|
The Left Comes to
Power in Latin America
RAMON
RODRIGUEZ
ph/fax-805-524-5480
Copyright MMV
The recent
election of Evo Morales as President of Bolivia,
which only remains to be confirmed by the Bolivian
Congress, raises again the question as to the
long-term prospects for the Left in Latin America,
and also the question, What is to be Done? The Left
is taking power throughout that region south of the
Mexican-US border, with the Left even poised to
assume power in Mexico itself, an authentic Left,
one espousing and realizing true Leftist and
progressive principles, as opposed to merely
employing for the sake of political opportunism the
rhetoric of a fake Left, the kind of phony Leftist
rhetoric and posturing used for so long in Mexico in
order to mask corruption and obscure the lack of
democracy. What is to be done with the newly won
power of the Left in Latin America? Will it be
squandered away or stolen back by the United States?
Will the newly-minted Leftist leaders of Latin
America use their hard-won power for the betterment
of their countries or will they abuse it, as did so
many of their predecessors?
While we
must ask certain questions about the economic,
political and social situation in Latin America,
today, there is no question about the Leftward tilt
and tendency coming to fruition in that part of the
world, though there are those north of the border
who claim that the triumph of the Left in Latin
America is nothing of the kind, and that what is
really transpiring there is something more nebulous,
a kind of watered-down version of Social Democracy
of the sort to be found in Europe. But this uniquely
North American version or rationalization or
explanation of what is going on south of the border
flies in the face of the facts and is at sharp
variance with logic. It is also an unrealistic
attempt to downplay the declining fortunes of the
American capitalists in Latin America on the one
hand and the improving fortunes of the Left on the
other. Perhaps it is a form of denial by which the
American elites and decision-makers are telling
themselves that all will be well in Latin America
and that the Latin Americans will revert once again
to their former subservient role, to their former
dependency on the US.
Let us
face the facts: there is no way that the elections
of Evo Morales, Chilean Socialist President Ricardo
Lagos, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva, Uruguayan President Tabare Vasquez and
President of Argentina Nestor Kirchner can be
interpreted as anything other than electoral
triumphs of the Left, political outcomes which can
only be inimical to the interests of the United
States, which sees Latin America as within its
“sphere of influence”, as its backyard and nothing
more, inhabited by denizens who deserve nothing more
and no less than their continued exploitation at the
hands of the American capitalists and the
international economic institutions which they
dominate, along with their European partners. To
interpret such triumphs of the Left as not really
triumphs but as something less is not only at odds
with political reality, it also tends to disguise
the genesis of these triumphs, which can only be
accurately interpreted as the product of widespread
anti-Americanism, as a backlash to American
militarism and imperialism, a response to President
Bush’s illegal war against Iraq and his hegemonic
and racist “war on terror”.
Another
question that must be asked is the following; how
will the US react to its latest defeats in Latin
America at the hands of Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales,
and last but not least, Fidel Castro himself? It
goes without saying that the latest defeats suffered
by the US in Latin America are simultaneously
victories for the latter, who now enjoy
unprecedented influence in that part of the world,
even as the influence of the United States there
contracts to an all time low. In former times the
American Leviathan would not hesitate to do whatever
it felt necessary to maintain its power and
influence in Latin America, whether that meant
outright invasion, sabotage or the installation of a
puppet regime or some combination thereof. The
remonstrations of President Chavez may seem rather
paranoid, but it is a fact of life that those who
are paranoid usually have something to be paranoid
about.
Those who
fear conspiracies are likewise not as irrational as
they seem, as conspiracies have in fact been par for
the course throughout history; remember the Ides of
March and the fate of Julius Caesar? Under the
present circumstances that obtain in Latin America,
we should be prepared for anything. History has
shown time and time again that those who are
desperate will resort to desperate measures without
so much as blinking an eye, and it has demonstrated
time after time that those who have lost power will
do anything to reclaim it.
|
