Fidel Castro's recent (and, let us hope, terminal) health crisis came after his visit to the recent Mercosur summit in Argentina. Largely ignored in the United States, Mercosur (an acronym formed from Mercado Commun del Sur, or Common Market of the South) is a trading and economic pact of

Latin American countries. Created in 1991 in conscious mimicry of the European Common Market (now the EU), Mercosur's founding members were Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. The July summit marked the accession of oil-rich Venezuela into the pact as a full member. Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru are associate members of the group.

It is a reliable truism that economic union leads to political union. Chavez -- who is emerging as a power player in OPEC -- seeks to accelerate the process of political union among Latin American nations by enhancing Mercosur's economic cooperation with a NATO-style military alliance.

Venezuela is rapidly becoming a significant regional power, in large measure because of its oil wealth but also because of Chavez's prominence as a leftist foil for the increasingly unpopular U.S. It's reasonable to see the Mercosur summit in Argentina as a passing of the Bolshevist baton from Castro to Chavez, and given Chavez's increasing success in forging anti-United States ententes, it’s likely that he will soon outstrip his mentor as a menace to the hemisphere.

Follow this link for the complete Washington Times article, "Hugo Chavez Seeks Anti-U.S. Military Alliance":

http://washingtontimes.com/world/20060801-104047-5464r.htm

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