Geography Archives: Latin America

I remember when he visited us, months before the electoral campaign when he was thinking of running as a candidate for the Presidency of Ecuador.  He had been the Minister of the Economy in the government of Alfredo Palacio, a surgeon with professional prestige who had also visited us as Vice President, before becoming the […]

The co-authors of The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers have been facilitating dialogues on immigration at various places around the country since the book’s publication by Monthly Review Press in July 2007.  Below is a report on one of these dialogues, by co-author Jane Guskin.  Guskin will be on the panel “The Battle for […]

Max Elbaum will be on two panels at Left Forum 2008: “The State of the Anti-War Movement” and “Looking Back, Looking Forward: The Legacy of ’68.” — Ed. WAR/PEACE AT THE PIVOT If the U.S. can be forced to withdraw completely from Iraq, many more positive changes become possible. But if the U.S. continues its […]

Left Forum 2008 Each spring in New York City, Left Forum gathers intellectuals and activists from around the world to address the burning issues of our times.  The theme for 2008 is “CRACKS IN THE EDIFICE.”  We will examine the context of an empire in the throes of collapse and discuss the possibilities for social […]

A two-day national agrarian strike against a pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States ended on Wednesday February 20th, leaving four farmers dead after President Alan Garcia declared a state of emergency and ordered a violent crackdown.  Farmers are demanding financial support from the government in the face of a predicted increase in […]

In recent weeks, external and internal pressures against Venezuela’s Bolivarian revolution have intensified dramatically. It is clear that US imperialism and the US-backed Venezuelan opposition see the defeat of Chavez’s proposed constitutional reforms on December 2 as a green light to push forward their plans to destabilize the government. In addition, growing internal problems, with […]

CPI Rises 0.4 Percent in January, Core Edges Higher Higher inflation is the cost of the high dollar policy of the last decade. The overall consumer price index rose by 0.4 percent for the second straight month in January, pushed up by 0.7 percent increases in both food and energy prices.  The January increase brings […]

DAMMING THE FLOOD : Haiti, Aristide, and the Politics of Containment by Peter HallwardBUY THIS BOOK In Damming the Flood: Haiti, Aristide, and the Politics of Containment, Peter Hallward meticulously explains how, on February 29 of 2004, the U.S. managed to “topple one of the most popular governments in Latin America but it managed to […]

Abstract The global economic system has come to be dominated de facto by institutions subscribing to and enforcing the neoliberal agenda.  Since the end of World War II, these institutions have sought not only to regulate but, in a manner reminiscent of classical colonialism, to control global resources facilitated by the emergence of the neoliberal […]

Latin America was the first place where the US imposed the most callous economic system ever seen: neo-liberal capitalism.  Starting in Chile in 1973, the US used its power, along with its control over the IMF and the World Bank, to force governments across Latin America to adopt neo-liberal economic policies.  This has seen Latin […]

Written hurriedly in Caracas February 2008 Background These are some brief impressions and reflections in the midst of a short visit to Venezuela.  For 10 days I traveled with a wonderful group of 23, mainly from the New York City area (with delegates from Washington, DC, Washington State, and myself from Vermont).  It was led […]

This important article by Álvaro García Linera, now Vice President of Bolivia, was first published in 2005. It traces the contradictory evolution of the two most influential revolutionary currents in the country’s 20th century history and argues that Marxism, as originally interpreted by its Bolivian adherents, failed to address the outstanding concerns of the indigenous majority. García Linera suggests, however, that the evolution of indianismo in recent decades opens perspectives for a renewal of Marxist thought and potentially the reconciliation of the two currents in a higher synthesis. Although framed within the Bolivian context, his argument clearly has implications for the national and anti-imperialist struggle in other parts of Abya Yale (the indigenous name for the Western hemisphere).

“It appears to us to be a reinitiation of the harassment of independentists.”1 — U.S. Congressman José Serrano, speaking to FBI director Robert Mueller An unexpected knock on the door . . . men in trench coats handing you a grand jury subpoena . . . .  If you’re involved in the movement for the […]

A new study titled “Who Rules Cincinnati?” published on the Internet today argues that seven corporations have dominated the City of Cincinnati’s economy, society, and politics, leading to “distorted development” and “grotesque contrasts between rich and poor” with “a particularly damaging impact on the African American population.” The study, a compendium of information on Cincinnati-based […]

Are there valid reasons to question the ICNC’s role in contemporary U.S. imperialism? We think so.

British Petroleum, Beyond Petroleum . . . Biofuel Promoter, Biosphere Plunderer.  Regardless of what the BP abbreviation actually stands for, one thing is clear: this oil giant knows a good deal when it sees one.  For a relatively small financial contribution, BP appropriates academic expertise from a leading public research institution, founded on 200 years […]

All peace activists want peace, but do activists want peace at any cost?  In Aldous Huxley’s classic book, Brave New World, peace came at a high price, but there was ‘peace’ nonetheless.  Arguably, ‘peace’ also exists within most Western citizens’ minds, mainly because their daily lives are neatly partitioned off from the multitude of ultra-violent […]

Roberto Regalado.  Latin America at the Crossroads.  Translation by Peter Gellert.  Ocean Press (www.oceanbooks.com.au), 2007, US$17.95; América latina entre siglos. Ocean Press, 2007, US$17.95. This compact book by Roberto Regalado, a veteran member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, strongly reaffirms the need for revolution in Latin America and beyond. Regalado, […]

Right & Left confront at blockade “Let’s go unblock the road, compañeros!” a man in an old baseball cap yells as he joins a group of people hauling rocks and tires from a central intersection in Cochabamba.  This group of students and union activists are mobilizing against a civic strike led by middle-class foot soldiers […]

I have been asked to speak on ‘Future of Socialism’. What I am going to say is based on my recently published book, Crisis of Socialism — Notes in Defence of a Commitment, which may be referred to for the detailed argument in support of the propositions I am going to advance with the help of passages culled from this book. I am going to deal with the question in four separate but interrelated segments of my address.