Mexico Decides 2006

On July 2, Mexicans will go to the polls to decide who will be the successor to President Vicente Fox. Felipe Calderon of the National Action Party, (PAN), is in a very close race with Andner Manuel Lopez Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party, (PRD). A third candidate, Robert Madrazo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), is running a distant third.

The socialist PRI party ruled Mexico for 71 years from 1929 until 2000 when Fox, a member of the PAN party, put an end to the one-party rule with his watershed election. Since that time Mexico has established term limits for president which consist of a single term for six years.

Calderon, who served as Energy Secretary in the Fox Administration, won a tough primary fight to be the ruling party’s heir apparent to Fox. He favors free market reforms, conservative fiscal policies and job creation to help make Mexico more self-sufficient so there will be more incentives to keep Mexicans employed at home rather than having them seek employment across the border. Calderon, who is in a virtual dead heat with Obrardor, (each polling at 35%), is also a very strong social conservative espousing definitive pro-life and Christian sentiments in many of his stump speeches.

The PRD candidate Obrardo is a left-wing socialist who served as Mayor of Mexico City. He favors nationalizing the country’s industries and redistributing wealth to the poor. Obrardo’s support comes from Mexico’s lower class, the Academics and the notorious President of Venezuela- Hugo Chavez.

Chavez, a self-declared enemy of the U.S., recently played a major role in the first South American-Arab Summit in Brazil which attacked both the U.S. and Israel as “chief enemies” of Latin America. Chavez is currently harboring and supporting the FARC guerillas of Columbia- one of the largest and most dangerous terrorist organizations in the world! He frequently refers to the U.S. as “the world’s greatest menace.” He sees himself as fulfilling the mission of Che Guevara and Castro to bring Marxist Revolution to the rest of Latin America. The President of Peru, Alan Garcia, who just recently defeated a Chavez-backed contender in his own election, has warned of Chavez’s meddling in Latin America to unite the continent against the U.S.

Recent defectors from the Presidential Palace in Venezuela accuse Chavez of supporting Hezbollah and al Qaeda activists in their country. Juan Diaz Castillo, a former Venezuelan Air Force Major, has said that Chavez paid $1 Million to al Qaeda after 9/11.

Chavez is also urgently working to find left-wing helpers in America through the National Endowment for Democracy, (NED), and other Liberal networks. He recently paid to have Cindy Sheehan flown toVenezuela to help champion his anti-American cause. Besides his allies in the anti-war movement, he also has many friends involved in the recent Illegal Immigration Rallies which were sponsored by Leslie Cagan. Cagan leads a leftist group in the U.S. known as United For Peace, which has an affiliation with ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). ANSWER is linked to the Iraqi Resistance Movement and interlocks with a myriad of other Marxist organizations like Code Pink, Earth Liberation Front and the Communist World Workers Party. It’s interesting to note that Chavez’s candidacy was originally endorsed by the Carter Center-a nonprofit public policy organization founded in 1982 by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. Why is it that Liberals always seem to align themselves with Communists?

Chavez’s rule is thoroughly autocratic, authoritarian, anti-capitalist and militarist. He’s involved in torture, censorship and systematic murder of political opponents. He vows revenge against the Jews and Capitalists who, in his estimation, have taken possession of the wealth of the world!

Sounds like a real sweety doesn’t he?

The private sector in Venezuela is shrinking under Chavez with inflation at 30%, unemployment at 11%, capital investment fleeing the country and the GDP dropping like a rock. No wonder Carter liked him! He’s forming alliances with Cuba, Libya, China and Iran. Bioweapon-manufacturing operations have been moved from Cuba to Venezuela and Cuban officers, as well as Chinese Special Forces, are now in Venezuela to help train Chavez’s military. Also, true to the Totalitarian model, he has used militant gangs to shut down TV and Radio stations that have broadcasted criticism of his policies. Any insult of Chavez is now regarded as a crime against the State. Meeting with Saddam Hussein shortly after his capture, Chavez couldn’t resist embracing
him! I suppose “birds of a feather do flock together.” He has received awards from Muammar Gaddafi and has played host to Iran’s Mohammad Khatami, who besides seeking the development of Nuclear Weapons is requesting permission from the Polish Government to inspect Auschwitz and Birkenau to determine whether or not the Holocaust REALLY happened!

Perhaps the most immediate threat from Chavez has been the indication that he may cut-off the Venezuelan (CITGO) oil supply to the U.S., which is our fourth largest importer at 1.5 million barrels a day. Still, one can’t ignore the disturbing likelihood that Chavez will soon be exporting more “Revolution” than oil since he has purchased over 100,000 AK-47s and various military helicopters from Russia. His actions are worrisome because thery’re beginning to match his rhetorical fervor. Gerver Torres, a former Venezuelan minister, has said, “Chavez’s main motivation now is to do everything he possibly can to negatively affect the U.S.”

With supporters like Chavez, I’m sure hoping that the good people of Mexico will reject Obrardor and cast their vote for the only true Conservative, Pro-American choice: Calderon. Suddenly I’m hungry for El Pueblito’s. Mexican anyone?
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