Articles and opinion columns by Latin American analysts who take an unwavering stand for freedom, including members and directors of the IID.
With dictator Evo Morales’ fall in Bolivia, Castrochavism has been shrunken to hold power in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, plus benefit from Mexico’s subordination and that of the Fernandez/Kirchner from Argentina. In this 21st Century, there are TWO AMERICAS; the democratic one and the dictatorial other. The axis of confrontation is between DEMOCRACY and DICTATORSHIP. The dictatorial America, led by Cuba and comprised by Venezuela and Nicaragua is in crisis, bankrupt, evident to be narco-states, with a permanent and growing risk of losing power due to the heroic internal resistance of the citizenry. In order to survive, Castrochavism -that is the dictatorial America- carries out a strategy that includes at least: 1. To increase internal repression. 2. To increase their accusations and attacks. 3. Forge alliances with those who it considers imperialism’s, or the right’s, common enemies. 4.-To unleash a violent regional offensive to destabilize and topple democratic governments. It is clear that the attacker-in-chief is Cuba with Venezuela’s usurper as its main operator, manipulating narcotics’ trafficking, the FARC, and criminal groups. It is time to identify Cuba and Venezuela as the attackers.
“Bloomberg places judgment and knowledge over partisan loyalty and law abiding over exploitation of loopholes — a nice outcome to a fractious and rancorous political battle that will be the fight for the presidency next year. But this might be a fluke,” “But wasn’t President Trump’s election also a fluke?”
Now it is Colombia’s turn. It happened before in Mexico and Chile. Vandals have destroyed a great part of Santiago de Chile. Indirectly, vandals harm the whole society. The damages inflicted on the public sector mean less services than those already budgeted. Fewer school cafeterias. Less health and education. Less resources for retirees. Less parks and recreation. Less investment. Fewer jobs. Less growth. There is not a single positive aspect in vandalism. How can we deal with these destructive citizens? In my opinion, with severity and fairness. Maybe modifying the penal codes. The society, represented by the State, must do so. How? Perhaps taking the guilty ones before severe courts. If they are minors, making the families pay the expenses of the destruction carried out by these rascals. It is very important that these reforms of sentences and punishments be carried out. Then comes the time to cry, but the origin is in the vandals and in the passivity of the governments that tolerate them.
The Bolivian nation’s civil resistance movement has triumphed by removing Evo Morales, the dictator. The international community and institutions were wrong in their assessment of Bolivia’s objective reality. The establishment of Morales’ dictatorship in Bolivia was the outcome of a transnational intervention’s process, but the Bolivian people’s struggle to recover their democracy has been and is totally domestic. Within the context of Castrochavist narco-states”, the state of Bolivia, controlled by Evo Morales, is the main producer and supplier of coca/cocaine. By losing this unencumbered, unrestricted production and drug delivery area, Cuba and Venezuela’s dictatorships are losing the most important part of the cocaine business, a part in which Mexico is an essential participant of with its Cartels. This is why the terrorism to produce bloody massacres that Evo Morales is promoting from Mexico are not a matter of policy, they are nothing less than the confrontation of narcotics’ trafficking -disguised as popular demonstrations- against democracy. Is to try to avoid Bolivia, following the removal of its dictatorial regime, take away narcotics trafficking’s power -disguised as politics- and restore the War on Drugs and Money Laundering, restore DEA’s cooperation, start an investigation of amassed fortunes, abide by laws and treaties against narcotics’ trafficking. It is certainly narcotics’ trafficking against democracy.
Once upon a time Chairman Mao revealed to Roger Peyrefitte his secret for success by cryptically indicating ‘I know my people because I pause to hear the grass grow'” This is looking at what is happening in Hong Kong, Chile, Bolivia and Venezuela. “In our hemisphere political leadership seems to have entered a hypnotic state that prevents them from even seeing the grass.”
