by Michael Greaney

Created on: February 11, 2008

After the fall of communism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the final years of the 20th century, capitalist pundits loudly proclaimed the "victory" of capitalism. From the presidency of Ronald Reagan to the pontificate of Pope John Paul II and his issuance of the encyclical "Centesimus Annus" on the 100th anniversary of Leo XIII's "Rerum Novarum" ("On Labor and Capital"), not to mention the economic reforms that seemed to be taking place in Central and South America, even China, everything seemed set for the coming of the capitalist millennium.

It didn't take too long, however, for the backlash to begin - or at least something perceived as a backlash. As noted in a Time magazine article of 4/11/07, "Latin America's resurgent left has been a firebrand when it comes to battling poverty, promoting indigenous rights or bashing the U.S." The question, however, is how real is this perception? American commentators, especially in the self-centered media, have developed a talent for misunderstanding people in other countries as well as Americans.

As a case in point, during the recent election in Costa Rica, former Minister of Planning Otton Solis was labeled "leftist," although he was a firm supporter of private property rights for ordinary people and advocated privatizing many of the State-owned enterprises ("Defending the State, Empowering the People: An Interview with Otton Solis," The Multinational Monitor, September, 1996). As Minister of Planning for Costa Rica in the 1980s, he initiated a project to develop Employee Stock Ownership Plan or "ESOP" legislation under a USAID contract. For this, Time magazine characterized Solis as a socialist-supported leftist in a 3/8/06 article.

Nevertheless, there is cause for concern. Many Caribbean countries have maintained diplomatic and cultural ties with Cuba. Increasingly, noting that the electorate is evidently fed up with the growing disparities in wealth that increasingly characterize world economies, candidates for public office throughout Latin America have promised increases in State-funded benefits to secure election. With the growth in China's economic and financial clout, newly-elected leftist heads of State have established closer political and economic ties with China, causing Washington to take a closer look at the situation (Hispanic Vista, 5/21/06).

Still, this may be due more to China's increased economic strength and the declining position of the United States than to the usual suspicion with which

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