Hands Off Latin America

In "Minimizing Mischief in Venezuela, Stabilizing the US Oil Supply " authors Steve Johnson and Ariel Cohen ( friends of Richard Perle's perhaps?) tell us that "Chavez derives popular support from fellow ideologues (troutsky) and a SMALL but committed segment of Venezuelas largely poor population". The Heritage Foundation website encourages the United States to "help direct" Venezuela back towards democracy.

Sometimes put thusly:"the maintenence and defence of an economically open international system conducive for capital penetration and circulation coupled with a concomitant global geo-strategy of containing forces inimical to capitalism."

Henry Luce said it like this: "to accept wholeheartedly our DUTY and our opportunity as the most powerful and vital nation in the world and in consequence to exert upon the world the full impact of our influence, for such purposes as we see fit and by such means as we see fit."

So into Latin America stepped the World Bank with it's neo-liberal economic policies, the so -called Washington Consensus, and out went economic growth for the region. Since restrictions on international investment flows were abolished ( mostly in early 80s, IMF policy known as "structural adjustment") 178 billion of state owned industries were privatized ( this is what they are attempting in Iraq) , higher interest rates (19.5% in Brazil compared to 3.75% in US) and tighter fiscal policies were imposed ( decreased spending on social programs etc.) resulting in total failure. Under a mountain of World Bank debt the growth in GDP in Brazil has been just 3% for 2000-04 and this is leading to rejection of these neo-imperialist schemes and the rise of popular social movements in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador , Uruguay, Venezuela and hopefully Bolivia and Mexico. None of this , of course is in the mainstream news, especially not the US led war in Columbia. Learn more about it. They need our support.

Thanks to Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy Research for data.