Times Continues War on South America’s LeftRandy Shawbyline‚ Oct. 29‚ 2007While the New York Times has become an outspoken opponent of the Iraq War, the paper remains a cheerleader for neoconservative political forces in South America. This again became clear with its October 28, 2007 profile of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who won a landslide victory yesterday to become Argentina’s next president. Although Ms. Fernandez was leading in polls by 25%, the article portrayed her as lacking people skills, and relied on an “expert” critic who argued that her economic policies risked her “ending up with no support at all.” This from a United States media that framed George W. Bush’s narrow victory over John Kerry in 2004 as a sweeping mandate for the entire Republican agenda. The Times’ hostile coverage of Fernandez echoes its stories on Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Bolivia’s Evo Morales: in each case, the political popularity of progressive economic policies is framed as transitory, while the failed neoliberal agenda is depicted as the recipe for success. |