TURKEY'S STANCE ON CRIMEA

Turkey walking a tightrope over Crimea

The Russian-Ukrainian crisis over Crimea is forcing Turkey into a delicate balancing act: Ankara feels a need to be seen as a protector of the peninsula's Tatar minority, yet it does not want to vex Russia's paramount leader Vladimir Putin in a way that complicates Turkish-Russian economic arrangements. 

There are abundant reasons why Turkey is taking a close interest in Crimean developments. Crimea operated as a vassal khanate of Ottoman Empire from the 1470s until 1783. In addition, Turks are bound by a strong cultural connection to Crimean Tatars, an ethnic minority group that comprises roughly 15% of Crimea's population. The number of ethnic Tatars now living in Turkey - most of them descendants of those who left Crimea following its 1783 annexation by the Russian Empire - is estimated in the hundreds of thousands. 

For all the historical and cultural factors in play, though, it may be domestic political considerations that are the primary factor in shaping the government's posture on the Tatar-Crimea issue. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been seriously wounded politically in recent weeks by allegations of large-scale corruption within his inner circle and family. He is now scrambling to reinforce his political base as he prepares for his first electoral test since the corruption scandal broke, local elections slated for March 30. 

Ankara's role as a defender of Crimean Tatar interests 

Since Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) draws significant grassroots support from nationalist elements, top government officials are playing up Ankara's role as a defender of Crimean Tatar interests amid Russia's armed occupation of the peninsula, which has belonged to Ukraine since 1954. 

"Don't let it cross your mind that our prime minister and president will be indifferent to any issue affecting our people of kin in Crimea and anywhere in the world," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on March 3 assured Tatar association leaders living in Turkey. 

Davutoglu's comments came a day after hundreds staged a protest in the capital, Ankara, while smaller demonstrations were held in other Turkish cities that have large Tatar communities. "Today, what's happening in Crimea is terrifying all of us," said Zafer Karatay, the Turkish representative of the Crimea-based Crimean Tatar National Parliament, CNN Turk reported. 

Already hard-pressed by the fallout from the ongoing corruption scandal, as well as lingering resentment relating to the Gezi Park protests last summer, it could be politically crippling for Erdogan's government to be deemed at home to be soft on issues regarding Turkic kin. 

Comment by Geopolitical Analysis and Monitoring: Erdogan, just as on many previous occasions, will emerge also from the ongoing corruption scandal unharmed. Interesting to note is that for a considerable amount of time  mainstream media has been "predicting" his political downfall, nevertheless he still seems to hold onto power. His charismatic leadership and personality seems to divide Turkey into two almost equal fronts, thus giving him the leverage to keep a slight advantage over his political adversaries.       

"They [AKP leaders] don't want to be criticized by the nationalist constituency for having failed to protect the Tatars," Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe in Brussels, said of the Turkish government. "It cannot be seen to be indifferent to the fate of Tatars, its own kin, at a time when it portrays itself as protector of victimized people in the Middle East." 

Despite strong statements of support - as well Davutoglu's early March visit to Kyiv, during which he met with representatives of the Crimean Tatar community - officials in Ankara are striving to contain nationalist fervor. 

Economics is the reason

Turkey relies on Russia for over half of its natural gas supplies. The country, which ranks as Turkey's sixth largest export market (worth $7.2 billion in 2013, according to Turkstat), is also important for many Turkish companies. By the end of 2012, Turkish foreign direct investment in Russia was worth $9 billion, according to the Ministry of Economy. 

With Turkish-Russian relations already tense over differences on Syria policy, Ankara seems reluctant to push Russia too hard at this time on Crimea. During a March 5 telephone call between Erdogan and Putin, the Turkish prime minister, according to an official statement, placed responsibility for the Crimea situation "foremost" on those now in charge in Kyiv. Erdogan added that "instability would negatively affect the entire region". 

In comments run on state-run television, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz played down any concerns that Russian gas supplies would be disrupted, adding that there was no need to seek alternative supplies from countries, such as Azerbaijan. 

Keeping the proper diplomatic balance may get trickier for Erdogan in the coming weeks and months. Crimea's recent referendum, which voiced a desire for the peninsula to be annexed by Russia, could create a dilemma for Ankara, said Ulgen, the analyst. Turkey's emphasis on Ukraine's territorial integrity and concern about the persecution of the Crimean Tatars under both Russian and Soviet rule mean that "Turkey would need to become much more critical of Russia, if Crimea was to secede to Russia," said Ulgen. 

