Tag: Central America

De-Fang Democracy

This post is about the organization within the Americas and its purpose in life.

This group is called the Organization of American States (OAS)……

But first a little history and background of the OAS…….

The Organization of American States is the world’s oldest regional organization, dating back to the First International Conference of American States, held in Washington, D.C., from October 1889 to April 1890. That meeting approved the establishment of the International Union of American Republics, and the stage was set for the weaving of a web of provisions and institutions that came to be known as the inter-American system, the oldest international institutional system.

The OAS came into being in 1948 with the signing in Bogotá, Colombia, of the Charter of the OAS, which entered into force in December 1951. It was subsequently amended by the Protocol of Buenos Aires, signed in 1967, which entered into force in February 1970; by the Protocol of Cartagena de Indias, signed in 1985, which entered into force in November 1988; by the Protocol of Managua, signed in 1993, which entered into force in January 1996; and by the Protocol of Washington, signed in 1992, which entered into force in September 1997.

The Organization was established in order to achieve among its member states—as stipulated in Article 1 of the Charter—”an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, to strengthen their collaboration, and to defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity, and their independence.”

Today, the OAS brings together all 35 independent states of the Americas and constitutes the main political, juridical, and social governmental forum in the Hemisphere. In addition, it has granted permanent observer status to 69 states, as well as to the European Union (EU).

The Organization uses a four-pronged approach to effectively implement its essential purposes, based on its main pillars: democracy, human rights, security, and development.

One main pillar is that of democracy……to that I call CRAP!

Why?

Just look at their support for the coup in Chile….their support for the attempts at regime change in Venezuela…..and their support for the right wing rise that threatens all democracy in the region.

Experts at MIT recently concluded that there is no statistical evidence of fraud in the results of the Bolivian presidential elections last October. These findings debunk an earlier report by the Organization of American States (OAS), which were used to justify a right-wing coup d’etat in the Andean nation.

“All in all, the OAS’ statistical analysis and conclusions would appear deeply flawed,” the researchers, John Curiel and Jack R. Williams of the Election Data and Science Lab, wrote in the Washington Post. They added that the incumbent, Evo Morales, very likely garnered more than the 10 percent margin needed to avoid a second round vote.

The announcement has caused an international uproar.

The Organization of American States Is Eroding Faith in Democracy

An organization that started out trying to help democracy bloom in the Americas is now an office of Right wing authoritarianism……

Sad that this is happening……it is sad that Right wing hate is becoming more and more popular.

How the OAS Revived the Cold War in the Americas

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Why Is Latin America Exploding?

It is interesting that since 2017 Latin America has become a hot bed of right wing politics and protests….are the two related?

Riots in Venezuela, Chile (again), Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, even Brazil is feeling the pressures. People taking to the streets and the government uses police and military to calm the population.

The Newest outbreak of protests is in the country of Colombia……

Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in the Colombian capital on Saturday as anti-government protests continued for a third day amid rising fear and violence.

The protests began on Thursday when more than 200,000 people took part in what they called a national strike over a number of grievances, including possible economic reforms by the government of right-wing President Ivan Duque.

While the majority of the protesters continue to demonstrate peacefully, banging kitchenware in the streets in a traditional Latin American protest called a “cacerolazo” [casseroles], some small factions have clashed with security forces in Bogota and country-wide.

Three protesters have died in the unrest so far, while a car bomb in the western region of Cauca killed at least three police and left 10 others wounded on Friday.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/fear-grips-colombia-protesters-anti-gov-rallies-turn-violent-191124051954754.html

Latin America has not seen this much violence since the 70s and 80s…..when most of the right wing strongmen lost their hold on the governments….time to throw the slugs out again.

The US has been a friend to the neofascist in Lain America for decades…..some recent history…..

However much they war on the domestic political front, Washington’s Democrats and Republicans are on the same page when it comes to the imperial war on democracy and social justice in Latin America.

In 2009 and 2010 Republicans were in a partisan tizzy over everything Barack Obama and Democratic Party, from health insurance reform to economic stimulus, bank bailouts, auto bailouts, and climate policy. The “Tea Party” rebellion arose, replete with a heavy dose of white herrenvolk racism.

But the Teapublicans offered no complaint when Obama’s Secretary of State Hilary Clinton aided and abetted a right-wing business and military coup that overthrew Honduras’ democratically elected left-populist president Manuel Zelaya in the spring of 2009.  Washington’s two major parties were united in opposition to Zelaya’s alignment of Honduras with Venezuela, Brazil and Bolivia in attacking poverty and inequality and redirecting Latin American regional development away from U.S. control [1]. Democrats and Republicans agreed that the independent and egalitarian Latin American trend needed to be checked.

