01 July, 2008
The Paradoxes Of Latin American Development
By Prof. James PetrasAs US hegemony in Latin America becomes less profound and pervasive, Latin America's local brand of neo-liberalism expands and goes global. The onset of the US recession and financial crisis has little or no effect in slowing Latin America's export boom, demonstrating the growing de-coupling of the two regions' economies, rendering obsolete the long-standing cliché…"When the US sneezes, Latin America catches pneumonia."
The Rise of Food Fascism:Agrarian Elite
Foments Coup In Bolivia
By Roger BurbachSome argue that that we are witnessing the rise of "petro-fascism" as multinational corporations and nation states struggle for control of the life-blood of the global economy. Now with the efforts of the multinational agribusiness corporations and the agrarian bourgeoisies to control the very sustenance of human life we may be facing an even more violent period of repression, conflict and upheaval
Alvaro Uribe Velez And Colombia
By David A.G. FischerIn the middle of his second consecutive term, the president is looking to overturn the constitutional law once again. Supporters of Uribe see no problem with him running for a third consecutive term. His critics, however, are up in arms. Regardless, fractions from both sides believe that he will be successful in manipulating conditions to his favor and thereby maintain his authoritarian rule over the country
21 May, 2008
"The "New" Left In Latin America:
What Chomsky Didn't Tell You
By Lorna SalzmanWhat Noam Chomsky, referring to the new leftist governments in Latin America, recently described in the International Herald Tribune as a "promising sign of deliverance from the (American corporate) demons of the past" is turning out to be a Business As Usual policy of full speed ahead on resource exploitation and economic growth regardless of the ecological consequences
20 May, 2008
Spinning The News - The FARC-EP Files,
Venezuela And Interpol
By Stephen LendmanColombia's belligerency, the FARC-EP files, Fourth Fleet reactivation, continued funding of Venezuela's opposition, CIA's covert mischief, disruptive street violence, and other planned schemes are troublesome. They're to reassert regional control and rid Washington of its leading hemispheric antagonist. No guessing who, and no telling when the next attempt will come or in what form
17 May, 2008
Grow Them Young, Pay Them Well -
Anti-Chavistas, That Is
By Stephen LendmanThe Washington-based Cato Institute is all about "Individual Liberty, Free Markets, and Peace," or so says its web site. It's been around since 1977 preaching limited government and free market religion with plenty of high-octane corporate funding for backing. It better have it for the award it presented on May 15. It was to a 23 year old fifth year Venezuelan law student at Universidad Catolica Andres Bello. Yon Goicoechea was the fourth recipient of the "Milton Friedman Liberty Prize" in the amount of $500,000. For what? What else. For serving the interests of capital back home and leading anti-Chavista protests
03 May, 2008
Bullets And Bananas: The Violence Of
Free Trade In Guatemala
By Cyril MychalejkoThe ongoing violence against workers in Guatemala makes it clear that talk of free trade improving human rights in developing countries is lost in translation. Free trade has done nothing but exacerbate poverty and inequality, while rewarding governments for sustaining repressive conditions that allow corporations to exploit vulnerable, and often powerless workers
18 April, 2008
Venezuela: Democracy, Socialism And Imperialism
By James PetrasVenezuela ’s President Hugo Chavez remains the world’s leading secular, democratically elected political leader who has consistently and publicly opposed imperialist wars in the Middle East , attacked extra-territorial intervention and US and European Union complicity in kidnapping and torture
02 April, 2008
Propagandizing Human Rights In Colombia
By Garry LeechIt happens time and time again. Following the killing of Colombian peasants, the government immediately blames guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the mainstream media in both Colombia and the United States dutifully report the allegations. In most cases, evidence later emerges showing that the Colombian military or its right-wing paramilitary allies were the actual perpetrators of the crime
01 April, 2008
The New York Times v. Hugo Chavez
By Stephen LendmanRomero and others like him in the mainstream, keep at their appointed mission - attacking the most model democracy in the region with a clear and purposeful aim - to destabilize, destroy and transform Venezuela into the alternate model Uribe represents: uncompromising hard right; hugely repressive; linked to Colombia's death squads and drug cartels; a supporter of state terrorism; a government riddled with corruption and scandal; and George Bush's favorite Latin America leader because of all of the above
