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The NYT Can't Find Anyone to Say Anything Good About Argentina

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Derechos Donating Member (892 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-24-11 10:25 AM
Original message
The NYT Can't Find Anyone to Say Anything Good About Argentina

Sunday, 23 October 2011 22:47



That is sort of striking since its President Cristina Kirchner seems headed for re-election with a clear majority of the votes. Argentina has also enjoyed the strongest growth over the last decade of any country in Latin America. Nonetheless all 5 of the NYT's sources in an article discussing the election were critical of Kirchner. (See link for NYT article - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/world/americas/kirchner-appears-headed-to-second-term-as-argentinas-president.html?ref=world)

This quote deserves special mention:

" 'This election really seemed to defy the normal rules of politics,' said Michael Shifter, the president of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington. 'But that is what happens when things are going well in the economy and there is a dearth of alternatives.'"

It really should not have been hard to find someone who has positive things to say about President Kirchner. It appears that the NYT is relying on a narrow range of sources who are more in tune with Argentina's creditors than the majority of the Argentine population.

The article at one comments negatively about the state of Argentina's economy, noting that growth is expected to slow to 4.6 percent next year. This rate would still be almost a full percentage point faster than the average growth rate in Brazil over the last decade. Brazil is described as a positive contrast to Argentina in the article.

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/the-nyt-cant-find-anyone-to-say-anything-good-about-argentina?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+beat_the_press+%28Beat+the+Press%29

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Peace Patriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-25-11 02:00 AM
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1. The NY Slimes has been "doing a job" on the Latin American Left for some years now.
It's no surprise at all that they find nothing good to say about Cristina Fernandez at the end of one of the most successful presidential campaigns, and one of the biggest victories, in Argentine history and a major turnaround, in addition. Back when the CIA was pounding Fernandez with dirty ops and the Argentine economy was still struggling to recover from World Bank/IMF ruination, it was doubted that Fernandez could win re-election. The big ag landowners were disrupting the economy with roadblocks and shutdowns about a soy export tax, hoping to topple her, and the recovery that had, in part, been created by an oil for beef swap and other deals with Venezuela (which was also getting non-stop dirty ops and slander on every corporate 'news' front including the corporatized BBC) seemed to be faltering. Also, just as Argentina had started to get back on its feet, the Bush-induced Depression hit worldwide. But, finally, Fernandez's social justice policies began to pay off with an improved and, finally, booming economy--all built on south-south cooperation, new South American institutions such as the Bank of the South, UNASUR and CELAC, rejection of U.S. "neo-liberalism" (the rich stealing from the poor) and U.S. bullying and interference, and on principles of social justice, peace, fairness, south-south trade and multilateral trade.

Argentine voters and citizens are very smart people. They have protected their voting system from outrages such as corporate-run, 'TRADE SECRET' voting machines (like we have here) and rebuilt their economy from the crumbling ruins left by the World Bank/IMF, with incredible energy and industriousness--which is also characteristic of other Leftist countries in South America, such as Brazil, Venezuela and Bolivia. But Argentina, I think, had the hardest row of all, to prosperity and general, widespread well-being. Venezuela has taken the hardest slander and lies and dirty U.S. machinations--but they have more oil than Saudi Arabia and could take some hard knocks, especially after five straight years (2003-2008) of sizzling economic growth under Chavez and vast improvements in education, health care and equitable income. Brazil, of course, has a huge, diverse economy, which has prospered under a social justice government and barely noticed the Great Depression (except for some remarks of its former president, Lula da Silva, about "the blue-eyed wonders of Wall Street"). And Bolivia is undergoing a remarkable social change for the better, on the order of the end of apartheid in South Africa--the most important transformation in Bolivia-with its Indigenous president, Evo Morales, also doubling Bolivia's gas revenues (a major resource) and juggling many suitors for Bolivia's lithium (important component of electronics), as well as fending off a U.S.-funded/organized white separatist insurrection in late 2008, with help from his neighbors and compadres in the newly formalized regional organization, UNASUR.

Argentina was bereft, after Clinton "neo-liberal" policies--one of the worst hit, and one of the earliest hit by total looting and collapse. Fernandez's husband, former president Nestor Kirchner, who died last year, started off the recovery and was one of three vital pioneers of the New South America (Chavez and da Silva being the other two), who put up major resistance to transglobal looting and helped change the rules. Still, Argentina's economy had been totally blasted and it had resource and diversity problems to begin with. (It is overly dependent on Big Ag--beef and soy.)

Argentina's second recovery and Fernandez's re-election victory are SPECTACULAR. The New York Slimes is seething with hatred for this and other Leftist governments who are depriving Slimes' pals of their traditional looting and enslavement grounds and are proving "Wall Street" WRONG. Social spending is the answer to looting by the rich--not more looting by the rich!

Fernandez can say, with FDR, and with the Leftist coalition in South America: "Organized money hates me--and I welcome their hatred!"

FDR's famous quote sums up the situation in South America. Virtually the entire continent is now run by truly elected, FDR-like leaders who are HATED by the rich and the Corporate Rulers--and those Leftist leaders "welcome their hatred." By the hatred of the New York Slimes and its rich clients, owners and cronies, these South American leaders can measure the rightness of their course--and get confirmation that they are doing the will of the people. The plain facts support them as well--widely spread prosperity; high voter turnouts; human rights improvements; the satisfaction and the energy in the country; big election endorsements. Hatred by the New York Slimes is like a 'badge of courage"--almost as good as being hated by the CIA, and pretty much the same thing. Or should I call it "the icing on the cake." South America is now independent from the U.S. and, for the first time in its history, free of all colonial rulers and bullies (with one exception, Colombia). Credit to South American voters, who have preserved true vote counting, and to grass roots organizers who never gave up--as well as to the visionary leaders who have arisen in this context.

It must be a truly sweet victory for Fernandez, for many reasons. The CIA, for all its efforts, failed to topple her. Big Ag, for all its efforts, failed to topple her. Her husband's strength and courage--and his alliance, first with Chavez, then with da Silva and others, as Leftists were elected throughout the continent--has been vindicated. And her own strengths and courage and resilience have turned things around and won the day.

Our Corporate Rulers have become sour, mean and low, most especially with regard to South America. They can operate in South America but on a new "level playing field"--and they never wanted things to be fair. They wanted ALL the profits and more--ALL the infrastructure, ALL the money going into social programs, ALL the land, ALL the laws in their favor--like they are doing here. They're pissed off. They can't yet force a war in the western hemisphere and hijack our military to reconquer the region. They have LOST the region to its people--to its motivated voters, activists and leaders and to all those folks whom they view with contempt as peasants and non-humans. That's where this Slimes article is coming from: sourness, pettiness, peavishness, meanness.
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Judi Lynn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-25-11 02:37 AM
Response to Original message
2. Excellent, and absolutely true. What a shame. "All the news that's fit to print." Yeah, you bet. n/t
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-08-11 11:50 PM
Response to Reply #2
3. The New York Times is sour on anything that doesn't match the neoliberal credo
For example, there was an article a few years back about how Japan "wasted" money keeping rural schools open and offering the same quality of education throughout the country. (That doesn't even begin to cover the inaccurate things they have said about Japan, the foreign country that I know best.)
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