In the western hemisphere, a moral earthquake.

Moral invertebrates

With few exceptions: Costa Rica, Colombia, Honduras, Chile, Canada and the U.S. (?) the countries of the western hemisphere are in moral ruin. The rubble of institutions can be seen everywhere. Leaders are no longer leading. We witness situations so grotesque that they appear unreal. Examples: Jose Miguel Insulza, a man with a low quality moral compass, remains as the sole candidate for re-election as Secretary General of the Organization of American States, OAS, enthusiastically supported by the diplomatic corps. He had replaced Miguel Angel Rodriguez, who was forced to step down after one month in his job due to accusations of corruption in his native Costa Rica. Juan Manuel Zelaya, former president of Honduras tried to violate the constitution and was ousted by the Supreme Court and the Congress, although the OAS unanimously supported him and defined his ousting as a “military” coup. Not one, not two but three ladies have accused catholic Bishop and President of Paraguay Fernando Lugo of being the illegitimate father of their offspring. Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, raped for 14 years his stepdaughter, with the acceptance of the mother, Ortega’s wife and strong candidate to replace him as president. Rafael Correa, President of Ecuador intervenes openly in the judicial system of his country (the Chevron case, a good example), while his brother is accused of doing business with the state and his father was at one time a drug carrier, for which he served time in prison in the U.S. Evo Morales has just named, in violation of the constitution that he had previously imposed, 18 magistrates to the Supreme Court and other key tribunals of the country, while demanding that they persecute political dissidents. The candidate of Lula for the presidency of Brazil, Dilma Roussef, has a police record as bank robber, kidnapper and suspected murder. The new President of Uruguay, Jose Mujica is a former terrorist, member of the Tupamaros. Hugo Chavez, in power for eleven years, has violated the Venezuelan constitution systematically and has ruined his country while some 170,000 Venezuelans have been murdered during his watch. Cristina Kirchner, President of Argentina, has been accused in U.S. courts of receiving money from Hugo Chavez for her presidential campaign and, together with her husband, stands accused of high-level corruption in her country. Cuban Raul Castro is a dictator and a murderer, although he enjoys total acceptance in the Latin American group of presidents.
This is a bit too much, don’t you think? How can a white elephant pass unnoticed in the main square? Simple. Surrounded by many other white elephants. In the group above no one seems to be recognized as a white elephant by the international community, as they are all moral look alike.
It is a sad spectacle to see these ethical dwarves getting together, as they did a few days ago in Cancun, Mexico, to talk about human rights, freedom and democracy while they congratulate each other for doing a great job. They arrive in outsized aircraft, like Chavez’s $70 million Airbus, dressed in an “a la carte” manner that emphasizes their personality: Chavez with olive green fatigues and a red undershirt; Correa with a elaborately embroidered shirt; Morales with an Indian outfit; Ortega, unkempt; Mrs. Kirchner, changing three times a day her expensive, exclusive models; Lula, Lugo and Raul Castro in “guayaberas” of pristine white that hide their true colors. They talk solemnly about creating a hemispheric organization without the U.S. and Canada, countries they probably consider “rogue” since they enjoy separation of powers and the rule of law. Even the more dignified leaders such as Colombia’s Uribe, Chile’s Bachelet and Mexico’s Calderon often feel obliged to “swim with the current”. Costa Rica’s Oscar Arias gave a remarkable speech at the Cancun meeting, in which he strongly criticized Chavez but without mentioning his name. Only the Ambassador of Panama in the OAS has been brave enough to call Chavez a dictator. The best and the brightest sound almost apologetic when defending democracy, as if they felt ashamed of doing so.
Even more so than the tragic earthquakes afflicting our hemisphere our main enemy remains the horrendous moral mediocrity of the political leadership. Those who value their principles cannot accept this. Acceptance would mean becoming a member of the club.