News of the Restless

As if it weren't enough that popular opinion is going to broom these "autonomist" butts out of office (and a landslide is going to confirm Evo), there's this little bombshell from off the coast of, of all places, Uruguay:

Uruguay says it may have found a large natural gas field that would change it from an importer to an exporter of gas.

The announcement of the possible find, which could also contain oil, was made by President Tabare Vazquez in a note on his official website.

Local reports say that the field could contain as much as three trillion cubic feet (85bn cubic metres) of gas but there has not yet been any drilling.

Link added.

The Beeb goes on to note that the gas field could provide for as much as 827 years' worth of domestic needs, based on the amount of gas Uruguay used last year. This means Uruguay will not only become a net exporter; it could become to natural gas what Venezuela is to petroleum. If Tabare Vazquez is as smart as I think and hope he is, he'll copy Chavecito and put the proceeds from that gas to use serving the Uruguayan people, who have been hit hard by the vagaries of the markets over the last 40 years. All in all, it looks very good for Uruguay.

But what, you ask, does this have to do with the Media Luna in Bolivia?

Continue reading "Memo to the Media Luna prefects: You're toast!" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Congratulations are in order for Evo Morales. This month, he and his indigenous/socialist fusion revolution made it into National Geographic--and, unlike Chavecito, he didn't get his ass slammed. This even though the same author wrote both pieces. (I know! How strange! Even stranger, Chavecito isn't mentioned in there at all, and neither is Fidel Castro--even though they're Evo's #1 and 2 allies, respectively!)

Anyhow, there's only one pic, showing Evo as he normally dresses: baseball-type jacket, button-down shirt, black jeans, sneakers--and a whackload of confetti overtop of it all. Boring. But I guess they just didn't want to supply y'all with Evo-cheesecake. For which onerous task there is Yours Most Sincerely, showing how Evo got to be cautiously termed "a man of some charm" by the Geographic's writer:

Okay, so his cute legs aren't in it (damn AP photogs!), but we can see the charm, can't we?

(Bonus: More Evo on the Geographic's website, here. And yes, he puts his charm on display for the photographer who wrote about him, too.)

Posted by Sabina Becker at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Deutsche Welle, the German satellite TV channel, an interesting passage buried well down in the piece:

The Return Directive raises hackles not only because of possible human rights infringements, but because the remittances sent home by illegal workers to their poor countries of origin -- for example Ecuador and Bolivia -- are an important source of income there.

Last year, immigrants in Europe, the US and Japan sent money back to their families in Latin America and the Caribbean amounting to just under 43 billion euros ($66 billion), the EU Observer online newspaper said.

It is more than the region receives from foreign direct investment or development assistance combined.

"...more than the region receives from foreign direct investment or development assistance combined."

Sit back and let that sink in for a bit.

Okay?

Continue reading "Why the EU wants to punish economic migrants" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

About it not only being Evo and Chavecito? Get a load of El Ecuadorable and what he'd do if Europe keeps on shitting on Latin American economic migrants:

Ecuador threatened to halt Andean trade talks with the European Union on Saturday after its leaders endorsed tougher detention rules for illegal immigrants.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said the rule allowing EU countries to detain illegal immigrants for 18 months violates the human rights of migrant workers.

"We could even suspend those negotiations. What do we have to talk about with a union of countries that criminalizes immigrants?" Correa said during his weekly radio address. "It will be very hard to talk business and ignore human rights."

Oh, and here he is on video, saying that in Spanish:

Strictly superfluous, of course, unless, like me, you just like watching and hearing him say things rife with cojones. In which case, small blame to you.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 03:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...it's all of Mercosur rejecting that draconian, disgusting European "Return Statute"--you know, the one that deprives undocumented immigrants of all legal rights, including recourse to an attorney before the country they're in decides to boot them out--after a prison stay of up to a year and a half?

On Friday, the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) and its associated countries expressed their "firm repudiation" of the discrimination supported by the European Union's directive of return for irregular immigrants, approved this past week by the Europarliament. The law decrees incarceration of 18 months for the undocumented.

