Alvaro Vargas Llosa is famous for exactly two things: 1) being the son of a brilliant Peruvian novelist, and 2) co-writing a book once about how poor people are stupid.
Naturally this qualifies him a thousand times over to be the authentic voice of the Honduran coup in the U.S. media, and so he is. The New York Times ran some crap piece of his on Tuesday, explaining how exiled president Mel Zelaya actually plotted his own violent overthrow, and in today's Washington Post op-ed, we learn how this particular coup is really just democracy in disguise:
The crisis in Honduras should bring to people's attention this truth about Latin America today: The gravest threat to liberty comes from elected populists who are seeking to subject the institutions of the law to their megalomaniac whims.Yes, darn those "elected leaders" and their "whims". Fortunately Honduras has finally imposed the fuck out of democracy on its people, military style! In the capital, civil liberties have been officially suspended, reporters have been detained and beaten, news outlets shut down, and at least one Catholic priest is in hiding, because the democracy enforcement squads want to kill him.
Comments (7)
ceti,
MVLL ain't no paragon of politik either, but when it comes to novels he really is very good indeed.
Read 'chivo' and see.
Posted by otto
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July 3, 2009 8:50 AM
Posted on July 3, 2009 08:50
You give his conquistador ball-sucking father too much credit.
Posted by ceti_alpha
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July 2, 2009 11:14 PM
Posted on July 2, 2009 23:14
@otto: that's a lovely piece that deserves to be read (and a fun read too) :)
Posted by Utpal
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July 2, 2009 7:20 PM
Posted on July 2, 2009 19:20
If you want a long but fun read in Spanish, check out this link...
http://www.jurgenschuldt.com/2007/05/el-regreso-de-los-diletantes.html
...where Jurgen Schuldt (a peruvian economist) totally rips "the return of the latin american idiot" to shreds (the sequel book that came out 2 years ago).
It really is the takedown of all takedowns, no hype. The book's argument just falls apart in the face of the most basic criticism, but Schudlt is a guy with a very sharp brain and just lacerates it.
Posted by otto
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July 2, 2009 6:14 PM
Posted on July 2, 2009 18:14
"the democracy enforcement squads"
I likey
Posted by otto
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July 2, 2009 5:43 PM
Posted on July 2, 2009 17:43
Yeah, elected officials who think some money should be spent on helping people learn to read and have universal human rights are monsters ... they must be stopped!
Latin America must remain third world at all cost!!!
Posted by Bosque
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July 2, 2009 5:12 PM
Posted on July 2, 2009 17:12
Your point (2) should have read: co-writing a(n incredibly stupid) book once about how poor people are stupid.
Posted by Utpal
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July 2, 2009 4:59 PM
Posted on July 2, 2009 16:59