Free Republic

Ecuador aligns itself with Venezuela, Bolivia, and Cuba In speeches against imperialism and neoliberalism, the presidents of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, and Bolivia, Evo Morales, and the Ecuadoran President-Elect Rafael Correa, who should assume the government of his country Monday, expressed common ideological and political agreement Sunday. Chavez, Morales, and Correa, who also exalt the figure of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, met together in Zumbahua, an indigenous [Ecuadoran] locality 90 kilometers south of Quito, for a symbolic inauguration of Correa before the indigenous peoples [of Ecuador]. In a speech before a multitude congregated in the central plaza, Correa emphasized that "[Latin]...

ESTANCIA ANCHORENA, Uruguay – Over lamb chops and cuts of beef, President Bush chatted amiably Saturday at this presidential retreat with a former leader of a legendary band of leftist guerrillas known as the Tupamaros. "I respect you and I'm proud to be in your country," Bush told Jose "Pepe" Mujica, now Uruguay's minister of agriculture and livestock, according to a White House aide. Mujica was pleased to give Bush an expansive overview of this tiny nation's agricultural needs, the aide said. This is the same Mujica who, in comments to media here, has acknowledged feeling odd about the notion...

Thousands of protesters greeted Mr Bush's arrival US President George Bush has met his Uruguayan counterpart, Tabare Vazquez, as part of his five-nation Latin American tour to promote trade.Mr Bush arrived in Montevideo from Brazil - where he signed a deal to develop alternative fuel sources. Uruguay is keen to sign free trade deals with the US, even if it means leaving the Mercosur trade bloc. The tour attracted protests in Brazil and about 5,000 protesters gathered in Uruguay for Mr Bush's visit. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is conducting his own tour of the region and addressed 40,000 anti-Bush...

COLONIA, Uruguay - In his opening weeks as Uruguay's first socialist president, Tabare Vazquez has mirrored the economic orthodoxy of his centrist predecessor while making populist political gestures, especially to labor unions and the poor. Mr. Vazquez, 65, an oncologist, heads the leftist coalition Frente Amplio (Broad Front, in Spanish). He was sworn in March 1, ending 180 years of two-party rule. His election in October produced an epidemic of euphoria in this town and throughout the tiny nation of more than 3 million. It also bolstered the so-called "pink tide" of leftist governments taking power in several Latin American...

Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises reminded in 1932 that the socialist movement takes great pains to frequently circulate new labels for its "ideally constructed state." Seventy-three years later, socialists still are playing that game. Just as socialists masquerading as liberals in the United States now call themselves "progressives," apologians for this particularly odoriferous political philosophy in Latin America now call themselves "pragmatists." Sadly, some in the media have become willing accomplices. Uruguay last week became the sixth South American nation to install a socialist president. He's Tabare Vazquez, 65, a former cancer doctor who rose to power as so many...

BUENOS AIRES, March 4 (RIA Novosti correspondent Yury Nikolayev) - Russia and Uruguay have agreed to draw up a cooperation program for the period from 2005 to 2010. The parties reached this agreement at a meeting between Russian Central Election Commission chief Alexander Veshnyakov and Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez on Thursday, reported the Russian embassy in Uruguay. Veshnyakov heads the Russian delegation at the inauguration ceremony of the new president of Uruguay Tabare Vazquez. Mr. Veshnyakov handed over President Vladimir Putin's message to his Uruguayan counterpart. Mr. Veshnyakov updated President Vazquez on prospects and areas of cooperation in the energy...

(AP) Uruguay's President Tabare Vazquez opens his arms to supporters from the balcony of the Government... MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) - A doctor took office as Uruguay's first socialist president Tuesday, joining the ranks of left-leaning leaders in Latin America - now six in all - governing a majority of the region's people with a cautious approach to U.S.-backed free-market policies. In one of his first official acts, Tabare Vazquez restored full diplomatic ties with communist Cuba, more than two years after a diplomatic row divided the countries. Thousands of Uruguayans - many waving flags and chanting "Ur-u-guay!" - filled Montevideo's...

URUGUAY, once South America’s most prosperous country, plays host to an unlikely gathering of left-wing leaders tomorrow as it prepares to break with 170 years of history and swear in its first socialist President.Tabaré Vázquez, a 65-year-old professor of medicine who was elected last October with 50 per cent of the vote, will be inaugurated as head of the Broad Front coalition, whose biggest component is a party founded by the former Marxist Tupamaro guerrilla movement. The new head of the country’s Senate is José Mújica, a former Tupamaro leader who was held in a deep well for seven years...

Communism's Resurgence By William F. Jasper The New American, January 24, 2005 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...

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...

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay – Uruguayans elected Tabare Vazquez as the nation's first leftist president, vote tallies showed Monday, breaking a 170-year lock on power by two traditional parties and strengthening Latin America's shift to the left. Sunday's vote highlighted a dramatic change for this longtime U.S. ally. Relations with the United States blossomed under outgoing President Jorge Batlle, a centrist, at a time when leftists took power in Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela, emphasizing greater distance from Washington on a range of economic, trade and foreign policy issues. Uruguay's vote coincided with elections in three other South Americans that saw wins for...

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (Reuters) - The left made more inroads into Latin America in four elections this weekend as crisis-weary voters tired of decades of U.S-backed market reforms warmed to pragmatic platforms of economic growth with better distribution of wealth. Tiny Uruguay became the latest South American nation to elect a leftist leader in a historic shift while the left notched up victories in local elections that could set the tone for future presidential votes in Brazil, Chile and Venezuela. Tabare Vazquez, who will be Uruguay's first leftist leader, won the presidency in his third attempt after toning down some earlier...