Funes will recognize Lobo
Porfirio Lobo will be sworn in tomorrow, and international recognition of his government is obviously a top priority. President Mauricio Funes has indicated he will start the process of normalizing relations. From the Salvadoran press:
"Una vez concluida la protesta constitucional e iniciado el período del presidente Lobo, comenzaremos el proceso de normalización de relaciones que se vieron afectadas por el golpe militar", aseveró ayer el mandatario salvadoreño.
That this comes from a center-left government (one that even helped Mel Zelaya get back into Honduras) gives it more importance. It seems unlikely that very many governments will refuse to recognize Lobo.
12 comments:
Well, just because a scared Funes, against his party's wishes, endorses an illegitite government that was birthed by a rightwing coup, you automatically that
all the others will automatically follow.
Only weak governments that feel they have to bend to the will of the US state department will recognize this government anytime soon. Like, Guatemala--a weak center-left government that is not very popular with it's base: the majority of impoverished and ignored.
Panama, Peru, Colombia, Chile...
Let's play a game: who will bow down to the US coup supporters first!
That Greg seems eagar to legitimize the government, like good little intellectual servant of empire, does not surprise me.
Can anyone say 'tenure'. LOL
It's been clear for a long time this was going to happen. Why people insisted in denying the obvious is beyond me.
Good to see Funes is a grown up.
Ok, anon, so all the nations in the region that objected to the coup and the subsequent oppression were being irrational babies.
But Greg would say that they aren't being 'realist'.
Those vaunted, paid-for US intellectuals are so predictable.
And now Spain appears to be next.
Time to grow up! Good news for Latin America, the crazy left is increasingly marginalized. Let's see what happens when the right wins in Brazil and Argentina.
Let's see what happens when the right wins in Brazil
God knows Brazilians are dying to turn their backs on record trade surpluses, stable growth and low inflation.
Given how poor Brazil is (one of the poorest on a GDP per capita basis among the major Latin economies) it needs mora than luck on the external front to grow as fast as it needs. That requires the type of micro reforms the left usually dislikes.
Actually, Brazil's GDP is grossly different by region. It's significantly higher in the Southeast and South than in the Northeast, North and Center-West.
In any event, GDP numbers without using purchasing power parity to compare is pretty useless and in that area Brazil is ranked by ninth by the World Bank and IMF.
As for that last sentence of yours, it's offered without a shred of proof and, accordingly, is easily dismissed.
Unfortunately you are looking at the wrong number. You are looking at overall GDP, when what you need is to look at GDP per capita. In Brazil's case overall GDP is high because they have a large population.
When you look at per capita GDP (on a PPP basis) you see that most of the big Latin countries are richer. Argentina is almost 50% richer!
The great thing about Lula is that he showed the left n Brazil could govern without making a mess. Lula basically kept the policies of his predecessor (similar, in this way, to the Concertacion in Chile). But to continue growing Brazil needs to increase investment and that requires micro reforms (legal, ease of doing business , etc..).
Argentina is almost 50% richer!
With one-third of its population in the capital province, whereas Brazil has one region, the Northeast that has a sizable population, but a per capita GDP that is less than half of the Southeast region.
Given how poor Brazil is (one of the poorest on a GDP per capita basis among the major Latin economies)
Poppycock. Only Chile, Argentina and Mexico are ahead of Brazzil on GDP per capita by PPP basis.
Wrong yet again. Venezuela is also richer. Among the majors Brazil is only richer than Colombia (and not by much) and Peru. So out of the top 7 it stands 5th.
Moving from the majors, other countries in the region richer than Brazil include Uruguay, Costa Rica , Panama and several Caribbean islands.
And the geographical distribution of the population is irrelevant to a per capita PPP comparison. Yes, there are areas of Brazil that are richer than the median. So what? That's true of every country in the world.
The point remains that Brazil is a relatively poor country with a very long way to go economically, and for that to happen plenty of reforms need to happen.
I'll concede Venezuela, which I should have known, but the differences with Uruguay and Costa Rica are negligible. Unlike you, I'll actually supply proof here.
Brazil is ahead of the Dominican Republic, which is often totted up as a model of economic success.
BTW, Colombia has been run by a right-wing government for several years, yet it continues to lag. So your premise regarding micro reforms seems to be anathema to the right as well.
And the geographical distribution of the population is irrelevant to a per capita PPP comparison. Yes, there are areas of Brazil that are richer than the median. So what? That's true of every country in the world.
Of course it does. It gives a more accurate perception of potential and where the work needs to be done.
As an observer to this dispute I am impressed at the way "amor patria" gets in the way of basic logic. How is it, Randy, that leftist voters in Latin America vote on the basis of trade surpluses, economic growth and fiscal discipline? Can you give an example except for Chile in the last 20 years? Secondly, when you say that you are dismissing something, please provide proof. The fiscal and monetary policies of the Lula government are more closely modeled on what international bodies and the "right" advocate in Latin America than the populist left. Where Lula has done a tremendous job is to place the emphasis of his government--rhetorically, morally and with specific plans to help the desperately poor to adjust to modern life. The programs to help the single mothers, raising minimum wages, improving infrastructure and providing essential services such as education are invaluable in cushioning the shocks of modernization and providing greater opportunities. If the right sustains that notion, Brazil will be a different country in a generation. As for now, its poverty levels are high and its political influence is largely due to its size. Round #1 to anonymous.
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