Ortega leads anti-U.S. critique at Latin American food summit

[KVLG]

"Managua, Nicaragua - In a region beset by runaway food costs, the socialist government of Hugo Chávez's Venezuela and its leftist allies appear to have found fertile ground to plant the seeds of revolutionary discourse.
At an emergency food-security summit held Wednesday in Managua, Nicaragua, 14 Latin American and Caribbean nations convened under the umbrella of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), the leftist trade bloc founded in 2004 by Cuba and Venezuela as an alternative to United States free-trade agreements.
The summit was supposed to focus on how the countries can prevent food shortages and unrest as the global food crisis hits the region, but it morphed into a series of complaints about US policy led by the summit's host, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
Mr. Ortega called the food crisis an "epic problem" – one that he blames on the "tyranny of global capitalism." This echoes the words of his ideological comrade Mr. Chávez, who recently called the crisis "the greatest demonstration of the historic failure of the capitalist model."
"It is not surprising that a lot of anger is being aimed at the United States, and not surprising that Chávez and his allies in ALBA are trying to take advantage of the region's sense of frustration and vulnerability," says Michael Shifter, vice president of Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank. "Central America is looking for other options; there is a sense that its fate is tied too closely to the United States."
Now, under ALBA, a cooperation agreement among Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Bolivia, the leftist leaders are trying to make inroads into neighboring countries.
At the conclusion of Wednesday's summit, in which the various government leaders followed Ortega's lead in blaming the food crisis on the US and other "developed countries," all but two participating nations signed a joint resolution that incorporated specific language supporting ALBA. Costa Rica and El Salvador, the two most conservative governments at the summit, abstained from signing the pact.
"This was a propaganda campaign for ALBA," says Nicaraguan political analyst Cirilo Otero. "There were no concrete solutions, just political show."
Still, Ortega and Chávez, who failed to show at the Nicaraguan summit at the last minute for health reasons, appeared to win some converts during the meeting.
Honduras's center-left President Manuel Zelaya, who has flirted with ALBA in the past, blamed the regional food crisis on a free-market economic model that he says has led to a "culture of dependence" on cheaper food imports from subsidized US farmers. "

This is a excerpt. For the rest, go to:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0509/p04s02-woam.html

[Shadowstorm]

Not really surprised about this.

[Kilgor]

Assclown chavez should be reminded the worlds worst famines have been caused under communist governments.

[KVLG]

Assclown chavez should be reminded the worlds worst famines have been caused under communist governments.

I doubt he'd care.

[Abolith]

I doubt he'd care.

ya, it's not like his fat arse is going hungry is it?

[Wild Dog]

Like every single communist they want everyone poor , but yet they drive BMWs.........

[TheKiwi]

Ortega should stick to banging his own daughter, its what he did best last time round, and I see no sign of improvement.

[Tokamak]

It's always easier to blame someone else for your own problems!.

[ronaldo413]

It's always easier to blame someone else for your own problems!.


usa been back coup d'etat corrup gov in latin america for decade

[Tokamak]

usa been back coup d'etat corrup gov in latin america for decade


OK, but don't tell me that all the problems that Latin America has are because of the USA. For example, instead of blaming the USA, they should have a really strong program in agriculture and education, but above all a real fight against corruption in those countries.

[Wild Dog]

You will see there are strong programs for agriculture , education , security , health care , public transport. But they are not applied or only half applied due Corrupt Communist that they are suffered from what happened during the 70s and 80s and they just revenge instead of seeking the common wealth.

[ronaldo413]

OK, but don't tell me that all the problems that Latin America has are because of the USA. For example, instead of blaming the USA, they should have a really strong program in agriculture and education, but above all a real fight against corruption in those countries.

strong education agriculture need money and equitments why usa doesnt share with them special on technology stuff

[Wild Dog]

Money? Well most of Latin America "president" got more than enough money in their secret accounts, money that they stole from their own country.....

Why should USA or other country share their wealth to X country?

[ronaldo413]

Money? Well most of Latin America "president" got more than enough money in their secret accounts, money that they stole from their own country.....

Why should USA or other country share their wealth to X country?
costa rica columbia honduras belize strong us allie in central america, people struggle to live under 2 $ a day

[Wild Dog]

costa rica columbia honduras belize strong us allie in central america, people struggle to live under 2 $ a day

So , because they are pseudo allies to the US , Usa should give them money and gear for free?
Colombia is doing nothing against the Farc.

