Evo Morales is a polarizing figure in Latin American politics: a proudly left-leaning indigenous activist who defends the traditional rights of peasants to grow coca and describes the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas as “colonization.” While opponents have labelled him a “narco-trade unionist,” the charismatic Morales enjoys widespread popular support. As In These Times went to press, he was expected… return to article
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Reader Comments (26)Page 1 of 1 pagesWhat can I say?Although I do not believe in any sort of collectivist “isms”,such as fascism or communism,I can’t help feeling that this dude from Bolivia just might be exactly what the doctor ordered.
With any luck,and hopefully,the grace of God,Senor Morales will throw a really big wrench into the neo-con/elitist/globalist machine.
I hope he lives long enough to accomplish his goal.
Posted by Dr.D on Dec 19, 2005 at 3:45 AM Dr. D., I am sorry I laid into your post so hard on the Lapham thread, I was way too tart, and hope you can accept my apology.
Posted by wileywitch on Dec 19, 2005 at 8:51 PM I love this guy! No wonder Condi is admitting her bosses are scared of him, he could truly fullfill the dream of Che - a unified, indigenous-led, Latin America. Evo is the “small axe” poised to cut down centuries of brutal Euro-dominance in Bolivia. Viva Evo!
Posted by jon t on Dec 19, 2005 at 11:20 PM wileywitch,Apology accepted,but not really necessary.I do have a tendency to pontificate occasionally,and probably deserve the occasional backhand.No problem.
I’m sorry for not answering your Lapham comments,personal events and time constraints prevented me from replying.
So,what do you think of the new Bolivian cokehead king?
Posted by Dr.D on Dec 20, 2005 at 1:42 AM I am happy that some of our South American neigbors are getting out from under the stifling covert control of the US government. I only hope that they succeed. The US Government & Corporate powers that be have been exploiting them for years & Years, IMO the reason for the mind numbing poverty throughout the world is caused by the lust for power of the political corrupt leaders and the greed of the corporate powers that be.
I wish I had an Email address for Castro, Chavez & Morales so as I could send them an Email of encouragement.
Posted by HereticSpeaks on Dec 20, 2005 at 1:52 AM No need to reply to my tartness.
So far, so good. I like the way he and Chavez get down to business and defend their country and culture without apology.
On vacation, I met a man in a dining car on Amtrak who was from Bolivia. I broke the ice by asking him if he considered himself to be “Latin American” or “South American”. He said “South”. I asked him what he thought about the last ousting, and he said the people were wrong and the last president was right. He said something about how much we had in the U.S. and how good it is. I just smiled and nodded. Of course, he couldn’t see that the train was headed straight for the banana republic.
Coca leaves aren’t coke. He’s a coca leaf head. Ever wonder why heroin is so widely used in the West; and not unrefined, unprocessed opium?
Posted by wileywitch on Dec 20, 2005 at 2:02 AM Right,and peyote buttons aren’t mescaline either.From what I’ve heard,those unprocessed leaves give a really nice natural buzz when chewed.(I’d love to try it myself)
The only problem that I have with Senor Morales is the fact that he"s a communist.
Posted by Dr.D on Dec 20, 2005 at 2:23 AM Is he communist? That’s pretty darned five minutes ago. I haven’t seen that. I’ve read that he want’s to nationalize oil and natural gas so the natives can have a piece of the pie, but if that’s “communist” then so is Alaska.
On the topic of coca leaves—-a friend of mine is a paraplegic in constant pain. Criminalizing an effective pain reliever that doesn’t destroy your liver and kidneys like daily doses of pharmaceuticals over a long period of time, is, IMO, unethical.
Posted by wileywitch on Dec 20, 2005 at 4:48 AM He ain’t communist, btw—he’s socialist. Can’t quite picture Bolivia going for a one party government, but I can’t picture a lot of things.
Posted by wileywitch on Dec 20, 2005 at 7:00 AM Well put, dear Witch. These are but a few Bush-like pop-falacies most likely based on too many folks’ lax bipolar TV indoctrinations: Coca = Coke; Socalism = Communism; America = US
Gad, Canadada has had significant Communist and Socialist parties for ages. The socialists have even won major provincial elections a few times and served federally as the Honourable Opposition, sometimes quite effectively. They rarely appealed to me, but mainly because they appeared underfunded and lacking in terms of political connections needed to rule consistently, longer term.
In fact, almost all the nations with the highest international ranks in standards of living have effective socialist parties. Just think of any Scandanavian nation.
And just a few decades back, Canada also went through a economic and cultural nationalisation phase similar to what President Morales answers to ITT seem to be seeking, just a few decades back. The impetus was excessive US and UK foreign ownership, especially in our natural-resource and what we called our cultural industries.
