Lat/Am Daily » Bolivia

Know your nominees

Peter Krupa — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 01:16:23 +0000

Obama’s nomination to head USAID’s programs in Latin America is Mark Feierstein, who, according to the Andean Information Network, is a pollster who works for right-wing political candidates in Latin America, including ones who’ve presided over massacres:

Feierstein, of the firm Greenberg, Quinlan and Rosner, served as a political adviser to former Bolivian president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada during his 2002 Presidential campaign. Sánchez de Lozada resigned and fled to Chevy Chase, Maryland in 2003 to escape prosecution for the massacre of 60 protesters by troops operating under his orders. Last year Feierstein and his colleagues again conducted polling in Bolivia to assist the campaign of right wing candidate Manfred Reyes Villa, who lost by a landslide to President Evo Morales.[1] The appointment of the political pollster has increased apprehension in the region that aid programs will continue to be used to support U.S.-favored political actors within the region’s democracies.

The AIN takes the eminently reasonable position that if Obama wants Latin Americans to see USAID as something more than a shady political operation, he should not appoint shady political operatives to run it.

(Disclaimer: I don’t know much about the AIN, only that I heard an excellent interview with head Kathryn Ledebur on the Just the Facts podcast, and she impressed me very much as a thoughtful person who knows what’s up.)

Evo has a theory

Peter Krupa — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:28:11 +0000

Evo Morales has figured out where homosexuals and baldness come from: The “female” growth hormones used to make poultry freakishly gigantic:

The chicken we eat is full of female hormones. That’s why when men eat these chickens, they experience deviations in their behavior as men.

And for good measure:

Baldness, which seems normal, is a sickness in Europe. Almost everyone is bald. And it’s because of what they eat. Meanwhile, among the indigenous peoples, there are no bald people because we eat something else.

While I admire Evo’s support of organic, hormone-free poultry, I’m not sure falling back on machista bigotry and crack-pot theories is the best way to make one’s case. That said, I can definitely support his claims that Coca-Cola is better used for cleaning drains.

Will have to try that later.

(Original image courtesy Agencia Brasil via Wikimedia Commons.)

Wild-eyed theory of the week

Faceoff

Peter Krupa — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:12:42 +0000

Bolivan President Evo Morales is in Chile this week for Sebastian Piñera’s swearing in as that country’s new president. The two are facing off this afternoon on the football pitch. From EFE:

The game, which was organized by the Chilean Ex-Professional Football Players Union, will include the participation of former renowned Chilean players, including Marcelo Salas, Carlos Caszely, Elías Figueroa, Rubén Martínez, Mario Soto, Pedro González, and Leonel Herrera, among others.

Piñera better bring his A-game: Morales lives and trains in La Paz, 3,640 meters above sea level. On the other hand, Piñera owns part of a professional football team, so maybe he’ll bring some ringers.

Here’s hoping for a match between Chávez and Uribe.

Piñera clearing the air

Who’s the best paid of them all?

Peter Krupa — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:14:02 +0000

Of the top 12 highest paid presidents in the region, who do you think is number one? OK, fine, Barack Obama, who makes about US$400k annually. What about number two? Colombian news magazine Portafolio says it’s Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom, who makes about US$220k annually presiding over a country of 12 million people.

At the bottom of the list is Bolivia’s Evo Morales, who supposedly makes $22,200 a year, which is not enough. And around about the middle is Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, who makes about US$90k, which is surely not true. Canada’s Stephen Harper didn’t even make the list, which has to be a mistake (or maybe because he’s only a prime minister?). And finally, Cuba’s Raul Castro supposedly makes only $30 a month, which is not a big deal when you already own an entire country.

(link: “Los 12 presidentes que mas ganan en América”)