Mary Anastasia O’Grady
2/7/2011
Developments in Egypt over the last two weeks have prompted O’Grady to think of Cuba and ask why a similar rebellion against five decades of repression there still appears to be a far-off dream. Part of the answer is in the relationship between the Castro brothers–Fidel and Raúl–and the generals. The rest is explained by the regime’s significantly more repressive model. Castro has bought loyalty from the secret police and military by giving them control of the three most profitable sectors of the economy–retail, travel, and services. In Cuba there are no opposition political parties, no access to the Internet, and rapid response brigades enforce the party line. Despite their unceasing efforts, Cubans can only dream about the freedoms Egyptians enjoy as they voice their grievances.
O’Grady writes ‘The Americas’ for the Journal.
Jackson Diehl
A dictatorship that fosters the production and distribution of cocaine is not apt to enjoy a positive international image. But when that same government cloaks itself in the language of social justice and emphasizes the enfranchisement of indigenous people, it wins world-wide acclaim. This is the case in Bolivia, where O’Grady says elections scheduled for December 6 will mark the official end of its democracy. While the US and the OAS obsess over Honduras’s legal removal of an undemocratic president, Bolivia’s President Morales has fortified his narco-dictatorship. O’Grady traces Morales’ rise and performance in office, stating that South America’s latest dictator is not the ideological communist that many fear. Akin to a mob boss, he rose to power by protecting the coca business and is now set to oversee the end of Bolivian democracy.
Six months of Obama’s mandate have gone by and the beginning of his ever so mentioned “change” is starting to come to life. Apart from the expressive warm feelings between Obama and Hugo Chavez- the photograph which depicts Obama’s hand outstretched firmly to hold Chavez’s, a strong statement of the fact that Venezuela no longer poses a threat to the U.S- there are basically three main events which give us the magnitude of this change. 
The Venezuelan model shows signs of economic exhaustion and lack of functionality. The repression intesifies. 
Fernández de Kirchner must put aside the diplomatic arrogance full of grand proclamations and responsibly face up to a foreign policy in which the results coincide with Argentina’s strategic guidelines. A preliminary assessment of her performance leaves big question marks and a feeling of deception. 
Within a democracy, one cannot give any type of legitimacy to a coup d’etat. For Latin America, this coup in Honduras serves as proof of the extent at which it troubles this region to accept that democracy can only work within boundaries and through laws
In order to make progress in the fight against narcotrafficking, the distribution of drugs, as well as the sale of arms and their exportation to Mexico, must be reduced, just as money laundering in the United States must be combated.
The fact that Fujimori has been tried in a public trial, with all of the guarantees of the law, should be cause for Peruvians to be proud.