But i’d also reckon most Canux over 30 today would strongly warn Mr Morales that these can be very slippery policies to pursue, ones that have to be taken very gradually or they can backfire quite quickly. Markets don’t like disruption and markets still make the jobs and incomes they earn.
That said, i have only the very best of wishes for President Morales’ success.
And i hope Vietnam will watch the Bolivian initiative very carefully and look for openings where it might allow its peoples too to escape the devious limits imposed by the US Narco-Hegemony and cash in on a cash crop or two that few folks here would bother consuming but would make a killing in the NORTH American (NAm) market space. I’m thinking mainly here of hemp, but even opium has a lot of unique benefits to offer if one can avoid abuse (which really is not that hard to do).
AD.2005.Dec.20.17:11.ICT (IndoChina Time)
Posted by AD Marshall on Dec 20, 2005 at 11:11 AM The gnarly threat of “communism” is, I surmise, the reason why so many Ummericuns feel that we citizens should pay taxes and not benefit from them unless one is employed by the state. Seems sort of silly to me. People gamble on insurance all the time in the States, yet many find gambling with a national pool “communist.”
Posted by wileywitch on Dec 20, 2005 at 6:49 PM Well,This Ummerican sees Commies an’ Natzies as varmints,kinda like coons an’ woodchucks;one’ll climb the fence and t’uther’ll dig under it,but both’ll make off wit’ yer vittles.whether they divvy it up ‘tween the revenoors or the company don’t make no never mind;Ya still got yer vittles filched.And socialists are kinda like rabbits,they’re kinda cute an’ cuddly,but then they’ll go an’ rob yer garden too!
Posted by Dr.D on Dec 21, 2005 at 12:24 AM Actually,this analogy fits almost perfectly with democrats and republicans too. But neo-cons are not cute and cuddly;like rabbits,I think that they would more aptly described as snakes in the grass.
Posted by Dr.D on Dec 21, 2005 at 12:49 AM I know I harp on this theme a bit, but if the U.S. has enough money to maintain our nuclear forces, to begin developing “tactical” nukes and 77 other new weapons development programs, and keeps trying to get Star Wars (a thoroughly useless flim-flam) up and running while people who work full time can’t afford health care, then they don’t need an “ism” to be pernicious varmints and toxic critters. Obviously, the government is getting more than we need to be giving its fat, omnicidal rump.
Bear in mind that people under democratic socialism generally vote on much, much more than who is going to be their representative or leader. The U.S. mostly mascarades as a democracy. Pick your poison is not all that lofty and priviledged, ya know.
Judge by the fruits and don’t forget—-‘no man is an island unto himself’.
Posted by wileywitch on Dec 21, 2005 at 12:50 AM Contrary to popular belief,the good ol’ U.S.of A. was never a democracy.Our founding fathers viewed democracy as a form of government almost as bad as monarchy,that’s why they settled on a republican form of government that is bound together by,and answerable to,an all inclusive(somewhat) constitution.
If only we had left well enough alone and heeded this conglomeration of well meaning 18th century geniuses,(I believe that)we would have fared much better.
Probably, their biggest mistake was to add a rider to the constitution;a “bill of rights”. This opened up the door for opportunistic slimeballs to change the rules of the game,to add further ammendments(or loopholes)to subvert the original document.Don’t get me wrong,the bill of rights (or the first 10 ammendments)should never be overturned,but all subsequent ammendments should be scrutinized by We the People to see if they pass the constitutional smell test.If enough of the people actually do their homework,we could affect a real change.
I regularly voice my opinions to my elected representatives,with form letter replies to prove it.Frankly,I’m getting a little weary.
Posted by Dr.D on Dec 21, 2005 at 2:07 AM Coons and woodchucks?
Goodness gracious, Gomer.
You country folk shore do talk funny.
Commies and Natzies, no less.
Well, Pilgrim, you might be surprised to discover that most every gummint is this world is either communist or fascist, or some combination of both. They’re two sides of the same coin called democracy. The trick is to ignore the pretty pictures on either side and concentrate on the value of the material in between. Which was why those founding fathers decided to include all those “loopholes”, and established a procedure for creating more of them. Your precious republic would have established a founding aristocracy who owned all the slaves and most if not all of the property, and wouldn’t have lasted more than seventy-one years before the slaves revolted against them.
Oh, wait. That happened anyway, dinnit?
I’m confused.
Posted by Major Major on Dec 21, 2005 at 3:31 AM Its clear that none of you supposedly well-informed liberals know the first thing about what’s going on in South America. Look in to it! Do some research. The world is changing and its starting in South America.
Posted by NYC-Insurgent on Dec 21, 2005 at 4:42 PM Well-informed? I resent your insinuation, sir, and demand satisfaction for the slight. Pistols at the crack of dawn!
Posted by Major Major on Dec 21, 2005 at 7:15 PM Sad to say, but I fear for the life of Mr. Morales - at the hands of the American government - and, I’m not being facetious.
