Trending left?
Or not?
The Oppenheimer Report, appearing in the Miami Herald, examines the current spate of elections in Latin America and concludes the the Latin American Left is moving right.
He reports some interesting findings.
Maybe my paranoia is misplaced.
Or maybe polls cannot be believed.
Nations that begin to exhibit pathologies such as demonization of the wealthy (or other convenient group associated with power), conspiratorial thinking, and the scapegoating of outside forces are hardly behaving as reasonable actors. Whether they are left or right, they are dangerous and potentially explosive.
Oppenheimer calls it petro-populism. One needs look no farther than Saudi Arabia to see how well that works.
|