Festive Left Friday Blogging: Democracy Now in Cancún!

Here’s Amy, talking with Evo today:

“I prefer the dignity of the people to ‘Evo’s knee’.” Spoken like a true trouper.

Transcript here. You won’t want to miss what he says about Cablegate, or the Nobel prizes. Evo’s sweet jabs at dumb diplomats and unintelligent US intelligence agents are proof positive that the so-called First World has nothing to teach Bolivia. This “clown”, despite his modest formal education, is smart enough to school them all. Including Mario Vargas Llosa, the successful author and miserably failed politician, who has sadly become what he spitefully calls Evo. Nota bene: Evo’s government is much envied in neighboring Peru. Gee, do you suppose someone might be suffering from a touch of envy himself there, having lost the Peruvian presidential elections so badly way back when? The late, great Uruguayan poet Mario Benedetti nailed it when he said that you have to read Vargas Llosa, not listen to him. (He was referring to Vargas Llosa’s literary work, not his political essays, which are all drivel.) Appropriately, not-so-super Mario had a pratfall on Monday in his Stockholm hotel–while posing for a photographer. Who’s the buffoon, again?

And here’s Amy with El Ecuadorable:

Transcript here. El Ec, like Evo, is unimpressed with the way the rich countries derailed last year’s Copenhagen climate conference and produced a toothless “accord” which, if we know the rich, will NOT be kept. El Ec’s position is that the state and the people must control the markets, not vice versa; an unregulated market will never protect the environment, but democratic state controls can. Spoken like an economist who has his priorities in order!