19 March, 2008
Latin America Rejects Bush Doctrine
By Federico FuentesReeling from the blow that it received in the aftermath of the
Colombian military's illegal incursion on March 1 into Ecuador — which resulted in the brutal massacre of a number of civilians and members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), including its chief negotiator Raul Reyes — US imperialism has once again raised the ante in its struggle to undermine the growing process of Latin American integration18 March, 2008
Bush v. Chavez: An Update
By Stephen LendmanImagine the following - the nation Martin Luther King called "The Greatest Purveyor of Violence in the World Today" may brand democratic Venezuela a state sponsor of terrorism if extremist lawmakers on the Hill get their way
11 March, 2008
Bush And Uribe v. Chavez And Correa
By Stephen LendmanCall it another salvo in Bush v. Chavez with Ecuador's Raphael Correa as a secondary target and Colombia's Alvaro Uribe as a proxy aggressor. The Ecuadorean incursion was no ordinary cross-border raid. It was a made in Washington affair that escalates a nine year attempt to remove the Venezuelan leader and return oligarchs in the country to power
07 March, 2008
Underestimating Rafael Correa
By Fidel Castro RuzAbsolutely no one has the right to kill in cold blood. If we accept that imperial method of warfare and barbarism, Yankee bombs directed by satellites could fall on any group of Latin American men and women, in the territory of any country, war or no war. The fact that this happened on undisputed Ecuadorian territory is an aggravating circumstance
25 February, 2008
Washington v. Cuba After Castro
By Stephen LendmanCuba now begins a new era, its challenges are huge, and consider the biggest of all - Washington's relentless pressure the way Deputy Secretary of State (and veteran state terrorist) John Negroponte put it: Castro stepping down means nothing, US policy won't change, "I can't imagine that happening any time soon."
What I Wrote On Tuesday 19
By Fidel CastroChange! But, inside the United States. Cuba changed long ago and will now follow a dialectical path. We will never go back to the past! Cries our people. Annexation! Annexation! Annexation! Responds the adversary. That is what it really means when it speaks about change
The Failure Of Human Rights Watch
In Venezuela And Haiti
By Joe EmersbergerThe way Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Haiti and Venezuela in its 2008 World Report reveals an underlying assumption that the US and its allies have the right to overthrow democratic governments
19 February, 2008
Bush And ExxonMobil v. Chavez
By Stephen LendmanReuters on February 7 announced: "Courts freeze $12 billion Venezuela assets in Exxon row." Call it the latest salvo in Bush v. Chavez with ExxonMobil (EM) its lead aggressor and the long arm of the CIA and Pentagon always in the wings
28 January, 2008
Venezuela: The Struggle For
A Mass Revolutionary Party
By Federico FuentesIn drawing up a balance sheet of why Chavez’s constitutional reform proposal — that aimed to create a framework for the transition towards socialism — was narrowly defeated in a national referendum on December 2, one factor stands out. The Bolivarian revolution’s Achilles heel is the lack of a political instrument capable of confronting the challenges faced in the struggle to construct a new, socially just, Venezuela
10 December, 2007
Ritual Gloating Postmortems -
The Corporate Media v. Hugo Chavez
By Stephen LendmanChavez is resilient and will rebound from one electoral setback. Don't ever count him out or underestimate his influence over what co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Mark Weisbrot, says is "A historic transformation....underway in Latin America (following) more than a quarter century of neoliberal" rule
06 December, 2007
Venezuelan Referendum:
A Post Mortem And Its Aftermath
By James PetrasThe referendum and its outcome (while important today) is merely an episode in the struggle between authoritarian imperial centered capitalism and democratic workers-centered socialism
04 December, 2007
Venezuela's Social Democracy Hits A Speed Bump
By Stephen LendmanAs expected, his opponents were gloating, but one pollster struck a positive note saying: "This defeat has two sides to it for Chavez. He came out the loser after a tough plebiscite campaign but he also gets rid of the accusation that he is a dictator." Chavez earlier said and repeated he would accept the results of the vote, and he stands by his word. It proved the process is open, free and fair unlike elections in many other so-called democracies that aren't. The struggle indeed continues with powerful popular support backing it
The Referendum Defeat In Venezuela:
A Warning To The Working Class