The flagrant electoral fraud and crimes committed by Evo Morales and his regime catalyzed the “Bolivian nation” that had endured for more than a decade. In the wake of almost three weeks of civil resistance, Evo Morales is now a dictator who has been defeated by the Bolivian nation and is solely sustained by the Castrochavist intervention. The concept and existence of the Bolivian nation, a mongrel or mestizo nation, diverse yet unique, is built upon and is sustained through “an alliance of classes” and not through a fight between classes. Through the Castrochavist inspired constitution “the fight between races” is introduced through the acknowledgement of the existence of 36 nations in Bolivia’s territory and with the elimination of the Republic and the establishment of a plurinational state. This has got to be the greatest crime committed by Evo Morales to destroy the “Bolivian nation” and cannot be taken as anything but treason to the homeland when he delivered Bolivia to foreign intervention and Transnational Organized Crime that, at that time, was presented as the Bolivarian Movement, or 21st Century Socialism, but that now is known as Castrochavism. Because there exists a Bolivian nation, the confrontation in Bolivia is between the regime and Bolivia’s people, it is between Evo Morales and Bolivians, between the Castrochavist transnational intervention and the defense of the homeland. This is also why the request for the dictator’s resignation is national. Only Castrochavism’s violent and criminal intervention sustains Evo Morales. Bottom line; the dictator is defeated, the enemy identified, and the Bolivian nation is unified and mobilized.
The larger question is, to what extent do cultural attitudes and beliefs shape the business environment in Latin America?. What, if any, is the link between culture and economic development?. I must note that many economists are unconvinced of a strong link between cultural values and economic development. To these economists, what matters is the “hardware” of policies conducive to economic growth and not the “software” of culture. On the other hand, the “software” proponents can also point to examples to substantiate the role of culture. In multicultural countries, under the same economic environment, we find that some ethnic groups do better than others. These perceptions need to be replaced by values that enhance productivity such as: capitalism is good, innovation is good, investment in capabilities and technology is good, employees are assets, etc. In other words, a change in economic culture is needed. “The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, which determines the success of a society. The central liberal truth is that politics can change a culture and save it from itself.”
The rapid pace of change in Bolivia and Argentina on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. The Wall that was the symbol of oppression and denial of progress was brought down without firing a single bullet. Chile is a world apart from the rest of the continent as its government dealt with the most destructive and gang penetrated mobs with democratic means. Up to the last two weeks Bolivia’s government indulged in two mortal mistakes. First, the order to initiate the land clearing in the Amazonian rain forest triggered the worst fire to have been endured by the Amazonian. Second, under the inquisitive eye of smart phones an electoral fraud was perpetrated. Mr Morales executed the fraud plans so that there would not be any runoff. Today, he is presiding over a paralyzed country. Sunday, he resigned. In the end, the beginning of the fall of the totalitarian wall could be ongoing in Bolivia. In Argentina yet another wall is about to collapse. Mr Fernandez is attempting to revive the axis of evil. Argentina will thus represent yet another hole in the wall of tyranny.
On November 9, 1989, the demolition of the Berlin Wall began, together with the disappearance of communism in Europe. Thirty years have passed since that extraordinary episode. Freedom was that––to be able to fight for a better destiny without a State deciding for us, without a Party making our choices, without the eyes of the political police permanently perched on our necks. If Gorbachev had resorted to violence, communism would have continued to rule in the USSR and in Eastern Europe. Gorbachev was not a bloodthirsty man. He was communist and patriot, but not murderer. Gorbachev wanted to transform Russia into a truly developed, prosperous and free nation, but without private ownership of the means of production, governed by a planned system, in accordance with the Marxist collectivist project. “Why did Gorbachev fail?”. “Because communism does not adapt to human nature.” Thirty years after its disappearance in Europe, collectivism, intertwined with drug trafficking, is making a comeback and shows its hairy ear in some Latin American countries. It is no longer about creating paradise on earth, but hell. It will not prevail. Nor does it adapt to human nature.
As the United States withdraws from the world and international affairs, China and Russia step in, to the detriment of U.S. interests. The United States is now applying strong sanctions on Venezuela in an effort to bring the Venezuelan regime down. However, China and Russia (particularly Russia) have a major interest in keeping the Maduro regime alive. As part of a U.S. sanctions policy towards Venezuela, there are several U.S. companies whose license to operate in Venezuela has been temporarily extended until January. If these companies lose their licenses, it is expected that Chinese and Russian oil producers and their more than 600 service companies would take over American operations and assets. The U.S. must do everything in its power to remove Maduro and install a new temporary government led by Juan Guaido. Once a new government takes over, American companies can operate normally, and the Russians and Chinese can effectively be displaced.
