I loko o nā makahiki ʻeono i hala iho nei ma ʻAmelika Latina, ua loaʻa i ka nui o nā neʻe kaiapuni i ka hakakā no nā pono kanaka, ʻoi aku ka maikaʻi o ka noho ʻana a me nā kūlana hana a me ka hoʻopau ʻana i ka hoʻohana ʻana i nā hui a me ka hana ʻino. I kēia mau lā, ua koho ʻia nā alakaʻi hema ma Bolivia, Uruguay, Chile a me Venezuela.
ʻO kēia mau alakaʻi kālaiʻāina, nona ka lanakila ma ka ʻoihana ma muli o kēia mau neʻe ʻana i ka nohona ma nā alanui, ua hoʻohiki lākou e hakakā i ka ʻilihune a e hoʻokau i ka pono o ka poʻe ma mua o ka pono o Wakinekona a me nā hui honua. Hoʻopili ʻia kēia kūʻē i nā kenekulia o ka hoʻonohonoho ʻana ma waena o nā hui ʻōiwi a me nā uniona ma Latin America. Makemake au e kūkākūkā i kekahi mau kumu e hana nei kēia neʻe hema i kēia manawa a e pili ana i kekahi mau manawa koʻikoʻi a me nā hanana i ka mōʻaukala hou o kēia neʻe.
Ke ala nei ʻo ʻAmelika ʻAmelika mai kahi moeʻuhane he mau makahiki i lawe ʻia e nā dictatorships pūʻali koa i lilo i mana ma Latin America ma 1970s a me 80s, me Augusto Pinochet ma Chile, Jorge Videla ma Argentina a me General Rios Montt ma Guatemala ma waena o kekahi.
Ma lalo o ia mau dictators, he mau haneli haneli o ka poʻe hala ʻole, i kapa ʻia ʻo "nā kipi hema" e ka pūʻali koa, ua ʻaihue ʻia, hoʻomāinoino ʻia a pepehi ʻia. ʻO ka hapa nui o kēia moeʻuhane i uku kālā ʻia e ke aupuni US a ua aʻo ʻia kekahi o nā mea kākau o ka hoʻopaʻi ʻana e nā kumu US ma nā wahi e like me ke Kula ʻo ʻAmelika ma Georgia.
Ma waho aʻe o ka hoʻokō ʻana i kēia mea weliweli, ua hana pū nā dictators me Wakinekona a me nā hui multinational e hoʻolauna i nā kulekele hoʻokele waiwai neoliberal i ka ʻāina. ʻO kēia kumu hoʻokele waiwai, i kapa pinepine ʻia ʻo Washington Consensus i wehe i nā mākeke no ka hoʻopukapuka kālā, waiho i nā hana lehulehu i nā lima o nā hui pilikino, hōʻole i ke komo ʻana o ke aupuni i ka hoʻokele waiwai, hana i ka hoʻopau ʻana i nā uniona a komo i nā lāhui ʻilihune e hōʻaiʻē miliona ma o ka International Monetary Fund a Bank Bank. ʻO nā ʻaiʻē i hōʻiliʻili ʻia e nā dictator koa ke hoʻopōʻino nei i nā ʻāina ʻAmelika Latina a hiki i kēia lā.
No nā makahiki he mau makahiki, ua hoʻopau kēia ʻano hoʻokele waiwai iā ʻAmelika ʻAmelika aʻo nā luna IMF a me nā mea hoihoi mākeke manuahi e hoʻomau nei i ka ʻōlelo ʻana, "e kali liʻiliʻi, e hoʻoponopono ka mākeke i nā mea āpau." ʻOiaʻiʻo, ʻaʻole i hoʻoponopono ka mākeke i nā mea āpau. Ma nā ʻano he nui ka neʻe ʻana o ka hema hema i ʻAmelika Latin he pane i ka hāʻule ʻole o kēia mau kulekele.
Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez emerged as a major political leader in 1989, when then President Carlos Perez borrowed billions of dollars from the World Bank, breaking the country with debt and raising income taxes. Riots filled the streets and many were killed. Chavez tried to lead a coup against Perez and failed. It’s the momentum from this conflict and discontent which Chavez rode into office in 1998, in a groundswell of support. People were tired of business as usual and the Bolivarian revolution led by Chavez, offered a change.
In 2000, in Cochabamba , Bolivia, a people’s revolt against Bechtel’s water privatization was sucesseful. The Bechtel corporation (which has since been contracted to deal with reconstruction efforts in New Orleans and Iraq) pushed this privatization deal with Cochabamba which increased the cost of water by up to 300%. People were billed for using rain water and drinking from wells they had created themselves. Cochabamba residents organized protests, road blockades and city-wide strikes against the privatization. Eventually Bechtel packed up and left town and water was again made a public work.
The house of cards of corporate globalization came crashing down in Argentina in December 2001. The neoliberal policies supported by the IMF and implemented by President Carlos Menem in the 1990s were widely seen as responsible for the collapse. An economic depression which could be likened to the Depression of the 1930s in the US, hit Argentina like a landslide. In one day, Argentina went from being one of the wealthiest countries in the region, to one of the poorest. The government was bankrupt with debt, the banks closed down and factories laid off workers by the thousands. People could no longer get money out of the bank.
ʻO ka hopena, kūʻē nā kamaʻāina mai nā papa like ʻole, kipaku i ka pelekikena, a koi aku i ka haʻalele ʻana o nā poʻe ʻē aʻe o ke aupuni a me nā hui i hewa no ka haunaele. ʻO "Que se vayan todos," ʻo ia ka leo - "hoolei iā lākou a pau" ʻo ia ka mana Pelekane o kēia ʻōlelo. I kēia manawa, ʻaʻole kipaku wale ka poʻe ma Argentina i kā lākou mau alakaʻi kolohe, ua hoʻonohonoho lākou i nā ʻaha kaiāulu, nā hale kūʻai kūʻai, nā māla kūlanakauhale a me nā kālā ʻē aʻe - nā mea a pau e ola ai. Ua haki ʻia ka ʻāina a i kēia wā pilikia, nānā ka poʻe i kekahi i kekahi no ke kākoʻo, lokahi a hoʻokumu i kahi honua hou mai loko mai o ka pōʻino - me ke kōkua ʻole o ke aupuni. ʻO kekahi poʻe limahana i hoʻokuʻu ʻia, ua lawe lākou i ko lākou mau wahi hana - ʻo nā hōkele, nā hale hana a me nā ʻoihana i noho a mālama ʻia e nā hui limahana. ʻO ka ʻoiaʻiʻo, ʻo ia kekahi o nā kūleʻa mau loa o kēia neʻe 2002; mau haneli o nā hale hana a me nā ʻoihana i ka lima o nā limahana ma waena o Argentina.
Ua kipa au i kekahi mau hale hana a kamaʻilio pū me nā limahana. ʻAʻole ka hapa nui o lākou he anarchist, komunista a hema paha o kēlā me kēia ʻano i ka wā i lawe ai lākou i nā hale hana. ʻO kekahi o lākou he mau lālā o ka ʻaoʻao ʻēheu ʻākau. ʻAʻole lākou i lawe i nā hale hana a me nā ʻoihana no nā kumu manaʻo, akā no ka mea ʻaʻohe meaʻai e ʻai ai, no ka mea ʻaʻole lawa ke kālā o kekahi o lākou e lawe i ke kaʻa i ka home i ka wā i kiola ʻia ai e ka luna; no laila ua noho lākou ma ka hale hana. Hana lākou i kēia e hānai i kā lākou mau keiki, no ka mea ʻaʻohe koho ʻē aʻe.