"The governments of the participant and associate states of Mercosur deplore the approval on the part of the European Parlilament of the "return directive", announced a communication from the Argentine Chancery, which heads the South American union at this time.

Argentine diplomatic sources say that the EU's measure will be debated at the Summit of Heads of State of Mercosur, which will take place on July 1 in the Argentine city of Tucumán.

Continue reading "It's not just Evo or Chavecito..." »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And gets a hug-ito from Chavecito at a religious ceremony at Caricuao in his honor:

And if the speech he gave in Ecuador here is any indication, he will work well with the rest for integration:

BTW, El Ecuadorable and Evo are in there too. Watch for them.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Do I need an excuse to post pictures of these guys?

All right, my reason for posting this one of Evo is "Because it's nice..."

And my reason for posting this one of Chavecito is "Because I like it!"

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With a little help from Cuba and Venezuela, the town of Viacha, 64 km away from La Paz, now has a shiny new hospital.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 04:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

'Bout time someone did! And who better than a Latin America scholar, who knows how important it is to work with all the facts, the accurate facts, and not just whatever bullshit is convenient to the State Dept., Big Bidness, Big Oil, etc.?

Unfortunately, the AP's bad reporting isn't limited to its Caracas bureau; I've seen it hit Nicaragua, Bolivia and Ecuador with the Stoopid Stick, too. Surely that's not a coincidence, since all three of them are friendly with Chavecito's Venezuela. Why they haven't also beaten up on Chile, Brazil and Argentina, I don't know; all three of their leaders have lent support to Chavecito, too, though they're a bit shy about signing on to the ALBA. (Hmmm, maybe that last is why--it gives the Usual Suspects the false impression that they might still be amenable to neoliberalism, like Colombia and Peru, but have only been playing coy so far.)

I'd write a letter too, and maybe someday I will, but right now I'll just stick to grousing on this blog. And to the AP, I'll let Johnny Cash's finger do the talking:

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It must be a slow news day for them. Otherwise, I can't imagine how this passed muster.

Thousands of demonstrators marched on the U.S. Embassy Monday to demand that Washington extradite a former Bolivian defense minister who directed a military crackdown on riots that killed at least 60 people in 2003.

Former Defense Minister Carlos Sanchez Berzain, now a resident of Key Biscayne, Fla., told La Paz-based Radio Fides last week that the U.S. granted him political asylum more than a year ago.

The revelation sparked outrage in El Alto, a sprawling satellite city outside La Paz where dozens of anti-government rioters were gunned down by soldiers in 2003. On Monday, thousands of residents streamed down the hills into La Paz to demand justice for the killings.

"We've come to the doors of the embassy to say 'Enough with the impunity,'" said Edgar Patana, head of an El Alto labor union leading the protest. "The United States has to prove that they have the justice they're always showing off in their media and movies. Bolivia wants that justice."

Incredibly, it goes on and on practically throughout the piece in this vein--no sympathy for the devil. And they accurately mention that this devil, and the devil who employed him (Goni) sparked the landslide that brought Evo Morales into office. They even give Evo the last word. All that's missing is the part about Bechtel and the privatization of Bolivia's water, right down to rainfall, being part and parcel of what sparked the uprisings. Which is still rather remarkable, considering it's the Dissociated Press we're talking about. Normally, they leave all that out and just throw their sympathy behind the worst of the worst.

This guy must be to Bolivians what Luis Posada Carriles is to Venezuela and Cuba. The difference between him and the CubanaBomber? This guy got legal asylum in the US, whereas BushCo is still trying to pretend they don't know the illicitly sneaked-in CubanaBomber.

One thing where there IS no difference, though: Both are being rewarded with the right to stay. And why not? Both are being repaid for services rendered. Precious few other immigrants and asylum claimants have done so much.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

He'd make you giggle too, if you heard him say things like this:

The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, is concerned because he sees his Peruvian colleague, Alan Garcia, as "very fat and not much of an anti-imperialist", as he said yesterday.