By Bill Van AukenThe narrow defeat on Sunday of a constitutional reform submitted to a referendum vote by the government of President Hugo Chavez has produced a mood of right-wing triumphalism within both Venezuela’s oligarchy and the US political establishment
02 December, 2007
Venezuela’s D-Day - The December 2,
Constituent Referendum
By James PetrasA decisive vote for ‘Sí’ will not end US military and political destabilization campaigns but it will certainly undermine and demoralize their collaborators. On December 2, 2007 the Venezuelans have a rendezvous with history
Tens of Thousands Protest Chavez Proposals,
Is CIA Fomenting Unrest To Challenge Referendum?
By Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez & James PetrasIn Venezuela , tens of thousands of protesters marched through Caracas Thursday to oppose constitutional changes proposed by President Chavez that come to a vote on Sunday. Citing a confidential memo, the Venezuelan government is claiming the CIA is fomenting unrest to challenge the referendum
Venezuela: A People Under Fire
By Fidel CastroA victory of the Yes vote on December 2 would not be enough. The weeks and months following that date may very well prove to be extremely tough for many countries, Cuba for one; although before that the empire's adventures could lead the planet into an atomic war, as their own leaders have confessed
29 November, 2007
What’s Really Happening In Venezuela?
By Lee SustarVenezuelans will vote December 2 on constitutional reforms proposed by President Hugo Chávez and his supporters, capping weeks of sometimes-violent protests by right-wing opposition forces, a defection by a top Chávez political ally, and mass mobilizations by Chávez supporters.LEE SUSTAR, recently returned from Venezuela, looks at the aims of Chávez’s proposals, the response of the opposition and the shape of Venezuelan politics today
26 November, 2007
The Final Battle In Bolivia
By Roger BurbachEvo Morales, the first Indian president of Bolivia, is forcing a showdown with the oligarchy and the right wing political parties that have stymied efforts to draft a new constitution to transform the nation. He declares, “Dead or alive I will have a new constitution for the country by December 14,” the mandated date for the specially elected Constituent Assembly to present the constitution
21 November, 2007
Haiti: Survival And Poverty In Carrefour
By Nazaire St FortThe families of Carrefour often live on less than one US dollar per day and suffer from malnutrition. The lack of access to potable water and basic health care further compounds the problem. Few can afford to attend school. With few options young people are put at high risk of going into prostitution and crime
19 November, 2007
Coup D'Etat Rumblings In Venezuela
By Stephen LendmanVenezuela's social democracy is on the line in the crucial December 2 vote, and the entire region depends on it solidifying and surviving
17 November, 2007
The Monarchy's Clash With Socialism
By Pablo OuzielIn November 2007 at the Ibero-American Summit in Santiago de Chile, the King of Spain Juan Carlos pointed his finger at Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and asked him, "Why don't you shut up?", after Chávez had called José María Aznar Spain's former Prime Minister a fascist, and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero the current Spanish Prime Minister was trying to defend him
16 November, 2007
Venezuela: Between Ballots And Bullets
By James PetrasVenezuela’s democratically elected Present Chavez faces the most serious threat since the April 11, 2002 military coup. Violent street demonstrations by privileged middle and upper middle class university students have led to major street battles in and around the center of Caracas
14 November, 2007
Venezuela: Reform Battle Continues
As Chavez Ally Splits
By Federico FuentesHundreds of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets of Caracas on November 4, in a massive sea of red, to support the proposed constitutional reforms adopted by the National Assembly that will be put to a referendum on December 2. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has explained that the reforms aim to deepen the Bolivarian revolution that his government is leading
06 November, 2007
Bolivia: 'A Project For The Liberation Of The Poor’
By Federico FuentesWhen Loayza, together with Morales, was first elected to parliament in 1997 it marked the entrance of the indigenous and campesino (peasant) movements onto the political stage nationally. Two years previously, three of Bolivia’s key indigenous and campesino organisations, including the United Union Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia (CSUTCB) headed by Loayza, came together to construct a “political instrument” that aimed to be “a political project of the poor, for the liberation of the poor”
17 October, 2007
The Difference Between Black Brazil And Black U.S.
