To the utter disdain of Washington, the continent is changing -- and changing really fast. Though Fidel Castro is now at the twilight of his innings the last one decade has witnessed an unprecedented shift towards the left and socialism -- though obscurely defined -- that seems to be getting out-of-sway of the United States at the moment. Latin America has started to give headaches to the policy-makers in Washington. one after another, the "democratically elected" leaders of Latin America are turning towards socialism and Bolivarian revolution.

During the current busy electoral year in Latin America five leftist presidents have been voted into office, or won another term. Last month, Rafael Correa, a young, US-educated economist but with a

radical approach, emphatically won the presidential elections in Ecuador. Correa's electoral victory is being labeled as another triumph for Hugo Chavez who has been striving for the infusion of socialism and Bolivarian thinking in the continent.

Correa has vowed to put the brakes on Ecuador's participation in the US-backed Free Trade Area for the Americas, to join oPEC and to close down the US military base at Manta. Being a staunch critic of the neo-liberal economic thinking of the globalised world, and the so-called Washington Consensus, that has inflicted this dogma upon Latin America for the last two decades, Correa is likely to emerge as a resolute member of the Chavez camp that has been championing Latin America's "second independence."

Now, with the re-election of Hugo Chavez as the President of

Venezuela until 2012, the socialist tide sweeping through the continent has got the real impetus that is expected to set the political tone for the coming days -- more headaches for Washington. Chavez is undoubtedly at the forefront of the on-going transition in the political and social complexion of Latin America. Chavez has emerged as a symbol of success for socialist reforms in the continent, and the rest of his neighbours are also preparing to imitate his model. His close association with Fidel Castro has further irked the Americans who believe that he is quickly assuming the role of heir-apparent to Castro.

There are similarities between Castro and Chavez -- both have prospered in the wake of left-wing resurgence in Latin America. By flexing his oil muscle Chavez has been directly colliding with the

United States in Castro-style. He represents the Bolivarian revolution, named after South American liberation hero Simon Bolivar, as a model for regional solidarity against US policies. Just like Castro, he is effectively exploiting the prevailing anti-US sentiments in the region. Although Latin Americans, who still see Castro as an icon, have been somewhat cautious in embracing Chavez as a substitute for the aging Castro, he has certainly carved an image as a real firebrand who is a propagator of radical change in the continent.

He openly slanders US free trade deals as neo-imperialism, but while doing so he forgets that these deals are a lifeline for his neighbours. The oil wealth has given Chavez the kind of economic and political independence not enjoyed by Castro. But he is using the petrodollars very intelligently. on the

domestic front, unlike his predecessors, he has been using the petrodollars to generously support the poverty alleviation programmes, literacy campaign, health facilities in the slum areas, free treatment to HiV/AiDS sufferers, and special tuition for early school leavers, and evening classes for adults. in a country of 25 million, seventeen million now have free access to healthcare facilities for the first time in their lives, while some fifteen million have been given access to food, medicine and other essential item at very reasonable prices. So far, the government, to rescue people from blindness, has financed 250,000 eye surgeries.

Though no independent surveys and statistics are available to confirm Chavez's claim that the percentage of people below the poverty line has dropped from 50 percent to 37 percent, the munifi-

cent social spending in poor districts suggest that he may be right in his claim about poverty alleviation in general. He has achieved all these social reforms despite a very hostile private media being largely run by his opponents. Perhaps it is the success of his social reforms plan, and its direct impact on the living standards of the lower strata of the Venezuelan society, that has enabled him to muster 63% of votes in the presidential elections.

But, being a keen strategist, though lacking academic sophistication, Chavez has not confined the benefits of his petrodollars to the Venezuelans only. instead, he has lavishly supported his brethren from Cuba to Bolivia in their development projects. Thousands of Cuban and Latin American professionals are working in Venezuela at fairly attractive wages. His oil-funded social programmes are

being executed in different neighbouring countries, generating a backing for him in the region as a leader for the next decade.

His slogan of greater South American integration has its own attraction. And when the people see him practically sponsoring this notion through his oil profits they have no option but to respond positively to such overtures. That is precisely what has happened with his phenomenal rise as the chief spokesman for Latin America's emerging socialist bloc. Now he is talking about the plans for $20 billion to construct a 9,000-kilometer long natural gas pipeline to supply gas from Venezuela to Brazil, Argentina and other countries.

Despite all its technical flaws, the trans-Latin America pipeline project is an extremely generous, and lavish, too, venture that will

further pull the energy-hungry Latin Americans towards Hugo Chavez. interestingly, Chavez and his supporters in the continent are themselves not clear about their socialist agenda. obviously, they are not thinking about a Soviet-style socialist package. They do realize that the time is over for this kind of experimentation. in fact, they are in the middle of concocting a new version and definition of socialism. indubitably, they are drawing their inspiration from lavish oil funding by Chavez and its impact on the continent as a whole. But still they are confused.

Dr Imran Khalid is a freelance contributor to The Daily Star.