Reid seeks better US-Bolivia Relations

[ellisonz]

Reid seeks better U.S.-Bolivia relations
By DAN KEANE, Associated Press Writer Fri Dec 29, 12:20 AM ET

LA PAZ, Bolivia - A delegation of six U.S. senators led by incoming Majority Leader Harry Reid met Thursday with Bolivian President Evo Morales, seeking to smooth relations with the South American country's left-leaning government.

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Reid said the United States must pay more attention to Latin America, blaming the region's recent populist shift in part on U.S. neglect.

"I believe that the U.S. needs to be heavily involved in Latin America, and we're not," Reid told The Associated Press after what he called a "long, intense conversation" with Morales. "I believe that Bolivia is looking for help, and I think we can be an agent for help."

At a news conference earlier, Reid said it was not an accident that he chose Bolivia as the first country to visit as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress in the wake of last month's elections.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061229/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/b...

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/061228/481/abcf8b07b2084518...
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/pl/101106harryre...
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/pl/101106harryre...

[gorbal]

1. Thank you for this article

I was wondering what the Democrats response would be to Latin Americans left turn. I was scared they might take a more "pink tutu" approach.

[madfloridian]

2. Maybe we should let them extradite this guy...they are trying.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/...

"In Bolivia, a coalition of social movements has formed a committee, Comité Impulsor, to work towards the extradition of former President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, who is living in the United States. The groups want him to face trial for massacres against his own people and for ransacking the treasury of Bolivia, the poorest country in South America.

A group of progressive U.S. lawyers will be traveling to Bolivia this January as part of a National Lawyers Guild delegation to meet with activists of this committee and families of Sánchez de Lozada’s victims from the Indigenous, working class city of El Alto. They intend to bring information concerning this case to the progressive movement in the U.S."

Interesting article...ties to the Our Brand is Crisis movie starring Carville's firm with Greenberg and Shrum. Maybe if we kept that group out of Bolivia, they would appreciate us more.

[Peace Patriot]

3. Now there's a sentence for you...

"Reid ... blaming the region's recent populist shift in part on U.S. neglect."

Blaming?

So, if the US were not being so "neglectful," then maybe Latin America would go....right...against populism? Back to fascism, and rule by the rich? Back to "free trade" (global corporate piracy)?

The Democrats are hostile to populism, and want to "pay more attention to Latin America" so that its people don't get all uppity and leftist?

There it is, in black and white. The Associated Press say so.

[Peace Patriot]

4. Note: further discussion of this Senatorial visit to South America, at

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

Also at
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[ellisonz]

5. At least,

It's not John Soloman there. Democrats are not hostile to populism, in fact, we're all for populism. Oh the media, how you have declined...



Ps. My bad for not cutting that out of the post. But the article does have Reids actual words, which are quite different from the above.