1 I know I'll barely sleep tonight.

2 He's likely to cutoff our supply of llamas. Troubling.

3 "I know, when the awesome military might of the hyper-power Bolivia appears on the horizon off of our coasts, I shall dutifully urinate in my underwear and hide under the bed." You won't the only one to pull up a deck chair, grab a cold Huari from the cooler and watch the antics. It's likely they'll be lost and drifting at the mercy of the wind. If they get too close to shore, we can have fun skipping flat rocks until we sink their raft.

4 Although it sounds funny, if they start giving aid and shelter to our enemies, which they probably will, it wouldn't be good. On the other hand though, a few well-placed bombs would pretty much clear things up.

5 Never waste good ordinance on an ant hill. They want to be drug producers - fine - let'em. Our sole goal should be increased efforts to keep drugs out and attack the glamore of home usage and demand. I think we can do that and stop wasting our time trying to help these dipshit backwater countries. What are they going to do? - their going to produce cocaine bigtime openingly and supply - guess who? - their own people, other SA countries, Europe, tourists etc. Drugs, crime, corruption etc - they are welcome to it. La Paz will become a hot stop for everything - gangs, addicts, prostitution - big boom in the sex tour trade (the euros will love it!). And all those poor peasant farmers ... they will all be working for the Patrons - and if they don't like the price or work hard enough - the death squads will be back in business. Fuck Bolivia - God knows they want to fuck themselves.

6 You can thank Chavez for this. Now every Latin American politician thinks that he's got to talk tough against the USA to get any respect. Nothing's going to come of this because unlike Chavez, Bolivia has nothing to back it up - no disposable currency, no first rate military hardware, no oil or natural gas. I don't foresee them giving aid to any of America's enemies because they aren't in a position to get away with pissing off the US. If anything, Morales will be thinking about how he's going to go hit up the US Ambassador for some more handouts.

7 It's not just Chavez Graeme, he is merely a symptom of a psychosis that infects the populace of Latin America, as well as much of the rest of the world. Read Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot, available on Amazon, it explains in detail exactly what is wrong with the Spanish Speaking world, and what should be done about it. And hondo, I have to disagree. An anthill is the perfect place to demonstrate our intolerance for stupidity. If this moron is elected, we should immediately recall the embassy, order all Americans out, and eject all Bolivians from our country, upon pain of imprisonment as enemy agents. That is, if we had leaders with balls and brains instead of that simpering idiot Bush, who seems determined to let our domestic enemies do what the foreign ones can't.

8 maxie Like your taste in reading material - excellent book! Latin America keeps repeating its history over & over & over again. A treadmill to nowhere. From one leftist dictator to rightist dictator - another military junta (left or right) - from the Patrons to the collectives - guerillas here there everywhere like seasons always changing - always repeating. God! I feel sorry for those people! Obviously I have a soft spot for the latin flavor - so much potential yet so much nothing comes of it. 200 years of almost(s) - like the author said - we get blamed for it all irrationally out of a pyschosis more akin to anti-sementism than ideology. They just don't have enough Jews to blame. I don't want to drop bombs on them - I still like them and hope one day they will wake up.

9 Liking someone has nothing to do with whether or not you need to bomb them. Regardless, I have a unique view on the matter. I think that this out-of-control Hispanic immigration to our country will ultimately benefit both cultures, because we need their groundedness and work ethic, and they need our business and political models. The only trick is not getting assimilated into their culture, while trying to assimilate them into ours. Our adaptabiliy is an extreme advantage in this game however, and as we're playing a home game, we have advantages that far outweigh our paucity in numbers of people in the culture. This also explains why our military "punches above its weight" as it were; we can adapt, and those who cannot adapt do not survive. Survival is the only thing that matters, ultimately, and whatever we have to do to survive if fine by me.

