The path of democracy

In Bolivia democracy isn't going down a smooth path, regional cessesionists are trying to thwart the will of the overall majority - will the US back any breakaways there? After all, Russia has made the precedents...

Anyway, Zimbabwe's democracy seems to be just about holding up. To their immense credit, the MDC never turned to guerilla warfare, and put the safety of its supporters high up its agenda - high enough to back away from the violence of the state. Today's power sharing deal could see Tsvangirai just turn shit pol with his feet under the table, or it could see Zimbabwe finally emerge as a stable democracy.

To be clear, in both cases, it is democracy and not street violence that must prevail - as the MDC has shown, plugging away can and does work. The conquest of democracy is an essential tool in the worker's hands for self defence and revolution. These events knock the sterility of the neo-con/cruise missile left's perspectives into a cocked hat. This is the way democracy spreads. This will do more good than the Iraq war or the Afghan campaign.

Now, we have to wait and see what will happen to Chavez in Venezuela, he needs to go for the good of democracy...