latin america
Paraguay: Coup at heart of struggle over Latin America
By Federico Fuentes
July 15, 2012 -- Green Left Weekly -- The June 22 coup carried out against Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo was an important blow to progressive movements across Latin America. The struggle against the coup is far from over, but learning the lessons of it are important. This requires placing the coup in the context of the turbulent process of change occurring in Latin America
Latin America is in a period of transition. It is characterised, on the one hand, by the decline of the United States' influence. This is particularly the case with the unravelling of the neoliberal model implanted that was more firmly implanted more firmly in Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s than in any other region of the South.
On the other hand, left and progressive forces have made significant advances, including winning government in some cases. This has been accompanied by a growing process of political and economic integration of the region.
Rise of the new left
Venezuela: Planning the next six years of the Bolivarian revolution
President Chavez with the plan on the day he registered to stand again for presid
In an invasion approved by US President John F.
Washington and the Cuban Revolution: Ballad of a never-ending policy – the myth of the ‘Miami Lobby’
Passengers prepare to board a flight to Cuba from Fort Lauderdale."Ever-growing numbers, at
Debate: Cuba has a state bureaucratic *system* – a response to Chris Slee
This article is a reply to "System or siege?
Ecuador: ¿Nueva izquierda o nuevo colonialismo?
[In English at http://links.org.au/node/2918.]
Por Federico Fuentes, traducido para Rebelión por Christine Lewis Carroll
25-06-2012 -- Rebelión -- La crítica a los gobiernos radicales de América Latina se ha convertido en moneda corriente entre gran parte de la izquierda internacional. Ninguno se ha escapado de la crítica, pero el gobierno del Presidente Rafael Correa de Ecuador ha sido un blanco significativo.
Pero el problema de la crítica dirigida contra Correa es que carece de cualquier base sólida y desvía la atención del verdadero enemigo.
Correa fue elegido presidente en 2006 después de más de una década de rebeliones, principalmente indígenas, en contra del neoliberalismo.
Durante la campaña electoral, el economista radical prometió reescribir la constitución del país, rechazar cualquier acuerdo de libre comercio con Washington, negarse a pagar las deudas externas ilegítimas y cerrar una base militar estadounidense en suelo ecuatoriano.
Los movimientos sociales habían hecho la campaña en torno a estas demandas, que es a su vez la razón del apoyo mayoritario a Correa en la segunda vuelta electoral contra Álvaro Noboa, el hombre más rico de Ecuador.
NO REDD+! in Rio+20: A declaration to decolonise the earth and the sky
“Against Amazonian Genocide.
Ecuador: New left or new colonialism?
Pro-Correa march in Quito on International Women's Day, March 8.
By Federico Fuentes
June 17, 2012 -- Green Left Weekly -- Criticism of Latin America’s radical governments has become common currency among much of the international left. While none have been exempt, Ecuador’s government of President Rafael Correa has been a key target.
But a problem with much of the criticism directed against Correa is that it lacks any solid foundation and misdirects fire away from the real enemy.
Correa was elected president in 2006 after more than a decade of mostly indigenous-led rebellions against neoliberalism.
During his election campaign, the radical economist promised to rewrite the country’s constitution, reject any free trade agreement with Washington, refuse to repay of illegitimate foreign debts and close a US military base on Ecuadorian soil.
The social movements had campaigned around many of these demands, which is why most supported Correa in the second-round presidential run-off against Alvaro Noboa, Ecuador’s richest man.
Since then, Correa has largely carried out these election promises. This explains why he has an approval rating of more than 80%, a June 13 opinion poll found.
Left criticisms
System or siege? Samuel Farber misses the main cause of Cuba's problems
Cuba since the revolution of 1959: a critical assessment
By Samuel Farber
Haymarket Books, Chicago, 2011
Review by Chris Slee
June 13, 2012 – Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- Samuel Farber was born in Cuba, but moved to the United States in 1958. He is an emeritus professor of political science at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, and has been involved in the socialist movement for over 50 years. He has written extensively on Cuba, from a point of view highly critical of the Cuban government. His views are promoted by sections of the US left, in particular the International Socialist Organization. While many of his criticisms have some validity, in my view he downplays the achievements of the Cuban revolution, and underestimates the impact of the US blockade in causing the problems and difficulties that Cuba faces.