10 Sigh. I beg to disagree, Vinnie. This thug will join the other two thugs in the hemisphere and control all the energy for South America. That's bad news for Argentina, Chile and Brazil and will drive up commodity prices. Like inflation? This guy's gonna give you inflation. Watch copper, iodine, and lithium prices, have fun, and check out that knock-on effect as it filters through all industry. Meanwhile, Marxism will make the place a hopeless basket case so get ready for more immigration. And aid bills. You think we won't pay for this? We'll pay, especially when Bono gets involved. We won't get our llamas cut off, we'll get more Chiclet sellers, this time wearing alpaca. Enjoy. Not only that, the guy loves cocaine. He says he's 'only' gonna legalize the coca leaf but somehow he has a way of not watching what the locals do when they aren't under the watch of anti-drug enforcement. You think they're gonna just stand there and chew? Don't think so. If you're nostalgic for the Carter-era age of crack cocaine and the pre-Giuliani world of mugger's delight, you'll just love Evo Morales. Meanwhile, prepare for the hug- and kissfests between Morales, Maradona, Kirchner, Castro, and Chavez, all of whom will think up ways to do unpleasant things to Uncle Sam. They'll prance around the UN, OAS, World Bank or whoever and denounce us for human rights violations or whatever else they can think of. When you get Evo, you don't just get Evo, but a whole package of offal. You get that whole group and that group is getting bigger. You think it's just Evo? It's not. I hope to god the guy gets passed over by congress in favor of ... well, just about anyone else.

11 Good post A.M..

12 Good post, and informative. But it still doesn't scare me. I'm an American, fer chrissakes. We've weathered far worse than anything these clowns could throw at us. When an assclown like Evo makes remarks like this, the best thing to do is flip off the computer screen and laugh at him.

13 You can thank Chavez for this. Castro, not Chavez. Chavez is just aping his boyfriend now.

14 This post, and especially the replies to it, are a fantastic example of what is wrong with the US and why it is hated the way it is. First off, let me say that I, like any other educated, level-headed latin american with any integrity left, despise the whole Castro-Chavez-Morales axis. These people are wrecking our continent. But they are doing it with the aid of many like those who have posted here. You make fun of these (and I quote) "dipshit backwater countries", hiding comfortably behind your aircraft carriers and ICBMs. I guess they were really helpful on 9/11. What you have to understand is that there is a true hatred of the US here that has been brewing for centuries, and it stems exactly from your kinds of attitudes. You have taken our wealth and toppled our governments left and right however you've seen fit, and yet you have the nerve to later come with this "we're only trying to help" holier-than-thou attitude. If you were to actually study the history books you would find that, despite all the mistakes we've made (and I will go ahead and take some of the collective historical blame for actions in which I had no part), you've had a hand in more of our misery than you might imagine. So before feeling all righteous about all your help, go look at the big picture, and tally all your 'contributions' for the past couple of centuries. That said, I don't wanna come off as anti-american. You will find that most of us admire many of your qualities (hell, millions of people dream of going to the US), but simply cannot tolerate the "to hell with everyone" attitude that has characterized your foreign policy. And, among the most liberal-minded of us, who incidentally are probably YOUR GREATEST ALLIES in the region (yes, you read that right! I am one of them!), we particularly hate the fact that your hubris is only helping these populist clowns sweep to power based on these underlying emotions. If only you could try some modesty and acknowledging of your past mistakes (instead of the bully's typical "I don't care if I was wrong, I'll bomb their asses into oblivion if they dare protest"), you would find that, instead of the Morales of the world preaching your evilness, others like me would be advocating the importance of cordial relations with you. But, damn, are you making our jobs difficult. And by the way, you have absolutely no right, nor moral standing, to call the entire population of a country stupid because of electing a certain leader. As stated before, I despise Morales; still, I recognize that it was the will of a SOVEREIGN nation, and instead of chastizing them, I will now cross my fingers and hope they make the best of it (difficult as it may be). You can ask anyone in the world what we think of you electing someone like Bush, TWICE; and yet we have respected your decision. Can you grant us the same privilege?