By Italo RamosReading all this news about race in the US, more than just to learn about American racial complexity, I could make sense of how big the differences are between Brazil and the US, in terms of racial questions. Here are some of them
15 October, 2007
Promised Social Change In Ecuador
By Stephen LendmanRaphael Correa was elected Ecuador's president last November and took office January 15 promising social change. Correa must now deliver and just got a boost from his governing Movimiento Alianza Pais' landslide Constituent Assembly election victory to rewrite the nation's constitution for the 177th time in Ecuador's history hoping to get it right this time
08 October, 2007
Stalemate On The South American Chessboard?
By Federico FuentesIt has been a year of political tours and counter-tours for Latin America, principally by the two figures who dominate the regional political landscape: Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez and US President George W. Bush. While Bush embarked on a tour in March of Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico, Chavez made his move by visiting Argentina, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Haiti. At each stop, the warmonger who presides over the US empire was met with mass protests; the firebrand revolutionary proclaiming the need for a new socialism of the 21st century was met with mass outpourings of support
01 October, 2007
Left Triumphs In Ecuadoran Elections,
Country’s Institutions To Be Transformed
By Roger BurbachOn Sunday the political coalition President Rafael Correa heads won an overwhelming majority of the seats in the Constituent Assembly of Ecuadore that is tasked with “refounding” the nation’s institutions. Rafael Correa's government marks the emergence of a radical anti-neoliberal axis in South America, comprising Venezuela, Bolivia and now Ecuador
14 September, 2007
Back To The Future In The Guatemalan Elections
By Cyril MychalejkoThe September 9 election to replace Guatemalan President Oscar Berger featured more body bags than tangible ideas to improve the country. Now facing a runoff election, voters are left with the tired choice between a military strongman and an oligarch
12 September, 2007
Bolivia: The Imminent Coup
By Antonio Peredo LeigueTogether with their conspiracy to “kill the Indian shit”, there are rumours of a coup, already prepared, and requiring only one or two pretexts to justify its execution
02 September, 2007
Bolivia: Political Racism In Question
By Idón Moisés Chivi VargasTo avoid this dangerous predicament, Bolivian men and women, indigenous and non-indigenous, brilliant and honest intellectuals, business owners committed to their country, have the mission of carefully protecting the results we have had until now: Nationalisation, Decolonialisation, as the basis of the New Plurinational Bolivia
24 August, 2007
Haitian Prisoner Of Conscience Returns
By Bill QuigleyPere Gerard Jean-Juste, an outspoken Haitian voice for human rights, economic justice and democracy, returned to Haiti last weekend for the first time since being hustled out of a prison cell by heavily armed guards and put on a waiting plane to Miami in January of 2006
22 August, 2007
America And Venezuela: Constitutional Worlds Apart
By Stephen LendmanAlthough imperfect, no country anywhere is closer to a model democracy than Venezuela under President Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias. In contrast, none is a more shameless failure than America, but it was true long before the age of George W. Bush
21 August, 2007
Peru: The earthquake And The vultures
By Hugo BlancoWe recommend to those who are donating that they directly watch over the destiny of their donations. Those who can utilise the route of some NGOs should do so, in general they are guaranteed routes. What is certain is that the governmental route is full of vultures who will devour the large part of the aid
19 August, 2007
The Ghost of Pinochet Haunts
The Campaign Against Chavez
By John PilgerIn Washington, the old Iran-Contra death squad gang, back in power under Bush, fear the economic bridges Chavez is building in the region, such as the use of Venezuela’s oil revenue to end IMF slavery. That he maintains a neoliberal economy with a growth rate of over 10 percent, allowing the rich to grow richer, and described by the American Banker magazine as “the envy of the banking world” is seldom raised as valid criticism of his limited reforms