Morales recalled that in 1989, he attended a conference in Peru with Garcia, who was then, in his opinion, "a first-rate public speaker, anti-imperialist" and, also, "very slim".

"Now I see him as very fat and not much of an anti-imperialist. I'm very worried about Alan Garcia," said Morales at a conference on the outskirts of La Paz.

Translation mine.

Not only is it funny, it's also true. Here's a pic of him with the gordito imperialista. See if you can tell me which is which.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

They still think this is about autonomy and "states' rights". Someone kindly clue them in, please.

Oh wait, I spoke too soon...here's Evo:

Morales has dismissed all three referendums as illegal "surveys" by conservative opposition groups hoping to cripple his government.

"It's not a problem of autonomy," Morales said Sunday. "The problem is that they can't accept that an Indian from the countryside is their president."

Nevertheless, the president made a rare trip Friday to Pando's capital of Cobija to deliver a new fleet of ambulances and announced a US$6 million infrastructure project.

Once more, Evo nails it.

Unfortunately, this is buried about 2/3 down in the piece, which is obviously slanted in favor of the bogus "autonomists", if the amount of space it devotes to them and their lies is any indication. (Well, that and the general tone of sympathy: Big land-owners need "protection" from having their idle estates handed over to the campesinos? Be still my bleeding heart.)

They don't mention this, either--which happened during another ambulance-delivery visit. Probably because it would make the "pro-autonomy" and "states' rights" crusaders look like shits.

Nope, can't have those people showing their true colors in the lamestream media, can we?

Posted by Sabina Becker at 01:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Aporrea reports:

Last Saturday, far-right groups attacked, punched and battered a group of peasants who had come to a stadium in the city of Sucre, where president Evo Morales was to deliver 50 ambulances and several thousand homes to local residents.

About 20 Quechua peasants were humiliated and forced to march semi-naked toward the central square of Sucre, where they were forced to kneel and chant slogans against President Morales.

These violent events left 27 wounded, according to local authorities.

Translation mine. A longer version of the day's events, plus backgrounder, courtesy of IPS, can be read at Bolivia Rising.

Aporrea calls Sucre "the kingdom of the Ku Klux Klan in Bolivia"; a somewhat confusing take, since the ringleaders of this violence are not white but mestizo. It is difficult to tell them apart from their victims just by looking; I could only tell who was who by who was standing and who was kneeling; who was yelling triumphantly, and who was silent and miserable; who wore a shirt, and who did not. That's not a whole lot of outward difference. And yet these mestizos identify more with their white ancestors than their indigenous ones, no matter how much their own appearance says otherwise. In Bolivia, it seems, your socioeconomic status is directly dependent on how much European blood you have. Which explains why the local white oligarchy hates the president so; he's a full-blooded indigenous. In their eyes, he's not a popular, elected leader; he's just a dirty Injun.

Here's Nick Buxton's take, from Bolivia Rising:

Continue reading ""Autonomous" fascism in Bolivia" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 09:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

And for some reason, I found a lot of funny pix from it...and for some reason even stranger, most of the funniest ones had Evo in them. In some funny context or other.

Like this one, in which he's chatting with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel:

What do you suppose is going through her mind? My educated guess is it's something like this:

Continue reading "Festive Left Friday Blogging: Some summit that was in Peru" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since there's been so much to-do this past week with bogus "autonomy" in Bolivia and all, and the elite of the lamestream media are still sounding the death knell for Evo Morales and his government, here, have a look at this:

Do he and his veep, Alvaro Garcia Linera (at left) look at all worried to you?

Continue reading "Festive Left Friday Blogging: Do they look threatened to you?" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Santa Cruz may want to suck on this:

The national electoral commission (CNE) in Bolivia ratified the revocation of two autonomy votes, those of Pando and Tarija, for the 1st and 22nd of June respectively, on Thursday. The decision stood even though representative Jeronimo Pinheiro, the vice-president of the CNE, did not sign on.