[Winger]

Famine is nature's cruel way of keeping the population under control, for all species, not just humans.

Due to technology and medicine there are more people than should be. If Nicaragua has a famine problem it can't solve itself then maybe it should free itself of the technologies and medicines we've given them that decrease mortality and increase life expetancy. Problem solved.

But, our feelings get in the way and we wouldn't want that to happen for obvious reasons. So, with this at hand they turn to Commie solutions as if this were better?

[Wild Dog]

There ara Famine in Central America because the 90% of the ppl want to be a rich guy instead of work on the field.
Central and South America got alot of Fertil areas to do agriculture.

[ronaldo413]

my friends is not about money , they need knowledge know how to cultivate share, money will neva fix anything , share technology, look at how usa share work research with other european country

[ronaldo413]

Famine is nature's cruel way of keeping the population under control, for all species, not just humans.

Due to technology and medicine there are more people than should be. If Nicaragua has a famine problem it can't solve itself then maybe it should free itself of the technologies and medicines we've given them that decrease mortality and increase life expetancy. Problem solved.

But, our feelings get in the way and we wouldn't want that to happen for obvious reasons. So, with this at hand they turn to Commie solutions as if this were better?


first US never share anyting second he was coup back by reagan administration killed over 1 millions people

[ronaldo413]

There ara Famine in Central America because the 90% of the ppl want to be a rich guy instead of work on the field.
Central and South America got alot of Fertil areas to do agriculture.


lol we work at the field usa free trade policy kiled farmers production, usa food medicine etc less expencive then local one:-*$

[Wild Dog]

costa rica columbia honduras belize strong us allie in central america, people struggle to live under 2 $ a day


my friends is not about money , they need knowledge know how to cultivate share, money will neva fix anything , share technology, look at how usa share work research with other european country

You started with the 2$ a day. Second you think USA share their work for free?
The have Knowledge in central and South america they are just to lazy to use it , everyone wants to be a rich guy.


lol we work at the field usa free trade policy kiled farmers production, usa food medicine etc less expencive then local one:-*$

Guess what , im from South America so dont tell me the cheap communist lies.

[Winger]

There ara Famine in Central America because the 90% of the ppl want to be a rich guy instead of work on the field.
Central and South America got alot of Fertil areas to do agriculture.

Tru that. They all want to be the Big Dog. Maybe they can get their version of illegal immigrants to hop their fence and till the soil!

[ronaldo413]

yea instead sending milions jobs to comunism china (later pay back) why dont yu send them to latin america, second when russia china start explor latin american ill be to late for usa, and our people will neva forget

[Winger]

first US never share anyting second he was coup back by reagan administration killed over 1 millions people

You're in the wrong place. No sympathy. Why can't they be more like Colombia or Chile or even Argentina :)

[ronaldo413]

brazil is perfect example move on with out usa

[Wild Dog]

yea instead sending milions jobs to comunism china (later pay back) why dont yu send them to latin america, second when russia china start explor latin american ill be to late for usa, and our people will neva forget
Yes USA is the big Evil , Central and Sout America are poor not because they got corrupted gov , but because USA IS EVILLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Again im from South America those cheap lies dont work with me.
Brazil problems is that they got a moron for president so go and blame Lula and not USA

Winger: Are you from El foro del Tirador?

[ronaldo413]

also argentina is depend to usa,

[ronaldo413]

nobody said usa is evil, usa been back up corrup gov in latin amrica for century

[Ordie]

Yes USA is the big Evil , Central and Sout America are poor not because they got corrupted gov , but because USA IS EVILLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Again im from South America those cheap lies dont work with me.

Many of these leaders selectively forget that without the remittances of friends and families living in the US, their economies will shatter.

[Wild Dog]

also argentina is depend to usa,
So? We got problems not because we are dependt to USA , but because we got a suffered montonero in charge.


Many of these leaders selectively forget that without the remittances of friends and families living in the US, their economies will shatter.
Their economie will shatter if they stop crime and corruption , those goverment work with the corruption to get money for their own pockets.

[ronaldo413]

dont forget chilli pinochet on power under usa gov support

[Winger]

also argentina is depend to usa,

To what extent. At least they run a better show than Nicaragua. And yes, Brazil is a good example of a self-sustainer that DOESN'T turn to Hugo, Castro or Soviet style solutions.