Nationalist passions in Turkey

At a news conference in the Crimean capital, Simferopol, Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Jemiliyev claimed that the Turkish foreign minister told him Turkey "would immediately get involved" if the Crimean Tatars found themselves at risk. 

Any clash involving Crimean Tatars and the local Russian population on the peninsula would stir up nationalist passions in Turkey and up the pressure on the government to take some sort of action. "There would be certain nationalist individuals [in Turkey] who might be willing to go there [Crimea] and fight," said Umut Uzer, an expert on Turkic peoples and Turkish nationalism at Istanbul Technical University. 

It would be difficult for Erdogan to adopt a more aggressive stance toward Russia that would satisfy his domestic audience without risking a major disruption in bilateral trade. A more confrontational position "poses a fundamental difficulty because [Turkey] doesn't want its political and economic relationship with Russia endangered … especially as Prime Minister Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin appear to share a good relationship," Ulgen said. 

Related articles regarding TURKEY:

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/07/turkish-leadership-demoralized.html

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2013/06/turkey-in-turmoil.html

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2012/06/turkeys-double-edged-sword-policies-or.html

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2012/07/turkeys-sunni-crescent.html

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2012/05/turkeys-chess-game.html

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2012/05/turkey-shiite-persians-versus-wahhabi.html

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2011/09/seismic-shift-in-middle-east.html

http://iwpr.net/report-news/syria-becomes-focus-iranian-turkish-rivalry

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-23/turkey-boom-most-since-ataturk-lets-erdogan-take-up-masterpiece.html

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/04/turkeys-changing-foreign-policy-stance.html

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2013/04/turkey.html

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/turkeys-erratic-foreign-policies-all.html

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2013/03/turkey-and-kurds.html

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2012/10/turkeys-foreign-policy-poker-game.html

By Dorian Jones 

CHINA AND ISLAM - UYGHUR MUSLIMS

Disparate fortunes in China's Muslim 'heartland'

For three years running, the China-Arab Economic Forum has held its annual gatherings in Yingchuan, the capital city of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in Northwest China - a region with the third-smallest GDP in China.

Background Information:
SECURITY DILEMMA AND SECURITIZATION IN CHINA'S UYGHUR ISSUE IN XINJIANG PROVINCE
http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/11/china-and-uyghur.html

The meetings, held in this "Muslim heartland", attracted 18 national leaders, including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, 195 ministerial officials, and 93 diplomats from 76 countries - and resulted in trade contracts worth about US$42 billion. Some 5,000 foreign and Chinese enterprises and 3,000 business people from China and abroad participated in these forums, which were held in 2010, 2011 and 2012. 

This year's total of US$42 billion in contracts surpassed in one year the combined value of contracts signed at the previous three China-Arab forums. 

The deals, agreed by a mix of private companies and state interests on both sides, were for agriculture, energy and new technology, cultural and educational tourism, halal food, and finance. 

Organized by China's Ministry of Commerce, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the transformation of this regional gathering to one of national relevance, significance and scale underlines an effort to improve trade with Arab and Muslim countries.

There were 22 Arab and 57 Muslim-majority countries targeted by the organizers of the 2013 China-Arab States Expo. And many of them came; including representatives from Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and 67 other countries. The size of the Kuwaiti delegation was particularly noticeable in that it alone had an exhibition area of about 1000 square meters. Also of note, the expo wasn't male-centered. 

According to the latest statistics from China's Ministry of Commerce, Sino-Arab trade in the first 10 months of 2013 topped $194.9 billion. Although the expo's precise contribution to overall Sino-Arab trade is unclear, this year's total of US$42 billion was significant given the small size and lack of resources in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. 

While trade opportunities at the expo may have centered on Ningxia, representatives and business people from other Chinese regions also attended these gatherings to make Arab and local business contacts. 

In addition to generating an increased volume of trade, these trade fairs have also become a potential platform for increased political consultation. China's third national leader, Yu Zhengsheng, (the Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference), said at the expo's opening ceremony that there was a need for an "increase in mutual political trust and strategic consultation". 