Washington’s Consensus on Neofascist Coups in Latin America

The US cannot keep its grubby hands off Latin America and in almost every occasion they have claimed some violation of the Monroe Doctrine to justify the interference.

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego ergo Scribo”

We Need Another Marshall Plan

I see that when posts are written about immigration there is a common thread……they come for free stuff.

I do not agree….most people would stay home if they had the possibility of earning a living for their families.

I am looking at another Marshall Plan.

The US had a big idea after WW2….in a attempt to help rebuild a devastated Europe after war…..it was called the Marshall Plan.

The Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Program, was a U.S. program providing aid to Western Europe following the devastation of World War II. It was enacted in 1948 and provided more than $15 billion to help finance rebuilding efforts on the continent. The brainchild of U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall, for whom it was named, it was crafted as a four-year plan to reconstruct cities, industries and infrastructure heavily damaged during the war and to remove trade barriers between European neighbors – as well as foster commerce between those countries and the United States.

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/marshall-plan-1

Since the US has been ass deep in the events in Central America for 75 years then it should fall on our shoulders to help make it right.

In his 2013 book, “The Right to Stay Home,” activist and journalist David Bacon wrote of Mexican farmers finding themselves considering the difficult and dangerous trek to El Norte, after their livelihoods were destroyed by the cheap American corn flooding their country as a result of the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Bacon posed the question of whether there should be a “right not to migrate.” Today’s situation is more complex. Migrants now predominantly come from three separate countries—El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras—and for many violence has replaced poverty as the driving force. Yet the fundamental question remains the same: What would it take to make tomorrow’s potential refugees decide staying home was a better option than giving their life savings to smugglers and risking their lives crossing deserts and rivers?

What also remains the same is deep U.S. involvement in the history of those countries—history that Central Americans know, and North Americans mostly don’t. The longest-running U.S. intervention in the region has been in Guatemala, starting with the 1954 CIA-engineered overthrow of the country’s democratically elected President Jacobo Arbenz, continuing with using the country as staging ground for the 1960 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba (putting down a local rebellion in the process), and involvement in the country’s civil wars running into the 1990’s.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/07/23/us-needs-marshall-plan-central-america

I believe this type of economic plan could work….but(there is always a but, right?) there is a dire need to curb the rampant corruption that these countries governments are capable of committing.

If the US truly wanted to find an answer to the problem of immigration then maybe looking for solutions and not demonizing humans would be a better approach…..this demonizing is helping NO one.

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Down South Of The Border

We have all heard the vitriol of our president for the region of Central America……he spends time demeaning the people of the region and accusing them of all sorts of crimes that are NOT true.

The US has a long history of interfering in the events of Central America.

A look at the number ot times that the US has stook its nose into affairs it should have let play out……

A national spotlight now shines on the border between the United States and Mexico, where heartbreaking images of Central American children being separated from their parents and held in cages demonstrate the consequences of the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance policy” on unauthorized entry into the country, announced in May 2018. Under intense international scrutiny, Trump has now signed an executive order that will keep families detained at the border together, though it is unclear when the more than 2,300 children already separated from their guardians will be returned.

Trump has promised that keeping families together will not prevent his administration from maintaining “strong — very strong — borders,” making it abundantly clear that the crisis of mass detention and deportation at the border and throughout the U.S. is far from over. Meanwhile, Democratic rhetoric of inclusion, integration, and opportunity has failed to fundamentally question the logic of Republican calls for a strong border and the nation’s right to protect its sovereignty.

View this collection on Medium.com

It is time for the US to recognize our part in the misery in Central America that fuels the flow of immigrants.

The condition of the migrants, however, is especially tragic, because of the role America has played in making their lives so miserable. They come from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, all places we have treated like pawns in the Great Game. Our intentions were noble, of course. We wanted only the best for our Southern brothers and sisters. But as we know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. In this case, it was the hell we helped create.

https://gazette.com/opinion/columnists/column-recognizing-our-role-in-central-america-s-misery/article_4dcc968a-9779-11e9-99bd-436825e49362.html

I wish I could put the blame on Trump’s shoulders but that would be disingenuous…..in realty it has been every president from 1932 to present day.

It is time for the US to stop hiding behind the Monroe Doctrine to intervene where we are NOT wanted.

Lear Stuff!

