Saul Alinsky Sighting in Argentina

Calafate, Argentina - photo by JoAnn Sturman

 

Scott Sturman

Three years ago an essay appeared is Flies In Your Eyes highlighting observations gleaned on a trip to Argentina in 2011. Tears for Argentina  Argentines knew trouble was on the horizon; they had experienced the impending chaos before, when the government fired up the printing presses to pay off the unions and the peasants.  There was a widely held view the government grossly understated inflation rates, but the banks were not fooled.  Financial services did not include issuing credit cards to Argentines.  No prudent lender was willing to underwrite any long term debt when annual inflation rates hovered above 20%.  Dollars and Euros were in high demand and accepted preferentially.  Foreign currencies and land ownership were the only hedges against inflation open to Argentines. 

Currently, Socialist President Christina Fernandez and her inept cronies may not be able to govern Argentina competently, but Sol Alinsky would be proud of their tactics to lay the blame on the business community and outside forces.  Unable to defend the peso and stem lack of confidence in the currency, the socialists posted pictures of business leaders in prominent locations throughout the country with captions blaming them for Argentina’s woes.  Concerned citizens now can report price gouging by Walmart and other multinationals to government authorities by using computer apps conveniently supplied by the blameless socialists.  Nothing like class warfare and the politics of envy to shore up support of the masses.

Guanaco at Torre del Paine - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Alinsky extolled these nefarious techniques in his book Rules for Radicals.  A concise summary of the book is discussed in the article Saul Alinsky - Patron Saint of Occupy Wall Street.  Simply stated, he advocated isolating one’s enemies, accusing them of preposterous transgressions, and propagandizing their conduct in a sympathetic press, thereby displacing the problem away from the actual source.  The situation is so dire in Argentina that even Alinsky’s tactics may not keep Christina Fernandez in power, but who knows?  They twice helped elect his prize disciple to the U.S. Presidency, despite an ailing economy, staggering public debt, and an incoherent foreign policy. 

 Iguasu Falls, Argentina