According to commission president Jose Luis Exeni, representative Pinheiro was present during a meeting this past May 2. However, the representative, from Pando Department, "decided not to vote", claiming to be "under great pressure from his region, especially the Prefect, Leopoldo Fernandez."

The electoral authority said that Pinheiro's action constitutes a "grave violation" of electoral process, and informed that the correct procedure would be that those representatives not in favor, vote against.

Translation mine.

That giant smacking sound you just heard was a big fat bitch-slap to the so-called "autonomy movement", the one that the lamestream media in the English-speaking world (especially Andres "Narcissist Leninist" Schloppenheimer) claim is gonna be the death of Evo. Well, guess what: He's still alive and well, and keeping his promises unimpeded. And he's more popular than ever, I'll bet--leaders with cojones and a predilection for keeping their promises generally are.

Venezuela and Ecuador are watching this especially closely, for reasons of their own. However, seeing as the Santa Cruz vote was an absolute shambles, with no OAS observers, obvious evidence of fraud and mass cremations of pre-marked "yes" ballots (uh, those would be the fraud), plus this latest news that the Tarija and Pando votes have just been shredded, it looks bad for those with the treasonous intentions.

And from where I sit, it looks downright hilarious. These "autonomy" guys, for all their Nazi trappings and intimidation tactics, are a nasty, drunken gang that can't shoot straight. Too used to snorting coke, living like feudal lords and abusing indigenous women and not used enough to actual democracy, I guess.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 09:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You did, Tweety...you DID tee a coup d'etat!

Roto-Reuters UK and the Washington Whore Post are both cheerleading quite blatantly for Evo's opponents, undoubtedly to soften up us gullible anglophones for the "inevitable", undemocratic outcome of a deeply antidemocratic, unilateral (not to mention illegal) "referendum". Gee, where have we seen this before?

Too bad for this cutesy little media offensive that some of us can read Spanish, and one of us has seen fit to translate...this:

Continue reading "Santa Cruzin' for a bruisin'" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hmmm, Democracy is looking a wee bit tousled lately. Considering he's just narrowly managed to avert a coup, though, he's entitled to look as rumpled as he damn well pleases.

And besides: tousled is sexy. Especially when you've just been nominated, once again, for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 03:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love 'toons, don't you?

"Once upon a time in South America, there was a frail little girl named Venezuela. But then along came Chavez..."

And look! Evo can morph into Rambo:

Continue reading "Little Red Chavista Riding Hood" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes, I know...I'm shameless. But if you want to see cute pix of Evo AND express your social conscience, Todos Con Bolivia is the place to go.

And don't forget to sign their petition.

(Thanks to Corey and Madalena for directing me to the site!)

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I don't know about you, but Evo-pix like this make me feel all warm and sunny.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And ooooooooh yeah, Evo's knees!

Who's the perfect 10? Both of them, of course. They faced off at a recent charity game. Who won? The people of flood-ravaged Bolivia. And South American solidarity didn't fare too badly, either.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera announces that there will be a popular referendum on May 4 to approve or reject the newly written Bolivian constitution. The indigenous people celebrated in the street with music and a spiral dance. (Warning: This gets a bit loud in places, so turn down your audio and don't blow your eardrums like your silly Auntie Bina.)

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Green is the color of health, and Evo is drinking to yours.

He sure looks groovy in green, does he not?

Posted by Sabina Becker at 01:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay, how embarrassing is this?

Team USA World Police undoubtedly thought they'd recruited a winning soccer team among the Peace Corps and the Fulbright Scholars currently living, studying and working in Bolivia. How sad and pathetic is it that their intended star players are already on the side of Integrity, with no intention of signing with any team owned and operated by BushCo's stinky State Dept.?

President Evo Morales declared a U.S. Embassy security officer to be an "undesirable person" on Monday after reports that the officer asked an American scholar and 30 Peace Corps volunteers to pass along information about Cubans and Venezuelans working in Bolivia.

Continue reading "Let's play Interference Futbol!" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, all right. This guy isn't really Chavecito:

But you have to admit he's a pretty good lookalike. (And no, that's not FARC leader Manuel Marulanda behind him; that's another festive impostor.)

