ADVOCATE'S OVERVIEW By ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
NORDIS WEEKLY
January 29, 2006
 

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Bolivia president and Palestine parliamentary elections

There were new world developments that I think may put a question to the world’s dominant economic order and the rule of the United States of America as the sole world superpower.

Just recently, a militant Bolivian of the Aymara Indian won as the first Indian president of Bolivia, one of the poorest nations of Latin America. What is notable of this man named Evo Morales is his Indian origin. He promised to address the issues of his fellow indigenous peoples.

Since Christopher Columbus colonized the Indian nations of Latin America, the region, including Bolivia, have been serving as the resource base of the capitalists countries. What’s worst is that the people who protected and utilized these resources never benefited from their own land. It was exploitation continuously done in conduit with local ruling elite raking most of the profits from nurturing their corporate interests of the industrialized states.

The US and its allies may have been threatened by this development, as Morales (who should not be mistaken for Paquiao’s knocked-down Mexican opponent Erik Morales) announced that he will undo the Andean nation’s colonial past and increase the state’s control of its vast natural resources. The state control will be favorable for the development of its industries as these will nationalize and de-monopolize the control by foreign corporate interests.

Definitely, the US and its allies will be anxious. While these in power call on WTO member-countries to open their resources to multi-national corporations for exploitation, the new announcement of Morales is anti-multinational, nevertheless pro-Indians.

What makes the US worry more is the leftist politics of Morales. He is known to be very close with Cuban president Fidel Castro and Venezuelan president Hugo.

Cuba is the only state in Latin America that continuously lives with the principles of socialism – despite institutionalized black propaganda against Cuba by the US. Hugo’s Venezuela is in its socialist stage of nationalizing its industries, especially oil. He survived the US backed-up call for him to be removed from his position. But the peoples’ support failed the US move.

In fact, after the election, Venezuela’s Hugo was in Bolivia to show his support to Morales. With Morales’ win and friendly relations with Cuba and Venezuela, the threat against US and multi-national interests in Latin America is a reality. And socialism as an alternative to capitalist system will be discussed as viable.

Another world development that serves as a threat against US and its Israel ally in the Middle East is the parliamentary elections in Palestine. The Islamic militant Hamas in a news update won at least 75 of the more or less 130 parliamentary seats in the first ever parliamentary elections in that country.

Palestine was an Islamic state that had existed prior to World War II. After WW II, the Jews from Europe and Asia “displaced” the Islam in that area claiming that land is a “promised land” for them.

Through colonialism, Israel was established as a state after WW II. A United Nations’ compromised solution was adopted where it divided the old Palestine for Israel and Palestine. However, Israel continuously adopted a policy of not recognizing such; in fact, expanded to the religious areas in the old Palestine including West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The Islamic states of the Middle East and northern Africa joined forces to stopped Israel. But Israel won against the Islamic states due to the support by the United States and its allies, and the UN’s failure to implement its resolution.

The poor Palestinian people were forcibly reduced as refugees in different Islamic countries. It is only lately during the time of Yasser Arafat that they tried to rebuild that state – politically and economically – of course after compromise as claimed by militants, including the Hamas.

The Palestinian’s Fatah ruling party had adopted a policy of open-dialogue with Israel, but the latter snubbed them as it claimed they could not contain the “terroristic act” by the militant Hamas.

There are now future scenarios for Palestine with regard this development: the Hamas-led parliament will adopt a policy to assert their equal sovereignty in dealing with Israel; and, will the Hamas adopt a soft approach on the issue, like any revolutionary groups did when they enter parliamentary struggle when they left their armed struggle.

Only history will tell which among the scenario will happen. However, I am sure that the US and its allies are threatened with these developments. #

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