Posted on 01/16/2007 6:12:54 PM PST by Kitten Festival
Latin America: The weekend inauguration of Rafael Correa as president of Ecuador was a spectacularly sorry show of anti-U.S. sentiment. Maybe it's time the U.S. just quit funding this ungrateful country.
Correa did more than bring in his best pal Hugo Chavez of Venezuela as guest of honor at his extravaganza. Correa also went out of his way to dedicate the inauguration to ailing Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
"Down with imperialism," he shouted, using the regional code to accuse the U.S. Seldom has anti-Americanism been so in our faces. But to make sure the U.S. knew the inaugural wasn't just another backslapping Latin leaders show, Correa also trotted out Mahmoud Ahmadinejad front and center.
It may be easy to dismiss the visit of Iran's president as window-dressing, but we aren't so sure. It's unusual, to say the least, to fly a non-Latin American leader in from 8,400 miles away.
It's more likely that Correa's new association with America's chief antagonist was aimed at making clear his intent to oppose the U.S.
Ahmadinejad's presence also alienated neighboring Argentina. Its president, Nestor Kirchner, declined to show up for the festivities because of Iran's refusal to cooperate in the probe of its role in a 1994 Jewish center bombing that killed 86 people in Buenos Aires.
Whatever the case, there's no need to continue supporting such nonsense and thereby encourage more of it around the hemisphere.
For the record, Ecuador gets about $50 million a year in U.S. aid. The aid stream for environmental projects, "poverty reduction," "border development," "democracy building" and other vague items cited on USAID's Web site amounts to $21 million.
Aid to stop the narcotics trade, which threatens Ecuador as much as the U.S., provides much of the rest. Next year, Ecuador's USAID packet is set to hit $22
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
ping!
What is happening in central and south america is a massive failure of the Bush administration. The soviet union is gone yet the communists are making greater strides than ever before. Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicragua, Boliva... all fallen to the communists. This never would have happend under the Reagan administration.
Bush had his dick in the ringer in Iraq for the last 5 years, he hasn't had time for South America...
With a Dim Congress, we'll be lucky if we can hold the increase in aid to Ecuador to inflation level.
Screw 'em, if these Latin American countries want socialism, let them have at it. In the meantime, the U.S. should initiate travel, trade, and humanitarian aid embargos and end foreign aid.
Agree. I am sick of us financing predators who eventually will come back to bite us. Let Hugo pay Correa's bills and let Correa be Hugo's houseboy if he wants.
Quit being dim.
"This never would have happend under the Reagan administration."
I think reagan would have supported military governments sympathetic to the US versus the current situations.
All that said, central and south americans don't see political ideology in terms of the warsaw pact vs. US, etc. Usually the issue is that a whole lot of the population is living in a situation where mulitple incomes at minimum wage (in those countries) *literally* doesn't put food on the table for the family. The fact that there are far more potential workers than jobs available doesn't help matters.
Of course they will tend to vote the first person in who appears to understand or respond to or at least recognize their plight - what else are they going to do, keep electing the oligarchs who are so flagrant in nepotism, contract favoratism, and corruption that it would boggle your mind to see it? (maybe not LA levee boards but still)
The progress of leftist ideologues and frauds in south and central america can be primarily attributed to the fact their traditional parties are electing despots whose main goal is to enrich themselves and their compatriots and who don't give a damn about the serf-class. I am not saying that the leftist ideologues are different in that respect, but that is an underlying reason why this is going on.
Thank you!
Good news from a pal in Quito - Ecuador just got a large part of its aid yanked by US Congress this morning. No one expected this, least of all in Ecuador. They've been defunded!
People's cards and letters really did make a difference this time. A Communist thug just got his snout taken out of Uncle Sam's trough! This is awesome news!!!!!
I'm almost surprised to hear that Washington actually did something this time. Maybe this initial action will have an impact upon Ecuadoran legislators as they prepare to "implement" Correa's program.
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