To the Point

Is South America Making a Left Turn?

opponent, Evo Morales calls that a phony threat and continues to plan blockades to force big tax increases on foreign oil companies. Bolivia's Indian majority claims it's left out of the economy by the ruling descendents of European colonists. Three-fourths of South America is already governed by leaders who say they're from the Left. Is that more rhetoric than reality? What happened to the so-called -Washington Consensus- for open markets and privatization? Is China a financial intruder on the United States' historic -sphere of influence?- We hear from journalists in Argentina and Brazil, experts on the economics and politics of South America, and a former US Ambassador. Making News: Syria to Withdraw Troops from Lebanon Syrian soldiers in Lebanon reportedly are packing equipment and getting ready to move. This, after Presidents Bashar Assad of Syria and Emile Lahoud of Lebanon said they'd agreed on a pull-back to Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Michael Young is Opinion Editor of the Beirut Daily Star, an English language newspaper distributed throughout the Arab world. Young is skeptical about the sincerity of Syria's proposed pull-out. Reporter's Notebook: Italy Honors Intelligence Officer Killed by US Troops In Rome today, Prime Minister Berlusconi and other leading officials attended the state funeral of Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari, who was shot dead over the weekend in Iraq after negotiating the release by kidnappers of journalist Giuliana Sgrena. The US says soldiers fired on their car when it failed to stop on the way to the airport. Sgrena says she might have been the intentional target. David Willey of the BBC discusses the possible consequences for one of the America's firmest European allies.