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Closing Thought–19Jun19

Recently our beloved supreme leader issued his dictum that all aid would be cut off to the Central American countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras because they are doing little to curb the amount of immigrants headed to the US border……

His, Trump’s, slobbering supporters were all down with him on this unilateral use of his powers……but what the MSM has not done is tell the the rest of the story to his supporters…..

The Trump administration said Monday it is easing previously announced cuts in hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Central American nations of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala but will not allow new funding until those countries do more to reduce migrant flows to the United States.

The State Department said that after a review of more than $615 million in assistance that President Donald Trump ordered in March to be cut entirely, it would go ahead with $432 million in projects and grants that had been previously approved. The remaining amount will be held in escrow pending consultations with Congress, it said.

That $432 million, which comes from the 2017 budget, is being spent on health, education and poverty alleviation programs as well as anti-crime efforts that many believe help reduce migrant outflows from the impoverished Northern Triangle region. About $370 million in money from the 2018 budget will not be spent and instead will be moved to other projects, the State Department said.

“Previously awarded grants and contracts will continue with current funding,” department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. She added that assistance “to help the Northern Triangle governments take actions that will protect the U.S. border and counter transnational organized crime will also continue.”

(yahoo news)

Just to let his supporters know that his tough talk is just that…TALK!

And as they say…Talk is cheap!

Closing Thought–08Nov18

Does anyone these days remember the “Axis Of Evil”?  No?  In 2002 it was Iran, Iraq and North Korea….and later that year under-secretary of state John Bolton added Libya, Cuba and Syria……well not much has changed since Bolton took over the reins of State as SecState……he now has his version of the “Axis” and he had to find a word to differentiate his from GW Bush’s….how does “troika” sound (side note…is that not a Russian word?  Interesting choice of words.)?

Since he could not include North Korea because Our Dear Supreme Leader has made nice nice with their dictator and we have invaded and occupied Iraq….what was he to do…..and then he hit upon a region that has been largely forgotten since the 1980’s…….Central and South America…..

More than 16 years after arguing that George W. Bush should add Cuba, Syria, and Libya to Iran, Iraq, and North Korea in the “Axis of Evil,” John Bolton has coined a new term. In a policy speech at a conference in Miami, the national security adviser dubbed Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela the “Troika of Tyranny” in the western hemisphere, the Hill reports. “In Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, we see the perils of poisonous ideologies left unchecked, and the dangers of domination and suppression,” Bolton said. He referred to the leaders of the three countries as the “Three Stooges of socialism,” who are “true believers, but they worship a false god.”

Bolton jabbed at the previous administration’s policies, saying the Trump administration is concerned with “sanctions, not selfies.” “Under this administration, we will no longer appease dictators and despots near our shores in this hemisphere,” said Bolton. “We will not reward firing squads, torturers, and murderers.” He praised the election of right-wing leaders in Latin America, including Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. Bolton announced new sanctions on Venezuela and Cuba, including a ban on American citizens trading in Venezuelan gold, and said Nicaragua would “feel the full weight of America’s robust sanctions” until it allows free and fair elections to take place, the Guardian reports. (A source says President Trump discussed an invasion of Venezuela last year.)

What a grand imagination from the “Walrus” ………

For further reading…..

http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/john-bolton-takes-latin-american-troika-of-tyranny-to-task

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/07/the-troika-of-tyranny-the-imperialist-project-in-latin-america-and-its-epigones/

Ain’t it grand?

(What happened to Russia-gate?)

There’s Always The Monroe Doctrine

Nowadays we do not hear the Monroe Doctrine being used as it had been in the past.  It was referenced when the US invade Grenada, it was quoted when the USSR put missiles in Cuba, and it was used to start a war known as the Spanish-American War.

The document is not quoted much these days so most Americans have little idea what it is and what it is suppose to do.

Monroe Doctrine, (December 2, 1823), cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy enunciated by Pres. James Monroe in his annual message to Congress. Declaring that the Old World and New World had different systems and must remain distinct spheres, Monroe made four basic points: (1) the United States would not interfere in the internal affairs of or the wars between European powers; (2) the United States recognized and would not interfere with existing colonies and dependencies in the Western Hemisphere; (3) the Western Hemisphere was closed to future colonization; and (4) any attempt by a European power to oppress or control any nation in the Western Hemisphere would be viewed as a hostile act against the United States.

The doctrine was an outgrowth of concern in both Britain and the United States that the continental powers would attempt to restore Spain’s former colonies, in Latin America, many of which had become newly independent nations. The United States was also concerned about Russia’s territorial ambitions in the northwest coast of North America. As a consequence, George Canning, the British foreign minister, suggested a joint U.S.-British declaration forbidding future colonization in Latin America. Monroe was initially favourable to the idea, and former presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison concurred. But Secretary of State John Quincy Adams argued that the United States should issue a statement of American policy exclusively, and his view ultimately prevailed.