The Empire And The Independent Island
By Fidel CastroThe history of Cuba during the last 140 years is one of struggle to preserve national identity and independence, and the history of the evolution of the American empire, its constant craving to appropriate Cuba and of the horrendous methods that it uses today to hold on to world domination
Rethinking The Development Of Latin America
And The Caribbean For The 21st Century
By James PetrasThe specific transformative packages of measures and the timing should be reflective of the specificities of each country — but the immediate goal is to hasten the transition from a pre-national to a national economy. This involves transforming a speculative real estate market to a socially based public housing program and a rent, interest, royalty and profit remittance economy based, on overseas payments, to a self-financing, domestic market linking local resources and regions. Export sector windfall profits should lead to strengthening domestic production and exchanges which expand productive sectors and local consumption based on egalitarian norms which equalize popular political participation
07 August, 2007
Ecuador: The Indigenous Movement And Correa
By Federico FuentesToday the indigenous movement faces some real challenges. However forging unity between this process of change and the indigenous movement to help push forward and defend Correa as his government comes under heavy attack from imperialism will have an important impact on Ecuador's destiny
30 July, 2007
Ecuador: Clash Of Old And New
By Federico FuentesDenouncing the congress as “rubbish” and a “national disgrace”, left-wing Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa called on the upcoming constituent assembly, for which there will be elections held on September 30, to dissolve the body, which is widely viewed as corrupt. The calls came after the opposition-controlled congress amended a number of recent laws introduced by the executive to curb unprecedented rises in the price of food
17 July, 2007
Bush, Health And Education
By Fidel CastroYet another example of the plunder: “There are more Ethiopian physicians in Chicago than in all of Ethiopia.”In Cuba, where healthcare is not a commodity, we can do things that Bush cannot even dream of
04 July, 2007
Grassroots Movements Change
The Face Of Power In Latin America
By Nadia MartinezAs the people of Latin America build democracies from the bottom up, the symbols of power are changing. What used to be emblems of poverty and oppression - indigenous clothing and speech, the labels "campesino" and "landless worker" - are increasingly the symbols of new power. As people-powered movements drive the region toward social justice and equality, these symbols speak, not of elite authority limited to a few, but of power broadly shared
25 June, 2007
Bolivia: The Clash Of Autonomies
By Federico FuentesThe election of the indigenous government in Bolivia is the high-water mark in this struggle for indigenous self-determination in the Americas, a major leap towards consolidating the right of the indigenous people to assert majority rule within a plurinational state. Today, this same indigenous majority is putting its hopes for this new Bolivia in the constituent assembly
23 June, 2007
Bolivia: On The Verge Of A Racial Revenge?
By Pablo StefanoniEver since the inauguration of Evo Morales, the right wing have begun to raise the spectre of a "racial revenge", supposedly promoted by the new government
21 June, 2007
Uruguay's Frente Amplio:
From Revolution To Dilution
By MIchael FoxHow one of Latin America’s most radical progressive coalitions finally achieved their country’s presidency, and how those at the helm are now turning their backs on their radical base
18 June, 2007
Bolivia: Why Do They Fear
Indigenous Autonomy?
By Carlos Cuasase SurubiWhy do they fear indigenous autonomy? Is it not the best option for the democratic life and tranquillity that all us Bolivians want, that our rights be written into the constitution and respected by governments?
