Latin America's Leftist Bloc — Self-Defeating Political Pretenders
By Jerry Brewer
While some oppressing dictatorial-style leaders in Latin America have
remained for decades, as well as some being defeated and rising again
from the ashes with falsely purported platforms of reform, the
leftist-bloc is alive but not well.
Although quite possibly suffering from a potentially terminal illness,
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez remains with a self-proclaimed voice
that he recently said "will not shut." Perhaps a Venezuelan electorate
contemplating regime change for 2012 might want him to speak out more
about the food shortages, infrastructure ruin and decay, the lack of
human rights, and the incredible and escalating violent crime and
massive homicide rates the nation is facing.
With former veterans of failure remaining within the hemisphere in
leadership roles, their declining support before a world audience and
media has somewhat shifted their desire to stand on a world stage alone,
and apparently enthusiastically passed the baton to Venezuela's ruling
regime.
Chavez seized the moment and the day to stand vociferously on a
teetering platform to regularly and vehemently criticize the US,
capitalism, democratic and media freedoms, and anyone that does not
support his version of "democratic-socialist rule."
Even the likes of Cuba's octogenarian Fidel Castro, and Nicaragua's
reinvented President Daniel Ortega, who led the Sandinista National
Liberation Front, continue to express the usual leftist anti-US and
democratic diatribe. However, they seem to leave much of their short
sightedness and mostly inaccurate and unsubstantiated rhetoric to Chavez
as their mouthpiece.
Fidel Castro, no stranger to a dictatorial world stage, led Cuba
unsuccessfully (depending on left or right leaning positions) as
President from 1976 to 2008, while serving as the First Secretary of the
Communist Party of Cuba from 1961 until 2011. Castro, self-described
politically as a Marxist-Leninist, converted Cuba into a one-party
state, with the state ownership and nationalization of industry and
socialist reforms in virtually all areas of Cuban society.
Castro's participation in several armed rebellions in the Dominican
Republic and Colombia prompted him to challenge the US backed Cuban
President Fulgencio Bautista in 1953 and failed. In his defeat he was
imprisoned, and upon release he joined his brother Raul Castro and
revolutionary Che Guevara and put together a group of murdering Cuban
revolutionaries.
In 2006 Castro began to forge support alliances with similar leftist
regimes and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas. Hugo Chavez
proclaimed Castro and revolutionary Che Guevara his mentors. This "new"
reign of leftist authoritarian and unscrupulous tried-and-failed style
of government continues to manifest itself in human rights abuses,
attacks on media and journalists, and increasing poverty and misery for
the suffering people of Cuba and Venezuela.
Chavez's perceived mental errors and serious lack of intellectual
decorum have even allowed for his regime to support the Venezuelan-born
international terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sanchez - known as Carlos the
Jackal. The Jackal is currently serving a life sentence in a French
prison, his record and notoriety based on exploits as the Cold War-era
"mastermind of deadly bombings, killings, and hostage taking."
Last week Venezuela's Foreign Minister, Nicolas Maduro, announced on
state television that Venezuelan authorities would make "permanent
contacts to support'' the infamous Venezuelan. He did not give any
details on the specific assistance to be provided by Venezuelan officials.
Chavez's unceremonious role as the leftist bloc's mouthpiece within
Latin America continues to inform world media of his support for Iran,
North Korea, Russia, China, and Syria's assault and murder of Syrian
protesters. Thousands have fled President Bashar al-Assad's deadly
assaults against the Syrian people. An estimated 2,600 people have been
killed in Syria during the government crackdown on protesters.
In Syria, prodemocracy activists have called for a "day of anger"
against Russia's decision to stop UN sanctions against the Assad regime.
Too, Syrian opposition sources said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC) has sent snipers to help in Syria's crackdown against the
protesters. Snipers were ordered "to target protest organizers as well
as those filming the demonstrations. The IRGC has supplied
sharpshooters who accompany Syrian security forces to all demonstrations
and shoot the key people," an opposition source said.
Cuba is currently dealing with their own protesters, labeled
"dissidents." Many have been forcibly removed from the streets.
Protesters are demanding "change, freedom, rights," and a transparent
process.
Chavez, as the perceived spokesmen for the leftist political alliances,
has much to do and say about his own backyard. Last year Venezuela's
homicide rate was more than double that of Mexico (which is engulfed in
drug-related violence), and the third highest in the region, after
Honduras and El Salvador.
Venezuela's stability is seriously threatened with a myriad of homeland
issues.
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Jerry Brewer is C.E.O. of Criminal Justice International Associates, a
global threat mitigation firm headquartered in northern Virginia. His
website is located at http://www.cjiausa.org/.
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