Official says Chavez gains if trade pacts nixed

Source: Reuters

Official says Chavez gains if trade pacts nixed
Mon Oct 22, 2007 10:56pm EDT

By Walker Simon

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez is poised to score a public relations victory
in Latin America if the U.S. Congress fails to
approve free-trade pacts in the region, a top State
Department official said on Monday.

Failure by Congress to ratify trade pacts with Peru,
Colombia and Panama would spark a crisis in U.S.
relations with Latin America, which Chavez, a U.S.
adversary, would turn to his advantage, U.S.
Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas
Burns told reporters.

"If we turn away (from approving the pacts), it's going
to embolden someone like Hugo Chavez that he can
make hay out of that crisis," said Burns. "We certainly
don't want to see someone like Chavez gain a public
relations benefit if it doesn't get through, that's
surely what he'll try to do."

Chavez blames U.S.-backed free-market policies for
increasing poverty in Latin America. He has promoted
his leftist Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas,
of which Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua are
members.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN2248630220071023

Fear and loathing.

Congress to forget the problems with Colombia as the country which kills the most union workers, (more in Colombia than in THE REST OF THE WORLD ALTOGETHER) etc., etc., and forget the American labor unions and their resistance to the Colombian FTA for damned good reasons, just forget everything but the Will of the Great _Bush because if you don't, you'll be aiding the "enemy," Hugo Chavez!

Christalmighty. That's one for the books.



Just look into my eyes, Democratic Congressmembers. Loooook into my eyes!



Pass the FTA's, or you'll be with the "enemy."

And now the Bush administration thinks it can work with Democrats. Well, I certainly hope it doesn't!

n/t

ratified.

I called Santa to check.
He wasn't home.
I'm awaiting his call.

friend of Castro is a natural enemy of ours - especially if that enemy has done something to us - like tell us that they can run their own country and that the age of hit men successes might be declining.

We have former bought and paid for leaders living comfortably in our country and in nice places like Marbella. Oh, for the good old days.

Castro has lots of friends, but they are not on our enemies list because we forgive them if they play with us on other deals.

We are the laughing stock of the world, but not within the U.S. Game playing and farcical lying still works with some.

We are in the third to fourth decade of trying to take down unions.

We must have a continual focus on the threat of communism.

And boy, do our barons pant over the earth resources below the feet of the Central and South Americans.

And just imagine, some of their leaders are indigenous.

this logic, or if someone who is "Educated" working for Bush actually thinks that the average voter will fall for this - let alone the average Congressman, or even, God forbid, the average Senator.

Now as to Democratic Party Senators having a backbone no stronger than the standard GOP wet noodle backbone if faced with "cutting funds for the troops", or "doesn't understand communism and terrorism" - well they may well be true.

And why would "we" want to get a P.R. advantage against a president who was actually elected, and one who believes in using his country's oil and other natural resources to help the poor?

Gee, I don't know.

One thing I do know, though, is that pushing more "free trade" (global corporate predator) deals on Latin America is going to make a who-o-o-o-ole lot of workers, union organizers, and poor people--the vast majority--very UN-happy, angry, and pissed off, and poorer than ever. So why not throw some P.R. THEIR way, and show them that the U.S. is turning a new leaf, doesn't want to exploit and brutalize them any more, is curtailing the global corporate predators who operate from our shores, and is supporting social justice and democracy?

That could win us some points in Latin America.

:)

'Christ on a pogo stick!' Next it'll be Osama wins if we don't ratify them

Was just going to post something similar. :hi:

A win for Chavez is a win for Bin Laden and Al Queda in Iraq (who attacked our freedoms on 911).

:crazy:

of his country's national sovereignty like the US has.

let Chavez "gain"!

Uribe's kisses intended to seal free trade deal
By Benedict Mander in Bojayá, Colombia
Updated: 6:43 p.m. ET Oct. 24, 2007

A horde of sweating Americans airlifted deep into the Colombian jungle from ­Capitol Hill last week was treated to the sight of President Alvaro Uribe distributing kisses to small children.

Mr Uribe wanted the US congressmen and their entour­ages to see how peaceful the remote village of Bojayá had become.
(snip)

That is a growing concern for Washington. Nicholas Burns, US undersecretary of state, warned on Monday that a failure to pass free trade deals in Peru, Panama and Colombia could "em­bolden" strident critics of the US government including Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan president.

"If it doesn't pass, someone like Chávez, if not Chávez himself, is undoubtedly going to make the argument that the United States doesn't take care of its friends . . . and we wish not to give that argument to our adversaries in the region," he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21460931/



Nicholas Burns, on the right.