Latin America's Two Left Feet

If you have been paying attention, you might have noticed Latin America's leftward swing. Leaders such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Brazil's Lula are dominating the political scene. While some hard core conservatives think this is all bad news and that all of the political left is the same, there are some interesting things going on in the Southern Hempisphere: some good and some not so good. Former Mexico Foriegn Minister Jorge Casteneda writes in this month's Foriegn Affairs about the fact that there are two lefts are taking root in Latin America: one that is more social democratic in the best sense of both words, and the other more populist and authoritarian. It's a good read and Mr. Casteneda gives the US some advice on how to deal with a left-leaning Latin America.