Restoring faith in capitalism

Sometimes I get the weirdballs mailing me with their "you commie dumbass" lovespreading. This is fine, cos as long as they're taking it out on me they're not bugging somebody that might give a rat's ass about what they think. It's also plain wrong, cos even my lefty pals recognize they have a capitalist on their hands.

But not the kind of screw-you, hatred-filled capitalism now preached North of the Rio Grande. Why not compare the attitude towards the world shown by Citi or Goldman to the attitude of Mexican bank Compartamos (COMPART.mx). Here's an extract from today's post from the evergreat Mexfiles featuring this bank. Click through for the rest (you'll be glad you did).

Given that Compartamos works with the client to assure they are able to pay the loan, what started as a not-for-profit microlending service became a normal business in 2000 and the next year became the first microlender to issue debt in the capital markets. In 2006 it was transformed into a “normal” commercial bank… with one important difference. It’s not only considered one of the best employers in Mexico, it’s doing what banks aren’t supposed to do… turn a healthy profit in an economic slump

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Mexfiles on form this morning

Absolutely Nuthin (say it again)

Hit this link to go see The Mex Files' excellent analysis of the recent Foreign Policy article that compares the economies and drug-related problems of Colombia and Mexico. So much neolib dross is bandied about regarding LatAm that it's hard to keep track of it all, but every now and again the crass and facile analyses from the very doctrine that causes, rather than solves, the problems in question needs to be spanked the way Mexfiles has spanked 'em. Here's an extract, but you really need to see the whole thing to appreciate RG's sharp brain at work here.

"Whistling in the dark — claiming that the “war on drugs” is not a factor in foreign investment — is plainly silly. It is. And, while that does make economic recovery all that much more difficult, ignoring the Administration’s creation of a crisis — and mishandling of it — while simultanously ignorning the clear signs of a problem with a one-market export economy — made the Foreign Policy article an exercise in ad hoc ergo propter hoc reasoning..."

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Honduras: Mexfiles right, mailers wrong

A nice job from RG over at Mexfiles today, as he rounds up the latest on Honduras in one concise article. And he gets particular agreement from this blog about this excerpt, as the wingnuts and fruitcakes continue to pepper this humble corner of cyberspace with their ridiculous hatemail.

"..there is, in fact, no foreign support for Micheletti outside the far right, mostly among Latin exile circles in the United States and well-heeled expats within Honduras."

The truth spoken plainly. So, this week our coveted award goes to all those coup apologists that are frittering away what's left of their wholly useless lives by writing into IKN with racist, hate-tinged bile and self-justifications of what is nothing more and nothing less than a fascist dictatorship. Enjoy, dumbasses: