Political Bashing

Daniel Ortega has become el Presidente of Nicaragua. Another leftist president in Latin America and another blow to the Bush Administration. The last thing the Bush administration wants is another socialist government in Latin America. To understand this, it is necessary to go back to the 1930's.

1930's-Augusto Sandino leads a peasant army against the US backed military government. The US installs Somoza as the leader of Nicaragua, who eventually defeats and executes Sandino. Four decades of Somoza rule begins

1951-Jacob Arbanz Guzman is elected President of Guatemala and begins political and economic reforms that threaten US interests in the region

1954-A CIA led coup ousts Guzman and the military takes over Guatemala

1959-Fidel Castro and his guerilla army oust Cuban President Batist. The new communist government ceases all American property in Cuba

1961-Cuban exiles, under American direction, land at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba in an attempt to overthrow Castro. However they are defeated by Castro's army and are imprisoned

1966-A 30 year civil war between the US backed military government and Marxist rebels in Guatemala

1979-The last Somoza to rule Nicaragua is forced out of office. Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista Army defeat the Guardia Nacional and then cease power. US President Jimmy Carter refuses to aid Somoza after some of his soldiers execute an American journalist

1980's-President Ronald Reagan orders the CIA to train and fund the Contras. The Contras are former members of Nicaragua's Guardia Nacional and their aim is to overthrow Ortega and the Sandinistas. Both sides commit atrocious acts of human rights violations

1990-Daniel Ortega is voted out of office

So the US has quite a history of conflicts with socialist/Marxist/leftist governments in Central America; they see leftist governments in the region as a threat to their regional interests. The thing to remember is that many of the US backed governments were only interested in serving their own, as well as, US interests. The leftists enjoyed widespread support amongst the general population who suffered political and economic oppression. When a leftist leader says he/she will work for the interests of the common person, then most people will vote for that person. The US needs to realize that supporting corrupt leaders does not win them any friends.

Recently CNN has been running a series of programs called Broken Government. This program has been looking at what the American Congress has been doing since George Bush entered the White House, and CNN has been very critical over what has been happening. At the bottom of the screen the emails people have sent to the show are posted so that viewers can see what ordinary Americans are saying. For the most part, these emails show that there are a lot of angry people in the USA.

Frankly, I do not blame them. Americans should be on the street protesting what has gone on.

1)Bush has used the 9/11 attacks to promote his agenda. Over the past 5 years, with Congressional support, Americans have watched this government take their civil liberties away (Patriot Act).

2)Record deficits-the US has gone into massive debt since Bush came into office. His great-grandchildren will feel the effects of this debt.

3)Theocracy-Bush takes his advice from people who wish to turn America into a theocracy like Iran (except it would be based on Christian-Judeo values).

4)Iraq-need I say more.

5)Donald Rumsfeld-how does this man still have a job? Two years ago he said that the Iraqi insurgency was at its last breath, yet the number of attacks have increased dramatically. At one point in history, the President would of fired him for his incompetence.

6)Corruption-politicians from both parties have been involved in corruption scandals and there is no accountability. Both parties have resorted to covering up the scandals.

I hope the Americans are smart enough to vote these politicians out of office.