Entirely typical Guardianista bollocks:
For the region this means that just as the first wave of leftism may be reaching an impasse in Argentina and Venezuela, a second, more profound one is beginning in unexpected parts of Latin America: conservative Chile, ultra-conservative Colombia and moderate Brazil. For the world, this spells the end of the dogma that the economy determines people’s consent rather than the other way around. It is the time of the people once again.
To translate this for you.
Having fucked up both Venezuela and Argentina we should use the same policies in Chile, Brazil and Colombia. You know, on the basis that fucking over the lives of 69 million people is a tragedy, doing it to a further 263 million is just a statistic?
This is entirely in line with what happened the last time there was a massive commodity boom in the 1970s. Latin America is stuffed because their politicians (with the notable historic exception of Chile – primarily due to Pinochet) are mainly gibbering morons of the first order.
Socialism is like being told to jump off the top of a very tall building.
The intellectual standing by the edge says, “Go ahead. It’s perfectly safe. And the best way to get to street level.”
But, looking down, you see millions of dead bodies on the streets below and ask, “What happened to them?”
The intellectual replies, “They didn’t jump hard enough. It’ll be different this time.”
Why is Colombia “ultra-conservative”? It isn’t really a lot of people there (I was there in August and I speak Spanish) support agriculture subsidies. Which is not really ultra conservative (what ever that means).
However I doubt very much if a left wing politician wins the elections in Colombia next year – it will almost certainly be Oscar Ivan Zuluga.
Colombia has too many connections with Venezuela to follow its example.
BTW I wouldn’t agree with
“Latin America is stuffed because their politicians (with the notable historic exception of Chile – primarily due to Pinochet) are mainly gibbering morons of the first order.”
Some Colombians ones e.g. Franciso Santos make ours look clever (not that difficult I know).
Interesting use of the word ‘impasse’.
H
Interesting…or just wrong?
I see now that the original piece was written by my former constitutional law lecturer. He was, imho, the vainest man I have ever seen.
As for ‘impasse’, it seems here to be used synonymously with ‘inevitable disaster’.
Latin America seems to be fond of Fascist dictatorships or Communist dictatorships. The Left can get excited about recent trends, but all it really shows is that those excitable chaps are just indulging the usual taste for uneasamt regimes.
Or as I would put it, capitalism remains the domain of the Northern European Protestant. Max Weber just keeps being proven right.
They are standing on the edge of being serious countries. Brazil is almost industrialised in a way that would have made Italy in the 1950s proud. But no, they have to step back and decide to be poor instead.
Colombia is deemed “ultra-conservative” because an elected government opposes a left-wing rebellion funded by and largely composed of the world’s biggest illegal drug cartel.