Ecuador aligns itself with Venezuela, Bolivia, and Cuba

El Mundo ( Bolivia ) ^ | January 15, 2007 | AP wire service in Spanish ( translated by self )

[StJacques]

Well, the Latin American Left is currently feeling pretty good after their very recent electoral victories in Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Ecuador. And what is particularly striking about these successes is their attempt to construct a unified regional foreign policy ideologically-oriented to the left. History does not favor ideology in the development of foreign policy with success, but this phenomenon, which is still quite recent, continues apace nonetheless.

Those of you who have been following the Latin American Left postings over the past five or six months might remember that, in spite of like-minded international political sympathies openly expressed, tensions have developed between several of the countries Chavez, Morales, and Correa have identified as ideological brothers in arms. Chile was noticeably angry with Venezuela for the interference of the Venezuelan Ambassador in Chilean internal politics, which may have been a key factor preventing Venezuela from winning a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council last year. Chilean editorialists have been sounding the alarm over Bolivian intentions to reassert a claim to an outlet to the sea at Chile's expense, a claim which Chavez apparently supports. Brazil is upset with Evo Morales' attempt to nationalize Bolivia's oil and natural gas production, much of which would come at the expense of the Brazilian national oil company Petrobras, which would probably be the big loser if Morales' program succeeds. There is more, and particularly with Venezuelan military aid to Bolivia, which is frowned on by just about everyone else in the neighborhood.

Long-term international alignments take time to develop and I would discourage anyone from believing that the public posturing of these Latin American leftist leaders will result in a common alliance in pursuit of ideological goals. But the fact of the recent electoral successes of the left in Latin America is something we must confront, and we will get nowhere simply throwing stones and calling them names. The U.S. and other nations who desire the promotion of true democracy must take it upon themselves to seek out friendly nations who want our support to keep the left in check, and this includes Colombia and Mexico -- yes, Mexico has done a lot to stand up to the left recently -- among other smaller players.

And as a final comment, it is worth noting that Evo Morales' attempt to rewrite Bolivia's Constitution without two-thirds support in the constituent assembly he has called is creating tremendous internal problems within that country; so much so that secession and regional autonomy within Bolivia have been both threatened (secession) and declared openly (regional autonomy) over the past few months. If there is a current "front" in the struggle to turn back the left in Latin America, it is in the Bolivian constituent assembly, where things have now stalled and remain at an impasse while the two sides seek to strengthen their positions. None of us are likely to keep Bolivia front and center in the larger scheme of international politics, but I can assure you that what is going on there now is being watched very closely elsewhere in Latin America and it is something I will be keeping an eye on as things progress.

Left to Right: Hugo Chavez, Rafael Correa, Evo Morales

[StJacques]

A Latin American Left Watch ping for you all.

Anyone wishing to be included on the ping list may either ping me from this thread or contact me via Freepmail.

[livius]

How cute. Matching blankies.

[NonValueAdded]

Yet another reason to build the wall.

[Patrick1]

The populations of their countries will be living under those blankets soon enough.

[StJacques]

They are called ruanas, and I have two here at home.

[listenhillary]

Another good reason to do everything we can to insure there is a glut of oil on the world markets.

[My2Cents]

This picture is begging for a caption. Morales should be pegged "The Fifth Beatle." Or, all of them should be pegged as "Curly, Larry, and Moe."

Actually, they all amount to "Hillary-Lite."

[Brad from Tennessee]

From CIA World Factbook:

ECUADOR

Export partners:

US 51.1%, Peru 8%, Germany 4.4%, Colombia 4.3% (2005)

Import partners:

US 22.3%, Colombia 14.9%, Venezuela 7.8%, Brazil 6%, China 5.3% (2005)

[sgtbono2002]

AWWWWWW YEAH: These boys are up to no good.

We definitely have to keep our eyes open on them.

We also should be careful how many of their minions we allow into our country. But we wont.

[StJacques]

How about "Los Tres Bobos" for a caption?

Translation: The Three Stooges

[avacado]

"Ecuador aligns itself with Venezuela, Bolivia, and Cuba"

A TRIFECTA of losers!

[StJacques]

Good post Brad. What's going to happen when Correa takes Ecuador off the dollar standard as the determining factor in affixing the value of their currency?

It's an obvious answer, but your CIA factbook entry puts the stakes in perspective.

[FreedomNeocon]

Ecuador,Venezuela, Bolivia, and Cuba!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The breadbasket of our hemisphere!

What are we going to do without the economic and militaristic powerhouses of Blowlivia and Cuba?

The cultural contributions of Ecuador are lost to us!

THE HORROR!

Oh wait... who cares. Turds hang out in the toilet. No biggie.

[o_zarkman44]

A commie cocaine and oil cartel south of the border. How nice.

[Brad from Tennessee]

Likely you have read this already. If not this is an interesting view--"A Tale of Two Lefts"--about the "good left" and the "bad left" in Latin America:

http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20060501faessay85302/jorge-g-castaneda/latin-america-s-left-turn.html?mode=print

[panaxanax]

Yep, we better get that super-highway built soon. We don't want any of our enemies tripping on that single-strand barbed wire border fence and then suing us.

I can't speak for everyone, but I'm getting very suspicious and angry about how Bush is handling this open border situation and his continued appeasement.

North American Union, NWO, Globalism, NAFTA, CAFTA, FTAA.....we must fight them at every opportunity now or we WILL be fighting them in our streets.

American idiots just keep buying CITGO gas and Chinese crap. What has happened to my country? Are there any real PATRIOTS left?

Sorry for the rant........had to let off some steam before my head exploded.

[verity]

I like Morales' hat. Oh, wait..............

[BunnySlippers]

Helmut Hair.

[StJacques]

Yes; I have read that one Brad, but thanks for putting it up.

To everyone else, I heartily recommend the link Brad provided in his post #16 above for a perspective on the left in Latin America.