Real trouble's brewing in Bolivia. Recently elected leftist Presidente Evo Morales (and Coca leaf chewing Chavez/Castro wannabe) went straight for the nationalizing of natural gas. The folks in Santa Cruz where the resources are aren't too happy, and they voted in large numbers (and demonstrated in massive numbers) for autonomy from the national government.
Socialist and redistributionist populism can get you elected, but it never, ever leads to effective governance.
Plus socialists have a habit of getting elected once, and then gaming the system (or dismantling the system) until they become "President for Life".
There's a good chance that some generals with ties to the prosperous lowlands will band together and oust Morales and his loyalist.
Whatever happens, it's not likely to be pretty (a short summary and analysis of the current situation at STRATFOR), and the poor folks of the highlands will likely suffer even more because they listened to the rhetoric of a socialist firebrand and drank from the cup of class warfare.
Prosperity doesn't come from trying to take from your neighbors, prosperity comes from working with or for your neighbors.
The only thing that redistributionist policies have succeeded in distributing is misery.
(and right now it looks like Mexico really dodged a bullet, but the threat of violence remains as long as Lopez Obrador remains obstinately provocative in his rhetoric)
07 July 2006
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