Drama in South America

      Hey, Tahomans, did you hear about the election results in Argentina?  Yes, last weekend, the few Argentines who bothered to vote elected a new leadership team that will occupy the Pink Palace in B.A. for a few years.  It's de ja vous all over again.  The Lefties, aka Peronists, will get another chance to ruin the country again.  My, my.  What's the saying:   "continuing to do the same thing and expecting different results is a sign of.............Argentina?"  How sad.   With an economy sinking faster than a lead balloon, Ms. Christina Kirchner, the former president, will move back into her old home from the hovel where she has been mourning the loss of her late husband, Mr. Kirchner.  High on the list of priorities for the new executives will be to negotiate new terms on the existing bailout loan with the dreaded I.M.F., that bain of chief executives the world over.  Hmmmmm.  What will they offer to the executives at the I.M.F. this time?  More soybeans?  Maybe some beef?   Maybe a promise not to invade the Falkland Islands, the perrenial thorn in the country's backside.  Or perhaps an offer to withdraw from Venezuela's local organization that opposes everything north of Panama.
      Don't expect anything new to ooze out of Buenos Aries.  Same old, same old.
       Now, let's skip over the Andes and look into the eyes of Chileans.  Hmmmm.  Protests going on.  Citizens in the streets.   Inequality is the word on the lips of these protesters.  They want something different than what they have:  hope; a future; better medical care; better education; maybe even a responsible government.  Doesn't seem unreasonable.   The government has cancelled an international meeting do to this embarrassment in the streets.   We'll keep an eye on things Chilean as they unfold.