the U.S. threatens Latin countries not to elect whom they want to elect

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-06-05T231936Z_01_N01374339_RTRUKOC_0_US-LATAM-OAS.xml&src=rss


U.S. Warns OAS about the Pied Pipers of Populism

By Tom Brown

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (Reuters) - The United States, seeking to counter Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and rising anti-U.S. sentiment across Latin America, warned the region on Monday not to be seduced by populists.

"The pied pipers of populism will only lead people backwards, while globalization and the rest of the world looks ahead," said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick.

He was addressing foreign ministers and delegation heads from 34 member countries of the Organization of American States in the Dominican capital for its 36th annual general assembly. <snip>

For the sake of argument, if Chavez is guilty of meddling in the affairs of other nations, then the US is also guilty of the same thing by threatening nations not to listen to their democratic impulses. Would this not make the US a hypocritical fool on the point?

the bushie won in peru

as an "anti-chavez":

"Peruvian financial markets reacted positively on Monday to the election of Alan García as Peru’s next president, with stocks and the currency reaching historic highs.

But the exuberance in the markets contrasted with criticism from the government of Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan leader, who had openly backed Ollanta Humala, Mr García’s radical nationalist rival.

With 91 per cent of the vote counted by Monday morning, Mr García, a populist who governed Peru disastrously between 1985 and 1990, had won 53.5 per cent, while Mr Humala received about 46.5 per cent of valid votes.

One of the most remarkable features of Peru’s election was a high-profile slanging match between Mr García and Mr Chávez. The former president sought to portray the contest as a struggle for Peruvian liberty in the face of Venezuela’s imperialistic plans for the region."

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/843daa94-f4bf-11da-86f6-0000779e2340.html

Yes.

But I eagerly await DUers telling us how such diplomatic threats are merely expressing an opinion.

is our own "Pied Piper of Populism" -- a candidate willing to break with the corporatocracy (and their barrels of cash) in order to represent the people . . .

given that the people haven't had any representation in DC for quite some time now, a populist candidate would be the proverbial breath of fresh air . . . s/he may also be the only hope we have to salvage some semblence of democracy in this country . . .

But are Americans intelligent enough to know they need that, and vote for it? I say no. :(