Articles and opinion columns by Latin American analysts who take an unwavering stand for freedom, including members and directors of the IID.
Henrique Salas Römer decided to take challenge and wrote El futuro tiene su Historia ( The Future has History) a book that resorting to generational theory aims at explaining Latin Americans the nature and content of recent changes that have taken several countries several decades or even a century back as seems to be the case of his home country Venezuela. Henrique Salas Römer’s book adds to generation theory the figure of the Black Swan. This are what could be described as the leaders of counter history. That is to say, the unexpected leaderships that turn the course of history. Blacks Swans announce the end of an era, but they do not build the subsequent structure. Clearly his country Venezuela is living those days that see the Black Swan but not yet the ascent of a new cycle. And while the region awaits this development it can use the book as roadmap.
The attack that is taking place against the people and the government of Ecuador is not a matter of internal politics, it is a transnational attack perpetrated by the most dangerous group of organized crime that holds political power in Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia, a group that for ten years, oppressed Ecuador with Rafael Correa as dictator. CastroChavism is “the Transnational Organized Crime’s system that usurps political power that must be dealt with as an organized crime’s structure and not as a political process. The crisis in Ecuador unleashed by Castroist Chavist terrorism has the conditions to last a few weeks longer, but it is already defeated because it is a foreign attack and has awaken the peoples’ indignation. Through blood, sweat, and tears, Ecuador will defeat Castro Chavism’s attack and the government will come out of this strengthened, but for the organized crime’s group that threatens Americas’ democracies, it will continue with attacks, violence and crime. The questions are; until when? and who is next?
An invasive and coercive paternalistic state violates the American conception of a just society that ensures the freedom to choose how to design its future. By definition, an expanded government requires diminished liberty. Since the 1930’s, beginning, Americans began developing the perspective that public policy should undertake an extensive paternalistic role in society. Paternalism embodies the belief that people cannot be trusted to make good decisions, compelling government regulators to step in. Government regulations entail a transfer of authority, and decision-making from individuals to those in political power. Central to socialism is the belief that a person’s life does not belong to the individual, but rather that it belongs to the community or society. Accordingly, individuals have no rights of their own and must sacrifice for the “greater good” of society. An expanded socialist government carries the principle of double effect to evaluate the justification of an act. Government has the harmful double effect of reducing freedom. As government expands, our freedom is weakened. An intrusive, coercive paternalistic state violates the American conception of a just society as one in which the citizenry is assured the freedom to choose how to shape their own future unforced by government interference. When we support an expanded government, we are objecting to our freedom.
Once again, Ecuador’s president favorably surprised everyone by eliminating the State’s subsidies to fuels. Lenin Moreno has turned out to be the transitional president wished by all countries who want to abandon the Castroist Chavist dictatorships in the Americas. Once elected and already in the presidency, Moreno betted for democracy and took-on the task of dismantling the dictatorship thus making Correa and Castro Chavism his enemies. From being Correa’s dauphin, Lenin Moreno has become the restorer of democracy in Ecuador and, furthermore, the reconciler of an economy left bankrupt, in shambles and in crisis by his predecessor due to his centralized, corrupt management. Moreno is fixing one of the severe consequences of Correism. It is the extraordinary moment for the people from Ecuador to defeat Organized Crime and the leaders from the opposition to prove their intelligence and commitment to democracy.
Here we look at how world trade flows have developed empires and companies and now how Chevron is caught in Venezuela by U.S. sanctions seeking to end the criminal regime in Caracas that come to a head this month. “Trade follows flag” Trade begins to spring all over the world and either shatters or opens fissures in political systems. If you list the 10 largest world oil reserves only two are in so called developed countries: the US and Canada. They thus cling to their assets worldwide. And while many succeed in evading controversy some are caught by truly horrible developments like those of Venezuela where Baker Hughes; Chevron, Haliburton and Weatherford would like to stay in order to be able to develop a position of preeminence at the world largest oil reserve but the country is subject to sanctions from the US government that is all set to bring down the criminal regime of Venezuela. Time will tell what is best for the US and Western interests. But for now, Chevron and the rest of the major oil producers are thorn by the US dilemma.
President Duque and Colombia make -up to here- the strategic error of not identifying the real enemy that Cuba is. The dictatorship that is in place in Venezuela that protects the FARC guerrillas and other criminal groups, attacking Colombia and the region since many years’ past. The FARC’s announcement to return to the armed fight is only the most recent of CastroChavism conspiratory acts attempting to destabilize Colombia, to weaken the regional actions against Nicolas Maduro, and provide support to narcotics’ trafficking. Could it be that President Duque is waiting for Cuba’s good diligence or mediation, that is precisely the next move in the agenda of the dictatorship? It would seem to be the equivalent of remaining in the ambush that has been prepared by “not identifying the enemy unequivocally”. To identify the enemy and to take the initiative, are two of the most important rules in strategy, recommended in politics but indispensable for survival.
Political conditions, the economic situation, and corruption are -amongst others- the features that have driven the Argentinean people to a very delicate situation in which the cross-roads would seem to be to choose between reelecting a bad government or to return to an organized crime’s regime. To cover Cristina up with all the corruption structure resulting from the Kirchner’s twelve years of government would integrate Alberto Fernandez into the organized crime’s system of that period. Mauricio Macri is paying the price for not having acted decisively against corruption and for his gradual method of confronting the crisis left behind by the Kirchner’s that now already appears to be his own creation, the price of a bad government. Alberto Fernandez gives all indications of belonging to the Organized Crime that since a long time ago his candidate to the Vice-Presidency is a member of.
Creative growth is not a familiar concept among the powerful. As matter of fact creativity seems to be held at ransom by most political leaders who frightened by the first wave of technology would rather suppress it altogether. Latin music has taken over the world of music, visual arts were revolutionized by the kinetic art forged in Latin America and the region has won 6 Nobel awards in Literature, not to speak about the host of singers and performers that populate pop music and performing arts. Meanwhile in the US no one seems to understand that children are better off in terms of accessing jobs by learning robotics and hydroponic farming instead of being tested every other minute. And this explains why there is an opioid crisis.
Few nations think of division and conflict as strength; they prefer to seek unity and the common good, but this demands submission and obedience. American exceptionalism is the belief that the United States is unique among nations with respect to its democracy and individual freedoms. But believers in the distinctiveness of American culture normally base their explanations for exceptionalism on America’s natural resources, its industrial capacity, and absence of rigid class distinctions, its lack of feudal traditions, American Puritan roots, and more. Another dimension of American exceptionalism, in harnessing division and conflict, is the appreciation that political battles take place in the arena of competing ideologies and not as conflict between individuals. The underappreciated essence of American exceptionalism is an innate understanding that division and conflict are guardians of freedom. Let us celebrate our divisions and conflicts.
Great dreams have been the corner stone to great cities. Here we reflect the success of the dreams of late Mayor Maurice Ferre to make Miami a modern technological mecca and capital of the Americas. As Miami mourns the loss of Maurice Ferre his family and friends count his blessings that he generously sprinkled in the city that elicited his greatest love. His legacy while diverse, had a single focus: the establishment of the first truly multicultural and global community in the Western Hemisphere. Maurice Ferre continued to serve long after he was mayor of Miami because he believed the best was yet to come “Miami is like a butterfly or a caterpillar, goes from one form to another. It’s transformed many times. It’s an ongoing transformation that occurs every quarter century”. And to oversee this new transformation he entered a new dimension where he can inspire his fellow citizens to continue transforming the dream.
