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Colombia’s Third Way

With the FARC having devolved into little more than bandits, a new left-wing party has emerged

By James North

Jorge Franco is a 54-year-old truck driver and a political paradox. On the one hand, he enthusiastically supports Colombia’s right-wing president, Álvaro Uribe, who won reelection last May in a landslide. “Uribe pushed back the subversives and he’s making the country safe again,” Franco says. “That man truly wears pants. At the same time, Franco is disturbed by the ongoing… return to article

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    There are no easy answers for Colombia. I am hopeful that the rise of the Latin American Left in recent years will come to Colombia as well.
    It is clear that the War on Drugs has not worked, and that the continued illegality of drugs keeps the price high and allows for huge profits to be made.

    United States Posted by lams712 on Mar 22, 2007 at 2:14 PM

    I’m SHOCKED, your last sentence above is pure libertarianism and the ONLY true statement that you have made to date. At least on the threads that I have seen. As far as the first statement goes the Left will
    go again as its failure has become apparent. Latin Amercia has suffered horrendously from four centuries of Big Government from
    Allende to Peron to Castro to Cardenas & PRI to various populist clowns in Venezuela, Panama, Brazil to Commie governments in Bolivia
    going back to the early 50s. The only economic success story has been Chile under Pinochet. I didn’t favor his abrogation of civil liberties but at
    least he had great economic smarts. Was cutting the balls off a very few thousand lefties justified since it saved millions of people from the horrors of the Communist State Allende was trying to impose ?  Look
    at Mugabe, the Communist Cannibal in Zimbabwe now. Typical of both leftists in power and stinking Africans in power. So glad I left the left.
    Fucking losers.

    United States Posted by blondemike on Mar 26, 2007 at 2:57 PM

    Again BM shows the cowering ignorance of the dilettante that he is.

    Thank you for admitting that Pinochet’s “success” came due to “his abrogation of civil rights”. Of course, that’s the ONLY way Capitalism can really work. Maybe with your confession there’s some hope for you, but I doubt it. You can’t accept the fact that the “populist clowns” were actually ELECTED (as was Allende). Free market extremists like you like to spout about “freedom of choice” but have always had a problem with freedom of choice when it turns out not to be the choice YOU would want. So go on supporting your right-wing governments that suppress, imprison and murder. Your HYPOCRISY shines through with every statement you make.

    United States Posted by lams712 on Mar 27, 2007 at 9:46 PM

    So Chile is the only example of capitalism working ? You totally ignore the context of how Allende was Sovietizing and wrecking the economy
    and 2000% inflation, arming his violent supporters, supported by Castro, etc.  Barely 40% originally voted for Allende and his support had
    dropped to half of that. If you want to see how things work under socialism go visit the Marxist Cannibal Robert Mugabe and lots of luck !
    You are a dying breed. Thankfully. Hitler was actually elected too and after a few years had much more support than the turd world clowns you
    dicklick. He was a socialist but less extreme economically than your tattered Marxian heroes.

    United States Posted by blondemike on Mar 28, 2007 at 2:27 PM

    LIAR.

    Feel free to answer my questions directly next time. Your dodges are so commonplace you should change your name to “The Artful Dodger”.

    United States Posted by lams712 on Mar 28, 2007 at 5:31 PM

    Well ! Well ! Another tantrum from baby lams. I did answer your questions but you don’t like the answers. So sorry. Again, a total failure by you to document my “lies.” So sad, little boy blue.

    United States Posted by blondemike on Mar 28, 2007 at 5:44 PM

    I’m not the one throwing tantrums, I am just following up your propagandistic lies with the truth. I have pointed out your deceitful lies on previous threads, here your lies are more lies of omission. Here you are the Artful Dodoger. You claim to be of an ideology where free of choice is paramount, but when individuals fail to choose who YOU think SHOULD be chosen, you support their overthrow and you support regimes that suppress dissent, free elections, etc. all in the name of the “freedom”. You and people of your ilk are hypocrites of the highest order. I’m sorry I’m the one that had to tell you, but I think deep down in your heart you know you are one. I will continue to point out your Orwelian doublespeak when you post your blather at this website.

    United States Posted by lams712 on Mar 29, 2007 at 7:57 AM

    You ARE throwing juvenile tantrums, reread your postings. I didn’t even endorse Pinochet but merely pointed out what a total mess that the Commies under Allende had made and asked if Pinochet IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ACTUAL SITUATION WAS THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN. Today Chile has the best economy in the Hemisphere. I’m sorry if Baby Lams has a shit fit over this but it’s time to change your diapers. Frankly you smell.

    United States Posted by blondemike on Mar 29, 2007 at 9:31 AM

    BM (aka Toilet):
    Chile has one of the best economies in Latin America because the properly elected left wing governments in Chile since Pinochet’s abdication in 1990 have done a heck of a job cleaning up the mess that Pinochet left behind.
    Thank goodness democracy is starting to trump brute force again. The pendulum is swinging back the correct way.

    Enjoy your irrelevance, righty hypocrite.

    United States Posted by lams712 on Apr 1, 2007 at 10:01 AM

    NO, WRONG AGAIN, the prosperity was started, developed, came and matured during the Pinochet years, 1973-90 and what the left center govts in Chile HAVE done is keep those policies largely intact. See Paul Craig Roberts early 90s book on this exact topic. Viva Pinochet !

    United States Posted by blondemike on Apr 2, 2007 at 3:31 PM

    ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

    Of course you would say VIVA PINOCHET!!!! A fascist would always honor a fellow fascist.

    Way to be a libertarian, hypocrite.

    United States Posted by lams712 on Apr 3, 2007 at 12:33 PM

    YOU are telling ME what a libertarian is ?????????????????????
    I don’t think so.

    United States Posted by blondemike on Apr 16, 2007 at 11:14 AM
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