Latin socialism spreads

Providence Journal: Uruguay rarely makes international headlines. But the swearing in on March 1 of its first socialist president, a doctor named Tabare Vazquez, has stirred interest because it reflects the increasingly leftward tilt of Latin America.
Looking on at his inauguration were Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Argentina's Nestor Kirchner and Chile's Ricardo Lagos. One of President Vazquez's first acts was to restore full diplomatic ties with Cuba; Fidel Castro remains a popular figure in the region for denouncing the United States.
Uruguay has been one of the stars of Latin America, having provided decent services and nurtured a large middle class. But a 2002 depression clobbered the country, leaving one in three Uruguayans below the poverty line. Throughout the region, market reforms hard-won in the 1990s ran into an economic downturn, leaving many poorer voters convinced that capitalism would not help them.
Fascist model
Obviously, the poor of Latin America feel, with some justice, that they have not shared in their countries' wealth. But market economies tend to increase overall wealth much more than does centralized government planning, which creates disincentives to economic innovation and foreign investment. Moreover, Venezuela's President Chavez has demonstrated the dangers of increasing government power: He has clearly moved toward a fascist model, with a cult of personality, repression of critics, and growing control of the media.
The United States -- focused more these days on the threat of nuclear proliferation and bringing democracy to the Mideast -- has had a muted reaction to these developments in Latin America. But America should continue to quietly press for policies that would help that region's people.