<tt>From:</tt> <tt> Bob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]></tt> <br><br> <!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> with reference to Jamie's Skolnick posting on Bush fam <br>Lat Am drug funds routed through Spain--that quote <br>attached after this from WPost-- <p>"Spain, which only 20 years ago was a minor economic presence <br>in the region[South Am], is now second to the United States... <br>Spanish banks control roughly 40 percent of the Chilean market... <br>It's as if we're a colony again, paying taxes to the Spanish crown <br>[but it's really to the Bushwhacker Boys!]". <p>-Bob <p> Spanish Firms Revive Latin America Conquest <p> By Anthony Faiola <br> Washington Post Foreign Service <br> Monday, February 14, 2000; Page A01 <p> SANTIAGO, Chile�Half a millennium ago, Spanish <br> conquistadors swept across a great southern swath of the <br> New World, plundering, colonizing and fattening royal <br> coffers with native gold. Now, more than 100 years after <br> the last of their rebellious colonies won independence, <br> Spain is back in Latin America--doing with mergers and <br> acquisitions what it once did with swords and <br> gunpowder. <p> To understand the depth of what's been dubbed the <br> reconquista--or reconquest--of Latin America, look no <br> further than Humberto Illanes' monthly bills. Spanish <br> companies, including some still partially owned by the <br> Spanish government, now own Chile's largest telephone <br> company, power company and waterworks. In addition, <br> Spanish banks control roughly 40 percent of the Chilean <br> market. <p> "Every time I turn on the lights, make a phone call, cash <br> a check or drink a glass of water, I'm putting money into <br> pockets in Madrid," complained the head of the union at <br> Banco Santiago, which was taken over last year by a <br> Spanish financial group. "It's as if we're a colony again, <br> paying taxes to the Spanish crown." <p> Spain, which only 20 years ago was a minor economic <br> presence in the region, is now second to the United <br> States in annual investment and is challenging the United <br> States for regional influence for the first time since the <br> Spanish-American War in 1898. In 1998, the last year <br> complete statistics are available from both governments, <br> U.S. investment across Latin America totaled $14.3 <br> billion, while Spanish investment was $11.3 billion. <br> Last year, "Spaniards"[sic] plunked down almost $20 billion, <br> according to Spanish government estimates. <p> But the reconquest, analysts say, is far more than <br> economic. It underscores the renewal of cultural and <br> political bonds between Latin America and its colonial <br> master. Despite growing resentment like that of Illanes, <br> much of the region has embraced what Spain has been <br> careful to cast as a new golden era of mutual exchange <br> rather than the birth of a new economic empire. <p> Take, for example, the hot film "All About My Mother" <br> that is generating Oscar buzz: It pairs Spain's best-known <br> director, Pedro Almodovar, with one of Argentina's top <br> actresses, Cecilia Roth. And as King Juan Carlos and <br> other members of the Spanish royal family periodically <br> touch down in the region on official visits, so Colombian <br> rocker Shakira is holding court as the toast of teens in <br> Madrid and Barcelona. <p> Spain Resurgent Spain is also extending a promise that <br> its own model transition to democracy from the <br> dictatorship of Francisco Franco can become a guide for <br> its former colonies, now charting a similar course after <br> the downfall of unelected regimes in all countries in the <br> region except Cuba. Implicit in that suggestion is a <br> promise that Latin America will also emerge from the <br> shadow of the United States. <p> Only by "reinforcing [and] consolidating the <br> Ibero-American community of nations [through] our <br> shared languages and cultures, and with our firm <br> conviction in genuine democracy . . . can our peoples <br> successfully face up to the challenges of the 21st <br> century," Juan Carlos said on a recent visit to Cuba for <br> an Iberian-American summit meeting. <p> For the United States, Spain has reemerged as a <br> challenge to the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine, the <br> principle of U.S. foreign policy that claimed the region <br> as a sphere of exclusive American influence. <p> As Spain's economic might has grown here, so has its <br> political voice--and some of its positions are polar <br> opposites of Washington's. The decision to hold the <br> Iberian-American summit in Havana, for example, <br> highlighted widespread opposition shared by Spain and <br> many Latin American governments to the U.S. embargo <br> against Fidel Castro's Cuba. Spanish companies have <br> helped lead investment in Cuba throughout the 1990s, <br> providing the island with desperately needed hard <br> currency. <p> "Spain understands Latin America in a way that no other <br> country outside of Latin America possibly could," said <br> Carlos Gasco, cabinet chief of Spain's Economy <br> Ministry in Madrid. "We have used that to our advantage <br> to build what we see as a long-term economic <br> connection that is only going to keep binding us closer to <br> Latin