15 Doesn't sound like you read my post, Daniel.

16 Daniel, you have a good argument. The only point I would debate you on is your implication that Bush can be compared to some of the dictators elected in South America. And your conception that anyone here is attacking every citizen of South America. The problem is not so much our individual citizens here in the US as it is the bad propaganda disseminated in South America by these dictatorships in South America. And with your argument you do not include other countries that exploit your citizens and prop up the dictators and drug gangs? Spain is selling arms to Chavez. Nice, huh? Many in Canada, France, the UK and others just want to enjoy cheap service in lavish seaside resorts ignoring that those who wait on them hand and foot go home to slums at the end of their shift. Human rights abusers from other countries love to dodge indictments from world courts and hide in South America with impunity. And there's so much more. Why single out America to the exclusion of all else? As far as the governments elected in South America? Wouldn't it be nice to have more choices than Morales or Chavez? Who's exploiting who here? It's our fault your only choices are those who want to cozy up to Castro on an anti-American platform? How about internal law enforcement? It's non existent throughout much of South America. Corruption - rampant. I understand you're upset, but we are not the sole source of all the ills in South America. I know it's convenient to blame us for everything.

17 Good post, Daniel. I agree with a lot of what you said with regard to the relationship between the US and Latin America in general. I've spent several summers in Latin American countries and have found the people to be both anti and pro American. A strange dichotomy that is difficult to explain. That said, let me say this. The problem with Latin America is mostly with the people of Latin America. Ever since the Spanish settled and conquered the region, the people have almost always set up institutions and governments that are both anti-democratic and economically weak. There is no reason that most nations in LA cannot be democratic and properous. The economic systems that are successful are out there for everyone to see. The Japanese, for example, are not rich in resources, but have put an economic system in place that insures success. I realize that stability is an important aspect of an economic system, and if there is a major flaw in LA, perhaps it is the lack of stability in most countries. But Mexico has been stable for a long period of time, and it still contiues to make the same mistakes. And Daniel, don't make too much of what you read on a blog. Most Americans don't think that Bolivia or any other LA country should just be bombed for electing whoever its leader. Those kinds of statements are made, but even most of the people who make them do not really mean it.

18 Daniel, determined to prove to us he is the Perfect Latin American Idiot, wrote: "This post, and especially the replies to it, are a fantastic example of what is wrong with the US and why it is hated the way it is." You mean because of petty jealousy and ignorance on the part of everyone who is too big a loser to make their own country succeed? "First off, let me say that I, like any other educated, level-headed latin american with any integrity left, despise the whole Castro-Chavez-Morales axis. These people are wrecking our continent." But... "But they are doing it with the aid of many like those who have posted here." /coughbullshitcough "You make fun of these (and I quote) "dipshit backwater countries", hiding comfortably behind your aircraft carriers and ICBMs." Yeah, that's pretty much the way it works. I haver nothing personal against Hispanics, and generally tend to like them better than most people on average, because Hispanics and Southerners are very much alike in many ways, but if the people of Bolivia are determined to prove it by making an enemy of the most powerful nation on earth, then let's call it like it is; they're idiots. "I guess they were really helpful on 9/11." Idiots like you always try to blame us for the actions and failings of others, but its your culture that has proven to be the biggest failure in the hemisphere, as Arabs are the biggest failure in the East, outside of Africa. America