Morning Tea reading

No, I am not talking about tea leaves but about the Washington Post read while I have my breakfast. Two interesting items

Editorial in favor of Uribe

Uribe, president of Colombia, but from the right wing of local politics, has been getting a bum rap. Certainly some of his strong methods are open to criticism, but those people who attack him quite often have no words to condemn the FARC who, it must be recalled over and over, are very involved in the two items that have been sapping Colombia strength over the past decades. I have been able to check out myself on Colombia progress during a recent visit last month. Anyone that compares Caracas to Bogota can see that Colombia is going up and Venezuela down. People are noticing, even if it is from an alleged semi Liberal paper such as the Post. The editorial today "Help Colombia" does not equivocate and I will quote the last paragraph:

Sure enough, opponents of trade agreements and those who reflexively resist U.S. military aid to Latin America are citing the paramilitary revelations as a reason not to support Mr. Uribe. In fact they prove that Colombia's president can deliver on his promise to reform the country's political system and extend its authority to a long-lawless countryside. If Congress wishes to see those changes continue, it should approve the new Colombian aid plan as well as the free-trade agreement.

Exactly what this blog has been saying: the US Congress should not be afraid to give favorable FTA to the key countries in LatAm. How else can you show that Capitalism does work if it is not by stimulating trade? FTA is not the answer to all, but it is certainly a starting point. Kuddos on the Post on sending the clear message to Nanci and the combo.

Zimbabwe violence increasing

Chavez little friend, Mugabe the sickening dictator of Zimbabwe, is having people talk of him again. Repression and violence in Zimbabwe keep increasing, just as they will increase in Venezuela if Chavez keeps going the way he does. Even with oil money flowing to try to buy out consciences, people will resent autocracy more and more.

It is not idle to also recall that when Mugabe visited Venezuela in 2004 during some street manifestations he offered Chavez advice on how to deal with pesky protesters. He certainly has a long experience in repression tactics. At any rate, the Washington Post article will tell you more about what to expect in Venezuela, just as a group of chavista is trying to have Rosales removed from office on spurious charges which are never applied on chavista elected officials committing at least abuses as bad as Rosales has ever committed. But we all know that justice in Venezuela is not the blindfolded lady of the myth: here it is designed to punish any person that has dared to criticize or scare the Supreme Beloved Leader of the Revolution.

-The end-