Mexico, Venezuela Sever Ties

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused Mexican leader Vicente Fox of being a "puppy" of President Bush and said: "Don't mess with me, sir." Fox shot back on Monday that "we have dignity in this country" and demanded an apology. Now the two nations are withdrawing their ambassadors.

The severing of diplomatic relations came after a week of verbal sparring that highlighted Latin America's differences over free trade and relations with the United States. The conservative Fox tends to side with Washington on many issues, while Chavez, a socialist and populist, has been one of the hemisphere's strongest critics of Bush.

Venezuela's president has repeatedly accused Fox of being a "puppy" of American interests and of disrespecting him after the pair took opposing positions during this month's Summit of the Americas. full text

Comments

[jolari]

Here's a link to El Universal, a daily newspaper from Venezuela. Has some info on this if anyone is interested. Chavez worries me & has for some time.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.eluniversal.com/&prev=/search%3Fq%3Del%2Buniversal%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26rls%3DGGLD,GGLD:2004-50,GGLD:en

[DiedraMichelle]

Chavez is in puppy love with Castro. He's a wanna be revoloutionist. Loser with a capital L!

[hardyandtiny]

Fox should shit on some newspaper and sent it to Chavez.

[Botched]

Maybe Casper will grab him up and whisk him away. The world would be a safer place without him.
Chavez is no better than a terrorist. He's a bully and a loadmouth. Maybe he will simply disappear one day.

[TheAlamo]

Not impressed with Chavez, but let's face it. "Free trade" is only for the monopolists and you and I will not benefit. We will, in fact, have our incomes hit again as more jobs go to cheap labor sources, both here from illegals, and south of us as more business exits the country. American based businesses will be undercut by cheap goods from the south, causing more and more Americans to lose jobs.
Free trade is only "free trade" when ALL parties are allowed to participate. This includes getting a fair price for your labor, not only here but in South America (and China as well).

Both jobs and spendable income in the United States has done nothing but decline during the past TWO (NOTE: one administration was democratic, the other republican--but the results to you and me--are THE SAME) administrations. The United States had a -2% savings rate in 2003, and we are in worse shape economically than we were then...because people are actually living on credit instead of captial. Our enemies control our national debt...which we cannot pay. While inflation "shrinks" some of the debt, it also shrinks buying power at the same time.

The so-called "free trade" is, in fact, anything but "free." While you and I may benefit in the (VERY) short run from lower prices, the continuous influx of cheap labor from our wide open borders, and the continued exodus of jobs from here to other nations where labor is cheap, spells lower and lower standards of living for the people here as your and my buying power diminishes.

If you want TRUE free trade....and you should, then the governments involved have only ONE function. To protect the parties from physical harm when transporting goods and services, and to make sure EVERYONE, both SMALL and large business, and...including labor forces, (individually, not through unions) has the right to engage in free trade---not just the huge monopolies.
But,...minus an awakening by the people, you will not see that, but you WILL see your lifestyle continue to decline as purchasing power continues to shrink along with available jobs.

Ah, but socialism is such a haven of equality isn't it?
Yep we are all EQUALLY getting poorer.

[katya]

Like him or not, Chavez is the deomcratically elected preseident of Venezuela and he has done some very positive things for the country. Fox is pretty unpopular in Mexico and many Mexicans agree with the comments that Chavez made. Except for the rich getting richer, NAFTA has been a disaster for Mexico and is one of the main causes for the increase in illegal immigration to the US.

Fox is a lame duck and it is very unlikely that his party (PAN) will win in the next presidential election. (July 2006) The frontrunner right now is Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador from the leftist PRD party, a man very much like Chavez.

[Botched]

Posted by: katya | Nov 15, 2005 11:08:35 AM

AND....your point is?

[Botched]

Posted by: katya | Nov 15, 2005 11:08:35 AM

AND....your point is?

[TheAlamo]

Except for the rich getting richer, NAFTA has been a disaster for Mexico and is one of the main causes for the increase in illegal immigration to the US.

Posted by: katya | Nov 15, 2005 11:08:35 AM

Exactly the point I was making above, and if people don't quit listening to the "free trade" lies, they will find themselves getting poorer and poorer. Problem is that just like an avalance, it starts small, and picks up volume and speed as things go downhill. THEN...everyone will look to government for the answers..(after all we have been well trained to do so). The governments will blame "free trade" (which it isn't)
and use it as an excuse to solve the problem...and they will....with more of the same.

But the bright side is...we will all be "equal." Equally poor.

[TheAlamo]

Like him or not, Chavez is the deomcratically elected preseident of Venezuela and he has done some very positive things for the country. Fox is pretty unpopular in Mexico and many Mexicans agree with the comments that Chavez made. Except for the rich getting richer, NAFTA has been a disaster for Mexico and is one of the main causes for the increase in illegal immigration to the US.

Posted by: katya | Nov 15, 2005 11:08:35 AM

But this part about Chavez..........?

While you have been "told" Chaves has done good things, what are they?
He is part of the game. This is the "good cop," "bad cop" game being played on the masses. The powers at the corporate level have known for a long, long, time that the way to control your opposition is to -BE YOUR OPPOSITION.
Chavez is a socialist leaning toward communism from all information that I can gather. The NAFTA liars are fascists. So, what is the difference for the common man? NOTHING. NADA.
In either case we lose. TRUE Free trade is the only system that will work for the majority of the people, the majority of the time. The other two systems, communism like you see in China, or fascism, which is what is taking shape here, work for only the "elite."

The game is to make people think there is conflict. With this system, the large money/power brokers win either way. If they sway the masses to the left (Chavez)--they win. If they sway the masses to the right(NAFTA)--they win. Occaisionally, they even throw in a war to help the people "side" one way or the other, and, of course, to cut down on the population.
Why do you think they keep up the arguments via the media of "right" vs. "left" and yet, nothing changes? We will continue this slide into economic hardship--and more war, and elimination of more of our rights, until the people wake up to the con.

TRUE free trade and open markets is what will set men free--not governments, not "leaders."
Look in the mirror. THAT is the person you need to listen to. THAT is the person whose needs should be addressed.

Once we again come to the realization that WE are the answer--not government, and put government back where it belongs--(in the servant status instead of the ruler status)--we will once again return to the abundance that we previously had--and it will be asset value--not credit card debt.
If not, get used to a lower and lower standard of living, cause that is what will happen.