Meanwhile, Evo was out for the festivities, partying with his people...

Continue reading "Festive Left Friday Blogging: Chavecito does Carnival" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Who, Evo? Chicken?

Nah. He's just receiving a traditional "Ekeko" figurine of a hen, symbolizing a female partner (as he is, incredibly, still single). And a second one for his VP, Alvaro Garcia Linera, who's also unattached. (Single women get roosters.) The figurines are blessed by Aymara shamans and given as good-luck presents; nobody buys one for themselves. The thing they represent is supposed to come into the recipient's life within a year. You can read more about the customs and rituals of Alasita here.

(Holy crap, I better get flapping, so I make it down to Bolivia within the year. Boy, will my arms be tired.)

Posted by Sabina Becker at 06:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From the man who wrote Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, which among other things treats of his own experiences in Ecuador, a warning to the current president of that country: Watch your back! The jackals are circling!

Video in Spanish. Story from Aporrea:

Continue reading "John Perkins: Rafael Correa is in danger" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 09:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Damn, how this man has a thing for getting it right. Get a load of Evo's latest big move:

Bolivian President Evo Morales and regional governors have agreed to draw up a pact of national unity to prevent the country from splitting apart.

Mr Morales and the governors said they want to settle their differences over a new draft constitution and revenues from natural gas exports.

Four of Bolivia's governors declared autonomy last month after Mr Morales's allies adopted the draft constitution.

Mr Morales's reform plans still need to be put to a popular vote.

...which they will win. He still has enormous popular support, and no wonder--he's done several things that were supposed to be impossible. He nationalized Bolivia's natural gas (and renegotiated all foreign contracts in Bolivia's favor) without a shot being fired; he's now seeing record levels of foreign investment; he made sure that the elderly got enough of a pension to live on; he also got a new constitution written after delays (the result of fascist and foreign interference) which caused widespread speculation that the project would founder and put a quick end to his presidency. By now, Evo's pulled so many rabbits out of his hat that he might just want to become a magician, if he's not too busy.

Now, get set for something totally hilarious as the Beeb veers off into the realm of comedy:

Continue reading "Evo does it again" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

You know you're a hottie when you can even make a miner's helmet look good...

...especially when combined with something as unlikely as floral garlands.

And of course, we already know what Evo does for soccer shorts:

Continue reading "Festive Left Friday Blogging: Random Evo and senseless cuteness" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 09:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Feliz Chavidad...

Continue reading "Festive Left Friday Blogging: I wanna wish you a merry Yuletide..." »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 05:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

And this one comes from Brazil.

The president of Brazil, Luiz Lula da Silva, affirmed that South America has put the era of neoliberalism behind it, and said he agrees with the nationalization of natural gas by his colleague in Bolivia, Evo Morales.

According to the ANSA news agency, Lula, in a meeting with other South American leaders, said that in recent years the region has experienced a "political phenomenon" in which governments were elected that were "advanced in socio-political matters."

The Brazilian president opined that his Bolivian counterpart "did the right thing in nationalizing gas. The gas is an instrument, a raw material, it is the only thing Bolivia has", according to the Folha de Sao Paolo newspaper.

After the nationalization of Bolivian hydrocarbons on May 1, 2006, Brazil suspended its investments in the country, in what it considered a defense of the interests of its oil company, Petrobras.

However, Lula da Silva reiterated his decision that the company would re-invest in Bolivia, which he will visit on the 17th of December.

Translation mine.

There goes a major pin from under the Bolivian fascist opposition, which has undoubtedly been after Evo's blood. For what? What else--preventing them from profiting by Brazilian investment. They claimed he was ruining the country. How it's possible to ruin a country by raising its share of the profits of its natural resources, such that Bolivia no longer has to borrow money to pay its civil servants' Christmas bonuses, is beyond me.

But such is the logic of the fiscal fascist. If they're not making all the money, no one else deserves a cut either.

