Latin America: more nations recall Israel envoys
Latin America: more nations recall Israel envoys
Submitted by Weekly News Update... on Tue, 08/05/2014 - 07:41
total of five Latin American governments had recalled their ambassadors to Israel as of July 29 in an escalation of diplomatic protests against an operation the Israeli military had been carrying out in the Palestinian territory of Gaza since July 8. With the Palestinian death toll passing 1,500—including more than 300 children—centrist and even rightwing Latin American governments started joining left and center-left government in distancing themselves from the main US ally in the Middle East.
Chile, El Salvador and Peru called their ambassadors home for consultations on July 29; Ecuador had already recalled its ambassador on July 17, followed by Brazil on July 24. While it condemned the firing of rockets into Israel by the Gaza-based Hamas organization, the center-left government of Chilean president Michelle Bachelet denounced Israeli attacks on the Palestinians as "collective punishment," saying they "violate the principle of proportionality in the use of force, an indispensable requirement for the justification of legitimate defense." El Salvador's center-left government said it was responding to "the serious escalation in violence and the realization of indiscriminate bombing from Israel into the Gaza Strip," while Peru's centrist government charged that Israel's actions "constitute a new and reiterated violation of the basic norms of international humanitarian law."
Also on July 29, four of the five members of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur)—Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela—issued a joint statement during a summit held in Caracas saying they "energetically condemn the disproportionate use of force by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, which in the majority affects civilians, including children and women." Argentina and Uruguay didn't recall their ambassadors, but the left-leaning government of Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner issued a statement expressing concern over the safety of an Argentine priest working in Gaza and that of 30 disabled children, nine elderly people and six nuns in his care. Venezuela broke off relations with Israel over a similar Israeli operation in Gaza in 2009; it is planning to send humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory now.
On July 30 the rightwing government of Paraguay, the one Mercosur member that didn't join in the statement, called for "an immediate end to aggression and hostilities" in the Gaza Strip. The center-right government of Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos also seemed to be moving away from support of Israel. In a July 10 press release Colombia had condemned "acts of violence and terrorism against Israel," without mentioning Israeli operations, but a July 22 statement from the Foreign Ministry said Colombia "rejects the military offensive by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip" and expresses condolences for "victims of Israel's retaliatory actions."
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...which would call the most extraordinary assemblage of great Latin American leaders in history "a motley crew," which confuses political affiliation--left, right, center--with economic systems (capitalist, socialist, mixed capitalist-socialist, communist) and which ignores the most extraordinary positive developments in Latin American history, including the election of leftist governments--governments with active and successful policies of poverty reduction, universal education and universal health care, labor rights, public participation, honest elections and development of "the commons"--in Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina and Nicaragua (--and, until the U.S.-supported fascist coups, in Honduras and Paraguay as well; with leftist governments also elected in El Salvador and Peru but with those governments hampered by U.S. "free trade for the rich"
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You may call the dramatic reductions of poverty in Venezuela and Brazil, for instance, "a leftist twist." I don't think that the millions of people who have been raised from poverty in those and other countries with leftist governments would agree that being able to work at a decent job with a decent wage, feed their families, educate their children and actively participate in their government, often for the first time in their lives, would agree with your dismissal of their tangible gains. This is not "a leftist twist." This is a "New Deal"-type revolution.
A leader can be a true leftist and still support an economic policy of mixed capitalism/socialism, as FDR, for instance, did. The idea is to yield the best deal for the people with elements from each system--the use of capital for development of infrastructure and manufacturing, with close regulation of corporations and banks to prevent too much wealth concentration, on the one hand, and socialist ("New Deal" policies ensuring an equitable distribution of wealth and opportunity, and development of "the commons" and of a decent society (in which, for instance, the elderly and the disabled have pensions).
One of the most extraordinary things about the new leftist leadership in Latin America--more universal in South America--is their early recognition that they have strength in numbers and badly needed to pull together, and their active pursuit of Latin American unity on issues of social justice, democracy (real democracy) and the sovereignty of Latin American countries--i.e., independence from U.S./Corporate dictation.
