The Latin American left is praying Brazil President Dilma
Rousseff (above right)
can hold on against her
more U.S. friendly challenger Aécio Neves. Columnist
Umberto Martins lays out why Washington is also praying - but
for Neves to win.
A Defeat for Dilma
will Mean Victory for the 'Empire' (Vermelho, Brazil)
"Like it
or not, the second round of Brazil's presidential election is not an
exclusively domestic affair. The entire world is watching - and imperialism
certainly more than enters into our vain imaginations. The result of the poll
will impact the American continent and the world. … A Dilma victory would be a
guarantee that the considerable project of integration will not suffer
interruption, while a possible Toucan [PSDB] setback [victory of Aécio Neves]
could delay not only the process of Latin American and Caribbean liberation
from the clutches of the Empire, but compromise the future of the BRICS."
The electoral debate is dominated by issues related to domestic
policy and an agenda dictated by the right that is strongly influenced by a
false morality. But there is a dimension of the presidential race not much
discussed or visible that has tremendous relevance to the destinies of Brazil,
Latin America and the world, even if it isn't a topic in the discourse promoted
by mainstream media or a theme of electoral propaganda.
In a potential setback - the Toucan [mascot of the opposition
right-of-center PSDB - Brazilian
Social Democracy Party] could delay not only the process of Latin American
and Caribbean liberation from the clutches of the Empire, but it would also jeopardize
the future of the BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa].
This is the international dimension of the October elections.
In addition to Brazil, elections have been or will be held in two other Latin
American countries: Bolivia - where the battle was resolved on Oct. 12 with the
easy first-round reelection of Evo Morales; and Uruguay, where judging by the polls,
Broad Front candidate Tabaré Vázquez looks likely to win the first round on the
26th, but he will have to overcome in the second round (November 30) Luiz
Lacalle Pou, the candidate of the neoliberal right.
At stake is the continuation of progressive governments, the
leaders of which, despite their differences, have in common not only their
origins in social movements, but their commitment to the region's economic and
political integration which is an alternative and is opposed to the designs of
the North American empire. Several initiatives have been taken in this
direction, a highlight being the 2005 defeat of ALCA [Free Trade
Area of the Americas], the creation of Alba [Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of
Our America], UNASUR [the Union of
South American Nations], and CELAC [the Community
of Latin American and Caribbean States], as well as the expansion of Mercosur with the
incorporation of Venezuela in July 2012.
New geopolitics
The proposed integration objectively takes on an
anti-imperialist character insofar that it advocates and lays the foundations
for a new geopolitical arrangement for the region outside the orbit of the U.S.
and founded on sovereignty, democracy and respect for the rights of peoples and
nations to self-determination. A new order free of hegemonies, free of
sanctions, blockades or coups, with the transformation of Latin America and the
Caribbean into a “zone of peace,” as advocated by CELAC, and the development of
nations focused on reducing asymmetries and social inequality.
The 1998 election of Chávez in Venezuela, resuming the dream
of Simon Bolivar and other progressive leaders (Lula in Brazil, Morales in
Bolivia, Correa in Ecuador, Kirchner in Argentina), created a new political landscape
in Latin America, substantially different from the one prevailing in the
neoliberal period, which in the 1990s took the form of the Washington Consensus
overseen by the IMF.
This movement of rebellion in Latin America and the Caribbean
is in line with the transformations taking place around the world stemming from
the shift of industrial production and economic power from the so-called West
to the East, the decay of the United States and the ascent of China. It
converges, in this sense, with the creation and agreements agreed to under the
BRICS, which in the Fortaleza Declaration made explicit its support of "the
processes of integration in South America" - approved at the group’s sixth Summit.
In addition to their national and anti-imperialist nature,
movements in favor of a new regional and international geopolitics that have
been shocked by the imperialist proposals of Washington also have a class character.
That explains why the new direction of foreign policy in Brazil (as well as
Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina) is not to the liking of the
hegemonic bourgeoisie, the opinions and interests of which are discussed
incessantly by mainstream media. This was evident in the angry reaction to
Dilma’s intervention at the last U.N. General Assembly, where she condemned the
USA's unilateral bombing of Syria under the pretext of fighting terrorism.
Dangerous relations
Dangerous relationships between imperialism and the local
right wing is nothing new. Remember the numerous military coups throughout
history against democracy in several Latin American and Caribbean countries,
including in Brazil in
1964. In all of them, without exception, one finds the fingerprints of the Empire.
The most recent cases of Honduras and Paraguay - coupled with coup initiatives
in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador - show the risks to which Latin American and
Caribbean peoples today are exposed.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
It is politically naïve to imagine that the capitalist
powers are indifferent to these electoral processes. Evidently there is no
transparency in the political actions they exercise. They work in the shadows,
as secret forces, the same that drove Getúlio Vargas
to suicide and the generals to power in 1964, but their proposals and positions
can be perceived by reading between the lines of articles and editorials in the
imperialist media, such as The Economist, which asked for a
vote for [opposition candidate] Aécio Neves in the
second round (in the name of change). As President Dilma Rousseff noted, the
famous British magazine is (and always was) a spokesman for the decadent
international financial system.
The angry opposition of the neoliberal right to the
Brazilian government’s relations with Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia, as well as
to integration and Mercosur, along with its insistence that one must negotiate
free trade agreements with the United States and Europe, also signals the manner
of "change" it wants to impress on foreign policy.
Integration and the BRICS
Like it or not, the second round of Brazil's presidential
election is not an exclusively domestic affair. The entire world is watching - and
imperialism certainly more than enters into our vain imaginations. The result
of the poll will impact the American continent and the world.
A Dilma victory would be a guarantee that the considerable
project of integration will not suffer interruption, while a possible Toucan [PSDB]
setback could delay not only the process of Latin American and Caribbean
liberation from the clutches of the Empire, but compromise the future of the BRICS.
Brazil's return to its knees before U.S. diplomacy, would diminish the prospect
of development with sovereignty, democracy and the validation of labor, as well
as the democratic integration of Latin American and the Caribbean nations.
But don't believe that the election will baptize this setback.
Dilma will come out on top - and we must spare no effort in helping her win one
more victory for the Brazilian people.
