In Brazil, as in the United States, most people do not vote for a president on the basis of foreign policy issues. Yet sometimes the result matters for the rest of the world — as when President George W. Bush was declared the winner of the 2000 election, and subsequently started two destructive, costly, and […]
Geography Archives: Latin America
Iran-Cuba Ties
Nargess Moballeghi: Two revolutions in two parts of the world for two different reasons. . . . The Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro overthrowing Fulgencio Batista in 1959 and the Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini overthrowing the Shah twenty years later. Though ideologically they couldn’t have been further apart, they have a […]
Currency Wars and Global Rebalancing
Guido Mantega, the Brazilian Finance Minister, said recently that Brazil is in the middle of a currency war. His preoccupation with exchange rate appreciation is not directed to global imbalances, in general, or China, in particular. A more depreciated currency provides protection for domestic production and makes domestic goods and services cheaper for foreigners. […]
From Sugar to Services: An Overview of the Cuban Economy
Summary: In 1989, services comprised no more than 10 per cent of Cuba’s export revenues, with sugar accounting for over 70 per cent. In 2007, by contrast, it was sugar that made up 10 per cent of overseas earnings while services accounted for 70 per cent. The article provides an overview of this drastic […]
The Secret to Understanding US Foreign Policy
In one of his regular “Reflections” essays, Fidel Castro recently discussed United States hostility towards Venezuela. “What they really want is Venezuela’s oil,” wrote the Cuban leader. This is a commonly-held viewpoint within the international left. The point is put forth, for example, in Oliver Stone’s recent film South of the Border. I must, however, […]
Attempted Coup in Ecuador Fails, But Threat Remains
In June of last year, when the Honduran military overthrew the social democratic government of Manuel Zelaya, President Rafael Correa of Ecuador took it personally. “We have intelligence reports that say that after Zelaya, I’m next,” said Correa. Yesterday it turned out to be true. Some analysts are still insisting that what happened was just […]
Turkey’s Political Shift
Part 1 Aijaz Ahmad: Israel, which is completely isolated in the region, is very unhappy about the fact that Turkey is rising as a power which is establishing very productive and extensive contacts in the region. Israel was very happy when both of them were completely isolated in the region: Turkey was in the […]
Incredible News
As I was concluding some Reflections on the dismissal of Colombian Senator Piedad Córdoba, incredible news began to arrive from Ecuador. I’ve spent hours listening to it. Minute by minute, ferment is growing. At 5:12 PM, Cuban time, condemnations of the coup are proliferating. The most prestigious Latin American leaders, such as Chávez and Evo, […]
As’ad AbuKhalil: “The Shift from a Unipolar US World to a Multipolar World Is Overstated”
As’ad AbuKhalil, or Angry Arab as he is more commonly known after his blog The Angry Arab News Service, is in real life a most friendly and forthcoming man. A Lebanese-born author of four books on the Middle East, he is professor of political science at California State University and is visiting professor at […]
Venezuelan Election: Neither Surprising Nor Game-Changing
Yesterday’s election for 165 representatives in the National Assembly is significant but unlikely to bring about major change in Venezuela, despite the opposition having done better than expected. As this article goes to press, the pro-government United Socialist Party won 94 seats, with 60 for the opposition Democratic Unity, five for other parties, and the […]
The Enigma of Capital and the Crisis This Time
Paper prepared for the American Sociological Association Meetings in Atlanta, August 16th, 2010. There are many explanations for the crisis of capital that began in 2007. But the one thing missing is an understanding of “systemic risks.” I was alerted to this when Her Majesty the Queen visited the London School of Economics and asked […]
Venezuela: Opposition Lost 20 Seats from 2000 Elections
Caracas, 27 September, AVN — The opposition parties have suffered a loss of 20 seats in the National Assembly compared to the last elections in which they participated, said Roy Chaderton, a United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) member elected to the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino). Interviewed by TeleSur, Chaderton stressed that the opposition are […]
Venezuela: Chávez’s Party Wins Elections But Ends Up Short of Two-Thirds Majority
Hugo Chávez’s party the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) obtained 95 deputies in the 165-member unicameral National Assembly — in other words 58% of the seats. The opposition captured 64 seats, 39% of the National Assembly, denying the Chávez government and its supporters the two-thirds majority that they sought. In the Latin American Parliament […]
Venezuela: In Transition towards Socialism?
Nationalization and Workers’ Control: Achievements and Limitations The economic, social and political situation in Venezuela has changed a lot since the failure of the constitutional reform in December 2007, which acted as a warning to the Chávez government.1 This failure had the effect however of reviving the debate on the need to have a socialist […]
Arguing Socialism
Michael A. Lebowitz, The Socialist Alternative (Monthly Review Press, 2010), 191 pp. Alan Maass, The Case for Socialism (Haymarket Books, 2010), 173 pp. Erik Olin Wright, Envisioning Real Utopias (Verso, 2010), xviii, 394 pp. The economic crisis beginning in 2007 punctured the dominance of neo-liberal ideology, without completely overturning it. To accomplish that, and force […]
The World Cannot Run the Risk of a New Conflict like the One in Iraq
Excerpts: In recent years, the Brazilian Government has invested heavily in South America’s integration and peace. We have strengthened our strategic partnership with Argentina. We have reinforced Mercosul, including through unique financial mechanisms among developing countries. The establishment of the Union of South American Nations — UNASUL — aims at consolidating a genuine zone of […]
The Language of Power: Interview with Jean Bricmont
Jean Bricmont is professor of theoretical physics at the University of Louvain, Belgium, and is a member of the Brussels Tribunal. He is the author of Humanitarian Imperialism and co-author, with Alan Sokal, of Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals’ Abuse of Science. He has written critically about ‘humanitarian interventionism’ since the Kosovo war in 1999. In […]
“Net Neutrality” Is Vital to Free Speech in the Internet Age
The mass media remains, in the 21st century, one of the most powerful forces blocking social and economic progress. It is because of the mass media that tens of millions of Americans are convinced that budget deficits are more important than the lives ruined by unemployment, or that Social Security won’t be there for them […]
Cubans Sign Books of Condolences for Lucius Walker
Among those who signed the books of condolences, leaving diverse expressions of love and respect, are students of the Latin American School of Medicine who are from the United States, the youth that the Reverend Lucius Walker, leader of Pastors for Peace, brought to Cuba. At the Instituto Cubano de Amistad con los Pueblos […]
Venezuela Assembly Elections Too Close to Call
Paul Jay: So there’s elections coming up in Venezuela, September 26, for the National Assembly. Tell us who controls the National Assembly now in Venezuela and what’s at stake in these elections. Gregory Wilpert: Well, right now the National Assembly is entirely controlled by Chávez supporters. That’s because the last elections, 2005, the opposition […]
