Right now I think Lula da Dilva has the best track record of trying to make change for the poor in his country. Bachelet is still too new to tell but I think she'll be a strong leader and wil remember her own roots. Fidel is an old man on his way out. While the cuban community in the US hates his existence I don't think he's been that bad. Hard to get straight info about Cuba because of the stupid US stance regarding him. Chavez makes lots of noise but I'm not sure he going to prove his value in the long run. I worry about Chavez grandstanding too much. While the US policy toward our Southern neighbors is poor at best, Chavez seems bent on further alienating the relationship. It does amuse me that he calls bush out for being the fool that he is, but I would like to see more of what he's actually doing to improve the lot of his people. It really angers me to no end that the US has such a shit attitude toward Latin America, seems like we're a cocksure bully who knows we can beat up our poor neighbors. If Latin America were to ever organize and turn on us we'd have one hell of a problem. I've lived in Peru along the Amazon River and seen poverty of asounding proportions, yet over the many years I've been going there I've seen some improvement in the quality of life for the poor. For all of his many flaws, Fujimori did make some concrete changes that helped the quality of life for the people in the Amazon area. Though his tactics were brutal he also shut down the Sendaro Luminoso. My heart feels for Latin America, the people are incrediblely strong and resourceful. Most are still very connected to the Earth and try to live in harmony with it. This isn't universally true of course but it does remain a core value in many people.
I had to say chavez just because he pisses Bush off so much, which probably isn't a good enough reason.
We need to have a Chavez/Bush brawl on pay per view. That could generate enough revenue to balance the budget in both countries. Just think of the odds in Vegas?