A bloody history

From a historical perspective, the expo's location is of major significance. Ningxia was a battlefield between the Hui and Han peoples from the late 19th century up to the 1970s. Ningxia Hui Muslims were slaughtered there by the Chinese statesman and military leader Zuo Zongtang's forces in the 1870s. This historical, religious, and ethnic hatred was reinforced in 1960s during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and its aftermath.

Related topic:

TURKEY AND CHINA AT ODDS OVER 10 MILLION TURKISH UYGHUR MINORITIES LIVING IN CHINA

(http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/10/is-turkey-swerving-eastward.html)

Three decades after China launched economic reform of its coastal regions in the 1980s, China has now begun to see the "usefulness" of the interior Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and it's Hui Muslim population - they constitute about 34% of the region's total. Geographically isolated, it had been perceived as economically backward compared to the coastal regions. 

With this new expo and other initiatives, China is using the Hui connection to reach out to Arab and Muslim states. And, this has benefited Ningxia Muslims who are now engaged in trade with these countries on a regional, national, and international scale. 

Keeping in mind the historic tensions between Chinese Muslims and the Chinese state, this economic outreach, facilitated by cultural and religious ties, could create closer relations and a deeper level of trust between Hui Muslims and the Chinese state. This is no small feat. 

But China also has a history of using its Muslims for political gain when necessary. During the Sino-Japanese wars in the 1930s, China deployed Muslim intellectuals and diplomats to gain Arab and Islamic support for China's resistance war. Today, relations between the Chinese state and Hui Muslims are again improving as Sino-Japanese relations have deteriorate. 

The Chinese state's perception and treatment of Hui Muslims serves another curious purpose. It's the kind of "positive capital" that stands in stark contrast to China's relations with its Muslim Uyghur citizens in the neighboring Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. 

It is worth noting the historical differences between these two populations: 

• The Hui are not tied to a single region and, unlike in Xinjiang, there is no history of separatist movements desiring a more independent Ningxia. 

• Regional leaders in Ningxia (both Hui and Han) are more open-minded, politically enlightened, and less obsessed with political and ideological campaigns than their counterparts in Xinjiang. In general, Ningxia leaders are less obsessed with "fighting terrorism" and have better communications and connections with Beijing. 

• The Hui are more culturally and racially tied to the Chinese. They are actively involved in modern Chinese nationalism, and see that as a way of ensuring the survival of Islam in the Chinese nation. 

• The Uyghurs had two short-lived independent states, the East Turkistan Republics of the 1930s and 1940s in southern and northern Xinjiang. These are the states which Xinjiang officials constantly perceive as precedent for today's Uyghur human-rights activities. 

De-Islamicize Uyghur Muslims

While the future looks bright for China-Hui relations in Ningxia, China-Uyghur relations have precipitously deteriorated into tension, hostility, and violence on both sides. 

The forums in Ningxia have showcased and promoted China's relationship with its Muslims, while China's government in Xinjiang has attempted to de-Islamicize Uyghur Muslims there through restriction of Islamic practices - in hopes of containing and even eliminating Uyghur Muslim connections with their Central Asian neighbors.

Related Topic:

CHINA’S LAND BRIDGE TO TURKEY CREATES NEW EURASIAN GEOPOLITICAL POTENTIALS

CHINESE - TURKISH geopolitical and economic ambitions coincide 

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2012/05/china-and-turkey.html

Another trade initiative - the annual China-Eurasia Expo - was launched in Urumqi in Xinjiang in 2011 as an attempt to increase trade with China's western neighbors in Central Asia. The organizers in this case downplayed the role of Xinjiang's Turkic/Islamic cultural and religious ties with the region. This trade fair is jointly organized by China's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Xinjiang government and Xinjiang Development and Construction Corps. 

Given the tension and hostility between the Uyghurs and Xinjiang authorities and the Chinese government's "Anti-Three (Evil) Forces" campaign ("separatism, extremism, and terrorism"), Uyghurs have found it difficult to participate in this government-organized trade fair. They are not encouraged to participate, probably out of China's fear that they (the Uyghurs) will build closer relations with Central Asian Turkic states. Instead China has focused on encouraging the Han (ethnic Chinese) to engage in China-Central Asia communication. 

As Ningxia's utilization of Islam indicates, trade is not merely an exchange of goods, but also culture and emotion. China seems not to have considered that Uyghur participation in the China-Eurasia Expo would enrich the Uyghur community and greatly contribute to the projection of Chinese economic, as well as cultural, power in Central Asia.

