Latin America to Flog Obama

For the first time, our often-ignored neighbors to the south are dealing with an "economic crisis not made in Latin America" and it is likely that at the upcoming Summit of The Americas, many Latin American leaders will make that point clear. The US's long history with the region has been strained from the start. The likes of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Evo Morales of Bolivia will be anxious to tout the crisis as the end of "Yanqui" hegemony. Even President Lula of Brazil, who is generally friendly with gringos, caught flack for saying the economic troubles were the fault of "white, blue-eyed bankers" (though it must be said that the much of the meaning of that phrase was lost in translation).