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Lula Urges Obama to Change US View of Latin America
CORUMBA, Brazil - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday to drop outdated U.S. views of Latin America as a region of communists, terrorists and drug traffickers.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (R) and his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales wave to supporters during a ceremony in Puerto Quijarro, on the border with Brazil, January 15, 2009. (Reuters/Jamil Bittar/Bolivia) Lula said Washington needs to see Latin American countries as democratic partners rather than problems, and offer better trade ties with the region.
"Where they used to see communism, terrorism, they have to see the strength of democracy that exists in this region," Lula told reporters when asked about his expectations of Obama, who takes office next week.
While President George W. Bush sought to boost trade with Latin America, he also clashed with socialists like Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and spent billions of dollars in the fight against drug traffickers and Marxist rebels in Colombia.
His policies are generally popular in Colombia but Bush scores poorly in opinion polls across most of Latin America.
Lula, a center-leftist, criticized Washington for recently suspending trade benefits for Bolivia on the grounds that it was not cooperating in the fight against cocaine smuggling.
Bolivia, which is South America's poorest nation, says it will lose $21 million a year in textile exports to the United States as a result of the measure.
"Why does the United States veto the purchase of Bolivian textiles? There's nothing better to combat drug traffickers than economic development, job creation and income distribution," Lula said after meeting with Bolivian President Evo Morales on the border between the two countries.
Morales, one of several leftist leaders in Latin America who often clash with Washington, said Bolivia has done more to fight drugs than other countries in the region.
Lula said the United States should show as much concern about drug use at home as it does about trafficking in producer nations.
He said Obama should treat Latin American leaders as equals legitimately elected by their people. "If he takes that view, relations with Latin America will be much more harmonious."
(Reporting by Raymond Colitt; Editing by Kieran Murray)
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22 Comments so far
Show AllLula said the United States should show as much concern about drug use at home as it does about trafficking in producer nations.
Can't ague with that, can you? And putting a bunch of minority kids in jail doesn't count as being concerned about trafficking because the vast majority are in jail for use, not trafficking, at least not as a dealer. The dealers are too difficult to catch and convict so the cops go after the low hanging fruit.
Boy this is true!
But it's usually the STATES that set the drug laws and it's the States, like the Great State of Texas, that set the limit for how much you can have in 'possession' to be considered a dealer so low that everyone they catch is a 'dealer'.
This is done specifically so they CAN lock up anyone they find.
Then all you have to do is only bother to look in the poor black areas and leave the white areas largely alone.
All this, of course, feeds the need for yet MORE police, more jails, and more "we're tough on crime" bullshit politics.
And yet, despite all this expense and loss of our freedoms and having a police-thug on every street corner....the price of every major hard drug has FALLEN in the last 15 years and availability has shot up.
Kind of like Fidel (now Raul) was NOT elected by the people of Cuba...
..."While President George W. Bush sought to boost trade with Latin America"... When was this, which Bush? -
..."he also clashed with socialists like Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez"... He didn't clash, he succumbed to Chavez voicing hellish truths about him. -
..."and spent billions of dollars in the fight against drug traffickers and Marxist rebels in Colombia"... let's see, who's billions were spent to fight whom now? Dealers and rebels? What does the seer Karl Marx have to do with that? -
..."His policies are generally popular in Colombia"... which tiny village in Colombia might that be? -
..."but Bush scores poorly in opinion polls across most of Latin America"... Now, that's true. Might've added "very" to poorly, and said 99% instead of "most of". -
How come relatively unlearnt Presidents like 'Lula' (squid!), Chavez, Morales, Correa, seem to have more insight with regard to L.Am. - yeah, World-facts, than the "mighty" US-spokespersons, be they whom they might be?
Even I know better!
My point, I dare say.
Altogether I'm wary of whatever degree by itself standing for knowledge: I've met some extremely wise, albeit 'primitive'(?), peoples in the jungles and the 'reservations' of Brazil, as well as in the Andes, who'd have enormous knowledge to impair upon usually deaf 'civilized'(?) ears; these more-often-than-not with smart degree-brains between them.
Raoni (greatest of Kaiapó chiefs), f. ex., when visiting Mitterand with Sting, was so insulted by Mitterand's disdain, that he refused to 'understand' French (he is near fluent in 5-6 'western' lingos). It seemed obvious that Mitterand was no lingo-buff, to say the least; and all his 'degrees' didn't help him know (or learn) what such as Raoní know since eons of time.
In the light of the 'savages'' true wisdom, I'm sorry to confess a mild disdain of my own for Chavez' or Correa's inexpressive 'degrees'.
By gods, no! "Relatively" unlearnt does not necessarily imply daft in my book (the cited 'savage' Raoní, for one, is anything but daft).
I loved your observation with regard to those posting here ...
If I hadn't already chosen Raoní to be my champ, I'd be vying for Chavez as the continent's #1.
"Why does the United States veto the purchase of Bolivian textiles? There's nothing better to combat drug traffickers than economic development, job creation and income distribution," Lula said...
Thanks,
old goat,
That common-sense comment caught my eye, too.
Lula packs a lot into that statement.
Most Latin Americans respect their civic duty to boot the errant chimps out of the palace when necessary. In contrast, most USans haven't a clue about their chimp-booting duty.
Lula, do your country a favor, close the American Embassy,Start a South American Treaty organization that will come to the aid of any South American country that comes under attack from the North, expand your trade with the rest of the world China and the countries in the middle East come to mind. Also develope a Missile Defense System, and have a Nuclear deterrent to keep the pigs in Washington from trying to over throw all your progressive governments.
Lula is not that stupid. He would rather have friends than gratuitous enemies. And he won't start an alliance with China and countries from the Middle East because he prefers not to deal with dictatorial thugs...
Why are you interfering in Brazilian politics, by the way???
Good ideas to distribute trade and dissipate dependency on one country. I think. The South American countries should not close the American Embassies, but meet with the devil after reading his handbook.
We don't use nukes to interfere with democratic developments in other countries. Books by Stephen Kinzer or Chalmers Johnson and others describe how we do what we do. Except for intellectual outliers, like the soon-to-be-defunct president, we use more sophisticated and devious methods. Books such as "Overthrow" and "All the Shah's Men" illustrate how we covertly destabilize countries that don't play ball with our corporations or our ideology. Violence and assassination are enhancers. OOPS - EDIT - I MISSED YOUR PREVIOUS COMMENT RECOMMENDING KINZER. SO, AMEN.
Once you read a few of these books, you will begin to recognize the classic methods as soon as they pop up. I'll bet the new type of leader in South America has read these books. I believe from a probability point of view, they would be wasting their money on any extensive missile defense system.
Joe
Watch this one, you will break out in song....I did:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wVkk6fH2u0Y
Liberty,
The threat comes from the North, not from the East. Dictator or war criminals? Who would you rather deal with? The war criminals have killed hundreds of thousands of people in Latin America whose only crime is wanting a better life.
If you have some time, read "Overthrow" by Stephen Kinzer. This opened my eyes to why they hate us, and it's not because of our freedom.
The war on drugs is such a fraudulent waste of money. On the high end, it is a cover for interference in South American countries. On the low level it provides residents and billing days for the prison-industrial complex.
But let's start with the most widely used and accepted illegal drug: marijuana.
Do you think Obama will rethink marijuana law? It should be de-criminalized, maybe even inspected for purity and sold in regular stores. It could be a source of tax revenue. Overnight it would turn thousands of youths and old hippies from lawbreakers to farmers, which would have a wonderful effect on crime statistics, unemployment and GDP. California could solve it's fiscal crises.
The opposition will come chiefly from the prison-industrial complex as well as the few remaining people who think pot is more harmful than alcohol and tobacco. Except for those who get a kick out of incarcerating poor and African American kids, the police won't care since half of them use it. (I admit, I have no solid figures on this, just interpolating from minor experience.)
Joe
Actually, I realized the answer to my own question. The Pumblechooks in Congress and state legislatures will never legalize marijuana. Such a step would require intellectual honesty and would not give them an opportunity for sanctimonious clowning before the TV cameras.
Joe
It would also put a lot of law enforcement out of business, and remove the justifications for ever increasing levels of gun control and intrusions into our financial privacy.
It will never happen...