I hope that the world will recognize and cherish the nacent populous/leftist trend in Latin America. This is so long overdue. Hail to the brave souls who are leading the way.
Posted by carrlee on Dec 21, 2005 at 7:51 PM Absolutely right-on, carrlee. As sad as it makes me, I can’t imagine Evo’s life in office to be long. His CIA-mutilated corpse will soon be found floating in a ditch somewhere in La Paz. The US media (who, by the by, has had a total blackout of Morales’ campaign untill these past few weeks - ITT excluded) will say it was carried out either by the oppostion party or by some former compatriot in his own party, driven insane by jealousy and inbreeding - spun with the normal racist slant of “those dumb indians can’t possibly manage huge industry without white people - see, they can’t even keep from being assasinated. they ought to allow us to run their massive natural gas reserves for them” - the US will never allow an economically independent Bolivia, nor a unified South America.
Posted by jon t on Dec 21, 2005 at 11:29 PM Have any of you folks ever checked out newswithviews.com? Contributors Devvy Kidd,Frosty Woolridge,Dr.Edwin Vieira,Heidi Cappadona,DeannaSpingola And Dorothy Seese are my personal favorites.
It just may be worthwhile to relegate foreign political problems to the back burner while we sort out our own considerable problems.
Could you imagine the global implications if the American public could actually succeed in reining in our federal government and forcing our elected representatives and appointed judiciary to do their sworn duty of defending the constitution and their constituents?
Maybe it’s sugar plums dancing in my head.
Posted by Dr.D on Dec 22, 2005 at 2:47 AM Commies in the closet. Dr.D? In the DLC? Ah, the American talent for misplaced paranoia. There are mind altering substances much more insidious than drugs. Better get those sugar plums tested.
There are real Communists in the US. They aren’t at all what you think.
Posted by luminous beauty on Dec 22, 2005 at 3:42 PM And not just the commies, but the natzies, too!
If your father spent forty-two years working on the factory floor of a tool and die company that went belly up because most of the competition outsourced their production to China or India or Hungary and ended up with a pension that paid him two hundred dollars a month so that now he’s still working for an auto parts outlet to make ends meet, then you’re likely to run with the Democrats and their “commie sympathizers”.
If your father spent forty-two years working as the CFO for that same company and had to sell off his summer cottage in Vermont to make ends meet, then you’re likely to run with the Republicans and their “natzie sympathizers”.
“Coons and woodchucks”, eh, Doctor Dude?
Posted by Major Major on Dec 23, 2005 at 3:08 PM Well, it’s very interesting to listen to the wonderful attributes of Mr. Evo Morales. Let me give you a little background and the real truth about what is happening in Bolivia. I am an American who has lived in Bolivia for 18 years and my wife is Bolivian and I have one daughter who is Bolivian. Mr. Morales is the worst kind of hippocrit and a very dangerous man. His plans for Bolivia: He wants perpetual power to be elected without end. If you happen to be a farmer in his zone of interest and you don’t agree with his party’s ideas, you receive a visit and are told that if you don’t vote with the MAS(his party) your land will be confiscated and if that isn’t enough, your children are threatened and you are physically forced off your land. If you think I am kidding you are very mistaken. Evo Morales is a real racist and wants to confiscate all private property in Bolivia. He would confiscate all foreign owned lands, including the Menonites who have lived there for generations.
He wants to control all education and eliminate private schools and only the government would be allowed to determine the curriculum studied. His government has been plagued by corruption since the first day as are all govenments in Bolivia. Morales was the person responsible for blocking the roads and forcibly causing the downfall of the previous government. He is in bed with Chavez and has used his money to threaten and illegally rise to power. This man is not a president and has no scuples about what he wants to do. He wants to be a dictator and force people to his way and point of view. It pains me to see a good country and good people fall under the likes of this very bad man. He hates the US and especially hates anyone who is white. His politicians have publicly stated that a blond, blue-eyed child in front of one of the buildings he was leaving was obviously not of Bolivian blood and had no right to be there. Beware, because these people know the weaknesses of American people with good hearts and know how to take it to their advantage. Every time you give money and support to these people you are causing suffering to the very people that you are trying to help. Sorry about the long speech but I feel really sorry for the Bolivian people.
Posted by ron1bo on Oct 6, 2007 at 9:22 PM Yet another bummer, i suppose. Thanks for reminding me to keep my eyes open and avoid rose-tinted lens, ron1bo.
Posted by admarshall on Oct 8, 2007 at 2:36 AM Its Bolivia what they want to do in their country is their concern.As far as letting his own citizens chew coco let them it kills the hunger at least it keeps them going?I havent heard them calling for help as far as food?we must learn to leave other countries alone.Its their culture we should not interfere there is were the war begins.They dont tell us we need to drive like one car a familie??
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