is the only nation on the face of the earth that is truly free and prosperous, which is why everyone hates us, but they still want to come here. "What you have to understand is that there is a true hatred of the US here that has been brewing for centuries, and it stems exactly from your kinds of attitudes." So since so many Hispanics like you have such shitty attitudes, that means its okay to hate you? "You have taken our wealth and toppled our governments left and right however you've seen fit, and yet you have the nerve to later come with this "we're only trying to help" holier-than-thou attitude." That's idiotic communist propaganda bullshit lies and you know it, but you're too stupid to wise up. Moron. "If you were to actually study the history books you would find that, despite all the mistakes we've made (and I will go ahead and take some of the collective historical blame for actions in which I had no part), you've had a hand in more of our misery than you might imagine." You mean like the fact that we tried to drag you out of the 18th century into the 20th? Yeah, sorry for trying to help you modernize, because you, as a culture, clearly don't deserve it. "So before feeling all righteous about all your help, go look at the big picture, and tally all your 'contributions' for the past couple of centuries." How about we just close the borders and leave you to starve? Oh wait, you probably live in the US, so it would only be those who are oppressed by tyrannical governments that starve. Hispanic governments are far more racist, corrupt, and brutal than any American government, yet you deign to judge us. Hypocrite and moron. How nice. "That said, I don't wanna come off as anti-american." Too late for that. Why don't you move to Cuba and join the glorious revolution? Oh that's right, you like to talk like you're an idiot, but you don't really believe the crap you say. Which makes you a typical liberal, anti-American hypocrite. "You will find that most of us admire many of your qualities (hell, millions of people dream of going to the US), but simply cannot tolerate the "to hell with everyone" attitude that has characterized your foreign policy." Yeah, we said to hell with the Afghans and Iraqis by bringing them democracy and the rule of law, didn't we? Dipshit. "And, among the most liberal-minded of us, who incidentally are probably YOUR GREATEST ALLIES in the region (yes, you read that right! I am one of them!), we particularly hate the fact that your hubris is only helping these populist clowns sweep to power based on these underlying emotions." Bull. Shit. "If only you could try some modesty and acknowledging of your past mistakes (instead of the bully's typical "I don't care if I was wrong, I'll bomb their asses into oblivion if they dare protest"), you would find that, instead of the Morales of the world preaching your evilness, others like me would be advocating the importance of cordial relations with you. But, damn, are you making our jobs difficult." What we should try is finding and killing all the ungrateful morons like you in the world who are too goddamn stupid to see the good we've tried to do. "And by the way, you have absolutely no right, nor moral standing, to call the entire population of a country stupid because of electing a certain leader." Hey, majority rules. Americans were stupid, twice, to elect Bubba, so Bolivians don't get a free pass either. "As stated before, I despise Morales; still, I recognize that it was the will of a SOVEREIGN nation, and instead of chastizing them, I will now cross my fingers and hope they make the best of it (difficult as it may be)." And you hope he gets elected, despite the ruin he will bring Bolivia, just so you can laugh at the US. Moron. "You can ask anyone in the world what we think of you electing someone like Bush, TWICE; and yet we have respected your decision." No you haven't. "Can you grant us the same privilege?" If Hispanics aren't smart enough to stop voting for people like Fox, Chavez, et al, then they deserve the derision that is sure to follow. Once this idiot in Bolivia gets elected, he will systematically pillage the national economy and set up a Swiss bank account just like every other dictator, and the people will deserve every bit of the misery they get until they wise up and do something to correct their mistake.

