(Actually, the whole incident is pretty interesting.)
"Bilateral ties have cooled since it emerged US President Barack Obama would not be visiting Argentina during a forthcoming tour of the region.SNIP)
"President Obama is set to visit El Salvador, Brazil and Chile during a visit to Latin America next month.
"
Reacting to the news that Argentina was not on the itinerary, Mr Timerman said that the US had "more interests than friends".
"He said bilateral ties were excellent in some spheres, while there were differences in others."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12464010-----------------------------
Totally changed political landscape in Latin America over the last half decade, with leftist governments elected in Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala (and an almost in Mexico). And they ain't taking our shit any more.
This incident is not a small matter, believe me. And it has nothing to do with Argentina being in a snit because Obama won't visit them. It's the other way around--there are very few places where Obama is welcome. And Latin Americans have very good reasons for this--one of them being covert U.S. backing of the rightwing coup d'etat in Honduras. They all know about this, and they all know that their governments are also on the U.S. target list.
Obama's itinerary:
El Salvador: Has a leftist government, but it caved, after the coup in Honduras (right next door), and withdrew their application to join ALBA (the Venezuela-Cuba organized barter trade group to give the smaller or weaker countries of Central America/the Caribbean some collective clout in dealing with U.S. "free trade for the rich"). El Salvador would have been next on the list. The U.S. is trying to hang onto its client states, by tooth and claw, in this "circle the wagons" region. The State Department probably bullied El Salvador onto Obama's itinerary.
Chile: Rightwing billionaire president. Obama and his entourage should be quite comfortable there.
Brazil: Too big to ignore, though it has a leftist government. Government somewhat more "centrist" (pro-corporate) than the other leftist governments. Outgoing president Lula da Silva adamantly refused to play the U.S. "divide and conquer" game against Venezuela. His chosen successor, Dilma Rouseff, will likely also refuse. Obama's (U.S. corporate/war profiteer) purpose will be to convince her to do so--to separate Brazil as much as possible from the region's leftist consensus and amazing and new unity in dealing with U.S. domination and interference.
Lula in his final speech as president said, "The U.S. has not changed."
Argentina is
very much a U.S. target. Aside from Venezuela, it is the country that the U.S. most wants to divide from Brazil. Argentina has a very savvy, very intelligent and also fiery president, Cristina Fernandez (wife of the late Nestor Kirchner, who was a key player in designing South American independence and unity). Fernandez probably told the U.S. State Department to kiss off. (She does not mince words.)* Rousseff is rather the opposite, as to temperament--seems cool and somewhat distant--but also very intelligent (she was Lula's chief of staff through all of these amazing changes in Latin America--many crises, many new and independent policies and spectacular economic growth in Brazil). Rousseff was horribly tortured by the U.S.-backed dictatorship. She was a leftist guerrilla. So her relative quietness may simply be a protective mask. She has to be one of the strongest willed people on earth, to have survived and triumphed over years of torture. I think these two women will form a very strong alliance.
The Wikileaks cables reveal a slimy U.S. strategy of trying to convince Brazil to "show leadership" by conniving with the U.S. to "counter" Chavez's influence (by which they meant destroy the aspirations of the poor throughout the region, for fairness and democracy). Lula instead formed a close friendship and alliance with Chavez and formulated a common policy of "raising all boats" (both as to the poor within their countries and as to smaller or weaker countries or countries under attack by the U.S., such as Bolivia, or by the U.S.-dominated World Bank/IMF, such as Argentina, early on). The Brazil-Venezuela-Argentina axis has been quite successful at asserting and protecting Latin American sovereignty. They were critically important to Bolivia defeating the U.S. embassy funded/organized white separatist insurrection in 2008, and to defending Ecuador against a U.S./Colombia military attack in early 2008. Their unity has been important to Venezuela withstanding non-stop psyops and other kinds of attacks by the U.S. (Their only failure has been Honduras.) This is so clearly the path to prosperity and to the well-being of all Latin American countries and peoples that I don't see any change on the horizon.
The Obama administration may have lost its chance to introduce a new, more peaceful and respectful U.S. policy and to become partners with this region, with their actions in Honduras and other activities (for instance, USAID funding of rightwing groups all over Latin America) or, in any case, the U.S. has a long way to go to prove its good will. With the new Scumbag Congress, Obama will be under pressure to continue and escalate hostile policies, which are exactly the opposite of what is right, what is pro-democratic and what is needed.
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*(The Bush Junta CIA cooked up an absurd caper out of Miami, with an operative named "Guido" who carried a suitcase full of money into Argentina's airport, got caught by customs, and returned to Miami with the tale that the money was intended from Chavez to Fernandez's presidential campaign. A Bushbot U.S. attorney turned this into an absurd prosecution of several businessmen who were accused of "failing to report to the U.S. Attorney General (Alberto Gonzalez) as the agents of a foreign government (Venezuela)." The whole thing stunk to high heaven and was intended to slime Fernandez and Chavez. The only people who believed this ridiculous story were the more gullible readers of the Miami Herald. As the victim of crap like this, by the U.S., Fernandez has reason to be pissed off.)
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