Good on Evo, though, and good on Lula. Let's hope Lula does the same with Brazil's burgeoning oil reserves as Evo is doing with Bolivia's gas.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

...and we're about due for another dumper of lake-effect snow here on the north shore of Lake Ontario. The seasonal norm is 3 degrees Celsius, and today's high was that...in the negative integers. My joints ache, my fingers are waxen white and my nail beds are blue. That's why I'm holed up in here, looking for pictures with something about them that'll warm my cockles.

Like, oh, say, Chavecito's cozy scarf, which goes great with dimples...

Continue reading "Festive Left Friday Blogging: Baby, it's cold outside..." »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Holy shucking fit, there goes another "dictator"...

The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, has proposed a recall referendum for himself and the nine regional governors of the country, most of whom are oppositionists.

Morales announced that he would send this proposal to Congress today, so that they would "quickly" convene the referendum, and thus determine whether the people support the "process of change".

"If the people say Evo must go, I have no problem with it, I'm totally democratic. The people will say who goes and who stays on to guarantee this process of change," said the president during a message to the nation at the government palace in La Paz.

The governors of Santa Cruz, Tarija, Beni and Cochabamba, all opposed to Morales, are currently in the US to denounce before international organizations what they consider to be "illegal" actions on the part of Morales and his party in the Constitutional Assembly and the Congress.

Translation mine.

Swear to Goddess. First Chavecito, now Evo. All the confidence in democracy and popular will--talk about yer cojones! It's totally twirling my turban.

If they don't stop with this democracy-stuff, their enemies will run out of opportunities to call them dictators, lawbreakers and assassins. What will the world come to then?

Posted by Sabina Becker at 01:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, no...actually, they're more like pathetic, and have been ever since poor, mad old Uncle Miltie kicked the bucket (many years past his due date, if you ask me). So you'll have to pardon me if I smile with a kind of pitying scorn at people who spew drivel like this:

Colombia's diplomatic spat with Hugo Chavez's Venezuela may help President Alvaro Uribe build support in the U.S. Congress for a free-trade accord, Citigroup Inc. economists said.

Colombia could help securing passage of the agreement by casting it as a way to limit Chavez's regional influence, economists Franz Hamann and Luisa Charry wrote in an e-mailed report today.

"The sharper dividing line between the two countries can serve as a warning signal of the potential costs of not supporting economic freedom in the region," Bogota-based Hamman and Charry said.

Continue reading "Ha ha. Free-traders funny, too!" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 08:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Let us count the ways.

He does it with speeches...

Continue reading "Festive Left Friday Blogging: How does Evo kick ass?" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ouch!

Fidel Castro broke two weeks of silence Sunday, applauding his close friend Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for having "leveled devastating criticisms at Europe" during a summit of leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal.

In a brief essay published on the front pages of state newspapers, the ailing 81-year-old Castro also praised speeches by leftist presidents Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Eva Morales of Bolivia during the Ibero-American summit, which wrapped up Saturday in Santiago, Chile.

Emphasis added.

Please hold the "Don't Cry For Me Argentina"--we don't want to get his country wrong, too.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Aporrea reports that the Bolivian president's bio-pic is such a hit that it's being bootlegged within days of its theatrical release:

Three days after its release on October 23 in La Paz, the film "Evo Pueblo" had been enjoyed by most Bolivians.

The logic of the market is "sell the people what they want and accommodate popular demand", said one of the principal distributors of unauthorized copies of the film. This permits greater access to the film, which tells the story of Evo Morales's political life and his election to the presidency of Bolivia.

An added advantage is that these copies are available throughout the country at prices accessible to the population. The DVD is selling like hotcakes.

(Translation mine.)

Well, we all know that Evo is hot stuff. It's only logical that a film about him would be, too.

Now where can I get my own copy?

Posted by Sabina Becker at 02:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A little birdie tells me that there are a LOT of yummy Evo-pix out there this week...

Continue reading "Festive Left Friday Blogging: Evo, Evo everywhere..." »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 08:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Say, this guy looks familiar...

Is that Evo???