Chinese officials should re-examine the Ningxia business model, which was endorsed by the Beijing government, and, ironically, initiated by a Ningxia government previously suspicious of Islam and Muslims. The success of the China-Arab States Expo proves that cultural tolerance and economic prosperity can be interconnected. And that, in the end, Islam turned out to be a selling point. 

Ningxia and Xinjiang, Eurasian stops along the ancient Silk Road, should both be tied to the country's strategic plan for the restoration of this historic trading route. (a long-range project the Chinese president Xi Jinping formally announced during his visit to Kazakhstan in early September 2013).

China is also promoting another project - the Trans-Asian Railway, or Eurasian Land Bridge, that would strengthen China's economic ties with the West by connecting Asia and Central Asia with Europe. 

What is lacking in both these initiatives, and China's broader business strategy, is an acknowledgement by the leadership that there could be positive benefits to come out of the Uyghurs' historical, ethnic, cultural, and religious connections with Central Asia and their religious connections with the broader Muslim world. And that the Uyghurs could be seen as a source of peace and prosperity, as opposed to instability. 

Yu Zhengsheng said the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region lies at the crossroads between China and the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and Europe, and that it should play a more important role in Sino-Arab cooperation. 

If the China-Arab Expo can bridge differences between China and the Arab and Muslim countries it does business with, and achieve prosperity for all, then there's no reason to exclude Uyghur participation in the China-Eurasia Expo, Silk Road project, and China's broader economic outreach to Muslim countries. 

It can only increase China's prosperity and improve China's relations with Uyghur Muslims as well as the Muslim World 

By Haiyun Ma Via Xinjiang Review 

THE FUTURE OF ARGENTINA

Cry for Me, Argentina

A nation still drugged by that quixotic political concoction called 

Peronism

Article adapted from Roger Cohen, with comments by Geopolitical Analysis and Monitoring

The heavy burden of populist history in one of the richest countries of the world.

A bon mot doing the rounds in post-commodities-boom South America is that Brazil is in the process of becoming Argentina, and Argentina is in the process of becoming Venezuela, and Venezuela is in the process of becoming Zimbabwe. That is a little harsh on Brazil and Venezuela.

Argentina, however, is a perverse case of its own. It is a nation still drugged by that quixotic political concoction called Peronism; engaged in all-out war on reliable economic data; tinkering with its multilevel exchange rate; shut out from global capital markets; trampling on property rights when it wishes; obsessed with a lost little war in the Falklands (Malvinas) more than three decades ago; and persuaded that the cause of all this failure lies with speculative powers seeking to force a proud nation — in the words of its leader — “to eat soup again, but this time with a fork.”

Comment on: Shut out from global capital markets:

ARGENTINA COULD HAVE DODGED THE CURRENT WORLDWIDE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRISIS DUE TO FAVORABLE INTERNAL ECONOMIC CONDITIONS (AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES), IF TACKLED THE CORRECT WAY 

Most of the current difficulties however are homemade, for ARGENTINA is one of the worlds leading agriculture commodity exporter as well as developing the countries mining industry in order to extract its vast amount of natural resource. After defaulting the country paid back its entire dept with the IMF, however because of its pending dept with the “Paris Club” it has been expelled from international financial institutions, a move, which has proven not too much of a burden for the country, because demand for agriculture commodities kept rising and thus the country obtained sufficient revenues, despite being band obtaining international loans, thus permitting the country to conduct trade without needing to adhered to doctrines set by international financial institutions. 

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_debt_restructuring

THE GEOPOLITICS OF INTERNATIONAL MONETARY AND FINANCIAL SYSTEMS

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/09/argentina-geopolitics-of-international.html

DEFYING INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-future-of-argentina.html

IMF AND ARGENTINA 

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2011/10/corporatocracy.html

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2011/08/imf-destroyer-of-nations.html

A century ago, Argentina was richer than Sweden, France, Austria and Italy. 

It was far richer than Japan. It held poor Brazil in contempt. Vast and empty, with the world’s richest top soil in the Pampas, it seemed to the European immigrants who flooded here to have all the potential of the United States (per capita income is now a third or less of the United States level). They did not know that a colonel called Juan Domingo Perón and his wife Eva (“Evita”) would shape an ethos of singular delusional power.