19 Nothing like saying "Bull Shit" in response to a well reasoned argument. Daniel makes some good points. You don't have to agree with him, but at least try to show some respect. Ironically, you're just proving one of his key points. Anyway, for another interesting article on why this election is important to both Bolivians AND Americans, check out: http://theshapeofdays.com/2005/12/we_can_smell_the_smoke_can_the_flames_be_far_behind.html

20 Let 'em grow coca, fer crissakes... it's the cheapest and most effective tool against altitude sickness they've got. And if you lived in the Bolivian highlands, you'd be concerned about that, too. Not, mind you, that I'm losing sleep over YET ANOTHER latin-american leftist.

21 Hey Ben, I don't have to show respect for idiotic propaganda bullshit lies, and you're a moron for not seeing it for what it is, no matter how well it is presented. Bullshit wrapped in Christmas paper with a big red bow is still bullshit.

22 First off, I'd like to thank those of you who took the time to actually read and write sensible replies to my post, whatever our differences in opinion. It's great to see that some people can still be reasoned with. The others, I will ignore, for I definitely think americans are smarter, more mature and more tolerating than that. It strikes me that there are two points which I did not clearly make in my original post (although I meant to): 1) I completely understand and accept that most of the mistakes we in Latin America have made (and, as the news show, continue making) in government are ours and ours alone (as I implied before, I am still young to consider many of those my own, but I accept the collective responsibility and I am definitely trying my best to make it better). Frankly, those are the big issues to solve, the ones I really lose sleep over, and what pisses me off is that those efforts get sidetracked by populist clowns exploiting these sentiments in the population which, although they stem from the truth, shouldn't really be the focus of our concerns today. 2) Of the external factors which have negatively affected us, I do not in any way want to make it look like the US is the only one to blame. Oyster, for instance, has a great point with Spain's Rodriguez Zapatero cozying up to Chavez. Believe me, we have our problems with other powers as well (for instance, the unexplainable support most of Europe gave to the FARC terrorists for decades, thinking they were some sort of romantic popular army while they slaughtered peasants and kidnapped our families). I centered on the US in my post in response to the comments above, which were undoubtedly from americans, and because it is clearly at the center of the populists' rhetoric. What I would like americans to understand is that there are many of us who are on your side, although not unconditionally; we could not possibly turn a blind eye to the wrongs you've made, just as we cannot ignore our own. Failure to do any of those would be hypocritical. If you would be so kind as to show a little less arrogance and a little more repentance, it would help us a lot to focus on our own issues and get cooler heads to prevail. If my previous post seemed a bit aggressive, I apologize, but I have to admit that reading some of those things really hurts our pride, especially for those of us who have put ourselves on the line here with daring to suggest, in often adverse political climates, that it is important to keep a relationship of mutual understanding with the US. To Oyster: I did not mean to compare Bush to the dictators of the region; I meant that your choices of leadership can evoke feelings just as strong among us as ours seem to evoke on you. The only way out of that is respect for our sovereignty. To A.M. Mora y Leon: Actually, I did your post, and found it among the most insightful here. Very good points that very few people seem to understand. Actually, the only reason I got here was by following a link from your story in Publius Pundit. I would now like to briefly abandon the high ground and make two quick personal points (I probably shouldn't, but I guess I'm also human). First, to whoever suggested I probably actually live in the US: I don't, nor would I like to. I am also putting my money where my mouth is, since I have actually had some pretty lucrative offers to go there. I am a part of the generation who thinks we're lucky to be educated and we have to stay here and fight the battles for a better future. Second: I found it particularly funny that I was called a 'leftist', since I lean a lot closer to the right on many aspects in our political spectrum. Hell, leftists here would burn me at the stake for several of the things I've said. I am probably a prototypical Chavez "puppy of the empire". Heh.

23 I can't believe a tongue-in-cheek post that took less than 5 minutes to throw up, making fun of a guy who issued threats to my country, generated this type of reaction. Fascinating.

24 Daniel, while I appreciate your candor, I hope you understand one thing. This is something that many outside our borders just don't get. You'll find that your first comment would get a standing ovation from some here in the states, but they are the ones that have displayed an utter contempt for the country they were lucky enough to be born in and believe there is nothing good here at all. They seek to tear it down at any cost and by siding with dictators and terrorists and always, always, blame America first. You read the news, I know. You see the strife here between those who seek a communist utopia and those of us who want to stay free. However, the majority are of the mind that while we know we aren't perfect, when someone puts us down, in spite of our own in-house petty bickering, we stand together and don't take kindly to being berated for the errors of past administrations. Or when we've done the right thing yet those who were on the receiving end of our honest efforts fail to carry on. And yes, errors have been made. But unlike many governments and people, we try to correct them. As a people, we try to make good and we are very, very generous of heart and wallet. It's really a shame that others perceive us or our government to have a "to hell with everyone else" attitude. Mostly it's not that at all. More often it's just that unpopular decisions are made, but even if they're the right decisions people perceive it as we just don't care because we didn't appease the right people. We're not politically correct enough. The anti-Americanism in the world doesn't have the legs some think it does. It's more a psychosis than a real gripe. It's become much like the anti-semitism around the world. Ask an anti-semite why they hate the Jews and they can't give you a straight answer. We try to work with other governments in ways to benefit us both and get double-talk and subterfuge and then the benefits never seem to trickle down to the people of the other governments. I won't hit on every issue, but I think you get my drift. And look around the world. How many times have we given out of the goodness of our hearts only to be stabbed in the back because we didn't do "enough" or didn't help the "right" people. It was too little or it was too late. And if we do more, we're seen as trying to buy a favorable opinion. We can't win. Everyone thinks we have ulterior motives and refuse to believe we would do anything selflessly. After a while one just gets disgusted and says, "fuck it", "fuck everbody". But we don't really mean it and we keep trying anyway. Anyone that can't see these things and somehow believes that we're so different than anyone else is willfully blind.

25 Another castro bootlicker why dont all the hollywood left as well as the jerk JIMMY CATRER go down there and live

26 Can we do an exchange program? Maybe we could send all of our liberal scum in exchange for everyone who voted against this primitive moron.

27 Bolivians must have got their courage from the Butch Cassidy killing. They probably still have the same weapons.