Continue reading "Festive Left Friday Blogging: Double vision" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Probably for the same reason the left has all the pretty girls. (No shit, this guy actually says that in here...)

Continue reading "Why does the right have all the dumb guys?" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The arrogance of some people, even after they've been given a well-deserved boot out of office, never ceases to astound me. Take, for example (PLEASE!) this recent bit of boo-hoo-poor-me from one Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada, formerly president of Bolivia:

Bolivian prosecutors have brought formal charges of genocide against the country's exiled former president, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada.

The move came on the fourth anniversary of Mr Sanchez de Lozada's resignation following violent street protests at plans to export natural gas.

The charges, denied by Mr Sanchez de Lozada, relate to the deaths of at least 60 people killed in the unrest.

Continue reading "Shamelessness, thy name is Goni!" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 02:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

He just pulled Bolivia out of the School of the Americas.

We are very excited to announce that President Evo Morales announced Tuesday that Bolivia will gradually withdraw its military from training programs at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the School for the Americas (SOA). Bolivia is now the fifth country after Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela to formally announce a withdrawal from the school!

"We will gradually withdraw until there are no Bolivian officers attending the School of the Americas" said Morales. Questioning the U.S. government foreign policy he noted that "they are teaching high ranking officers to confront their own people, to identify social movements as their enemies."

It's a bit unfortunate that he's taking a gradual approach rather than just going for one quick clean yank, but hey--I welcome any news that another country is leaving that training camp for torturers and assassins. Especially since Evo did it in direct response to calls from SOA Watch and torture survivors.

You gotta love a leader who listens to the oppressed and their supporters, rather than the big money.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 02:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was so bummed when I couldn't download the video podcast of Evo Morales giving an interview to Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez on Democracy Now. The latest version of iTunes I have seems to do nothing but eat it, and I don't know how to go back to the old one (which worked fine in playback, but was S-L-O-W on the downloading). I was forced to view it with RealPlayer instead, and RealPlayer is as buggy as a termite mound on the African savanna. Not to mention that you can't save the videos from it. Then, by coincidence, I found THIS tonight:

Evo's excellent interview has been YouTubed!

Granted, there are still some inconveniences; the interview has had to be cut into five segments due to YouTube limitations. (Oddly enough, I've seen some YouTubes that were over an hour long, most of them on RadioAporrea's channel. How they managed that feat, I don't know.)

But at least, now, this happy fan can get her Evo-fix. And so can you. (Or at the very least, you can finally find out what all the fuss is about.)

Parts 2-5 follow:

Continue reading "Yes! There IS a Goddess!" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 01:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Doesn't it just?

Cuban doctors working in Bolivia have saved the sight of the man who executed revolutionary leader Che Guevara in 1967, Cuban official media report.

Mario Teran, a Bolivian army sergeant, shot dead Che Guevara after he was captured in Bolivia's eastern lowlands.

Cuban media reported news of the surgery ahead of the 40th anniversary of Che's death on 9 October.

Mr Teran had cataracts removed under a Cuban programme to offer free eye treatment across Latin America.

The operation on Mr Teran took place last year and was first revealed when his son wrote to a Bolivian newspaper to thank the Cuban doctors for restoring his father's sight.

Continue reading "Irony bites!" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And in case you wonder why, let Deborah James and Medea Benjamin explain it to you:

Continue reading "Everyone loves Evo" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 01:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Too late for FLFB, but what the hell...heeeeeeeere's Evo, doin' the Daily Show:

I think the audience loves him too, if all the "woooooooo"-ing is anything to go by.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Aw, shit.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who last year called U.S. President George Bush the devil in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, has decided not to attend this year's meeting.

Chavez will send Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro in his place, according to a statement on the Venezuelan government's Web site. Chavez said he is canceling his UN appearance, originally scheduled for tomorrow, because of complications with his schedule.

Continue reading "What? No Chavecito?" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 01:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A video collage with a cool, catchy tune. Starring all my favorite revolutionaries. From Ecuador!