[ronaldo413]

So? We got problems not because we are dependt to USA , but because we got a suffered montonero in charge.


Their economie will shatter if they stop crime and corruption , those goverment work with the corruption to get money for their own pockets.


im 100% agree with you

[Wild Dog]

That happened along time ago time to move on , thats another problem with Central and South America they are still suffered from the dictators.

[Winger]

dont forget chilli pinochet on power under usa gov support

Yup, they turned out pretty good didn't they?

[ronaldo413]

lula de silva is leftis close alie to hugo , do your reaserch lula was comunism

[Wild Dog]

Corrected.

lula de silva is leftis close alie to hugo , do your reaserch lula IS A comunism

[ronaldo413]

sir was comunism back back in 70 to 80 lula was comunism

[Ordie]

also argentina is depend to usa,

Chavez bailed Argentina by paying of its IMF loan and austerity measures.

For the moment, Argentina's principle cash crop is soybeans. Mostly exported to China. Argentine farmers (300 families) are switching from traditional food products (Wheat, Corn, Beef, Produce) to grow soybeans.

This has led to a food scarcity and inflation for domestic consumption. The government has banned the exportation of beef and tried to impose a 50% export tax on soybeans. The farmers retaliated by blocking the shipment of beef into Buenos Aires. Ironically, this is forcing most Buenos Aires resident to re-think about their daily consumption of beef and eating habits.

Argentina's economy is stable for the moment but inflation is creeping in. But it's not entirely dependent on the USA. However, given the high exchange rate of the Euro, more American tourists are discovering Argentina as a holiday destination.

For now, the US Dollar is strong and in wide distribution in Argentina. Many Argentines are learning English as the language of choice for job opportunities.

The long term prospects is in flux since its economy is dependent on agriculture and the good percentage of its population lives in Buenos Aires alone. This was the result landowners not giving up land for immigrants from Europe 100 years ago.

[Wild Dog]

He is still communist , because the Soviet Union is no more that dont mean the communist is over.

[ronaldo413]

atleas 70% latin gov are leftis

[Wild Dog]

Chavez bailed Argentina by paying of its IMF loan and austerity measures.

For the moment, Argentina's principle cash crop is soybeans. Mostly exported to China. Argentine farmers (300 families) are switching from traditional food products (Wheat, Corn, Beef, Produce) to grow soybeans.

This has led to a food scarcity and inflation for domestic consumption. The government has banned the exportation of beef and tried to impose a 50% export tax on soybeans. The farmers retaliated by blocking the shipment of beef into Buenos Aires. Ironically, this is forcing most Buenos Aires resident to re-think about their daily consumption of beef and eating habits.

Argentina's economy is stable for the moment but inflation is creeping in. But it's not entirely dependent on the USA. However, given the high exchange rate of the Euro, more American tourists are discovering Argentina as a holiday destination.

For now, the US Dollar is strong and in wide distribution in Argentina. Many Argentines are learning English as the language of choice for job opportunities.

The long term prospects is in flux since its economy is dependent on agriculture and the good percentage of its population lives in Buenos Aires alone. This was the result landowners not giving up land for immigrants from Europe 100 years ago.
Thats right and English is a must if you want to get a job.

[ronaldo413]

He is still communist , because the Soviet Union is no more that dont mean the communist is over.
proov it :-(

[ronaldo413]

Thats right and English is a must if you want to get a job.
english is universal languages

[Wild Dog]

english is universal languages
So? I just say that in Argentine if you want a job you need to know a bit of english , can you say that for the rest of Central and South America? , Maybe in Chile , Brazil and Uruguay they need english too.

[ronaldo413]

my friends again english is universal , agentina spk spanish italian portugal and then english

[Ordie]

Yup, they turned out pretty good didn't they?

Chile's economic policies were set up by the "Chicago Boys" during the dictatorship. It's a neo-liberal economic model where in theory everything under the sun is privatized.

But Chile geography allows it to diversify its exports and not dependent on a single commodity. However, the main cash export for Chile is copper. Given China's demand for the mineral, its driving the economy. (Ironically a percentage of the copper revenues goes directly to fund Chile's military.)

The copper prices are becomming high enough that Chinese manufacturers are considering to set up keyboard assembly lines in Chile to mitigate the cost of transporting copper back to China.

