Re: Latin America in Red

Damian--I'm glad you brought up this topic.  It has definitely been flying 
under the radar of wsn for some time.  Briefly, I don't think any of these 
regimes are 'revolutionary' in the traditional sense of defeating or dissolving 
the armed forces in favor of a more popularly rooted organization of coercion.  
And I don't think Chavez, Lula, or Guitierrez are particularly eager to 
confront the US.  Nevertheless, their elections clearly raise popular hopes 
throughout the region, which will set off a dynamic they may not be able to 
control. And it should be noted that all to some extent represent 'new left' 
forces like marginalized peoples, Indians, etc.

Its also worth noting that Bush has squandered the opportunity to consolidate 
an alliance with the Fox regime in Mexico.  All Fox has asked for is some 
progress on the immigration issue.  Today there are reports that Mexico will 
not go along with the US resolution in the security council regarding Iraq.

Steven Sherman
http://threehegemons.tripod.com/threehegemonsblog/id5.html