What are the basic tenets of the Doctrine?

…the Monroe Doctrine laid out four basic tenets that would define American foreign policy for decades. The first two promised that the U.S. would not interfere in the affairs of European states, be they wars or internal politics, and that the U.S. would not interfere with European states’ extant colonial enterprises. In exchange, it stipulated that the Western Hemisphere was no longer open to further colonization and that an attempt on the part of a European power to colonize territory in the Western Hemisphere would be understood by the U.S. as an act of aggression.

https://www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/monroe-doctrine

But if you are a more visual person I offer this vid as an explanation……

I bring up this bit of history is because of the situation in Venezuela…..of which I have written posts…..https://lobotero.com/2018/08/06/death-from-above-in-venezuela/

The US attempted to influence the internal conditions of a sovereign country……

The Trump administration dabbled in aiding a military overthrow of Venezuela’s president but ultimately just met with coup plotters—a development that could still anger Latin American leaders wary of any possible US intervention, the New York Times reports. Seems American officials met with Venezuelan military officers at least three times abroad and listened to their plans, however vague, to kick out President Nicolás Maduro and install a transitional government. But according to those involved, the US never gave them the encrypted radios they requested and backed away when roughly 150 plotters were arrested in a crackdown. Apparently the whole thing began with an off-hand remark by President Trump.

“We have many options for Venezuela and by the way, I’m not going to rule out a military option,” the president said at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club last year, the Guardian reported. Those words inspired rebellious Venezuelan officers to reach out during the nation’s economic collapse, but US officials say the Venezuelans lacked specific ideas and hoped the Americans would offer a plan. According to an ex-military commander in Venezuela, the US dallied while coup plotters waited: “We were frustrated,” he said. No coup attempt happened, but the meetings could remind Latin Americans of past interventions like the US-backed Chilean coup in 1973 and support for right-wing Nicaraguan rebels in the 1980s. “This is going to land like a bomb” in the region, says a former US diplomat.

Maybe it is time for a new “Monroe Doctrine”…..Our Dear Leader seems Hell bent on intervening in the situations in the Western hemisphere….maybe it is time for something new……

After the collapse of Chavism, which way will Latin America turn?

It wasn’t long ago that Venezuela, led by a fiery caudillo and dedicated to spreading its brand of populist super-socialism, boosted allies’ economies near and far with petrodollars. Hugo Chavez was spreading his Bolivarian revolution all over and times were good.

No más.

https://www.nysun.com/foreign/trump-needs-new-monroe-doctrine/90365/

The original document has been used to intervene in the affairs of countries in the Western hemisphere…..time to set a new set of rules for intervention…..avoid at all costs.

Nicaragua On My Mind

Back in the 80’s I was a staunch supporter of the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua….that was when the Reagan and his Boyz were sneaking around trying to arm the Right wing terrorists with cash from the arms sold to Iran (BTW it was illegal and the NRA’s newest cretin, Ollie North, was convicted of his part in the illegal scheme)…..no need to try to force yourself remember those days….I have made it simple for you……https://lobotero.com/2018/05/07/nicaragua-that-magical-land/  or maybe this one……https://lobotero.com/2018/06/20/nicaragua-again/

Well the events in Nicaragua did not go as planned and Ortega continued his hold on the government….he was a Socialists (the horror)…..but with the fall of the USSR Nicaragua fell off the CIA radar….or did it?

AS early as 2016, talk of war against Nicaragua could again be heard in Miami, at a time when the streets of this nation were a regional example of security, peace, and prosperity, where a hardworking, tranquil people proudly enjoyed the social and economic advances achieved by the Sandinista government, that had established a national consensus, in the wake of one of the worst interventions carried out by the United States in Central America.

With no justification whatsoever – when the news from Nicaragua around the world was about a proposed inter-oceanic canal that would boost the economy and impact global navigation – Congress members who make a living off the U.S. war against Cuba and Venezuela were mounting efforts to reverse the prosperity and calm that reigned in the land of Augusto César Sandino.

Congress members, first in the House of Representatives and later the Senate, introduced a bill to create obstacles to the awarding of international loans to Nicaragua, hamper foreign investment, and put a brake on socio-economic development in the country. This imperialist punishment, cooked up by the worst of the anti-Cuban mafia in 2015, set in motion the fabrication of a pretext regarding the alleged lack of democracy, justified as a way to “guarantee electoral transparency and fight corruption.” The result of this initial maneuver was the Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act of 2017 (NICA Act).

https://www.globalresearch.ca/nicaragua-unraveling-a-plot/5646926

After a couple of decades and some things never change, huh?

