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For some time, I have been listening to a sector, supposedly on the left, say that they do not want European, U.S., Chinese, or Russian empires.
And, to this, I reply that I don’t see the relationship between the four of them. We Latin Americans have a very well-documented history of colonization, exploitation, and occupation with Europeans and North Americans, but not with China and Russia.
It was not the Russians or the Chinese who invaded the continent and began the colonization process from 1492 that produced one of the largest genocides of Indigenous peoples in history, but rather the Europeans: Spanish, English, French, Portuguese and others who also joined in the distribution of the spoils.
It was not the Chinese or the Russians, but rather the European colonizers who, starting in the 1600s, established the transatlantic triangle of the slave trade between Africa, Europe and the Americas, through which millions of Black Africans were hunted and transported to our continent in chains, subhuman conditions and true savagery, to sell them as recyclable products throughout our continent.
It was not the Chinese or the Russians who, in 1823, established the Monroe Doctrine, which states that the U.S. will not allow any occupation of American territory by Europeans after its independence and that America is for the Americans; but what it really means is that Latin America and the Caribbean are the backyard of the North Americans and belongs to them by the grace of Manifest Destiny, which is an extension of the Monroe Doctrine.
It wasn’t the Russians or the Chinese who stole half of Mexican territory. It was the U.S.
It was not the Russians or the Chinese who destroyed and economically seized Haiti, but rather the Europeans and the North Americans, since they have never forgiven that dignified country for having been the first Republic of Black slaves to become independent from a powerful empire like the French.
It was not the Russians or the Chinese who imposed the economic, diplomatic, and genocidal blockade against the socialist people of Cuba since 1960.
It was not the Russians or the Chinese who turned our countries into banana republics and who overthrew popular and socialist governments, such as that of President Jacobo Árbenz in Guatemala in 1954.
It was not the Russians or the Chinese who implemented Plan Condor in South America, which left more than 30,000 missing, nor was it the KGB that assassinated President Salvador Allende, but rather the CIA.
It was not the Russians or the Chinese who implemented the Contra plan in Central America to put an end to the Sandinista and FMLN revolution.
It was not the Russians or the Chinese who imposed on us the School of the Americas that trained the worst military dictators in history, such as Pinochet, Trujillo, Ríos Montt, and the Honduran coup general.
It is not the Russians or the Chinese who have more than 800 military bases around the world. They do not participate in NATO. Nor are they the ones who control the Southern Command.
Neither the Chinese nor the Russians imposed on us the Soto Cano or Palmerola air bases in Honduras, which are the largest in Central America, as well as 12 additional military bases scattered throughout the country.
It is not the Russians or the Chinese who practice the doctrine of the stick, who remove constitutionally-elected presidents at their convenience and impose dictatorships on us at will to steal the land and natural resources such as gold, silver, oil, lithium, gas, etc.
It is not the Russians or the Chinese who impose unilateral, coercive, and illegal economic measures, also known as economic sanctions, on sovereign countries and those that resist, such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, and other countries of the world.
It is not the socialist system of the Chinese, and it was not the socialist system of the USSR that turned us into exploited and impoverished countries. Rather it was the capitalist, imperialist, colonialist, and neoliberal system of privatization that favors banks, private companies, transnationals and capital over human beings, their basic needs and nature.
So when you hear someone who calls themself a leftist say nonsense like in Latin America we don’t want empires, neither Europeans, nor North Americans, nor Russians nor Chinese, please send them to review the history and foreign policy of Europe and the United States in our continent and also the foreign policy of Russia and China with Latin America so they can see the difference.
It is time for that part of the left that repeats the media propaganda of the right to learn its history so that it stops playing the enemy’s game.
The writer is coordinator of Partido Libre D19 USA-Canada.
Translated by Melinda Butterfield
As a guy from simple origins of Brazil, here’s what i think: I’m not pro-american, pro-russuan, pro-chinese, you might say i’m slightly pro-eu. I don’t think, we, latin american people should side with the russian, or chinese empire, i think we should seek each other, i think we should fight for a united and more powerful latin america.
The russians and chinese might not have colonized us, they might noy have destroyed our democracy for corporate interests, but they are the ones who kill people for thinking different from their odeal, the ones who invade other countries because of “reasons”, they are powerful enough already, they don’t need more puppets so they can control.
We should fight for expelling those powers who have exploited us for many years, and those who might want to do it, we should unite for true democracy, and the good of the latin american people, we should combat dictatorships like maduro’s, develop, and open up countries like haiti for latam’s development.
We might speak different languages, have different cultures, and hate each other based on football, but we are all brothers of the same cause.
This is a great take.
I know in Europe the EU is too capitalism oriented but it still connects societies with that similar spirit and values. It would be wonderful for the unity you speak of form on each continent, which could progress towards a more connected world.
