maqroll Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 I figure a catchall thread would be good for this part of the world. I'm starting one now because one time hero Daniel Ortega is now a murderous tyrant as 70% of the roads in Nicaragua are currently blocked by protesters who want him to resign. The heady days of the Sandinistas seem a long time ago. Ortega's armed forces are shooting to kill and are killing. He's got a civilian paramilitary carrying out most of it. I wouldn't be surprised if Trump sends the marines in there, it would be an easy win and he can rouse his base with it as the midterm elections near. Reagan invaded Grenada, Bush Sr. invaded Panama. If Bush Jr. didn't invade Iraq, I think he would have invaded Venezuela. It's a cynical quick fix for American presidents. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted June 8, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted June 8, 2018 My very limited understanding of the politics of the area is heavily coloured by reading James Ellroy's 'Underworld USA' trilogy. Hardly a reliable source... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 i fear this thread will end up on page 2 before the end of the weekend If I'm honest , I have almost zero knowledge of that region ( though I was aware of the Reagan / Bush forays in those regions you mentioned) and I'm a news leech that reads countless news articles a day .. for whatever reason it just doesn't seem to be grabbing the headline the Korean or Middle East situations do , your post was probably the first I'd heard about the situation in Nicaragua tbh so it sorta makes it hard of me to contribute a lot in this thread ( you could argue that could be said of most threads !!) ,but I'd happily read more in depth info if you post it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 I’d guess having a bit of a dabble in Nicaragua would be more of a sound bite and photo opportunity than getting the electricity switched back on in dirty lazy Puerto Rico. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted July 3, 2018 Author Share Posted July 3, 2018 Mexico just elected a leftist president. Should be interesting how he navigates Trump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 Tropical Trump just won the presidency of Brazil. Openly admiring of the past dictatorship, racist, sexist, etc. This is becoming a global war. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 14 hours ago, maqroll said: Tropical Trump just won the presidency of Brazil. Openly admiring of the past dictatorship, racist, sexist, etc. This is becoming a global war. Just like Trump, what I struggle to understand here, if the news and journalists are to be believed is that he's insulted so many groups. Apparently he's against gays, blacks, indigenous peoples, women and lefties. Which you would imagine leaves him too small a voter base? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post NurembergVillan Posted October 30, 2018 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted October 30, 2018 14 hours ago, maqroll said: Tropical Trump just won the presidency of Brazil. Openly admiring of the past dictatorship, racist, sexist, etc. This is becoming a global war. Donaldinho . 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post peterms Posted October 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted October 30, 2018 21 minutes ago, chrisp65 said: Just like Trump, what I struggle to understand here, if the news and journalists are to be believed is that he's insulted so many groups. Apparently he's against gays, blacks, indigenous peoples, women and lefties. Which you would imagine leaves him too small a voter base? Well it would if all those groups are able to vote, do actually vote, and vote in keeping with the characteristic you identify. I have no idea, but I imagine indigenous peoples are less represented in the voter rolls than they are in the population. And women who are well off may vote in line with their economic status rather than their gender interest, for example. And of course he got a minority of the votes anyway in the first round, getting a majority in the runoff with (I think) a turnout of about 80% despite voting being legally required. I imagine one of his first acts, after arming his supporters, imprisoning and torturing his opponents, and inviting US companies to come and cut down the rainforest to make a few quid while hastening the end of life on earth, will be to make adjustments to the voting procedures. Still, no-one's perfect, eh? 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Apparently something like 30% of those polled who voted for him said they hoped he wouldn't do many of the things he has promised to do, which seems, err . . . optimistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom_Wren Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Was just reading up on this!? WTF? proper radio rental this geezer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villakram Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Democracy strikes again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 A car bomb in Bogota has killed at least 5 people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted October 12, 2019 Author Share Posted October 12, 2019 Indigenous Ecuadorians fighting for their rights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 Just reading about the Brazilian President. He actually makes Trump look like a good guy! So now we have the the largest democracy in the world, the richest most powerful country in the world, and the largest, richest country in South America all governed by right wing nut jobs? What a time to be alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted November 11, 2019 Author Share Posted November 11, 2019 Evo Morales ousted in an old fashioned military coup. Big blow to Indigenous rights movements in the hemisphere. #Bolivia 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 Bitches trying to shut down democracy in Peru, too. Quote Peruvian Election, Still Undecided, Pushes a Democracy to Its Brink https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/10/world/americas/peru-election.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenjiOgiwara Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 I know very little about this part of the world I'm embarrassed to say. But as someone that's educated in natural sciences, I've always wanted to go on a motorcycle trip through the continent and especially visit the amazon river and the rain forests. But I really don't feel comfortable travelling through countries like Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts