Why the Right 'Hates'
Latin America (CartaMaior,
Brazil)
"The right's colonial mentality and interests bind it to countries at the heart of capitalism, particularly the United States, which has historically had a relationship of conflict with our continent. ... The right doesn't understand Latin America, nor can it. Its mind goes blank before what the imperial powers send to our countries; it reacts with only acceptance and happy resignation to the interests of these powers. ... Understanding Latin America as a continent is to understand what unifies it as a continent: the historical phenomenon of having been colonized by European powers and being later transformed into a region of privileged U.S. domination."
First of all, because its colonial mentality and interests
bind it to countries at the heart of capitalism, particularly the United
States, which has historically had a relationship of conflict with our
continent. The right never hides its subservient position in relation to the
U.S. For example, the right loved it when Latin American countries were the
empire’s backyard. When in the 1990s, for instance, did the right express interests
at all at variance with those of Washington; and when didn't it look to reproduce
its policies?
The right doesn’t understand Latin America, nor can it. Its
mind goes blank before what the imperial powers send to our countries; it
reacts with only acceptance and happy resignation to the interests of these
powers.
To begin with, understanding Latin America as a continent
is to understand what unifies it as a continent: the historical phenomenon of
having been colonized by European powers and being later transformed into a
region of privileged U.S. domination.
Hence the right’s inability to understand the meaning of
nationalism and national leaders: For the right, there is no imperialist
domination or exploitation, let alone the concept of nationhood. These leaders
would therefore be populist demagogues, relying on fictional, manufactured
visions of charismatic leadership, founded on popular support.
The very existence of Latin America as a continent is challenged
by the right. They highlight the differences between Mexico and Uruguay, Brazil
and Haiti, Argentina and Guatemala, to try and pass on the idea that this is
an aggregate of countries without any common characteristics.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
They don’t mention the differences between Britain and
Greece, Portugal and Germany, Sweden and Spain, which nevertheless form a
common continent. Why not? Because they had - and have - a common place in the
global capitalist system: they were colonizers before and are the imperialists
today. Latin American countries, however, which have cultural differences far
less significant than those between the European states, were the colonized and
suffer from imperialist domination today.
These elements of characterization are unknown to the right,
for which the world is composed of modern countries and underdeveloped
countries, without articulation of what the system consists of, between center
and periphery, between dominators and dominated.
So the right never understood and always tenaciously opposed
the greatest popular leaders of the continent, such as Getúlio
Vargas, Juan Perón, Lazaro Cárdenas, and today Hugo Chávez,
Lula, the Kirchners, José Mujica,
Evo
Morales, Rafael Correa,
Dilma,
Nicolas Maduro, and, of course, Fidel and Che. It doesn't
understand why they were and are the most important politicians on the
continent, and why they have the popular support that politicians on the right
have never had.
Along the route through Caracas taken by his casket, Hugo Chavez
supporters are inconsolable, Mar. 6.
Now that Latin America can withstand a crisis without
going into recession, continue to lessen inequality, and raise up leaders like Chávez, Lula, Evo, Rafael Correa,
Mujica, Dilma, old media seems
less able than ever to take proper account of the continent. The right's ignorance,
clichés and prejudices prevent it from understanding the dynamic of its own
continent.
All that remains is for the right to hate Latin America
because it hates popular movements, leaders of the left, the anti-imperialist struggle,
and criticism of capitalism. They hate what they cannot understand, but mostly,
they hate because Latin America is the protagonist in a movement colliding
head-on with everything the right stands for.