Nicaragua Again?

Let me begin by telling my readers that today may be a short day for me for I must return to the doctors and see what the next step is going to be….I apologize for the pace of today’s posts but I hope you will understand.

For 30 years the political front of Nicaragua has not been an important headline….and that is about to change.

How many of my readers are old enough to remember the dark days of the 1980’s…..we were in the middle of Central American politics from Honduras to El Salvador to Nicaragua.

Nicaragua was where the Reagan boyz got in trouble…..the Iran-Contra Affair…..

The Iran-Contra Affair was a secret U.S. arms deal that traded missiles and other arms to free some Americans held hostage by terrorists in Lebanon, but also used funds from the arms deal to support armed conflict in Nicaragua. The controversial dealmaking—and the ensuing political scandal—threatened to bring down the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

Soon after taking control of Congress, the Democrats passed the Boland Amendment, which restricted the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Department of Defense (DoD) in foreign conflicts.

The amendment was specifically aimed at Nicaragua, where anti-communist Contras were battling the Sandinista communist government.

Reagan had described the Contras as “the moral equivalent of the Founding Fathers.” But much of their funding, to that point, had come via Nicaragua’s cocaine trade, hence Congress’ decision to pass the Boland Amendment.

https://www.history.com/topics/iran-contra-affair

All this effort was to try and stop the Sandinista government of Daniel Ortega….Sandinista?

The new government inherited a devastated country. About 500,000 people were homeless, more than 30,000 had been killed, and the economy was in ruins. In July 1979 the Sandinistas appointed a five-member Government Junta of National Reconstruction. The following May it named a 47-member Council of State, which was to act as an interim national assembly. In 1981 the junta was reduced to three members and the council increased to 51.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Nicaragua/The-Sandinista-government#ref1002435

I give you this little slice of history because Nicaragua is making political news again……

There are protests against the Left wing government of Ortega and the Trumpian response is as follows…..

The Trump administration is crafting a range of options, including potential sanctions, against the government of Nicaragua and President Daniel Ortega if it fails to properly address the concerns of student groups, church leaders and other civic players about increasing violence and political repression.

“We’re watching this with laser focus because we need to ensure that, the people have called for dialogue, the government participates; the people have called for investigations, the government does that; the military has said we’re staying out of that, they continue to do so,” a senior administration official told McClatchy.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article211781249.html#storylink=cpy

Will we once again trip the light fantastic with Nicaragua?

Nicaragua–That Magical land

Back in the days of Ronny Reagan there was this magical land known as Nicaragua……and he presided over his domain……and the CIA worked its magic over the land…..

From time to time, the mainstream media (MSM) likes to reflect on the historical legacies of U.S. interventions in the name of American-style democracy. On May 7th, 2016, The New York Times published a story by Frances Robles on a former Contra fighter who wished for U.S. aid to fight a covert war against Daniel Ortega and the Nicaraguan government titled ‘Ortega vs. the Contras: Nicaragua Endures an ’80s Revival’ which paints a different picture in regards to what actually happened during the civil war in Nicaragua. The article is about a rebel fighter by the name of Tyson who lives in the mountains of Nicaragua who was “longing for the days when covert American funding paid for overt warfare.”

https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-cias-dirty-war-in-nicaragua/5629008

Why would I dredge up this nugget from our sordid past?

It seems that Nicaragua is on the brink of revolt once again…..

Nearly forty years since a popular insurrection toppled Nicaragua’s right-wing dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle, the Central American nation has once again been engulfed by political unrest, and appears to be on the brink of momentous change.

The present convulsion began earlier this month, after President Daniel Ortega proposed a change to the country’s social-security provisions that would have forced taxpayers to pay more for the program while simultaneously cutting payouts to beneficiaries. Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries of Latin America, and public reaction to this change was furious and swift, with demonstrators taking to the streets to protest. The government’s ensuing response was as ill-considered as it was cruel. Police around the country fired live ammunition to break up the protests; as many as sixty people are believed to have died in the chaos that followed, including Ángel Gahona, a young reporter who was shot in the head while conducting a Facebook Live report in the streets of the Caribbean coastal town of Bluefields.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/nicaragua-on-the-brink-once-again

The US may once again become embroiled in the internal struggles of Nicaragua……something we seem to not be capable of avoiding.