LEFTIST LATIN AMERICA: Introduction

President Bush traveled to Argentina last year for the Summit of the Americas, and an extremely telling scene unfolded. While Bush hobnobbed with Argentine president Nestor Kirchner, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez spoke at a rally at a football stadium. Bush held a news conference. Nearby, Chavez pontificated onstage, alongside football legend Diego Maradona (whose t-shirt accused Bush guilty of war crimes), and rallied the crowd, "Only united can we defeat imperialism and bring our people a better life . . . Argentina is dignified. Let's throw out Bush!"

Today in Latin America, those are the two extremes. When Washington is paying attention, they're toting much of the same neoliberal principles that failed the region for the last twenty years. Flip the coin, and you find Chavez (and now Morales following in his footsteps) rallying the continent against economic imperialism.

Add to the mix an abundance of natural resources, including oil and natural gas, indigenous movements, distractions in Iraq and a China who's licking its chops, and Latin America's turn to the Left is a complex and facinating topic which The New York Inquirer will investigate all week.

Today we look at the failure of neoliberalism and current U.S. policy in the region. Tuesday we'll survey the historical icons that inform much of the political momentum at work today. Wednesday we'll survey the current political situation and Thursday China steps in as a major player while we survey nationlized industry across the continent.

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