First, it was Evo Morales of Bolivia. Afterwards, it was Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. And now,it's Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista movement, out of all parties, of Nicaragua. The wave of electoral victories by leftist parties in the Western hemisphere has come to show that the rightwing certainly is wrong on most parts, and is losing support fast. Then again, "anti-Americanism" is rife in this part of the world. Of course, when it comes to bigger nations intervening in the affairs of "the little guys", you can expect a warm response to such meddling... right?
But that aside, Latin America was a major Cold War front back in the 50's onwards. From it arose famous figures, such as Che Guevara (who, while glorified and immortalized on t-shirts, baseball caps, and posters, was a murderer at best), Fidel Castro, Augusto Pinochet, and - who would've guessed it? - Daniel Ortega. During the era of the Cold War, many democratically-elected leftist leaders of Latin American nations were deposed in U.S.-government-sanctioned coups; thousands of innocents paid dearly with their lives as a result of this intervention and its consequences. As a result, many people suffered under rightwing oppressive dictatorships, or were decimated by rightwing militant factions. Whatever the case, Latin America has proven to be an interesting case of interventionism, moreso because of the icons, the events, the atrocities, the leaders, and the desperation that was a trademark of this era of post-WW2 interventionism and imperialism.
But what will become of this situation? Will the American government actually set its sights on these nations and turn each one of them into more Iraqs and Afghanistans, just to install leaders who would abide by the whims of the American government? Who knows, really? I am not a fan of leftism or rightism, but I'd take a lefty over a rightwinger any day since leftwingers tend to stand up more for social justice issues. Anyways, we'll see how this plays out...
Salaam, from Saracen
P.S. For those interested in interventionist policies running rampant in the Americas, I recommend Empire's Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Rise of Imperialism by Greg Gandin. While I managed to read only a couple of excerpts from this book, I have to say that it's quite comprehensive and well-cited from what I have seen. But of course, Gandin is a staunch Chomskyite, so he might be anti-American for the sake of being anti-American, but anti-American might mean anti-American-government at all times.
UPDATE!!! Never knew this was coming, but Ecuador joined the list, with Rafael Correa's leftwing victory in the Ecuadorian elections. Correa is a friend of Chavez, and will most likely become a thorn on the side of rightwing politics in the region as well.
But that aside, Latin America was a major Cold War front back in the 50's onwards. From it arose famous figures, such as Che Guevara (who, while glorified and immortalized on t-shirts, baseball caps, and posters, was a murderer at best), Fidel Castro, Augusto Pinochet, and - who would've guessed it? - Daniel Ortega. During the era of the Cold War, many democratically-elected leftist leaders of Latin American nations were deposed in U.S.-government-sanctioned coups; thousands of innocents paid dearly with their lives as a result of this intervention and its consequences. As a result, many people suffered under rightwing oppressive dictatorships, or were decimated by rightwing militant factions. Whatever the case, Latin America has proven to be an interesting case of interventionism, moreso because of the icons, the events, the atrocities, the leaders, and the desperation that was a trademark of this era of post-WW2 interventionism and imperialism.
But what will become of this situation? Will the American government actually set its sights on these nations and turn each one of them into more Iraqs and Afghanistans, just to install leaders who would abide by the whims of the American government? Who knows, really? I am not a fan of leftism or rightism, but I'd take a lefty over a rightwinger any day since leftwingers tend to stand up more for social justice issues. Anyways, we'll see how this plays out...
Salaam, from Saracen
P.S. For those interested in interventionist policies running rampant in the Americas, I recommend Empire's Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Rise of Imperialism by Greg Gandin. While I managed to read only a couple of excerpts from this book, I have to say that it's quite comprehensive and well-cited from what I have seen. But of course, Gandin is a staunch Chomskyite, so he might be anti-American for the sake of being anti-American, but anti-American might mean anti-American-government at all times.
UPDATE!!! Never knew this was coming, but Ecuador joined the list, with Rafael Correa's leftwing victory in the Ecuadorian elections. Correa is a friend of Chavez, and will most likely become a thorn on the side of rightwing politics in the region as well.
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