Greg Grandin is a professor of history at New York University and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of a number of prize-winning books, including most recently, Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City (Metropolitan 2009), which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History, as well as for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award.
In fact, his has LOTS to do with CHINA’S new role in Latin America —China has quickly and dramatically replaced the USA as the top destination of Brazil’s exports.
China often brings up the quesiton of the target country’s policies to the US as a criteria for trand and diplomacy.
Brazil is run by commies these days. Was that mentioned in the article?
In fact, his has LOTS to do with CHINA’S new role in Latin America —China has quickly and dramatically replaced the USA as the top destination of Brazil’s exports.
China often brings up the quesiton of the target country’s policies to the US as a criteria for trand and diplomacy.
By the way ....how’s the Obama (taxpayer) funded oil drilling working out?
For a professor of history he sure has a short memory. 0bungle, Hillary and the State Dept. all supported Mel Zelaya's coup on the Honduran constitution. Lula backed Zelaya too.
Former Brazilian President Lula is a COMMUNIST and Represent the São Paulo Forum;
Dilma Roussef, the actual Brazilian President is a Communists and Represents the São Paulo Forum;
The São Paulo Forum is the gathering of all leftists in South America and was founded in 1990 by Lula and Fidel Castro.
The São Paulo Forum actually Stated Purpose is to “Recover in South America what was lost in East Europe by the USSR Fall".
Everything, everything that can be made by this people to undermine, damage and accelerate the downfall of America will be done, believe me... PS: Dilma Roussef is the Guerrila that kidnapped former US Ambassador Charles Burke Elbrick.
Central and South America is afflicted with “Old Europe Disease”, which is a devolved version of a royal aristocracy.
Typically, a dozen or so wealthy families control most of the nation’s wealth. But unlike far more egalitarian America, where the wealthy don’t mind at all when others become wealthy, in the OED countries, the wealthy strive that there be only two classes: the very wealthy and the peasants.
They do not want a middle class, and they certainly do not want an upper middle class with aspirations to become wealthy, so scheme with the government they control to keep this from happening.
In turn, this builds tremendous resentment among the poor, who gravitate to violent egalitarian movements, often socialist or communist.
Yet with great irony, if they ever succeed in overthrowing the government, the revolutionaries set themselves up as the new aristocracy. This is because the poor, as well as the wealthy, suffer from OED. They neither understand nor appreciate what a middle class can be in a nation.
This is why a crude baboon like Chavez imagines himself as the aristocratic Simón Bolívar, a legitimate Spanish nobleman.
And it is also why central and South America have been afflicted with both pseudo-aristocratic tyrants and violent egalitarian revolutions for hundreds of years.
Take Rio de Janeiro, it is a city with Slums (Fevela's) everywhere; the people in those areas outnumber the ones productive in the city. There are "truces" with the crime leaders, like a pledge not to come down out of the hills and destroy tourism by robbing visitors; and in exchange free electric will flow along with water and other vital resources to keep them "pacified".
A rumor I heard at work (e.g., the consulate) is that some of the employess are considering moving into the fevela's because it is cheaper to live in those areas - maybe not the freebies, but rather that all prices may be less but you are not quite as safe as down along the coastal beach areas:)