Bolivia moves to the left...Socialists in.

[Cheese]

Morales, 46, a coca farmer and Aymara Indian, has vowed to become Washington's 'nightmare.' and counts among his friends U.S. critics Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, along with leftists in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

South America leaning left


So how long before Mr Bush decides enough is enough in South America?

[Hakan]

Originally Posted by Cheese

South America leaning left


So how long before Mr Bush decides enough is enough in South America?

What do you mean?

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Lets just say Mr Morales may want to stay away from grassy knolls
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[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Fozzie_DeBear

Lets just say Mr Morales may want to stay away from grassy knolls

Since the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, when has the USA assassinated a democratically elected foreign leader, either directly or by proxy? Maybe you can find an example but I doubt it.

I'm sure in the distant past they've tried to bump off Fidel a few times but probably not lately.

There are a lot of questions as to where Mr. Morales got his money for his campaign but there are also questions as to where some of Chavez's opponents got the money for their campaigns as well.

It's a little dirty but the emphasis might be on "little" if you compare it to the blatant interference from outside sources that has gone on in South America in the past. And the history of Bolivian coups.

An analysis of the potential internal and external problems with a Morales victory before the results were known:

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_3314824

Cowperson

[troutman]

I spent a week in La Paz Bolivia 10 years ago. You could hear the gunfire in the hills around the city almost every day. It seems more stable now, but I would not count on any government there lasting for very long.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Cow, ok assisination is much too blunt an instrument for US foreign policy...coups on the other hand help to keep the blood off of US hands while achiveing some of the same ends.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ons_since_1945

Disclaimer: these are all alleged

[Assuming a pro-cuban pro-venzualan government wins in Boliva] If the Bolivian opposition came to CIA and said "Would you please sponsor our coup of the democratically elected government" I personally doubt that the US (CIA) would reject the idea because it would undermine democracy. They might reject it b/c for many other reasons, but protecting democracy wouldn't be one of them.
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[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Fozzie_DeBear

Cow, ok assisination is much too blunt an instrument for US foreign policy...coups on the other hand help to keep the blood off of US hands while achiveing some of the same ends.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ons_since_1945

Disclaimer: these are all alleged

[Assuming a pro-cuban pro-venzualan government wins in Boliva] If the Bolivian opposition came to CIA and said "Would you please sponsor our coup of the democratically elected government" I personally doubt that the US (CIA) would reject the idea because it would undermine democracy. They might reject it b/c for many other reasons, but protecting democracy wouldn't be one of them.

I still think you are overstating your case.

Those are pretty liberal interpretations of what constitutes a coup. Also, Wikpedia apparently needs a non-partisan editor.

Arisitide in Haiti was democratically elected, pushed from office in a military coup in 1991 and restored to power by 15,000 American soldiers in 1994. The UN was solidly behind the sanctions and intervention.

In Bulgaria in 1990, the communist foreign minister led a coup, toppling the existing communist dictatorship, rigged elections then was forced out of office himself by a popular uprising later in the year. His replacement was elected in multi-party elections.

In Albania, the dictator government fell in the face of popular unrest in 1991 and was replaced, via free, multi-party elections later that year.

Somehow, Wikpedia and yourself has interpreted those events as coups.

Withdrawing aid, as was the case with El Salvador, is a right America has and is not interference. Its simply laying your cards on the table face up. In Bolivia, aid is tied to performance in limiting coca production but Morales says he will encourage such production, hence the risk to the American aid package.

In Venezuela, Cesar Chavez was opposed by a broad spectrum of the population, including trade unions, students, clergy, media, parts of the military, etc. His resignation was demanded long before the coup, including marches involving tens of thousands and a 40,000 oil worker union engaging in a slow down over his hairbrain appointments to directorships. Its pretty nebulous that the USA orchestrated all of that even though some of the coup leaders had met with State Department officials prior to their actions and America was certainly doing cartwheels when it looked like they might succeed.

Chavez, by the way, has ample experience with coups himself since he participated in one earlier.

In Bolivia, as I noted above, it appears Morales was funded by Castro and Chavez even as we might guess his opponents also received external funding.

But saying those were coups is a stretch.

EDIT: Coincidentally, this article in the Washington Post today about Yemen makes interesting reading:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...121901787.html

Cowperson

[Cheese]

Looks like Morales is going to win with 54% of the vote....

Cruisng to victory