The Latin American Right Hearts Delcy

Imdat Oner has a good analysis at Responsible Statecraft about the Latin American right and Delcy Rodríguez. They were publicly critical of Nicolás Maduro's lack of legitimacy and now embrace Delcy because it's convenient. He goes through all the various reasons, which is worth reading and I won't bother repeating them. But I do not fully agree with this:

The decisive factor is Washington’s change of course. For many governments in Latin America, democratic principles and electoral legitimacy are becoming secondary considerations, defended mostly when they align with Washington’s preferences.

On the surface, yes, obviously, these are governments that want to remain in Trump's good graces and going along with this has no political cost. But there is something deeper here as well, a longstanding Latin American (or maybe everywhere) political pragmatism that manifests in all different ways. In a sense, this shouldn't surprise us at all.

Various examples:

--Hugo Chávez railed against the U.S. and international capitalism but happily continued selling oil to the U.S., thus helping a president he had referred to as the devil.

--Current right-wing governments publicly criticize China and quietly reinforce their economic ties.

--Evo Morales railed against capitalism and yet had a staunchly pro-capitalist Finance Minister.

--The Latin American right-wing railed against the Cuban dictatorship and was fine with Pinochet. 

--Latin American leftists railed against right-wing dictatorships and remained quiet about Cuba.

Maybe these aren't exactly apples to apples, like how a fly in your chardonnay actually isn't the same as a free ride when you've already paid. But going against your stated ideological beliefs in the name of self-interest is not all that unusual.