“Too often some in the hemisphere are led to believe that their only choices are to return to the syndrome of economic nationalism, political authoritarianism and class warfare to become, quote, just like the United States.”
Subcommandate Steven Harper completed his first official Latin American tour last week with stops in Colombia, Chile, Barbados and Haiti. The most significant part of his South American sojourn tour may lie in the countries that he did not visit. There were thinly veiled insults directed towards the Godfather of the Bolivarian revolution, Hugo Chavez but there was no planned pit stops in Caracas or Buenos Aires. La Paz was not on the travel itinerary nor was Managua which incidentally is less than a two day drive to Harligen, Texas as the late Ronald Reagan liked to remind the masses when the Sandinistas were in power. Daniel Ortega is in power once again and Chavez is the new undisputed leader of the hemisphere working closely with other Latin American countries to reject the dilapidated Washington Model and curing the hemispheres almost deadly addiction with their dependence on a destructive IMF policy.
“Our cultural and social models have been shaped by unique forces and we’ve made our own choices to meet our own needs.”
Why didn’t he meet with the man who has a vision to make South America self sufficient? Maybe Harper doesn’t think that he has much in common with Chavez or maybe he doesn’t want to ruffle the feathers of the Oilmen down in Washington. Harper and Chavez do have some things in common, as next to the Middle East and Russia, both countries provide the most oil to the USA. With the geopolitical landscape being determined by resources and precious metals, the two leaders may want to chat about the different paths they have chosen to take. Chavez has decided that the profits derived from the countries precious petrol refineries should go back to the Venezuelan people. He has decided to make sure that the land is not raped of all its resources by multinational corporations and that the profits are spread out across the land. Harper’s strategy to date has been to turn a blind eye as our Canadian companies are sold off the highest bidder.
“When we see a country like Colombia that has decided it has to address its social, political and economical problems, it wants to embrace economic freedom, it wants to embrace political democracy and human rights and social development, then we say we’re in.”
Harper did not want to meet with Kirchner, Lula or Morales but has no qualms trying to open negotiations on a free trade agreement with Alvaro Uribe of Colombia. The same Uribe government that supports a heavy handed right wing paramilitary force responsible for a boatload of human rights abuses that would make Uncle Joe Stalin proud of. Uribe is engulfed in an explosive scandal that has rocked his government amid allegations that more than a dozen members of his government have ties with the murderous right wing militias. Colombia is the most violent country in the hemisphere with reports stating that over 17,000 people murdered and over 700 kidnapped last year. It doesn’t make sense to set up a free trade agreement with a country that is hardly stable with a government that may not even last the month.
“Canada’s very existence demonstrates that the choice is a false one. Canada’s political structures differ substantially from those in the United States.
Harper is trying to portray that Canada’s new Latin foreign policy will be different of that than the United States who has dominated the region through a combination of stealth and brute force for the last century. Harper will not convert the Latin American masses if he chooses to only deal with the countries Washington are cozy with. Harper can scream himself hoarse through his diplomatic megaphone but if he refuses to meet or extend an olive branch to Chavez and his political brethren, then his words will ring hollow.
Max De Luca is a freelance writer who lives in London, Ontario Canada. His short stories and articles have appeared in such publications as the Istanbul Literature Review, Inscribed Magazine and Mobius: A Journal for Social Change. He is influenced by the work of Kurt Vonnegut Jr, Hunter S Thompson and Howard Zinn. Read other posts by Max De Luca.
