Bolivia's Leader Solidifies Region's Leftward Tilt

The New York Times ^ | 22 January 2006 | JUAN FORERO and LARRY ROHTER

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January 22, 2006

Bolivia's Leader Solidifies Region's Leftward Tilt

By JUAN FORERO
and LARRY ROHTER

TIWANAKU, Bolivia, Jan. 21 - When Evo Morales, an Aymara Indian and former head of the Bolivian coca growers union, is sworn in as president on Sunday, it may be the hardest turn yet in South America's persistent left-leaning tilt, with the potential for big reverberations far beyond the borders of this landlocked Andean nation.

While mostly vague on details, and recently moderating his tone, Mr. Morales promises to transform Bolivia. He has said he would "depenalize" cultivation of coca, the prime ingredient for cocaine, which Washington has spent hundreds of millions of dollars and more than two decades trying to eradicate.

He pledges to inject the state in Bolivia's oil and natural gas industry, and the specter of nationalization is troubling the multinational energy companies that first flocked here in the late 1990's, even though Mr. Morales recently said he would not expropriate foreign holdings.

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For south of the border, we have more to worry about than just Mexico.

This is a ch__ch. What's missing?

[arthurus]

nolivia will have officially as well as actually a cocaine economy and will be a proud cocaine exporting state.

[Gordongekko909]

I understand that cocaine -> assassinations. The two just seem to go hand-in-hand.

[DeusExMachina05]

Things should get real fun to watch there in about 5 years.

[Malesherbes]

Argentine, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, Bolivia - and probably Peru and Mexico soon - all Marxist or pseudo-Marxist governments in our own southern hemisphere. The newly elected President of Chile, hailed in our MSM because she is a woman, was educated in Communist East Germany. We had better build our wall and build it high, because the flow of "undocumented immigrants" from these impending disasters to our south will soon be a flood.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

We had better build our wall and build it high, because the flow of "undocumented immigrants" from these impending disasters to our south will soon be a flood.

I agree that control of the border will become even more critical in the future, but our biggest national threat is the Democrat Party. We don't have to look south to see Communists, there is a large concentration in Washington, D.C.

[Malesherbes]

I agree with you, and it frightens me that half the country is prepared to vote for Gore, for Kerry, and the rest of that hypoocritical clique.

[RouxStir]

"officially as well as actually a cocaine economy and will be a proud cocaine exporting state"

I can't imagine what Bolivia will be like 10 years from now......a place ripe for terrorist training camps and terrorist involvement in the cocaine export business.

[zarf]

Don't worry. A school massacre or massive bomb in middle America will wake everyone up to the border issue.

It won't happen where I live so I'll just grab the popcorn, watch the politicans wring their hands on Fox News and shout "I told You So!" at the tube.

[RouxStir]

"but our biggest national threat is the Democrat Party"

...second only to nutless Republicans. All I can say is that if Bill Frist gets the Republican nomination, Hillary is a shoe-in. Not that I dislike Frist's platform. I just think he is a whimpy leader and was a poor choice to lead the Senate and would not be an effective campaigner.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Doesn't sound like you are interested in a Frist fan club. Don't worry, he won't be the nominee. However, he does get a bad rap as majority leader. He has to have the votes to stand up for and with snakes like McCain and Lott plotting against him he had the rug pulled out from under him.

Those are the kinds of Republicans I don't like.