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and America starts acting real, everybody is going to know when the shit goes down.

Europe has large investments in South and Central America, and in particlar the econony of the Iberian pensinsuls is deeply tied to Latin America. Where Britain's colonial past has lingering repercussions for it's former colonies (If the US had been a French colony that emereged as a francophone state would the Anglo-American alliance have the impact it does now on world and European politics.)  Spain and Latin America are joined together in Hispanidad the common cultural heritage that includes the Castillian language and  the legacy of Spanish law on the continent.

The emerging Latin Bloc will have an impact on world poltics, Europe will feel the impact.    The closure of American borders would only serve to increase the flow of Latin Americans to Europe's shores. Spain has been the recipient of large scale immigration from Ecuador in recent years,  If Mexicans can no longer go to Chicago it's likely they'll end up in Madrid.  I think the AMLO can stem the flow of immigrants from Mexico, but there's such a push out of the country here that migration will be a fact for many years to come.

There's a strain of thought that argues that Stalin more than Jean monnet deserves the credit for European integration.  George Bush seems to be playing the same role for Latin America.  The Bush Administration shows little patience for the Bolivarian sentiement in South America, and they've shown themselves more than willing to engage in hostilities less than war against the countries of Latin America.  Chavez has been the recipient of US funded coup attempts, and the base at Manta in Ecuador and Mariscal Estigbarria in Paraguay are part of an effort to create an American military presence in the region.

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg

by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Thu Jan 5th, 2006 at 12:12:14 PM EST
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