The 'Axis of Lula' vs. the 'Axis of Hugo'

By: Micah Bacheller

Both of these "axis" belong to countries in Latin America. The Axis of Hugo (Venezuelan president) are the countries with extreme leftist leadership. Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua are all part of this Hugos axis. They are opposed to any American intervention and leadership, and are trying to implement "21st-century socialism."

The "axis of Lula" (Brazilian president) is India, China and countries from the European Union. Since Brazil is a strong emerging economy, investors have a degree of confidence. This explains its ties with India and China. While Lula is is from a communist party, (workers party, PT), his government body is not much interested in being a communist country. He is trying to grow strong ties to the USA and gain momentum for the Brazilian economy.

The interesting part about this article is that a leftist president, Mauricio Funes, was just elected in El Salvador. The past 20 years the presidents in El Salvador have been from the right wing, closely tied to the USA. Now with a leftist president, will El Salvador take part of the Axis of Lula, or the Axis of Hugo? It seems that president Funes wants to have a more balanced government (even being from the left, the needs of the country bring him closer to the middle - as in Brazil). This is because his first act as president was to travel to Brazil and talk to Lula. He said that Brazil is a "reference of a leftist, democratic government that can instill confidence in foreign investors." Funes is scheduled to visit Hugos Venezuela next.