ʻO kēia ʻano pilikia ka mea e hoʻoulu ai i ke kipi ma Latin America i kēia manawa. Ke ʻōlelo nei ka poʻe, “ʻAʻole hiki iaʻu ke uku no ka wai, ka meaʻai, ke kinoea. ʻAʻole hiki iaʻu ke uku i nā uku o ka haukapila a makemake wau i kahi wā e hiki mai ana no kaʻu mau keiki. ʻAʻole holo ka ʻōnaehana neoliberal. Makemake nā kānaka e hoʻāʻo i kahi mea ʻē aʻe. Manaʻo nui ka poʻe i hōʻike ʻia kēia "mea ʻē aʻe" i nā kaʻina politika i alakaʻi ʻia e Hugo Chavez ma Venezuela, Evo Morales ma Bolivia , Nestor Kirchner ma Argentina a me nā mea ʻē aʻe.
ʻO ia mau kipi ma nā alanui ma Argentina e hoʻolei i nā bums a hoʻomaka i kahi honua ʻē aʻe, ma Bolivia e hoʻopau i ka privatization kinoea, ma Brazil kahi e lawe ai ka poʻe mahiʻai i ka ʻāina i hoʻohana ʻole ʻia - ua wehe kēia mau hui i ke ala no nā alakaʻi kālai'āina o ke aupuni. Ua wehe lākou i nā wahi no ka poʻe e like me Chavez a me Morales e hele mai i ka mana.
No laila he aha ka manaʻo o kēia neʻe hema i komo i loko o ka hale aliʻi politika?
Ma ka hihia o Argentina, ua kūkākūkā ʻo Pelekikena Nestor Kirchner i nā kuʻikahi me ka IMF e lawe mai i kona ʻāina mai ka ʻaiʻē a me ke kaumaha o ka hoʻokele waiwai ma ka hana ʻole ʻana i nā mea a pau a ka IMF i ʻōlelo ai. Mai ka hāʻule ʻana o ka makahiki 2001, ua hoʻokumu ʻo Argentina me Kirchner ma ke alakaʻi i kahi hiʻohiʻona ma ka haʻihaʻi ʻana me ka IMF a me ka hoʻonohonoho ʻana i ka leo i ke kūkākūkā ʻana me nā mea hāʻawi kālā honua. I ka makahiki 2003, ua hoʻoweliweli ʻo Argentina i kāna uku ʻana i ka IMF, kahi mea i lohe ʻole ʻia no nā ʻāina o kona nui. Ua pane aku ka IMF ma ka haʻalele ʻana i kekahi o nā kulekele a me nā uku panee e koi ana. ʻO ke kūkākūkā paʻakikī o Kirchner he kumu hoʻohālike no nā ʻāina ʻē aʻe a ua kōkua ʻo Argentina e piʻi i waho o kāna pilikia.
Ua lanakila ʻo Tabare Vasquez ma Uruguay i nā pono kanaka a me ka hoʻopau ʻana i ka hoʻopaʻi ʻole no nā luna koa i komo i loko o nā dictatorship i hala. Ua hoʻohiki ʻo Morales ma Bolivia e hoʻohuli i ka hopena maikaʻi ʻole o ke kaua ma nā lāʻau lapaʻau ma Bolivia, e hoʻolilo i ke kinoea o ka ʻāina (ma kekahi ʻano a i ʻole kekahi), e hoʻonohonoho i kahi ʻaha e kākau hou i ke kumukānāwai o ka ʻāina a hōʻole i nā ʻaelike kālepa kākoʻo ʻia e US. Ua hoʻohana ʻo Hugo Chavez ma Venezuela i ka waiwai aila nui e hoʻolilo i kahi hoʻololi kaiaulu.
However, these leftist governments are far from perfect: Uruguay’s Vazquez has gone down a neoliberal path which some argue has gone further to the right than the previous government. Instead of enacting the radical changes his base demands, President Lula in Brazil has strictly followed IMF prescriptions, and instead of using government funds to spur on social projects in education and health care, he has continued making payments on the $230 Billion debt.
Venezuela’s political process is largely powered by oil money, meaning the revolution may last only as long as the oil does, and the revolution is not that exportable to countries without such natural resources. Evo Morales in Bolivia has already been accused of working toward gas nationalization deals which are far from what social movements demand. And though the “water war” against Bechtel in Cochabamba in 2000 was successful in kicking the company out, the public water system that was developed in its place has problems with corruption and mismanagement. The momentum and solidarity that exploded in Argentina during their 2001-2002 crisis has all but disappeared. Class divisions, apathy and a lack of civic participation mark the country’s social movements.
