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Originally Posted by Botnst
Yep, been to Guatemala. Yep, they have had a long series of brutal governments since the Mayan civilization. Yep, the Spaniards didn't help matters. So there's this direct line history of autocratic brutality and in some fashion the USA has dealt with it. Sometimes with 'gunboat diplomacy' sometimes with naive love-fests sucking-up to murderers and dictators and both. Maybe we shoul dgo into that country and straighten them all out instead of dealing with them on their own terms. Right?
Mick Jagger was related to Samoza through marriage. Makes you think huh?
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I won't try to claim that the US is the author of every problem in Latin America. I think we have frequently exacerbated conditions in the pursuit of fun and profit, or at least, Am. nationals and companies have. With Guatemala, it was a mix of both. You prbably know about the Dulles Bros.' holdings in United Fruit. The way I've read the story, and heard Roetinger recount it, is the Arbenz was flirting with some socialism -- was going to or had nationalized some vast tracts being held fallow for future use or sale by UF. Supposedly, Arbenz allowed some communists to participate in his government. I guess no one told him commies were automatically the spawn of Satan.
All this was too much for the Dulles Bros. who mounted the '54 coup. Roetinger claims that Arbenz was one of the brightest lights Guatemala had had -- he came by this opinion during and after the operation. Your statement about Somoza not being a US gubmint guy is a bit of a cop-out, I'm sorry. US biz has long treated many parts of Latin Am as sort of the Gitmo of business spheres -- much less restriction.
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Originally Posted by Botnst
Yessir, it's good he's gone. It's also good that the commie bastards are gone, too and the government is a duly elected constitutionally limited, representative democracy. You would agree that is better than a commie military dictatorship, wouldn't you? You know, like the USSR, Chicoms, and Cambodia and your own personal favorite....
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Commie bastards. Just the guys who finally managed to give the boot to the guy of whom you say it's good that he's gone. What revolution in Latin Am hasn't gone badly? They weren't sharing power? How out of character. Point is, our state dept. paved the road for Am. bidness to make good profits in Nic., along with Somoza, who may as well have been Bill Gates next to the average Nicaraguan. I've examined a lot of evidence on this score.
So they manage to oust the guy and yet they couldn't turn Nic. around in a few years so we hired the rankest bunch of mercenaries in Latin Am. to destabalize the place. Oh, we're a friend to democracy all right. Elections being held in Nic? Oh thank god. Of course, nowhere in the world are elections a mere sham to front a dictator. Hell, Somoza was "elected."
My "personal favorite." I suppose you can speak authoritatively about how the average VN citizen is doing much worse than they did under the French? Sometimes, you got to let people make their own mistakes. Lot easier than trying to stop them.