Lugo: I'm not Hugo
Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo was interviewed by Aljazeera in the wake of coup rumors and his firing of military commanders. His overall message: I am not Hugo Chávez, political power is not concentrated in the executive branch, I am not a socialist, and a military coup is unthinkable even though some people may think about it.
6 comments:
In Honduras Brazil and the rest of Latin America have little influence. But that's not the case for Paraguay. There Brazil has huge influence and Argentina is also important. Any coup in Paraguay would probably result in severe sanctions by its neighbors that would bring any coup government down pretty quickly.
This is a very facile interpretation of Lugo's words. It's disappointing that Greg doesn't really appreciate a person's words for what they are. Rather, he interprets Lugo's words according to his own ideologically-rooted desires.
To get a real sense of what Lugo says, I would suggest reading the actual interview rather than Greg's facile caricature of it.
I read the interview and it's a pretty good summary. And Lugo has made clear many times he is not, and has no plans to be, like Chavez. Not just what he says but how he acts. Notice how he went after Brazil's payments for electricity but not after the very profitable agro export sector.
That Lugo is not Hugo is not in question. Naturally, the leaders of Latin American countries respond to their own national conditions, meaning that no two are identical. The point, however, is that, if that's how you choose to sum up the interview, you're clearly operating in the manner of an ideologue whose purpose is to parrot Washington's talking points. To personalize the region's politics in such a way as to define everything in simplistic binary terms (Hugo or not Hugo) fits the age-old pattern of demonizing a foreign leader and then attempting to define every country's politics in terms of its relations with the demon.
This is not the stuff of serious academics, to say the least.
Notice that Lugo does not do what Greg does. It's very clear from reading the interview that Lugo does not agree with the Paraguayan press' portrayal of Chavez as "evil."
I would also note, by the way, that if you were to go back and look at the second year of Chavez's presidency, you would also find that he wasn't talking about socialism at that time either.
Lugo is not yet mad and mentally deranged like Hugo, drumming war against Colombia.
The Bolivarian Revolution is a Great Failure : in Economics, Politics, Culture, etc ...
So Chavez is taking the easy route of Jingoism, Nationalism, and Chauvinism.
This is also called "Patrioterismo" or ridiculous, Idiotic, Imbecile Patriotism. Meaning Aggression and Vulgarity against other nations.
Venezuela has been invaded by Narcos, Mafia and Crime. Her cities have higher indexes of criminality than the Colombian cities that had the Powerful Drug Cartels of the past.
Each day several "Munñecos" or "Dolls" appear thrown out in the outskirts of Venezuelan cities. They are the corpses of the Mafia Wars.
Foodstuffs have to be imported from other nations, mainly from Colombia. When Chavez closes the border, then hundreds of little Colombian Ants ( the Poor and workers ) cross the rivers and creeks, with loads of foodstuffs and products like paper toilet in their backs, they are smuggling products that are scarce in Venezuela.
Venezuela has idiotic price controlls and so many products like milk, beans, meat, poultry, eggs, etc ... are scarce.
Corruption is rampant, the Government tries to implement State Distributions that favor the Chavistas, his family and the corrupt cronies.
There is no respect for private property. Next to a beautiful mansion or villa, you see shanty houses, ramshackle cabins of the poor and destitute. The Government allows and encourages these invasions of properties.
There is no respect for a Free Press, each day the enemies of Chavez see their TV or Radio Stations closed, their newspapers are finished.
I saw the mothers of the Venezuelan Soldiers crying for their sons, the last time that Chavez mobilized his troops.
They have reason to weep, because the Colombian Terrain, and the battleground in Colombia is extremely different from that of Venezuela. It is colder, mountainous, with very thick vegetation and ideal for ambush and guerrilla warfare.
The Colombian Army knows a lot about Guerrilla Ambush. The Venezuelan Army knows nothing.
But all that is unnecessary. The U. S. Force can destroy the Venezuelan Air Force in five minutes with Robot Airplanes ( drones ).
And the Colombian soldiers know how to maneuver airplanes in horrible mountains and thick vegetation with tall trees.
And I forgot something : It never stops raining. Nothing is dry in your equipment.
The Venezuelan mothers are very right and correct in their lamentations.
Their sons are going to die for a Demagogue like Alcibiades, that destroyed the Athenian Army in Sicily while promising easy conquests.
My prospects and futures for Latin America are dark. This is going to get worse and Americans should be on Yellow Alert. ( later Orange and Red alerts )
Please everybody in this Sad World : Let's be Vigilant attentive; watchful.
More Foreign Policies :
Prophesizing.com
Vicente Duque
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