The Latin American Revolution (Part One): Latin American Presidents Address World Social Forum

By Asad Ismi In a historic first, on January 29, five Latin American Presidents addressed the 2009 World Social Forum (WSF) held in Belem, Brazil: Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Evo Morales of Bolivia, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Lula da Silva of Brazil, and Fernando Lugo of Paraguay. The WSF, the gathering of leftist social movements […]

Nortel Implicated in Disastrous Liquidation of Colombia’s Telecom

By Asad Ismi Nortel Networks, Canada’s largest high-tech corporation, has helped bring about the liquidation of TELECOM, Colombia’s biggest telecommunications company, and the likely privatization of its successor. Brampton-based Nortel has assets of U.S.$15.8 billion, 37,000 employees and a presence in 150 countries. Plummeting global demand for telecommunications equipment and poor management have devastated Nortel […]

Enbridge Spreads Disaster in Colombia

By Asad Ismi In the December 2000/January 2001 Monitor, I reported that Enbridge Inc., one of Canada’s leading energy corporations, was linked to death squads in Colombia according to information provided by Amnesty International. Below, I examine the impact of this revelation in Canada as well as detail the further damage caused in Colombia by […]

Lula Bows to Wall Street: Brazil’s New “Leftist” President Moves Right to Keep U.S. Happy

By Asad Ismi Forty years after Brazil’s last leftist government was overthrown in a U.S.-backed military coup, the left appeared to have regained power there on January 1 when Luiz Inacio (“Lula”) da Silva, the candidate for the left-leaning Workers’ Party (PT), was inaugrated as President. Lula won the national elections last October in a […]