Posted on 09/14/2002 4:27:57 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:08:16 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
BRAZIL IS entering a critical period. Midway between the August receipt of a $30 billion International Monetary Fund package to avert economic collapse and presidential elections in October, the country's political and economic fates await.
To listen to financial analysts and policy-makers in the United States, one would think Brazil was either about to fall to socialism or default on its $300 billion debt. Both predictions are based on flawed readings of Brazilian politics and the nation's commitment to economic reform.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
The Southern Threat*** U.S. Treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recently drew attention to the economic risks inherent in Brazil's more than $250 billion dollar international debt and caused great concern in the financial community when he said that "throwing the U.S. taxpayer's money at a political uncertainty in Brazil doesn't seem brilliant to me. . . . The situation there is driven by politics, . . . not . . . by economic conditions." A da Silva presidency would likely mean Brazil's default on its debts, which, combined with the crisis in Argentina, could cause immense economic problems in all of Latin America. But worse than the economic downturn would be the effect on the Brazilian people of a radical regime moving toward dictatorship and the risk of destabilization in the region from a Castro-da Silva-Chavez axis.
A da Silva regime in Brazil could soon be followed by the success of the Communist guerrillas in Colombia and the establishment of anti-American regimes in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador (where in January 2000 radicals toppled the government in a few days, with help from military officers recruited by Chavez, though their success was short-lived). Thus, by the end of 2003, the United States might be faced with anti-American regimes in most of South America.
If those regimes recruited only one tenth of one percent of military-aged males for terrorist attacks on the United States, this could mean 30,000 terrorists coming from the south. In addition, many Middle Eastern terrorist organizations, including the PLO, have long collaborated with Castro against the United States and its allies; they and the Iranian-backed terrorists of Hezbollah have hidden among the sizable Middle Eastern communities in Brazil and Venezuela.***
Chavez: Lula da Silva positive change for South America (Castro-da Silva-Chavez axis)***But Chavez said Lula's lead in the race signaled that positive changes were sweeping South America - changes leading the region away from free market reforms that the Venezuelan president blames for increasing the gap between rich and poor. Another sign was that indigenous representatives grabbed an unprecedented 35 of 157 seats in recent Bolivian congressional elections, Chavez said. Such developments have given him confidence that movements like his own self-styled leftist "revolution" would "emerge not only in this continent but in the whole world," he added. The president spoke moments before leaving to participate in the World Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. Chavez is an outspoken critic of unchecked capitalism and a fervent admirer of Latin American leftists like Cuban President Fidel Castro. ***
What the loss of Brazil to "the Reds" would mean for the United States*** Brazil is the second largest and second most powerful country in the Western Hemisphere, comprising over half the population and territory of South America. As it borders on ten other countries in Latin America, Brazil would be well-positioned to serve as regional hegemon of the South American continent were it to find the political will to do so. This would be particularly true were it to test a nuclear weapon and become a nuclear power. Brazil also boasts the world's eighth largest economy.
Da Silva has established extensive ties to international terrorism. He has been very critical of the US "War on Terror" and has professed admiration for such widely respected international statesmen as Saddam Hussein and Mohomar Quadafi. His election as President would greatly increase the prospect of a successful takeover of Columbia by the Communist FARC guerillas, which he fully supports. Mendes states that a Marxist regime in Brazil would also be well-positioned to help cause Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru to fall to would-be Marxist dictators and exploit the deepening economic crisis in Argentina, which I recently visited in June, and Paraguay. All told, a da Silva victory could well result in "as many as 300 million people" falling "under the control of anti-American dictatorships."
In 1990, da Silva co-founded the Forum of Sao Paulo with Cuban President Fidel Castro and former Nicaraguan Marxist President Daniel Ortega. The Forum is a kind of annual "Communist Party Congress" for Communists, anti-American terrorists and Marxist revolutionaries to meet together and strategize on how to best effect their plans for Communizing much if not most of Latin America. Venezuelan President and self-proclaimed Communist, Hugo Chavez has become a major power player in this organization since coming to power in 1998. Chavez is probably supporting the da Silva campaign to the tune of millions of dollars while Castro may also be committing hundreds of his intelligence operatives to help da Silva win the election.***
Webb Hubbell, Vince Foster, they got out early too.
As of now the system we have works best for us - but it is under constant pressure – and many don't learn from history.
Whatever the form, the design to protect us from the worst in our nature seems necessary. Our Constitution and Bill of Rights was a good start in that quest. Be very careful when advocating changes.
In Brazil - it seems one of their candidates who formerly was an outspoken socialist / Marxist - now wears expensive clothing – he has been repackaged - courting business, but has in the past advocated not paying the county’s debts. Beware of personal agendas and dogmas - seldom do the spots change.
Bump!
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