Kerry: Bush Has Neglected Latin America

[CShine]

WASHINGTON - Democrat John Kerry, seeking votes from Hispanics, told Latino officials Saturday that President Bush has neglected Latin America and that he would do better. Kerry said that as president, he would assemble leaders in the Western Hemisphere in a group intended to defend democracy and the rule of law.

"I will be a president of the United States who knows where Latin America is and knows that we owe it respect," the Massachusetts senator told the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. Kerry criticized Bush for failing to intervene when "mob violence" drove leaders from office in Bolivia and Argentina, and for encouraging Haiti's former president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to flee during a deadly uprising. Kerry also said that unlike Bush did in Venezuela, "We will not welcome a government named by a military junta."

"Strong democratic states with transparent rules and a broad respect for the rule of law are essential to alleviating poverty and inequality in the region," Kerry said. "As president, I will strongly support democratic institutions, assist democracy where it is troubled and promote democracy in Cuba."

Kerry said he would attempt to reduce terrorist threats in the region by coordinating customs, immigration and law enforcement among the countries. He also said he would renegotiate the Central American Free Trade Agreement signed by the Bush administration and include better protections for workers and the environment.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&ncid=703&e=2&u=/ap/20040626/ap_on_el_pr/kerry

[ugarte]

1. 'Kerry criticized Bush for failing to intervene in Bolivia'...??

God save us from more U.S. intervention. I hope Kerry is just pimping for Florida votes here. Otherwise the man is scarily ignorant.

[Judi Lynn]

2. He really NEEDS to do a LOT more studying on Latin America, doesn't he?

I've been thinking he's pandering to the Cuban "exile" leadership/Venezuelan "exile" rightwingers in South Florida, too.

Can only hope he finally learns enough to see what they ARE, actually. (He already knows he has the support of moderates and liberals in Florida, however,I'm sure. Maybe that has something to do with this, since Florida has 27 electors by now. (Or is it even more?)

There's a GREAT article in another thread you would undoubtedly appreciate:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=648689#648782

I just noted this snippet on that thread from the posted article, as it ends, speaking of Bolivia:

On June 21st the COB launched a campaign to collect a million signatures calling for nationalization of the country's gas reserves. The US government should send its representative on a basic civics class in Bolivia. Apparently after having been asleep during recent events in Bolivia, Roger “narcolept” Noriega woke up on March 2nd this year to tell the US Senate, “A principal objective of our democracy program in Bolivia is to draw the long-marginalized indigenous population into political life.”12

Arguably as crucial for the future of Latin America as the presidential referendum in Venezuela, very little of the national debate in Bolivia reaches the international media. The imperial “free trade” consensus has never had much time for genuine debate based on accurate and timely information. But the referendums in Bolivia and Venezuela are likely to deliver unmistakeable signals that the empire's subject peoples have had enough - whether the corporate media report it fairly or not.

[Zhade]

3. "I will be a president...who knows ...that we owe it respect"

Try starting with Venezuela, John. It's not ruled by a military junta. Chavez was democratically elected.

[struggle4progress]

7. Kerry is obviously referring to the short-lived coup a few years back ...

when Otto Reich immediately announced that the US would support the military junta that had just overthrown Chavez. Since Chavez regained power completely within a day or two, US eagerness to recognize the coup government was a clear indication that the US had been associated with the coup.

I conclude that your attack on Kerry is unfair.

[Zhade]

9. After rereading the original post, I agree with you.

I did, in fact, misread Kerry on that. I can only offer in my defense the fact that Kerry has taken an unnecessarily harsh stance toward Chavez in the past.

Mea culpa on this one.

[IndianaGreen]

4. There is a whiff of imperialism in Kerry's speech

The best thing Kerry can do about Latin America is keep the US out of their affairs!

Kerry should renounce his own pro-imperialist speeches on Venezuela and Cuba for which he was denounced by the Left in this country and by the head of the Varela pro-democracy project in Cuba. Putting a Democratic Party stamp on Otto Reich and John Bolton's interventionists policies in Latin America just won't do as a viable alternative to Bush.

If Kerry cares about Cuba, he should announce that he will return Guantanamo to Cuba upon becoming President. Kerry should also lift the embargo without pre-conditions and he should allow free and unrestricted travel to Cuba. All restrictions on Americans doing business in Cuba should also be done away with.

If Kerry cares about the people of Latin America he should announce that he will close down the infamous school for terrorists and torturers that the US has been running in Fort Benning, the training center formerly known as the School for the Americas.

[BayCityProgressive]

5. fuck you kerry

you piece of shit. I was going to vote Kerry but thisis the last straw for me. Instea dof bombing the middle east we will be bombing progressives in latin America..JUST LIKE REAGAN.

[Dirk39]

6. I pray this isn't what Kerry is about

Hello from Germany,
after the neocons failed completely with their shock and awe foreign policy, just representing a small part of U.S. Big Buiz, Kerry will send some Death Squads again, to fight for free speech, democracy, freedom...


"A second accusation is that Chavez is a dictator and will limit freedom of expression very shortly. This has been said since 1998 when he was just a candidate for the presidency. To date, there is not one deprecating word against Chavez that has not been printed or spoken.

But I have government-censored Venezuelan dailies, before the time of Chavez, with blank pages."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion/article/0,1299,DRMN_38_2988578,00.html

Kerry knows so much more (read his senator report from 1992 about the BCCI bank).

If this is just "pandering", why did Kerry never ever pander for the liberals, instead of the terrorist criminal scum in Miami?
Dirk

[struggle4progress]

8. Disagree, in part: I think Kerry here implicitly denounces Reich.

Agree, regarding the embargo, and believe that a coalition could be built across the aisle in Congress to end the embargo, since many US businesses would like to trade with Cuba.