South America - which side are we on?

"Voters could give Latin America, Caribbean a political makeover - - One was a member of Uruguay's Tupamaros, an icon of Latin America's armed left in the 1960s. The other is among the owners of the LAN airline, an icon of Chile's free-market successes. Both are viewed as moderates. They are two of the most important and new candidates in an unusually busy electoral season in Latin America and the Caribbean -- a dozen presidential and parliamentary elections over the next 14 months. A 12-month period in 2004-2005 saw leftists win nine of 12 elections in the region. Yet the upcoming ballots might well show that the swing to the left has lost its momentum, and that candidates on both sides of the political spectrum have learned the value of moderation, analysts say. In the region's most recent election, conservative Ricardo Martinelli won Panama's presidency in May over the candidate of the ruling left-of-center party."

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/1225990.html

Let's hope the administration makes clear which side we're on. And, let's hope its not the same side as Castro and Chavez.