| We paraguayans as you north americans and others, deeply believe too, "[...] that all men are created equal ... with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. [...] That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it ... to provide new guards for their future security." Finally, if the international community really cares about building hemispheric security & stability through democracy against all kind of terrorism, it should remain neutral in the national states political process doing its best for the respect of popular sovereignity, instead of patronizing illegitimacy around the world. For a long time interest groups bordering on totalitarian tendencies have had some control of the US foreign policy, assuming abusevly its worldwide representation. Their partners, -our native elites headed by criminal puppets such as Stroessner, Somoza, Pinochet, Noriega, etc- in Latin America and elsewhere, were called 'allies of the US'. To both, 'freedom was equated with freedom of enterprise and consumption, while development was viewed as a private rather than a social goal'. If even consolidated economies today don't fully subscribe to such formula, it's because isn't always advisable for a balanced and rational development. Dear Americans, can you imagine any progress in our Third World neglected economies?... after decades of having them literally forced to be part of the socalled 'free global market', where freedom is just for the big corporations, and slaving colonial exploitation for the rest... (35) Anyone opposing it -like us, along with many other conscientious Americans- was automatically labelled 'antiUS, procommunist, etc.', in such a misleading and overwhelming fashion that it ended up utterly dimming our common supreme interests and relations. The paranoid anti Communist witch-hunting US policy of mid '50 that so irresponsibly helped disrupt patriotic administrations -in essence having nothing to do with antiUS or Communism- in Brasil, Paraguay, Argentina, Guatemala, etc ... had its replay later up to the '80 with the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama ... by thus, also crushing nationalism as the best option to polarization. (36) Certainly communists were moving there, as they used to, but in well balance harness with no outside interference, under democratic liberties, their chances were minimun. They would've never gotten any farther without an ideological justification. And there is where Mc Carthyst bigotry did much more in promoting Communism than the communists themselves ever did. For instance, to us it's quite evident what went on in Central America in the '80. Jimmy Carter and venezuelan President Carlos A. Perez lost their '80 elections. Suggestively, the nationalist panamanian President Gen. Omar Torrijos and ecuatorian President Jaime Roldos both got killed 'accidentaly', thereby leaving their allies -nicaraguan eminent revolutionary Commander Eden Pastora along with moderate salvadorians- in isolation. The dismantling of the whole team truly working for peace and security thru democracy, unquestionably was the reason for the region's setback to the mess that followed. Even the last panamanian endeavor to get ahead by their own, fell on deaf ears (Oct 3, 1989). There had to be an invasion ... Fortunatelly, we have today the not casual protagonist reappearance of Mr. Carter joining former costarican President Oscar Arias and others in the region's peace process. Moral authority to conduct it is badly needed and there is nothing better than its pioneers. The popular leadership of Pres. Hugo Chavez in Venezuela -Bolivar's homeland- is also crucial. |
| CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA: the past becoming present |