Free Republic

Communism is not dead in Latin America. In fact, the dominoes are falling south of the border, but no one seems to be noticing. “It’s a new day. Communism is dead. It’s even dead in Cuba.” So declared Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in May 2002. “I hate to say it,” she continued, “it’s dead.” The senator’s proclamation was a surprise, no doubt, to Fidel Castro, whose regime was (and is) alive and as Red as ever. It also must have come as welcome news to the people of Cuba, still suffering, after nearly half...

Bolivia Files Charges for Crimes Against Humanity Against Evo Morales at The Hague The International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague received a petition Tuesday to open a case against socialist former president of Bolivia Evo Morales and several of his senior cabinet members for “crimes against humanity” committed in the aftermath of his resignation in November. The government of Bolivia filed the charges citing evidence of a “campaign of terrorism” against the Bolivian people intended to ensure Morales returned to power. Morales resigned on November 10 willingly in the aftermath of the publication of an Organization of American States...

President Mesa has been under heavy pressure to resign Bolivian President Carlos Mesa has announced his resignation after mass protests demanding the nationalisation of energy and constitutional reform. In a televised address late on Monday, Mr Mesa said he was stepping down because "this is as far as I can go". The Bolivian city of La Paz has seen daily demonstrations for several weeks by indigenous and left-wing groups. Mr Mesa became president in October 2003 after similar protests over energy forced out his predecessor. The protests erupted last month after a law was passed imposing taxes on the foreign...

Bolivian President Carlos Mesa gives up his station La Paz - the President of Bolivia, Carlos Mesa, gave up his station because of the social agitation centered on the nationalization of the gas which shakes the country since mid-May, announced the interested party Monday evening in a radio-televised message. "It goes from there from my responsibility for saying that I also arrived far I could it", said the Head of the Bolivian State. "For this reason, I decided to present my resignation of the my post of President of the Republic", it added. Mr. Mesa had occupied this station...

...Russian news services are reporting that both U.S. and Colombian military sources have confirmed that Venezuela's defense ministry has purchased several advanced MiG-29 fighters and that that U.S. sources have detected them on training missions. ..."Venezuela plans to spend approximately $5 billion on acquisition of Russian fighters including purchase of armament, airdrome and airborne equipment." ...UPI: "letters addressed last year to the director general of Russian Aeronautic Corp., Nicolai F. Nikitin, the Venezuelan air force requested the 'latest version' of the MiG-29 SMT equipped with high-tech weaponry, including radar-guided missiles and 2,000-pound bombs." UPI: "The plane must have the capacity...

New Bolivian President Carlos Mesa: a Best-Selling Author and Journalist By Alvaro Zuazo Associated Press Writer Published: Oct 18, 2003 SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia (AP) - As one of Bolivia's top journalists, Carlos Mesa wrote a best-selling book about the many presidents in this country's often tumultuous history. Now his story will have to inside any new printing of "Entre urnas y fusiles" (Between the Ballot Box and the Rifle). Mesa was sworn in as president late Friday after the resignation of Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada. Mesa, a political independent who had some leftist leanings in his youth, has served...

La Paz, Bolivia - Carlos Mesa, a moderate political unknown, took over Bolivia's presidency on Saturday after a month-long bloody revolt by the country's Indian majority forced the resignation of his predecessor. Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, a free marketeer and key US ally in the anti-drug war, quit after an estimated 74 people died in a month of protests that saw the siege of the capital by inhabitants of its poor outskirts. Tens of thousands of farmers, workers and miners marched in and around the world's highest capital for weeks to reject Sanchez de Lozada's US-backed, pro-market policies. Grievances ranged...