America." <p> Even in giant Brazil, which as a former Portuguese <br> colony differs in language and culture from its neighbors, <br> Spain is gaining economic importance. Spanish <br> investment in Brazil's economy, the largest in Latin <br> America, soared from $112 million in 1996 to $6 billion <br> in 1998. Telefonica de Espana became one of the largest <br> players in the privatization of Brazil's national telephone <br> monopoly--winning the bid to buy Telesp, the local <br> phone company for Sao Paulo, the world's third-largest <br> city. The Spanish company now operates one of every <br> four phone lines across Latin America. <p> But in a region where the historical image of colonial <br> Spain is only marginally better than that of a bullying <br> Uncle Sam, the new bonds are creating a measure of <br> friction. Nowhere is that more evident than in Chile, a <br> country of 15 million where massive Spanish <br> investment--symbolized by the futuristic Telefonica <br> tower, the tallest skyscraper in Santiago--has mixed with <br> Madrid's "meddling" into domestic politics. <p> Indeed, Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon's crusade to put <br> Chile's aged former dictator, Gen. Augusto Pinochet, on <br> trial in Madrid for crimes committed during his 17 years <br> in power has fanned Chilean nationalism. <br> Then-President Eduardo Frei boycotted the <br> Iberian-American summit last year, and leading Chilean <br> businessmen and right-wing politicians have called for <br> Santiago to break diplomatic ties with Madrid. Incoming <br> Spanish executives have been met with the cold <br> shoulder--one was even denied membership in an <br> exclusive Santiago country club because he is Spanish. <p> "What gives the Spaniards the moral authority to be our <br> judges and masters?" said Cristian Labbe, a Pinochet <br> supporter and mayor of Providencia, an affluent <br> neighborhood in Greater Santiago. The Spanish Embassy <br> in Chile is located in his bustling urban center, and <br> Labbe lashed out the only way he could: temporarily <br> suspending the embassy's trash pickup. "The last time I <br> checked the history books, Latin America had won its <br> independence from Spain. But you wouldn't know it from <br> their haughty actions," he said. <p> The cultural memory of the ruthless Spanish conquest of <br> Latin America dies hard. Conquistadors fanned out over <br> the New World in the early 16th century, driven by a lust <br> for gold. They found it in abundance, especially in what <br> are now Mexico and Peru, where Hernan Cortes <br> decimated the Aztecs and Francisco Pizarro did the same <br> to the mighty Incas. The Spanish campaign would end in <br> the annihilation of millions of indigenous people and <br> leave their descendants on the margins of society. <p> "Especially now that they've come back, the Spanish <br> should be made to make reparations for the slaughter and <br> robbery committed by them and their descendants," said <br> Maria Catrileo Airemilla, a leader of Chile's Mapuche <br> Indians, who successfully resisted the conquistadors, but <br> nevertheless endured loss of life, land and culture during <br> the conquest and afterward. <p> In the first decades of the 1800s, the great Latin America <br> liberators led drives for independence from Spain. <br> Although the descendants of wealthy Spanish families <br> went on to become Latin America's aristocracy, <br> emotional bonds to the motherland gradually <br> eroded--especially in countries such as Argentina, which <br> experienced massive immigration from other European <br> nations, and Mexico and Peru, where racially mixed <br> populations are now predominant. <p> Spain's reemergence as a power in the region dates to <br> 1986, when it gained entry to the European Union. A <br> decade after the end of Franco's dictatorship, Spain shed <br> its image as Europe's rube cousin as financial reforms <br> ignited the economy. Spanish companies became flush <br> with cash and eager to enter the global economy. They <br> looked first to their distant cousins across the Atlantic. <p> Latin America was just then entering its own era of <br> economic reform, privatizing government-run enterprises <br> and dropping investment barriers as never before. There <br> have been some stormy seas. Spain's Iberia airline <br> continues to lose millions on investments in the national <br> airline of Argentina. But other Spanish companies, aided <br> by their own recent experiences at rapid modernization, <br> have largely met with extraordinary success. Today, <br> Telefonica, for instance, makes more money in Latin <br> America than it does in Spain. <p> The Cultural Connection "Culture has played a <br> significant role," said Mateo Budinich, general manager <br> of Telefonica CTC in Chile. "We have a shared <br> language, but each nation is extremely different in Latin <br> America. The Spanish are sensitive to that, while at the <br> same time capitalizing on the similarities in our cultures <br> to smooth the way in business deals." <p> A vital key for the Spanish has been their stronger <br> stomachs for Latin America's economic volatility. Even <br> as U.S. investors panicked after the devaluation of the <br> Brazilian currency sparked a recession in Latin America <br> last year, Spanish investment reached