Other challenges to this leftist shift are posed by the US government and multinational corporations. The US military has set up a base in Paraguay , 200 kilometers from the border with Bolivia. Hundreds of troops are reportedly stationed there. Analysts in Bolivia and Paraguay who I’ve spoken with believe the troops are there to monitor the Morales administration, leftist groups in the region and to keep an eye on Bolivia’s gas reserves (which are the second largest in Latin America ) and the Guarani Aquifer which is one of the biggest water reserves in the hemisphere.
I ka hoʻoweliweli ʻia ʻana o ka hegemony US ma ka ʻāina, ʻaʻole i waho ka pūʻali koa a me nā ʻano hana ʻē aʻe. E like me ka mea i kākau ʻia e Eva Golinger i kāna puke, "The Chavez Code," ua kākoʻo a kōkua ke aupuni US i ka hoʻopiʻi pōkole kūʻē iā Hugo Chavez i ʻApelila, 2002. Ua hana ikaika ʻo Wakinekona e hoʻoikaika i nā kuʻikahi kūʻai kūʻokoʻa ma Central America , Colombia a hoʻomau. , me ka nui o nā mea hoʻolaha pāʻoihana, e hōʻino i nā kaʻina politika manaʻolana ma Latin America.
ʻAʻole hiki ke manaʻo ʻia e loli nā mea i ka pō. (Ua lohe pinepine au i kēia huaʻōlelo i koʻu noho ʻana ma Bolivia i kēia manawa.) Aia ke kumu e manaʻolana ai i nā mea e hana nei ma Latin America. Ua wehe ʻia kahi wahi hou no ke aupuni democracy a me nā ʻano ʻano politika like ʻole; he au hou kahi i makemake nui ia ai ka pono o ka lehulehu ma mua o ka pono o Wasinetona a me ka poe hoopukapuka hui.
Aia paha he palekana ma nā helu. Ua manaʻo ʻia e lanakila ka nui o nā pelekikena waena ma nā koho balota ʻAmelika Latin i nā mahina e hiki mai ana. Ma ka lā 9 o ʻApelila, manaʻo ʻia e koho ʻia ʻo Ollanta Humala i pelekikena o Peru. Ua alakaʻi ʻo Andrez Lopez Obrador i nā koho balota ma ka heihei pelekikena ʻo Mexico. Ma ka la 2 o Iulai e koho ai ma laila. E hana ʻia nā koho balota ma ʻEkuador i ʻOkakopa, a manaʻo ʻia ʻo Leon Roldos e lanakila.
ʻO kahi kālepa holomua, politika a me ka hoʻokele waiwai - i hoʻoulu ʻia e nā lanakila koho balota hema - he mea nui loa. He mea ʻokoʻa kēia ʻāpana kālepa i ka hegemony US a me ka neoliberalism i ka ʻāina. Ke alakaʻi nei ʻo Chavez i ke ala e hoʻokō ai i kēia. I loko o ia bloc, ma kahi o ke kūlou ʻana iā Wakinekona a me nā pono ʻoihana, e hui pū nā lāhui ʻAmelika Latin e hana i kahi ʻokoʻa i nā ʻaelike kālepa kākoʻo US. Hāʻawi ia hui kūloko a me ka hoʻohui ʻana i kahi hopena lōʻihi a paʻa i ka hoʻohana ʻana i nā ʻoihana.
[This article is from a talk given at “The Winds of Change in the Americas Conference” in Burlington, Vermont on March 5, organized by Toward Freedom ]
Benjamin Dangl is the author of “The Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia “, (forthcoming from AK Press). He edits www.UpsideDownWorld.org, uncovering activism and politics in Latin America and www.TowardFreedom.com, he hiʻohiʻona holomua i nā hanana honua. E leka uila iā Ben(at)upsidedownworld.org
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