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It couldn't happen to a nicer guy:

Bolivian author Nestor Taboada ("Tierra Martir - Martyr Land") stressed the importance of Bolivian President Evo Morales' candidature for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize does justice to all Latin American farmers, poor people and indigenous communities.

"Evo Morales is at the same level as Benito Juarez or Nelson Mandela," he said.

Continue reading "Festive Left Friday Blogging: Evo gets nominated" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 02:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jeezus. Just when I thought Alan Garcia could sink no lower...he sank lower. Aporrea explains:

The president of Peru, Alan Garcia, celebrated the failure of a police strike promoted "by communists" today. He made this statement without proof, and without identifying either organizations or persons involved.

The statement was rejected by the secretary-general of the Peruvian Communist Party (PCP), Renán Raffo, who denied that his organization had anything to do with the matter, and said that the accusation was a piece of sophistry to cover up Garcia's governmental ineptitude in the face of social problems.

The president made the declaration while asserting that the police were on duty as usual, in spite of reports of a 24-hour strike by a supposed clandestine "Peruvian Police Union".

According to Garcia, "Communism has failed in its attempt to create disorder and chaos" by way of a police strike.

Continue reading "Blame communism!" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 01:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Two items of note. First, from Prensa Latina:

Bolivia completes on August 13 the second and last payment of $56m to the Brazilian oil company Petrobras that transfers two refineries to Bolivian management.

Guillermo Aruquipa, president of state-run Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB), said the transaction improved national income from refined oil and gas exports.

Bolivia signed on June 10 a deal with Petrobras to pay $112 million for the refineries "Guillermo Elder Bell" and "Gualberto Villarroel" as part of the fuel nationalization decree of May 2006.

Then, from Aporrea:

Continue reading "Evo's double score" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chavecito has been very busy again lately on the front of Latin American integration. Talk of continent-wide energy integration is topmost on the agenda. He's been in Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador; now he's in Bolivia. Here's some video from his visit to his other amigo--Evo.

He got full military honors, as you can see. And a big hug from Evo, and lots of cheering from the crowd.

Looks like the Bolivarian project is also marching forward at a brisk clip!

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Will he take it? Story from Aporrea:

27 years after the bloody coup d'etat of Luis Garcia Meza, relatives of the victims are demanding that President Evo Morales declassify the archives of the State, the armed forces and the police, and demand that the criminals no longer be hidden "in the apparatus of power."

Human rights activists presented the Bolivian congress with a law project proposing the opening of those secret archives, along with the creation of a Commission for Truth and Justice in order to clarify facts and responsibilities concerning the violation of human rights between 1970 and 2005.

Continue reading "An opportunity for Evo..." »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 03:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No...seriously? You don't say.

I would never have guessed it in a million years. I mean, it's not as if he's covered in phallic symbols or anything.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Evo and the great Diego Maradona are Chavecito's guests of honor at the opening ceremonies of the Copa America soccer tournament this past Tuesday...

It doesn't get more festive than this.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In protest of FIFA's ban on high-altitude soccer games, Evo Morales recently laced up and played a rousing game at altitude, in sight of the beautiful Bolivian Andes:

He played four games in one day, thus proving that altitude is no hindrance. Being used to it is one thing, but maybe coca leaf tea also helped. I think they should start serving it at FIFA games, if they really want to level the playing field.

(And, dang, Evo--cute knees!)

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The only picture of Evo "Mr. Casual" Morales wearing a suit and tie!

As you may have guessed, this was taken at his high school graduation in 1977. The ill-advised David Cassidy haircut was the height of fashion at the time.

And just to freak you out a little further:

Continue reading "Festive Left Friday Blogging: Looky what I found!" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

"The transnational corporations always provoke conflicts to accumulate capital, and the accumulation of capital in a few hands is no solution for humanity. And so I have arrived at the conclusion that capitalism is the worst enemy of humanity."

--Evo Morales, speaking in Cochabamba, Bolivia

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Pssst, Evo...that curvy redhead up there in Canada thinks we're hot stuff!"

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)