The ugly scenes at Mar Del Plata showing the low esteem in which Latin Americans now hold an American President is a portent of what is going to be a worldwide phenomenon.For a long time, American Presidents have treated the entire continent of Latin America as a vast resource rich area to be plundered at will.Tyrants in countries from Venezuela to Argentina were coddled by successive administrations and plied with loans, military hardware and the like.The name Banana Republic was coined to describe nations ruled by powerful tyrants answering to Uncle Sam.Men like Negroponte were let loose on any nation that would defy the dictates of the U.S.
All that history is now blowing back in the face of our Local Nero, who is at a loss how to handle the fury of nations like Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and others.The old remedies of “regime change” to suit the masters no longer work.Unfortunately,any military solutions contemplated for the benefit of our Nero, are likely to be unaccpetable to Latin Americans, who command huge reserves of oil.
What to do in such a situation? American Presidents, imperialists by nature, are at a loss when required to deal with people on an equal basis.It will be interesting to see how Bush fares.He seems bewildered that anyone would even dare to attack him verbally and not accept his word as gospel.