Latin America : Friend or Foe?

The new millennium has brought a wave of leftist presidents to Latin America. For the first time, many Latin American countries that were once staunch allies of the United States and followed the IMF's neo liberal doctrine by the book have shun its northern neighbor and became increasingly critical of its policies toward the continent. Perhaps the best example of this is Venezuela, whos outspoken president Hugo Chavez has lashed out at the U.S on numerous occasions, going as far as calling outgoing president Bush "the devil". Being from Argentina, I cannot say that the shift towards the political left took me by surprise: years of neglect and failed policies by the U.S and the IMF has left Latin America's population in need of new leadership and a new direction. However, the question that arises is how worried should the U.S be about this new wave of socialist presidents that are so ideologically different? I would argue that the just like the neo-liberal policies of the 80's, this too will pass. While the IMF destroyed Latin America from without, the current governments are doing the destruction from within. By nationalizing private firms and trying to create jobs through the public sector, Latin America cannot expect to come out of its never ending depression. Although some countries are doing better than others, such as Brazil and Chile, other countries appear to be increasingly in trouble, such as Argentina with its farmers conflict. Just how long will the leftist wave last? It is hard to predict given the global instability of the moment which is helping them spin it as being caused by free market capitalism, but it is certain to end sooner or later.