[Marxism] Mercosur, Latin America, USA, Iraq (fwd)

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Re: Mercosur and Venezuela (From: Suresh <borhyaenid@xxxxxxxxx Date: Fri, 9 Jul 
2004 14:28:18 -0700 (PDT)

Suresh’s note on the expansion of Mercosur points to a bigger development 
happening in Latin America. All of Latin America is in one way or another 
stepping away from the United States. Trading ties within Latin America are 
being strengthened, and Latin American ties to Europe, China and Japan are also 
being strengthened.

Colmbia’s current President, Alvaro Uribe Velez, is usually thought of – for 
good reason – as the Vicente Fox of South America. Yet, he is daily working at 
building closer ties to Brazil and Venezuela. And in the current trade talks 
with the USA, Colombia has suddenly taken on an aggressive tone, especially 
rejecting US efforts to gain the right to patent genetic material found among 
plants and animals in the Amazon basin.

Uribe Velez is certainly no friend of the working class and the oppressed in 
Colombia or anwhere else – but he is a leader of the national bourgeoisoisie of 
Colombia which has been swinging away from its close reliance on the USA every 
since the invasion of Iraq.

In fact, the US invasion and occupation of Iraq is causing a major rethinking 
of relations with US imperialism among the ruling classes of all of the ‘third 
world’. After all, if they could do it to Saddam Hussein, maybe they could do 
it to Alvaro Uribe (Saddam used to be even more dependent on the USA than Uribe 
has been since he came to power.)

Lula’s diplomatic initiatives have been a key aspect of this change in Latin 
America, but so too have European, Japanese, and Asian initiatives (normally 
not reported in the US press. Inerestingly, here in Colombia, the British 
embassy is often at odds with the US embassy – despite the fact that in regards 
to Iraq/Afghanistan Blain/Bush seem to be two heads with one body.

All the best, Anthony




__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - You care about security. So do we.
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail_______________________________________________
Marxism mailing list
Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism