Word: shifters
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...failed coup in 1992. So, Venezuela is likely at a military disadvantage - especially since many of its soldiers and officers aren't enthusiastic about either Chavez or the FARC. "There are too many Venezuelan generals who won't want to go to war over the FARC," says Michael Shifter, of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washinton, D.C. "Would they follow Chavez's orders...
...little too late to repair Bush's own frayed relations with the region, but it "helps lay the groundwork for a new, more engaged approach to Latin America that tries to redress the tremendous gap between what Washington cares about and what Latin Americans worry about," says Michael Shifter, vice president for policy at the Washington-based think thank Inter-American Dialogue...
...bigger problem than Yanqui interference may have been Yanqui neglect. After Ortega was ousted from power in 1990, the U.S. did little to help war-ravaged Nicaragua get back on its feet. "We got rid of the Sandinistas and said everything else would take care of itself," says Michael Shifter, vice president for policy at the Washington-based think tank Inter-American Dialogue. "That created a lot of discontent" that aided Ortega's eventual comeback. The new Ortega may still prove to be the old caudillo, but his victory is a reminder of the price the U.S. so often pays...
...problem for Correa, Shifter points out, is that by playing "the quintessential anti-establishment candidate," one who will take on not only Ecuador's corrupt ruling class but also the military and other entrenched institutions, "you wonder how he'll be able to govern if he's elected and creates that kind of atmosphere of confrontation...
...what can the Bush Administration do in 2007 to regain the hemispheric influence that has hemorrhaged in recent years? As a start, says Shifter: "It could show that it is much more engaged with the social agenda in Latin America and not just interested in trade deals" that Latin Americans so often view as favorable to U.S. interests. Otherwise, Washington can expect to have a whole new generation of fiery Latin leaders calling it names...