Campaign Against Left in South America in National Press

Already we have seen some sections of the media ramping up the rhetoric in the response to popular leftist leaders in South America. The Independent ran an article entitled 'The Big Question: Should we be worried by the rise of the populist left in South America?', by David Usborne on May 4th. In the article, Usborne argues that the agreement forged between Cuba, Bolivia and Venezuela 'specifically meant to undermine the efforts by Bush to extend free trade through the Americas'. Medialens contacted Usborne about the slant of this article and you can read the correspondence here.

I am sure this is a sign of things to come. The majority of the press has been rather quiet about this revolution in South America, mainly due to the attention on the war in Iraq. It is only a matter of time before the UK press begins to build up support for an intervention by the US government. Don't be surprised to see Chavez, Morales et al demonised in the national press in the lead up to pressure by the US and UK governments.