If you have been paying attention to what is happening in Latin America in recent months, you may get the feeling that the region is no longer that gracious when it comes to the "neo-colonialist" grip the US has historically had on them. One example is Vicente Fox's comments. While deemed racist by some knee-jerk reactionaries like Al Sharpton and some people out there in Blogger World, it is actually a sign that Latin America and its citizens are not necessarily happy with being second-class citizens in their own countries, or in this one for that matter. As you know, Latin America is home to countless indigenous groups who are involved in a long struggle for equal rights, akin to civil rights movement in this country in the '50's and '60's, which has been wrought with civil war, demonstrations and violence.
This article (http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=28962) is about how the US, no doubt spurred by the demonstrations by the Aymara and others in Bolivia over the exportation of natural gas, has now decided that the indigenous struggle for rights contributes to the "instability of the region" and is therefore seen as a terrorist threat. To be clear, I am not suggesting at all that the US has Latin America next on its invasion list, or at least I hope they don't. We all know that their resources are tied up in the Middle East right now securing easy access to oil and rooting out anyone who might hurt Israel, their spies in the region. Besides, they must also have their hands tied "revamping" the terror alert-o-meter because, after all, the Republicans can never be too early when it comes to manipulating the country to their side. I am saying that this time the United States has gone too far, and while I don't necessarily fear imminent invasion, I do fear that Latin America will lose any shreds of dignity and autonomy it has left, and that's not much, by the way. When I read the above article, of course my mind wandered back to the summer of 1954 in Guatemala, when the country was invaded by its own, backed by the CIA, just because the government, labelled Communist, tried to nationalize United Fruit Company (I can elaborate upon request) territories and take back what was theirs to begin with. I'm hoping that this is not what is going to happen now, although I can certainly see trouble brewing. The interesting part of the problem is, just as there were many back in 1954 who thought President Arbenz was a communist devil and therefore supported the invasion of their own country, Guatemala, there are many in Latin America who are America and/or Bush supporters and clearly ignore history and the fact that the United States is just the victimized colony that became the victimizing neo-colonial power. Sadly, these people will not realize that they've contributed to the ruin of their own countries until it is too late.
Just as the Republicans are being so quick on their feet, let me be quick as well. I implore all of you, PLEASE get these cancerous lesions out of power and vote elsewhere in the next election. Yes, all politicians are liars and can be just as dispicable, but like I always say, when you are talking political leaders and parties, everything is relative, and you just have to go with the one who won't screw you and your world as badly as the other.
1 comentario:
Very scary. But as I said before, times have changed. The only possible way the US could carry its threats would be through an all out war. And I believe that to be very difficult to achieve, even for people like Bush. And they´ll fail not for lack or plans or resources, but because neither Latin America nor the US are what they used to be.
The US has cried wolf so many times and has let down the Latin American elites so many times that they have become rather skeptical. At the same time, poor and indigenous people have been given the taste of democracy and they liked it. Power struggle in Latin America will become a matter of simple arithmetic, just like in Venezuela.
But there´s something that grabs my attention: Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela are rich in resources, particularly oil. ¿Do terrorist threats come exclusively from countries that have oil?
Publicar un comentario