For more than a century, U.S.Imperialism has treated Latin America as a backwater of corrupt generals, poor and exploitable labor and a continent to be raped for its resources.It was the original place where imperialists like Nixon and Kissinger wanted to spread “Democracy” and “Freedom” which, of course, meant assassinations of elected leaders like Arbenz and Allende and the installation of pliable dictators like Videla and Pinochet.
Despite the efforts of our imperialists, Latin America, as a continent, is totally rejeceting our brand of democracy and electing true democrats not beholden to U.S. corporate interests. The rise of Lula,Kirchner,Chavez and now Morales signifies a paradigm shift and it will be a long time before any U.S. interests will prevail in any elections in Latin America.
Ironically, the end of U.S. imperialism signifies the flowering of democracy native to Latin America.Both Chavez and Morales are proud of their Indian roots and their communities, for a long time under the U.S. favored dictators, had no voice.unless the U.S. corporations mend their ways and get on the right side of history, we can expect countries like India, Russia and China ready to step in and fill the vacuum as is already happening with the coalition between Brazil and all these three powers.
If the Republicans and Democrats do not see this as a repudiation of U.S. hegemony by a broad swath of Latin people,they will have some more rude surprises awaiting them in the Middle East and the rest of the world.As it stands, the independent minded Latin countries like Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, do not want to have anything to do with American corporate hegemony.The spread of this attitude to other parts of the world is inevitable.
The imperial mindset has so thoroughly infected our body politic,no one seems to question the very basis of our so called “vital interests” and assumes that it should take precedence over the ordinary living needs of the peoples of that continent.Until that realization dawns on us, we are likely to retreat from every corner of the globe driven out by the peoples who are fed up with our brand of Democracy and Freedom, which essentially means the unfetterd rights of our corporations to exploit the resources of the continent for the benefit of their shareholders with little,if any,accruing to the benefit of the local population.
If Latin America is our guide expect a repeat of the same phenomenon throughout the Middle East.