[Wild Dog]

my friends again english is universal , agentina spk spanish italian portugal and then english
Right now we have more English speakers than portuguese speakers a

[ronaldo413]

good news bad news for brazil ingluence

[Ordie]

my friends again english is universal , agentina spk spanish italian portugal and then english

I was just there.

English is the primary language of choice. Especially in the tourist and high tech sectors.

Italian and Portugese not so much, but easily understood since both are Romance langauges.

[Wild Dog]

I was just there.

English is the primary language of choice. Especially in the tourist and high tech sectors.

Italian and Portugese not so much, but easily understood since both are Romance langauges.
Thats Right Tourist and Hight Tech sectors use English plus other sectors use it 2.
Italian is used due that alot of old people is an inmigrant of Italy.

[gaijinsamurai]

Central America's biggest problems are their high birthrates and government corruption.

[donllano]

So , because they are pseudo allies to the US , Usa should give them money and gear for free?
Colombia is doing nothing against the Farc.

Wrong. Colombia is doing more than enough, going out of its way to combat narco'terrorists from both the left and the right. Colombia is possibly the only Latin American country who is actually fighting to eradicate terrorism with a few possible exeptions, and Colombia is fighting them in such a way that we have alienated ourserlves from our suppossed ´brothers´in Venezuela and Ecuador.

So please get your facts straight before you make yourself look bad.

[Winger]

Wrong. Colombia is doing more than enough, going out of its way to combat narco'terrorists from both the left and the right. Colombia is possibly the only Latin American country who is actually fighting to eradicate terrorism with a few possible exeptions, and Colombia is fighting them in such a way that we have alienated ourserlves from our suppossed ´brothers´in Venezuela and Ecuador.

So please get your facts straight before you make yourself look bad.

Agreed. Colombia is about as defacto an allie we can have in South America.

[Ordie]

Central America's biggest problems are their high birthrates and government corruption.

It's MS 13 and the Colombian drug cartels that feeds on poverty and compounds the corruption and stability.

Much of it is tied with Post Cold War US imigration policies.

Soon after the Democratic election n Nicaragua that kicked out the Sandinistas, Washington promised economic aid and trade assitance. Given that the Sandinistas were still part of the Chamorro government, Sen. Jessie Helms sucessfully blocked any attempts to provide this aid on the premise of Sandinistas within the government. Had the promised US Assistance came through, Nicaragua would have been in better shape and Ortega would not be in power today.

In the late 1980's and early 1990's LAPD began to apprehend and deport Salvadorian immigrant street gangs from the Pico/Union neighborhoods in LA. Many of these youths arrived in the US as infants and had little or no connection with the place of thier birth. Once deported to El Salvador, and harrassed by local cops, these youths had little or no social support and began to set up a surrogate familiy in the "Marasalvatruca" (MS-13). The local cops had little or no resources to deal with the MS-13 and the MS-13 branch out throughout Central America and back into the US with a vengence.

Given the success of controlling the drug trafficking routes by sea and air, the Colombian Cartels began to seek an alternative routes for the shipment of drugs. Central America with its pourous borders and high unemployment rate made it an excellent highway. The initial pattern was to 'give away' drugs to locals as a means to get them hooked and do thier bidding. The subsequent stages were to formalize the logistics and flow this includes pressure on local authorities.

[gaijinsamurai]

The gangs, primarily MS13, are a huge nuisance, especially in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. I don't have any personal experiences with the gangs in Honduras, having only briefly visited that country, but in El Salvador and Guatemala, they are a significant part of the problem.

In El Salvador, the government is trying hard to battle the problem, but in Guatemala, the police have all but given up. They simply waited too long (a combination of incompetence, corruption, and curtailed power as a result of the peace accords in the '90s) to address the problem, and now they roam the streets of Guatemala City and other places at will, robbing, extorting, and causing havoc.

Two years ago, my mom's business was the victim of gang extortion, and after 19 years, she finally got fed up and sold the place. People seldom venture out after dark anymore, and having to pay "protection" money to the gangs to keep her employees from being harmed was the last straw.

For me, what made me finally decide to leave Guatemala and return to Japan (much sooner than I had planned) was when my wife and I were riding in a bus, and the bus was hijacked. Fortunately for us, we were sitting near the back door, and were able to jump out and run away. I decided then that I wasn't going to expose my wife to that kind of stuff anymore.....

[ronaldo413]

i feel this part i wish latin gov do sometings with those gangsta crapp brazil doing great job with them, cuba is free i give them credit for that