Joining in peace and freedom is more valuable than totalitarian power to subjugate others.
the chinese might not have destroyed our democracy for corporate interests, but they are the ones who kill people for thinking different, and are the ones who invade other countries because of “reasons”,
The People’s Republic of China has never invaded a foreign country in it’s history, with the exception of Vietnam, and minor participation in anti-terror operations - alongside NATO - in Mali and Somalia.
The idea of China as a territorially expansionist, politically interventionist power is a myth. These are both directly against Chinese foreign policy; what their foreign policy actually is in writing and practice is to build trust and economic codependency with the de facto governments of anyone who will have them.
I was talking about russia, i’m sorry i wasnt clear
China does have occupation issues most famously with Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan (Republic of China) and other problematic situations
Kinda like Russia “not-invaded” (lol) but occupied Crimea in 2014.
(in addition to the whole situation of the residents under the regime but that’s digressing)
Fair enough, thanks for the clarification
The opinion piece kind of suggests that LATAM doesn’t need to worry about Russia & China because they don’t have a history of being exploited by them first-hand.
On the other hand it glosses over that they have exploitation victims elsewhere — in the past, in the now, and show no change or betterment towards the future.
Ok, we will do as we please, if we want to ally with them it’s out thing, what are you going to do? Coup us all and install fascist regimes as you have always done?
Quite an aggressive reply… but
We can send support when they need to get rid of the fascist regimes from the “allies”. International solidarity.
So Europe will send support when US installs fascist regimes?
Sure. US, China, Russia, whoever. People should keep each other’s backs
Given past history I highly doubt Europe would lift a single finger to help fight a dictatorship, much less an US backed one lol. It’s not like they care about anything outside of their mediterranean bubble.
Yeah even Europe isn’t very far reaching and has a lot of own troubles with the aforementioned tyrannies.
I’d still be more hopeful about people supporting each other than succumbing naively to hateful powers
You can’t fix stupid! Fortunately it is not contagious. So do as you please, it affects us not.
Good luck to you in the future mate.
You are the living proof.
Do you know what would make Latin America safe against foreign interventions and coups: robust government and civil institutions with broad popular support. Blaming America for it’s history of interventions will do nothing to protect you from China doing the same thing. The only people who can build and protect the autonomy and liberty of Latin America are the Latin Americans themselves.
Background: my family was forced out of Nicaragua during the US intervention in the 1930s.
Do you think we haven’t tried doing this? Have you even read anything about Latinamerican history? How do you want us to do that if we get fascists regimes every 5 fucking years? How do you build anything if you are debt trapped? Don’t fucking come with some shit about China doing the same, they are sending fucking money for infrastructure, which is a lot fucking better that whatever the people you support have done, let us do how we please and go and be butthurt somewhere else that we choose to align with whomever we want. If you fuck us up don’t cry that you end up isolated in geopolitics.
The institutions with broad popular support, not neoliberal right wing pro us imperialism shit, support China, so yeah, don’t come telling me about what we should do. We have massive inflation because of International Mother Fuckers IMF and coups and right wing neoliberals financed by the US and you think we need some sort of thingy to protect us from China? We welcome them as our brothers with open arms.
First of all that reply is even more aggressive and not appropriate.
Second; Learning the hard way is one choice. Good luck to anyone who wants to align with China’s pseudofascism. Some day there’s help available.
Btw Europe has just made the same mistake of being too much dependent with Russia. That turned out just great and China and USA are just more of the same.
We don’t need your help, when you get rid of your imperialistic attitudes and your support for class oppression we can start the friendliness, until then, you are but a bunch of hypocrites.
You’re barking up the wrong tree. I am not neither of those and with such accusative behaviour you’re not portraying yourself or whoever you try to speak in behalf of well.
Your first-hand background is unfathomable, I have on’y seen this happen from the aggressors side for many moon’s. This being the case, I don’t think you give the reason for the international power showing up enough credit, which truly makes sense. Yet each US appearance aligns with coup’s in the area. While the US “enemy” in global power references the aggressive errors while demonstrating opposing rules of law which keep the locals in mind is a VASTLY different approach and outlook.
An excellent argument for building and protecting socialism in Latin America!
PS you should read up on how global financial coercion works. It’s a liberal myth that a country can simply build autonomy without reckoning with their place in the world order. Countries in LatAm are placed in the global south by that order and when they try to step out of it and have autonomy, the US and the global north generally step in to screw them over.
This is not ancient history, either. Everyone has either lived through it or has parents that did. When Venezuela nationalized oil, i.e. acted on its autonomy over its own resources, it was hit with blanket sanctions, the full press propaganda effort, and repeated coup attempts. When Bolivia began building autonomy around its resources, including Lithium, it suffered a nearly successful coup attempt wherein the global north rapidly fell in line behind the Christian fascist coup government.
Now watch Argentina get continuously screwed by the global financial system that extracts their wealth and then forces them to change their societies in order to receive loans - societal changes that further impoverish the people and wreck their governmental and “civil society” institutions.