This recognition began with the first alliances, formed in the mid-2000's--among the first, brilliant leaders of this revolution: Hugo Chavez's alliance with Nestor Kirchner in Argentina, and with Lula da Silva in Brazil. These leaders performed an analysis of "neo-liberalism"--the extremely exploitive economic policy devised by the U.S. for the benefit of U.S.-based transglobal corporations and banks, which was stripping Latin American countries of self-rule, enslaving their people and stealing their resources. These three leaders began a successful rebellion against the ruinous policies of the World Bank/IMF and against lopsided profiteering by Exxon Mobil, for instance, in Venezuela. In collusion with local fascists, Exxon Mobil and brethren were taking 90% of the profit from Venezuela's oil. Chavez demanded renegotiation of those contracts and obtained much fairer 60-40 and 50-50 profit splits, to benefit Venezuela's social programs, and later helped Bolivia to do the same for its gas and lithium resources. Brazil followed suit, by reserving substantial profits from its new oil find for the benefit of the poor. Meanwhile, Nestor Kirchner was clawing Argentina out of the World Bank mire, with help from Venezuela.
This kind of analysis and political action in Latin America is unprecedented. It is the most important political development in the western hemisphere, if not the world, over the last decade and a half.
And it has all been done democratically and with some of the best election systems in the world--a notable achievement in itself, considering that these countries are only a decade or two away from U.S.-supported, heinous fascist tyrannies.
I find your description of Cuba as "an ugly 'leftist' dictatorship" completely out of sync with how Cuba is viewed by the leftist leaders of Latin America, and by those who have elected them. Cuba has been an inspiring model of universal free medical care, in a highly lauded medical system that includes FREE medical education for all qualified students, and development of excellent systems of medical care delivery to the poor, especially the rural poor, that have benefited tens of thousands of people in several countries, including catastrophe-struck Haiti. They also provide free eye surgery to the poor of many countries, including funding of their transportation and accommodations in Cuba. Only Faux News would call this "ugly." You dismiss it all as meaningless, not worth mentioning. I can only think that, to you, this is "ugly."
Cuba has its problems--the biggest one being 60 years of hatred and attempted interference--including attempted assassination of Castro, and the blowing up of a Cuban commercial jet--by the U.S. As a result, the Cuban government has feared the kind of "openness" that the CIA would like to force them to implement, so that the CIA itself can operate freely within Cuba, in the interest of U.S. transglobal corporations and the Miami Mafia. Yes, Cuba is fearful of this. Why wouldn't they be?
And, in fact, Cuba is not really a dictatorship--in the sense that North Korea is a dictatorship, or Russia under Stalin. Cuba's government has been recognized as the legitimate government of Cuba by ALL Latin American countries and by virtually every country in the world, except the U.S. Though Cuba does have an understandably fearful foreign policy, as to the U.S., it has healthy relations with the rest of the world. The Cuban government does not kill people--it provides medical care and also educational help to tens of thousands of people, within and outside of Cuba. Cuba has one of the most well-educated populations on earth. It also has ELECTIONS. We don't hear about this from U.S. Corporate Media. This is WHY Cuba is changing. Its people have ELECTED to do so. Cuba cannot be described today as a "communist" or "leftist" "dictatorship." Cuba is a hybrid of many political/economic systems and elements--including a sort of benign monarchy in the Castro brothers, participatory democracy at other levels of government, strongly pro-people socialism, admirable communalism--sharing of hardships, generosity, working together to solve problems and to insure food and shelter to all--and now, new elements of private business/capitalism--all with a uniquely Caribbean Cuban flavor.
You are ignoring reality--papering it over--with a phrase like "ugly leftist dictatorship." Cuba is not ugly. It is interesting. It is beautiful in many ways. And it is a product of its history, which is fascinating--how it changed from a combatant in the "Cold War"--allied with the Soviet Union, but also, in fact, supportive of genuine liberation movements, for instance in the Congo--into an advocate of peace, and an active participant in very peaceful endeavors, such as exporting its medical help, and, currently, hosting the peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC.
i'll tell you what "ugly" is. "Ugly" is Israel slaughtering 300 Palestinian children and bombing UN hospitals and schools in Gaza, murdering nearly 2,000 helpless people in all, in an "open air prison" in which the victims had NOWHERE TO GO. "Ugly" is the U.S. government and its war profiteers sending Israel MORE military aid--with OUR tax money!--so they can slaughter yet more children, and starve them to death, and deny them medical care and a future.
THAT is "ugly." Cuba's evolution to a more and more democratic and peaceful country is not ugly. It is amazing. How did they do it? How did they both resist conquest by the U.S. for more than half a century, and NOT become like North Korea or Stalinist Russia?
You, like Faux News, don't ask questions like this. You present feelings and impressions along rightwing ideological lines. That's Faux News.
