "bishop of the poor," Fernando Lugo," who has defied orders from the Vatican and announced his candidacy for president. He is leading in the polls, and has the task of uniting Paraguay's disparate, in-fighting leftist parties, but he has a lot going for him. He is ahead in the polls. He has spent his entire career as priest and bishop serving Paraguay's poor--the majority in the country. He is clean as a whistle, and very charismatic and genuine. Also, he is running for president in the midst of a near total sweep of the continent by leftist (majorityist) governments (in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and Nicaragua--also a near win by the left in Mexico--where Lopez-Obrador lost my only 0.05%--and election of the first progressive government, ever, in Guatemala). Lugo and Paraguay will be joining a widespread South American independence and social justice movement that is basically kicking the U.S.-run World Bank, U.S. dominated "free trade"and the murderous, corrupt U.S. "war on drugs" out of the region. It is no doubt this trend--and Lugo's election--that Neil Bush is in Paraguay conspiring to stop, by any means possible.

I have not seen confirmation of the rumors that the Bush Cartel purchased some 200,000 acres in Paraguay, atop South America's major aquifer, and near a U.S.-taxpayer funded U.S. military air base. But it has occurred to me that such a Bushite enclave in Paraguay could be used as a launching pad for coup plots and other hostilities against several resource-rich Bushite target countries, namely Bolivia and Argentina, in Donald Rumsfeld's new Oil War, whose main target is Venezuela, but which needs to break up the strong alliances among Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina, to achieve its goal of regaining global corporate predator control of the Andes oil fields and other resources, and reinstalling fascist governments that will do Exxon Mobil & co.'s bidding.

See
"The Smart Way to Beat Tyrants Like Chávez," by Donald Rumsfeld, 12/1/07
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

Hillary Clinton echoes Rumsfeld here:

"If I am entrusted with the presidency, America will have the courage, once again, to meet with our adversaries. But I will not be penciling in the leaders of Iran or North Korea or Venezuela or Cuba on the presidential calendar without preconditions, until we have assessed through lower level diplomacy, the motivations and intentions of these dictators. --Hillary Clinton (at GW University, 2/25/08)
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/speech/view/?id=6196

(Note: Obama's statements about Chavez (read: Oil War II) have been more ambiguous and circumspect, but not particularly comforting. Neither Clinton nor Obama seem to understand that Chavez is NOT a "tyrant," has run a scrupulously lawful, elected government for ten years, and has a 70% approval rating. What do the Venezuelans know that our political establishment is deliberately hiding from us? That Venezuela has transparent elections, and we do not? That the poor majority deserves more than warm spit--they deserve REAL representation of their interests in government?)


Venezuela and Ecuador are members of OPEC, and have lots and lots of oil. Bolivia has some oil, and lots of gas. Argentina just had a big oil find, recently. These countries all have leftist, social justice governments, are strongly allied with each other, and will come to each other's aid in a crisis--as would possibly the leftist governments of Brazil, Uruguay and Nicaragua (with Chile probably the weakest leftist partner--still in thrall to U.S. "free trade"). So, Rumsfeld/Exxon Mobil have both to plan carefully and stalk their prey, with various tactics, and have to beware of reactions and alliances--their nefarious schemes, and bullying, kneecapping tactics (and worse) have already backfired on them a number of times. They need additional launching pads (besides Colombia, and maybe corrupt "free trade" Peru)--with Paraguay and Bolivia as possible candidates. The Paraguayan government is bribable. And in Bolivia there is an on-going fascist plot to split off oil/gas rich rural provinces from the central government of Evo Morales, a Chavez ally and the first indigenous president of Bolivia, a majority indigenous country). The Bushites have been fomenting rightwing unrest in Bolivia, and no doubt funding and organizing the separatist movement. In Paraguay, they are probably plotting against Fernando Lugo.

Paraguay's center-right government is highly corrupt (and long entrenched) but not as brutal as Colombia's government (where rightwing paramilitaries chainsaw union leaders and throw their body parts into mass graves, with impunity--and with lawless Colombian security forces funded by billions of U.S. tax dollars in military aid, through Bushite fingers). Also, Paraguay has joined the Bank of the South--a Chavez/Venezuela inspired project which promises real, locally controlled, financial independence for South American countries. So they are no fools. But I believe they have the highest poverty rate in South America, and water is their only resource. The Bushites have billions of our tax dollars to offer, billions for the rich elite in "free trade," and billions of dollars stolen from us in Iraq and stashed around the world, to be used for bribes and the creation or importation of rightwing paramilitaries (for instance, Blackwater mercenaries, which have been active in Colombia).

Although the Bushites have to be careful, they feel some urgency--if Rumsfeld is to be believed. I think they want to get this war under way before Bush leaves office--for several reasons. One is, it will likely be easier to get Bush to "act swiftly" in support of "friends and allies" in South America (as Rumsfeld puts it)--that is, U.S. military intervention in support of fascist thugs planning coups (probably in Bolivia and Venezuela). Another is opportunity. Exxon Mobil had the opportunity to commit an act of economic warfare against Venezuela--freezing $12 billion in Venezuela's assets (over a dispute about Venezuela's 60% share of Venezuela's oil)--commenced with that recently. This was aimed at destabilizing and weakening Venezuela. And Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa has pledged to kick the U.S. military base out of Ecuador this year, when its lease comes up for renewal--thus reducing Rumsfeld's strategic ground (Ecuador borders Venezuela). It appears that Hillary Clinton is in sympathy with Rumsfeld/Exxon Mobil's goals, but still, it will be harder for a Democrat to cooperate with them, no matter how compromised she is (and as to Obama, who knows? --hard to suss out). (McCain, of course, would be gung-ho, but, despite the rigged voting machines, they can't be sure what will happen--and may be facing an iffy President Obama on Oil War II against democratic governments in this hemisphere).

All this is the context for Neil Bush's visit to Paraguay. I think it's about far more than a safe haven for Bushite war criminals and treasury looters. I think it's about oil. Paraguay doesn't have any. But it does have strategic ground bordering Bolivia, Argentina and Uruguay (all leftist governments and allies), and a corrupt rich elite.