“Jack, what about South America?

I’ve received a number of TTPer inquiries asking, in effect, “Jack, what about South America?  There are 350 million people down there!  How come you never talk about them?”

This is a good point.  It’s because, in terms of geopolitical heft, South America doesn’t really matter.  I suppose I could write a piece on the arrogant blowhard who runs Argentina, Nestor Kirchner, and entitle it “Pompous on the Pampas.”  Everyone in South America knows the joke about the Argentines:  An Argentine is a Spanish guy who tries to speak English (with an appropriately affected English accent) and pretends he’s really Italian.

Or I could write about the befuddled populist running Brazil and call it “Lula in La-La Land.”  It’s starting to dismally dawn on Brazilians that Lula is not going to save them from the Brazilian Curse:  That Brazil is the country of tomorrow — and always will be.

How about Crazy Hugo then?  The Castro Wannabe that runs Venezuela keeps digging his country into a deeper hole, while Venezuelans persist against all evidence in the fantasy that he will permit them to vote him out of power.  I keep hoping Venezuelans will awake from their fantasy and grasp that their only hope is the One Bullet Solution for Caudillo Chavez.

I can hardly wait, though, to write about Alberto Fujimori being invited back to Peru and run for president again.  He’s currently hiding out in Japan avoiding criminal prosecution for his last presidential escapades.  The Peruvians, however, are so desperate to be rescued from the incredible incompetence of Alejandro Toledo that they’re sending SOS smoke-signals to Fuijmori.

All kidding aside, though — there is a lot going on in South America that is of importance to us Norteamericanos.  So much so that, starting next week in the TTP Weekly Report, famed Latin America expert Constantine Menges will be updating us on the dangers emerging  in South America.  Constantine and I first became friends when he served on President Reagan’s National Security Council.  He will be a valuable addition to To The Point.