OxBlog

Friday, November 22, 2002

# Posted 7:04 PM by Ariel David Adesnik  

AXE TO GRIND: I have spent a lot of time working on Latin American politics, so when the NY Times opens its big mouth on the subject, I tend to get pissed off. In an editorial today, the Times argues that
Free-market economic prescriptions pushed by Washington have been discredited. Leftist and populist alternatives are gaining support, as evidenced by Luiz InĂ¡cio Lula da Silva's election last month to the Brazilian presidency.
Really? While Lula was once a leftist and populist, that stand cost him three consecutive presidential elections. Only this year, after cutting a deal with the IMF and campaigning in a suit instead of denim did he manage to pull off a victory. If free markets were discredited, you might actually see countries closing their markets off to the world. But even in Argentina, which is suffering its worst crisis since the Great Depression, no one thinks that the economy can survive in isolation.

I hope you enjoyed that. Maybe once we get rid of Saddam, OxBlog can post more Latin American news and commentary.
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