“Argentina is a unique case of a country that has completed the transition to underdevelopment,” said Javier Corrales, a political scientist at Amherst College.

Argentina is the child among nations that never grew up

In psychological terms — and Buenos Aires is packed with folks on couches pouring out their anguish to psychotherapists — Argentina is the child among nations that never grew up. Responsibility was not its thing. Why should it be? There was so much to be plundered, such riches in grain and livestock, that solid institutions and the rule of law — let alone a functioning tax system — seemed a waste of time.

Immigrants camped here with foreign passports rather than go through the nation-forming absorption that characterize Brazil or the United States. Argentina was far away at the bottom of the world, a beckoning fertile land mass distant enough from power centers to live its own peripheral fantasies or drown its sorrow in what is probably the world’s saddest (and most haunting) dance. 

Comment on: Argentina is the child among nations that never grew up

An Example: DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND ARGENTINA, TWO COUNTRIES ROUGHLY THE SAME “AGE”!

Considering all these favorable circumstance (Agriculture commodity export, natural resource etc.), one obviously has to question why ARGENTINA, after 200 years of history has not evolved to first world status? Comparing AUSTRALIA with ARGENTINA, both of whom have 200 years of history, AUSTRALIA advanced to first world status, while ARGENTINA seems to stagnate despite the fact that the latter has better conditions for advancement. AUSTRALIA lacks far behind ARGENTINA in agricultural commodity exports, fertile land as well as natural resources. The majority of the land is desert, nevertheless, AUSTRALIA emerged as a first world country with a functioning social security system, infrastructure development etc. 

The Eco - political advance AUSTRALIA made during its 200 year history, in comparison to ARGENTINA becomes even more impressive when looking at its immigrant background, for most of AUSTRALIA’S first immigrants were convicts expelled to AUSTRALIA by the colonial power BRITAIN. Hardly a reputable immigrant force to reckon with. Nevertheless AUSTRALIA managed to emerge as a reputable and stable country. AUSTRALIA’S forefathers managed to evolve from outcast of society to reputable citizens. 

ARGENTINA’S main immigrant background was mostly ITALIAN. It took ITALY two world wars to curb in organize crime syndicates in order to emerge as a trustworthy, almost corruption free nation in Europe. See: Immigrant background:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Argentine

From extreme  left to  extreme right - Peronism, a political movement 

Then, to give expression to its uniqueness, Argentina invented its own political philosophy: a strange mishmash of nationalism, romanticism, fascism, socialism, backwardness, progressiveness, militarism, eroticism, fantasy, musical, mournfulness, irresponsibility and repression. The name it gave all this was Peronism. It has proved impossible to shake.

Perón, who discovered the political uplift a military officer could derive from forging links with the have-nots of Latin America and distributing cash (a lesson absorbed by Hugo Chávez), was deposed in the first of four postwar coups. Argentina  in the 1980s was just emerging from the trauma of military rule. For many the emblematic image of the continent is the uncontrollable sobbing of Argentine women clutching the photographs of beloved children who had been taken from them for “brief questioning” only to vanish. The region’s military juntas turned “disappear” into a transitive verb. It is what they did to deemed enemies — 30,000 of them in Argentina.

Since 1983, Argentina has ceased its military-civilian whiplash, tried some of the perpetrators of human rights crimes and been governed democratically. But for most of that time it has been run by Peronists, most recently Néstor Kirchner and his widow, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (shades of Perón’s widow Isabel), who have rediscovered redistribution after a Peronist flurry in the 1990s with neo-liberalism. Economic whiplash is alive and well. So are reckless spending in good times and lawless measures in bad. So, too, are mawkish evocations of Perón and Evita and Isabel: On earth as it is in the heavens.

Comment on: Peronist fantasies 

CORRUPTION AND ORGANIZED CRIME SYNDICATES 

Corruption and organized crime is a worldwide phenomena, however certain countries are more vulnerable than others, especially when a country such as ARGENTINA has experienced little less than 30 years of democracy. Being suppressed for generations reflects on society. A society experiencing sudden freedom and democracy after years of suppression is likely to venture out too its limits in order to see how far it can go, without the fear of repercussions. 

Background Information:   

Crime and corruption are two of the world's largest multinational industries

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/crime-corruption-and-political-system.html

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/crime-corruption-and-political-system_7.html

Looking at the ARGENTINE political landscape, this phenomenon is particularly strong. With the end of the military dictatorship, political entities quickly learned that democracy also offers the opportunity to enrich oneself and thus get a cut from the “tax income cake”, thereby neglecting the need of the common citizens.

