Hey, How's Latin America Doing?

David Weigel | August 30, 2006

In Venezuela, tough luck if you work on a golf course.

The mayor of Venezuela's capital Caracas says he
plans to expropriate two exclusive golf courses and use the land for
homes for the city's poor.

Mayor Juan Barreto has said playing golf on lavish courses within sight of the city's slums is "shameful".

In Guatemala, tough luck if... well, if you enjoy having constitutional rights.

The Guatemalan government announced Tuesday that it had suspended
some constitutional rights in five cities along Mexico's border as it
cracks down on drug growers and traffickers in the remote region.

A two-week order, called a state of prevention, allows the
government to suspended the rights to carry firearms and hold
demonstrations and meetings, while expanding authorities' rights to
conduct searches.

Comments

|8.30.06 @ 11:31AM|#

Oh well,

since it doesn't bother us too much when "those people" get shot and killed in our War on Drugs, I heavily doubt that we will shed many tears about their loss of some constitutional rights.

If they want constitutional rights, they should come to America, right? Oh yeah, they're not welcome here and if they sneak in they will probably wind up in a neighborhood where constitutional rights don't count for much.

I guess they're screwed.

|8.30.06 @ 11:44AM|#

Well they can't come here!!!

|8.30.06 @ 12:43PM|#

I thought close proximity to a democratic republic makes neighboring countries magically become lands of freedom.

|8.30.06 @ 1:11PM|#

I think there may be something to be said for explicit provisions for temporarily suspending constitutional rights. They may relieve the pressure to do it through the guise of interpretation in tough times, which then turn out to be permanent suspensions. And btw, we do have one such provision in our constitution, habeas corpus. I guess my theory hasn't been working out too well recently with regard to that one though.

|8.30.06 @ 1:16PM|#

I think there may be something to be said for explicit provisions for temporarily suspending constitutional rights. They may relieve the pressure to do it through the guise of interpretation in tough times, which then turn out to be permanent suspensions. And btw, we do have one such provision in our constitution, habeas corpus. I guess my theory hasn't been working out too well recently with regard to that one though.

|8.30.06 @ 1:40PM|#

"I thought close proximity to a democratic republic makes neighboring countries magically become lands of freedom."

I think the magic democracy waves only travel northward.

Chuck|8.30.06 @ 1:48PM|#

I thought close proximity to a democratic republic makes neighboring countries magically become lands of freedom.

It helps, but it really takes being invaded and occupied by a democratic republic to set coutries on the path toward freedom.

|8.30.06 @ 6:48PM|#

On the golf course story, using the figures from the article, they can only do it if they build all ten-story apartment buildings. Calling it 50,000 'homes' is misleading, at best.

|8.30.06 @ 8:22PM|#

Given that they're running their own countries so well, it's clear that we need to import large numbers of Latin Americans to our country. Keep 'em coming!

|8.31.06 @ 12:30AM|#

Huge amounts of waste and the suffering of millions of people in the U.S. and throughout the world can be averted by allowing a relatively small number of people suffer the logical consequences of their own choice of drugs. What makes this a difficult decision?

End the War on Drugs.

All it takes is the knowledgeable commitment of a significant number of voters. Join with others and make your voice heard.

|8.31.06 @ 2:22AM|#

at least they are not losing their homes ala kilo ... how did the saying about kettles and pots go?

So to answer your question "How's Latin America Doing?" .. not much worse than the US.

|8.31.06 @ 8:08AM|#

A very silly man: On the golf course story, using the figures from the article, they can only do it if they build all ten-story apartment buildings. Calling it 50,000 'homes' is misleading, at best.

News for the millions of people who think they live in apartments: sorry, your apartment isn't a real 'home'. And you probably aren't a real American. How are you going to fly an enormous US flag outside your apartment? You going to put it in the mail chute? Well then.

|8.31.06 @ 9:25AM|#

Mayor Juan Barreto has said playing golf on lavish courses within sight of the city's slums is "shameful".

It most certainly is. How about opening up the markets and loosening government controls so those people can move out of the slums and eventually live in nice residential neighborhoods around those golf courses.

|9.2.06 @ 10:19PM|#

ajay
In the fifties or sixties in Chicago there was a project of 'low cost housing', enormous apartment buildings(with elevators that worked alternate Thursdays[hyperbole]). They were instant nightmares. In the end they called meetings to ask the residents how they could improve conditions. The response was a chant; "Blow it up! Blow it up!"

That's what they're going to build down there.