They do more than just make us look good

From the Sunday Times (UK): Thank you, my foolish friends in the West for keeping one of their archaic and vulgar traditions alive.

Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is only the latest dictator-in-waiting to bask in adulation from western 'progressives'

Last year a number of journalists, writers and showbiz figures, including Harold Pinter, Nadine Gordimer, Harry Belafonte and Tariq Ali, signed a letter claiming that in Cuba “there has not been a single case of disappearance, torture or extra-judicial execution since 1959 . . .”

And the hits just keep on coming. What’s becoming obvious with the ‘new axis of (don’t laugh) power’ in Latin America isn’t just their penchance for catfights, their suicidal and impoverishing economic politics, but their hard to conceal fascism:

Many observers commented that Morales’ decision reflects Latin America’s shift to the left. “Left” in this context does not mean mildly center-left policies. “Left” in the case of Morales and Chavez involves embracing aggressive class-struggle rhetoric and a classically socialist political agenda.

Up to a point, this is a fair depiction of affairs. But a more accurate description would be to say that Bolivia and Venezuela are experiencing a resurgence of “corporatism.”

Strongly associated with policies pursued by interwar fascist regimes, corporatism blends state-authoritarianism, populism, nationalism, and anti-foreign xenophobia. This is combined with extensive nationalization and regulation of the economy, the militarization of much of society, and the creation of state-controlled civil organizations that gradually suffocate any autonomous free associations

Crossposted on ¡No Pasaràn!

The fuse is lit!