09 June, 2007
Wall Street Journal's Looking Glass World
By Stephen LendmanShe's at it again on the Journal's editorial page in her June 4 article called "The Young and the Restless," subtitled "Is this the beginning of the end for Hugo Chavez?" The writer is self-styled Latin American expert Mary Anastasia O'Grady always getting top grades in vilification and disinformation but failing ones on regional knowledge and legitimate journalism
28 May, 2007
Venezuela's RCTV: Sine Die And Good Riddance
By Stephen LendmanVenezuelan TV station Radio Caracas Television's (known as RCTV) VHF Channel 2's operating license expired May 27, and it went off the air because the Chavez government, with ample justification, chose not to renew it
23 May, 2007
Pope, Brazil And Arrogance
By Mike GhousePope Benedict just visited Brazil and his comments have caused uproar when he said, “the Church had not imposed itself on the indigenous peoples of the Americas. They had welcomed the arrival of European priests at the time of the conquest as they were "silently longing" for Christianity.” Satere Mawe, chief coordinator of the Amazon Indian group Coiab responded, “It’s arrogant and disrespectful to consider our cultural heritage secondary to theirs."
Is Evo An Evil Enemy Of The People?
By Guillermo AlmeyraFor some there is no doubt. There are those that say "there is no reason to look at Bolivia" and who instead declare that Evo Morales "will never decolonise the country", that the nationalisations that have been announced are no such thing and, forgetting that support for the indigenous and popular government surpasses 75%, say, without flinching, that all the social movements are against the government.So what is the truth?
15 May, 2007
Bolivia – From Colonialism To Indianism
By Christian RudelThe "new Bolivia" that emerged from the ballot boxes in 2005 cannot be reduced to a mere victory of the political left, as some Western commentators have characterized it. Rather, it is the victory of "Indianism" over more than 500 years of colonialism and injustice
12 May, 2007
Venezuela Takes On Oil Multinationals
By Stuart MuncktonThousands of Venezuelan workers took control of foreign-owned oil fields yesterday as Hugo Chavez stepped up his battle with Washington in a new wave of nationalisation and an announcement that the country was leaving the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund [IMF], - reported the British Guardian on May 2
Adios, World Bank!
By Nadia MartinezAs the controversy around Iraq War architect Paul Wolfowitz’s uncertain future as president of the World Bank intensifies, the financial institution is not only losing supporters. It’s also losing victims. In Latin America, countries are paying off their World Bank loans early, cutting off ties with the Bank, and creating their own financing instruments to replace the world’s oldest multilateral lending agency
08 May, 2007
The Price Of Fire In Latin America:
An Interview with Ben Dangl
By Joshua FrankBen Dangl is the author of The Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia (AK Press 2007) and the editor of Upside Down World, an online magazine that covers Latin American politics, and Toward Freedom, a progressive perspective on world events. Recently Dangl, who won a 2007 Project Censored Award for his coverage of US military operations in Paraguay, spoke with Joshua Frank about the emerging social movements in South America and how they are threatening Washington’s power in the region
04 May, 2007
May Day Message
By Fidel CastroIt is imperative to immediately have an energy revolution
Wall Street Journal Claims Chavez
Oil Policy "Aims To Weaken US"
By Stephen LendmanThe Bush administration and US corporate media, flacking for Big Oil, is all over Hugo Chavez with the Journal's May Day article staying true to form
03 May, 2007
The U.S.’ War On Democracy
By Pablo Navarrete & John PilgerAn interview with John Pilger
Venezuela's Revolution Accelerates
By Federico FuentesTo thunderous applause and chants of approval, Hugo Chávez has called on the Venezuelan people to radicalize the revolution towards the new socialism of the 21st century
28 April, 2007
Latin America: Four Competing Blocs Of Power
By James PetrasIn reality there are four competing blocs of nations in Latin America, contrary to the highly simplistic dualism portrayed by the White House and most of the Left
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