In many matured democratic nations, official entities tend also to be corrupted, but they are wise enough to keep maybe 10 percent for themselves where as 90 percent go into infrastructure improvement and social welfare, to keep the public calm, where as in other countries the math’s are reversed, thus citizens experience lack of infrastructure improvement and social welfare as well as life quality, which in the long run backfires.

Peronist fantasies and bottom-of-the-world complexes a Déjà vu........2014 

Twenty-five years ago the country faced hyperinflation (5,000 percent in 1989), capital flight, currency instability, heavy-handed state interventionism, dwindling reserves, uncompetitive industry, heavy reliance on commodity exports, reawakening Peronist fantasies and bottom-of-the-world complexes. Today inflation is high rather than hyper. Otherwise, not a whole lot has changed.

Hope is hard to banish from the human heart, but it has to be said that Argentina does its best to do so.

DEMOCRACY IN ITS INFANCY

In many aspects ARGENTINA is still in its infancy, experimenting and evolving with its young democracy, seeing how far it can lean over the edge of the cliff before falling. In view of its short democracy, ARGENTINA should be given some leeway in order to progress. ARGENTINA still needs  to mature politically as well as socially. Afterall it took most of the EUROPEAN countries two world wars to evolve and emerge as stable democracies and ITALY years to curb in the Mafia (OC) in order to become a nation worth reckoning. 

Currently and in the near future it is unlikely that a strong political opposition will emerge in order to counterbalance the current political landscape in ARGENTINA. And even if one emerges, the question is if things will change for better or worst. 

ARGENTINA is a young democracy trying to find its bearings. 2015 is election year but in most likelihood no significant political change will occur for Peronism will still prevail. Unfortunately...............  

See also: 

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2014/02/dont-cry-for-me-argentina.html

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/09/argentines-stunning-policy-turnaround.html

ARGENTINA: A COUNTRY WITHOUT VISIBLE POLITICAL OPPOSITION.

ARGENTINE’S "INVISIBLE OPPOSITION", CONSISTING OF SELF - SEEKING ONE MAN SHOWS, WHO USE CORPORATE MEDIA TO OPPOSE THE GOVERNMENT 

Since the Kirchners’ (Center left) took rein back in 2003, their “unorthodox” but successful governing of Argentina infuriated Argentines “conservative” political opposition, if one can call it that, for unlike other countries, Argentina in reality does not have a political party system as such. Granted, when election time arrives, different so called political "parties" with fancy names start emerging, but in reality they are one man shows of ambitious self seeking individuals, mostly of who are from the large but fractured Peronist  movement, but with completely different political ideologies. 

This is where it becomes complicated understanding Argentines political landscape. The first thing that comes in one’s mind when talking about Argentine politics is Peronism, which by definition stands for an economic, political, and social ideology called Justicialismo (social justice). When listening to some of the so-called “opposition individuals” ( who claim to be Peronists) one comes to conclusion that their political objectives are a far cry from social ideologies but rather are those of a center right conservative political stance. Thus, since the Kirchners’ took office, during election times a fractured opposition of self seeking individuals with conservative views have tried to gain power and failed to do so for lack of unity and being unable to “feel the pulse and needs” of the common people. 

OPPOSITION LACKS UNITY THUS USES CORPORATE MEDIA TO OPPOSE THE GOVERNMENT 

Since they (the opposition) lack unity they are practically invisible and thus refer to a different tool of opposing the current government: CORPORATE MEDIA.

Since 2003 the media giant Clarin Group and La Nacion have been the main and powerful tool of the “invisible opposition” to oppose the current government. Misinformation, lack of objectivity etc. both in Clarin Groups TV News Channels as well as print media is a daily occurrence in Argentina. Needles to say these media giants are well connected and thus use their influence to spread misinformation about the economic situation of the country etc to The Economist, who as long as this government is in power will never write an objective article on Argentina, as well as international mainstream media outlets. 