a peak. Repsol, the <br> Spanish oil giant, gobbled up Argentina's largest private <br> company, energy titan YPF, for $13.5 billion, the largest <br> Spanish investment in Latin American history. <br> Telefonica pumped billions more into a massive <br> expansion into Brazil. <p> And as corporate Spain established a beachhead here, it <br> has opened the door for its subsidiaries and smaller <br> Spanish firms. Many Latin Americans today buy their <br> clothes from Zara--Spain's cutting-edge version of The <br> Gap--and scoop up romance and science fiction novels <br> from the massive Spanish publishers who now virtually <br> monopolize the markets in many Latin countries. The <br> Spanish have won lucrative contracts to build ports in <br> Chile and reconstruct colonial buildings in Havana. New <br> firms are launching Internet startups in a region <br> considered to be the fastest-growing high-technology <br> market in the developing world. <p> "I think the difference between Spanish and U.S. <br> companies in Latin America is that the Spanish have <br> been less afraid of the risk involved," said Raimundo <br> Monge, head of corporate strategy for Spain's Banco <br> Santander in Chile. The bank expanded dramatically in <br> Chile last year--a 25 percent increase in profits over <br> 1998--despite the country's worst recession in 16 years. <br> "During the bad times like last year or the Mexican peso <br> crisis [in 1995], we've continued to invest heavily while <br> U.S. firms like Citibank have decided to curb their <br> commitments to the region." <p> "But we're in this for the long run. Remember, the <br> Spanish have known for a long time that Latin America <br> is a gold mine." <p> Spain Reaches Out <p> Spanish companies have acquired companies in Latin <br> America at a fast pace in recent years, and some Latin <br> Americans have dubbed the acquisition spree the <br> "reconquest." <p> Direct investment by Spain in Latin America and three <br> selected countries <p> In billions of dollars <p> Here are some of the biggest recent Spanish investment <br> deals: <p> Repsol (Spain) bought YPF (Argentina) <p> * Industry: Oil sector <p> * Year of purchase: 1999 <p> * Price tag: $13.5 billion <p> Telefonica de Espana (Spain) bought Telesp (Brazil) <p> * Industry: Telecommunications <p> * Year of purchase: 1998 <p> BSCH (Spain) bought Banco Santiago (Chile) <p> * Industry: Banking <p> * Year of purchase: 1999 <p> Endesa Espana (Spain) bought controlling stake in <br> Enersis (Chile) <p> * Industry: Electric Utilities <p> * Year of purchase: 1999 <p> Note: 1999 data is estimated <p> SOURCES: Spanish Ministry of the Economy, staff <br> reports <p> © Copyright 2000 The Washington Post Company <br> <blockquote TYPE=CITE><tt>From:</tt> <tt>Jamie Shafer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]></tt> <p><tt>I just cadged this from Free Republic. Most of it is very plausible. What</tt> <br><tt>say all you experts?</tt> <p><tt><a href="http://www.skolnicksreport.com/greenspan1.html">http://www.skolnicksreport.com/greenspan1.html</a></tt> <p><tt>Sherman H. Skolnick</tt> <p><tt>Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]</tt> <p><tt>GREENSPAN REPORTEDLY BRIBES AND AIDS BUSH IN GOLD SWINDLES, Part One</tt> <p><tt>by Sherman H. Skolnick</tt> <p><tt><snip></tt> <br><tt>accused in stories in the press in Spain, the Elder Bush and his sons</tt> <br><tt>George W. Bush [Texas Governor] and Jeb Bush [Florida] Governor and Jeb's</tt> <br><tt>wife, a native of Columbia, are reportedly incriminated through huge money</tt> <br><tt>laundering of dope proceeds through banks owned by criminals in Spain.</tt> <p><tt>Dope proceeds reportedly from COLUMBIA, Morocco, Portugal, and Italy. We</tt> <br><tt>publicized the quiet arrest in Chicago in January, 2000, of the reputed</tt> <br><tt>Bush family cocaine bank money laundry wizard, Giorgio Pelossi, a prominent</tt> <br><tt>Swiss accountant.</tt> <p><tt>Visit our website: Skolnick's site for the details.</tt> <p><tt><snip></tt> <p><tt>Since 1991 a regular panelist, and since 1995, moderator/producer, of</tt> <br><tt>one-hour, weekly public access Cable TV Show, "Broadsides," Cablecast on</tt> <br><tt>Channel 21, 9 p.m. each Monday in Chicago. For a heavy packet of printed</tt> <br><tt>stories, send $5.00 [U.S. funds] and a stamped, self-addressed business</tt> <br><tt>sized envelope [4-1/4 x 9-1/2 #10 size] WITH THREE STAMPS ON IT, to</tt> <p><tt>Citizen's Committee to Clean Up the Courts,</tt> <p><tt>Sherman H. Skolnick, Chairman,</tt> <p><tt>9800 South Oglesby Ave.,</tt> <p><tt>Chicago IL 60617-4870.</tt> <p><tt>Office, 7 days, 8 a.m. to midnight, (773) 375-5741 [PLEASE, no "just</tt> <br><tt>routine calls]. Before sending FAX, call.</tt></blockquote> </html> <hr> <!-- begin ONElist Sponsor --> <center> <iframe width=468 height=60 noresize scrolling=no frameborder=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0 src="http://adforce.imgis.com/?adiframe|2.0|2|82050|1|1|ADFORCE;"> <a href="http://adforce.imgis.com/?adlink|2.0|2|82050|1|1|misc=8313;loc=300;" target=_top><img src="http://adforce.imgis.com/?adserv|2.0|2|82050|1|1|misc=8313;loc=300;" border=0 width=468 height=60 alt="ONElist Sponsor"></a> </iframe> <br><font size=1>Please click above to support our sponsor</font><br> </center> <!-- end ONElist Sponsor --> <hr>
