Around the Hemisphere - Thursday Edition

The U.S. elections swiftly approach, and Latin America has virtually fallen off the political radar in this country. Not to blame the candidates for that; pretty much all foreign policy issues, even Iraq, are taking a backseat to the economy these days. Still events in Latin America roll on, and we can't stop paying attention:

• Russia offers to help Bolivia…fight narco-trafficking? Seems like an odd combination to me, but then again Russia has been rather active in the region of late, perhaps looking to further expand its influence in the hemisphere.
  

• McCain is losing ground among U.S. Hispanics. Another area where his campaign is failing to adapt to realities on the ground…
  

• Condaleeza Rice is in Mexico to address increasing drug violence. Hope she has better luck there than she did in the Middle East.
  

• The Pemex vote is imminent in Mexico’s legislature. The debate is whether parts of the state-run oil company should be privatized, and how much autonomy the company will have in decision making.
  

• Fujimori’s “Megatrial” in Peru suspended as the former president falls ill and is taken to the hospital. Looks like he’s screwed anyway.
  

• Ties between Cuba and the European Union were formally restored after five years of limited relations. This includes a $30 million humanitarian aid package for hurricane relief. The question now: Will Obama finally make the bold move of lifting the embargo?

Foto: Latuff

Palin Speaks Spanish? (Maybe She Should Master English First...)

If John McCain wants an even semi-respectable result in this election, he has to put Sarah Palin away completely. Letting her speak in even a semi-controlled environment is almost a guaranteed embarrassment, although most have probably come to expect it by now. Today, she gave her first interview to a Hispanic media outlet, Univisión, and “answered” questions about her “views” on foreign policy as it relates to Latin America. The highlights:

• Repeatedly referred to Chavez as a dictator, and said sanctions against Venezuela were appropriate. Although she didn’t endorse military action, she gave the tried and true “no options off the table” canned response.
  

• Predictably used the topic of oil to transition into how great drilling is, blah, blah, blah. Again accused Chavez of using “oil as a weapon” and stressed the need for energy independence.
  

• Supported building an immigration wall, rejected allowing illegal immigrants driver’s licenses.

First, while I have no problem calling Chavez a dictator, when she says it, she clearly doesn’t understand the meaning. Does she assume dictator means “bad, evil leader”? Chavez was elected...numerous times at that (we can all debate the validity of those wins, yes). He also lost a referendum, which a dictator certainly would not have allowed. I prefer the term quasi-dictator instead. That covers most bases and allows one to not look stupid.

Secondly, saying Chavez uses oil as a weapon is a cop out. He can no more stop selling us oil than we can stop buying it. He may threaten cutting off our supply at times, but never has a threat been emptier than that one. True energy independence will mean getting off oil completely, not digging up the remaining pristine nature reserves we have or polluting our oceans to try and squeeze the last few drops from our own reserves.

Finally, building a border wall? Please, that’s so 2006. Besides, I think we’ve solved the whole illegal immigration problem anyway…it’s called having a shitty economy.

So, “Governor” Palin fails the foreign policy test…again. I wish they would have asked her about the proposed reforms at Pemex or what she thought about the constitutional referendum in Ecuador. What are the odds she could even locate Ecuador on a map?

Photo: Bruteprop.com