COLUMBIA: A Solution to the Violence?
In the WAIS 2001 conference, there will be a session on "Is Castro's Cuba a
model for Latin America?" It should be interesting.
Ronald Hilton - 10/03/00
The senseless violence continued in Colombia. The government seemed
ineffective, but the guerrillas were ruthless. They sewed land mines. How
did they get them? Colombian TV showed children who had lost their legs.
Probably a majority of Colombians favored a military dictatorship. In a
poll asking Colombians which Latin American leaders they admired, Peru´s
Fujimori. backed by the military and generally discredited, won 21$ of the
votes. Fidel Castro, the hero of the left, won 17%. Venezuela's Hugo Chávez
came in third with only 7%. Colombians are deeply resentful of Venezuela's
behavior. Chávez sees himself as a new Bolivar, Uniting Latin America
against the United States. Castro, who has the same ambition, is clearly
the winner.
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