Thirty years ago, Ayatollah Khomeini proclaimed equity and social justice as the Revolution’s main objective. His successor, Ayatollah Khamene’i, continues to refer to social justice as the Revolution’s defining theme. Similarly, Presidents Khatami and Ahmadinejad, though they are from very different political persuasions, placed heavy emphasis on social justice in their political rhetoric. Yet the […]
Geography Archives: Latin America
The Asian Face of the Global Recession
Delegates to the World Economic Forum at Davos this year came despondent and left in despair. Both the discussions and the new evidence released at and during the Forum indicated that the global crisis was not just bad, but worse than originally anticipated. One damaging projection came from the IMF in its January 2009 Update […]
Latin America Faces the Global Crisis
It is true that banks are less leveraged, but the outflow of capital is intensifying. Internationalized industry is hit by global overproduction, and lower prices of raw materials depress growth. Moreover, attempts at stimulation collide with reduced resources from the central economies. Those who expect geopolitical benefits to follow from the crisis forget that the […]
Mexico Unconquered: Reviewing a People’s History of Power and Revolt
John Gibler, Mexico Unconquered: Chronicles of Power and Revolt, 356 Pages, City Lights Publishers (January, 2009). Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world, calls Mexico home, as do millions of impoverished citizens. From Spanish colonization to today’s state and corporate repression, Mexico Unconquered: Chronicles of Power and Revolt, by John Gibler, is written from […]
Dignified Rage, Internally Displaced People, and “Buying Consciences”
A delightful surprise awaited us as the 3rd phase of Digna Rabia (Dignified Rage) began on January 2nd. Philosophers, writers, activist organizations, journalists, musicians, and the EZLN participated in panels, all addressing the general theme of Otro Mundo, otra política (Another world, another politics). Several thousand packed the CIDECI auditorium to overflowing and managed to […]
Those Alternative Socialist “Stimulus” Plans
There are, of course, other ways to “support and stimulate” the declining US economy: those that congressional debaters, presidential advisors, and the dutiful media never discuss. All the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury ever do is justify their functions as lenders and spenders “of last resort” (when the private sector will not). Neither ever […]
Back to the Future: Latin America’s Current Development Strategy
The text below is composed of short excerpts (abstract, introduction, conclusion) from Esteban Pérez Caldentey and Matías Vernengo, “Back to the Future: Latin America’s Current Development Strategy,” International Development Economics Associates Working Paper No. 07/2008. The full text of “Back to the Future” is available (in PDF) at <networkideas.org/working/dec2008/07_2008.pdf>. — Ed.
Che Guevara: The Economics of Revolution
‘I didn’t know Che had any economic ideas’ has been a frequent reply I’ve received when telling people about the topic of my research and my book Che Guevara: The Economics of Revolution. It reflects the caricature of Guevara as a romantic guerrilla fighter with idealist notions of how human beings are motivated […]
A Date with the Future
In those days when I, as an altar boy, used to walk in the humble church of Sabaneta, at the beginning of the stormy decade of the sixties of the last century, my spirit was first conquered by the blazing and whipping words of Jesus, Christ the Redeemer of the oppressed peoples. The Sermon on […]
Human Rights Watch Goes to War
The Middle East has always been a difficult challenge for Western human rights organizations, particularly those seeking influence or funding in the United States. The pressure to go soft on US allies is in some respects reminiscent of Washington’s special pleading for Latin American terror regimes in the 1970s and 1980s. In the case […]
Zimbabwe Ten Years On: Results and Prospects
Sam Moyo and Paris Yeros
After a decade of political polarization and international standoff, the debate on Zimbabwe has finally been opened up to a wider reading public, thanks to Mahmood Mamdani’s “Lessons of Zimbabwe,” appearing in the London Review of Books (04/12/2008). Renowned scholars, within and without Africa, have broken their silence and have taken public positions. The […]
Interview with Mohammed Nafa’h, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Israel
“Supporting the Palestinian people’s struggle for self-determination is a duty of Israeli communists.” The Communist Party of Israel (CPI) and its front Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality) were the only political forces in Israel that confronted the massacre perpetrated by the Tzahal (IDF), the Israeli armed forces, in Gaza last January. Regrettably, […]
Bolivia: Morales Enacts New Constitution in El Alto
Fog covered El Alto, Bolivia on Saturday morning as social movements from around the country marched into the city to mark the official passage of Bolivia’s new constitution. “This is the second independence, the true liberation of Bolivia,” Bolivian President Evo Morales said as he signed the new constitution. The new constitution was approved by […]
The Crisis of Global Capitalism and the Environment: Interview with John Bellamy Foster, Editor of Monthly Review and Professor of Sociology, University of Oregon, for Eleftherotypia (Greece)
CP: After twenty-five years of sporadic growth and extreme polarization of income and life conditions around the world, actually existing neoliberalism seems to be on the verge of collapse. Where do you situate the current crisis in the history of the development of global capitalism? JBF: Neoliberalism has clearly collapsed. But as Fred Magdoff […]
Ye Olde Pirates on the High Seas
First they rammed the Dignity. Then they harassed the Spirit of Humanity into turning back to its berth. Now 18 corsair ships from the Israeli Navy have surrounded the Al-Ikhwa (The Brotherhood) ship, out of Lebanon, and boarded it, ransacking the boat and assaulting its passengers. The ship was plainly up to no good: it […]
Chavismo: Christian, Anti-Nazi, Pro-Muslim, and Pro-Jewish
Roy Chaderton, Venezuela’s Ambassador to the Organization of American States, speaks of numerous members of the Jewish community who have supported the struggles of peoples against imperialism and Zionism, and he rejects any attack against the Jewish people. Watching television footage of one of the necessary and legitimate protests against the Israeli Embassy in […]
Venezuela: Local Reactions to the Re-Election Reform
Following close on the United Socialist Party of Venezuela’s (PSUV) electoral victory in the November 23 regional elections, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez re-proposed a constitutional reform that would allow indefinite re-election. The first attempt, bundled with various constitutional amendments that would have accelerated economic restructuring, was defeated 51 to 49 percent in December 2007. Predictably, […]
Bolivia Looking Forward: New Constitution Passed, Celebrations Hit the Streets
After Bolivia’s new constitution was passed in a national referendum on Sunday, thousands gathered in La Paz to celebrate. Standing on the balcony of the presidential palace, President Evo Morales addressed a raucous crowd: “Here begins a new Bolivia. Here we begin to reach true equality.” Polls conducted by Televisión Boliviana announced that the document […]
Why They Hate Immigrant Workers, and Why We Love Them
On Tuesday, December 9, the anti-immigrant lobbyists at the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) held a press conference in downtown Washington, DC to promote their “Immigration Reform Agenda for the 111th Congress.” The press conference followed the new line that groups like FAIR have adopted since the financial crisis broke out last September. Undocumented […]
From Bolivia’s Streets: What Voters Think about the New Constitution
25 January 2009 Today’s referendum on Bolivia’s new constitution took place on a rare sunny day for this time of year in La Paz. Since traffic is prohibited on voting day, families taking advantage of the abnormally quiet streets walked their dogs, ate ice cream, and strolled into the local schools to vote. Across the […]