THE AVERAGE CITIZEN HARDLY HAS THE TIME AND PATIENCE TO ANALYZE AND RESEARCH NEWSPAPER ARTICLE IN ORDER TO FORM AN OBJECTIVE OPINION, SOMETHING MAINSTREAM MEDIA EMPIRES ARE FULLY AWARE OF

Todo Noticias news channel belonging to Clarin Croup, reporting predominantly negative news

Needless to say that media giants such as Clarin group, La Nacion and the “invisible opposition” are fully aware that the average citizen hardly has the time and patience to analyze and research each article or report these entities print or transmit, nor use alternative information sources to research their claim in order to form one’s own objective opinion.Thus the majority of people of different social and educational background by large absorb and take for grant what Clarin and La Nacion (the two most read dailies in Argentina) “feed” them with. The same goes for their News Channels who are also a manipulative tool to form public opinion. 

CHINA AND ZIMBABWE

China plans airbase in Zimbabwe near the Marange diamond fields

The news of the agreement to set up the first Chinese military airbase in Africa comes amid increasing bilateral cooperation between Zimbabwe and China – notably in mining, agriculture and preferential trade. China is the only country exempted from the indigenisation laws which force all foreign investors to cede 51% of their shareholding to carefully selected indigenous Zimbabweans.

The Marange story quoted unnamed military officials and a diplomat admitting knowledge of the plan to set up the base. Efforts to get a comment from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces were fruitless, as spokesperson Lt Col Alphios Makotore was consistently unavailable and did not respond to emails by the time of going to press.

Background Information:  

China's Africa Involvement 

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com/2013/12/chinese-peacekeepers-in-africa.html

THE SECRET WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND THE US FOR AFRICA'S OIL RICHES
http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/12/usa-china-and-africa.html

CHINA’S WINNING STRATEGY IN AFRICA

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/chinas-winning-strategy-in-africa.html

The website speculated that China could be positioning itself for future “gunboat diplomacy” where its military presence would give it bargaining power against superpowers like the US. It would also be safeguarding its significant economic interests in Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa.

VEIL OF SECRECY

“Military officials in Zimbabwe said details of the airbase plan were sketchy and mostly classified due to the veil of secrecy around President Robert Mugabe’s relationship with China’s Red Army. A sizeable number of Chinese troops are reported to have their boots on the ground in the Marange diamond fields, which have since been cordoned off as a high level security zone,” said the publication.

It added that a senior Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) officer based in Harare confirmed that there were rumors of the impending establishment of the airstrip as a “follow up to a military treaty signed between China and Zimbabwe in July 2005”.

Telescope News has made sensational claims in recent weeks, among them that Defence Minister and Zanu (PF) Secretary for Legal Affairs, Emmerson Mnangagwa, was secretly anointed by the military to succeed President Robert Mugabe.

AFRICA IS THE BATTLEFIELD OF TOMORROW

It quoted a former Asian diplomat deployed to Zimbabwe for almost a decade as saying: “Haven’t you heard that Africa is the battlefield of tomorrow, today? As such in terms of geo-politics Zimbabwe is already a key battleground, for various competing powers. During my stay there, we heard about many military agreements being signed between the two countries.”

Chinese companies are heavily involved in diamond mining, in partnership with the Zimbabwe Government. They are believed to have constructed the airstrip at Marange that many suspect is being used to clandestinely haul diamonds to unknown destinations. It has sophisticated radar systems and ultra-modern facilities.

Background Information:

THE SECRET WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND THE US FOR AFRICA

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.co.at/2012/12/usa-china-and-africa.html

AFRICOM EXPANDS MISSION IN AFRICA:

http://geopoliticsrst.blogspot.com.ar/2012/07/africa-and-usa.html 

BEIJING BANKROLL

Confidential Central Intelligence Organisation documents leaked last year suggested that China had played a central role in retaining President Robert Mugabe in the July 31 elections, indicating that high level military officers had worked closely with the local army in poll strategies while Beijing bankrolled Zanu (PF).

China is Zimbabwe’s biggest trading partner after South Africa and has strategic economic interests in many African countries to guarantee raw materials, job sources and markets for its huge population.

The new Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Lin Lin, recently said trade between the two countries last year exceeded the $1 billion mark. Yet Zimbabwe is only 26th on the list of China’s 58 biggest African trading partners.

The Asian country has supplied Zimbabwe with military hardware, including MIG jet fighters, tanks, armored vehicles and rifles, since Independence.

It vetoed a move by the United Nations in 2005 to censor Zimbabwe following an uproar over increasing human rights abuses.

Via StratRisk