Lecture 26: Ignored Latin American Terrorism, Ignored Latin America

1. Lecture 26: Ignored Latin American Terrorism, Ignored Latin America 21st April 2003 (Monday)

2. 1 2 3 Week 10: “Third World” • The “Three Worlds Theory” by Mao • First World: USA, USSR • Second World: Other Developed Countries • Third World: The Rests (“Developing Countries”) • Modifications of the Three Worlds Theory • First World: USA and the Capitalist Bloc • Second World: USSR and the Communist Bloc • Third World: China + Asia, Africa, Latin America

3. Structure of Lecture 26: • Focus: • Instead of the Latin American Reactions towards 911 Alone • Reasons Behind our Ignorance of Latin America as well • Introduction to Latin America • Latin American Terrorism Before 911 • After 911: Bush “Abandoned” Latin America? • After 911: Bush “Exploited” Latin America? • Conclusion: How do we know the world?

4. PART IIntroduction to Latin Americaand Its Relationship with USA

5. “Latin America” • Geographical Division: • North America (Canada, USA, Mexico) • South America • Central America • Cultural Division: • Anglo-Saxon America (Canada, USA) • (Mainly) Former Colonies of Britain • Descendants of Anglo-Saxons • “Latin” America (Mexico, Central America, South America) • Former Colonies of Spain and Portugal • Descendants of Native Americans + Hispanic Ethnicities

6. Latin America and USA • 16th Century: The Spanish Conquest of Inca and Aztec Empires • 1818: Collapse of the Spanish and Portuguese Colonial Empires • 1825: Monroe Doctrine • 1898: Spanish-American War • First American Colonies: Cuba, Philippines, Puerto Rica, Pacific Islands…

7. American Imperialism in Latin America • USA as the Backstage of Right-wing Dictators in Latin America • President Batista of Cuba • President Augusto Pinochet of Chile • The Samoza Family of Nicaragua • “Backyard of the USA” • Economic Backyard • Political and Military Buffer Zone between USA and Other Great Powers

8. Challengers against USA • Cuba (1959- ) • President Fidel Castro and Communism • Cuban Missile Crisis (1963) and JFK • The Hundreds CIA Attempts of Assassination…… • Nicaragua (1979-1990) • The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) • Chile (1973) • The CIA Coup against Elected, Socialist President Salvador Allende • ……

9. Story of Che Guevera • Number 2 of Communist Cuba • Internationalism Vs Nationalism • Death in Bolivia and the Guevera Fairy Tale • Romanticization of Che Guevera and 911 • Message of Che Guevera in China and Hong Kong Today…

10. Image of Latin America • Football • Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and World Cup • The Politics of Football in Latin America • Secrets behind the Argentine 1978 Championship • Drugs • Terrible Stories of Medellin, Colombia

11. Correlation between Football and Drugs • Football Gambling and Drug Tycoons • Colombian Goalkeeper “Madman” Rene Higuita and Triads • 1990: The Murder of Colombian “OG Defender” Andres Escobar

12. PART IILatin American Terrorism Before 911

13. Original Nature of “Left-wing Terrorism” • Rulers of Latin America: • Right-wing Dictators • Pro-American “Democratic” Countries • Anti-governmental Activities in Latin America • Left-wing Movements/ Guerillas against the Rightists • International “Proxy Support” from the Leftists (Cuba, USSR, China, “Internationalists” like Che Guevera…)

14. Peru – The Shining Path • Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) • Abimael Guzman (“Comrade Conzalo”) • Professor of Philosophy – the “Terrible Professor” • Founded 1970 • Goal: • To Create a “New State of Workers and Peasants” • Great Leap Forward, Collectivization… • Strategy: • From Great Disorder to Great Order • The Loyal/ Last Believer of Maoism

15. “Nacro-Guerillas” • Latin American Economy: • Agriculture – Declining • Industry – Depend on Foreign Aids • Stock Market – Financial Crisis • Oil – Venezuela Only • Drugs and Cocaine • As a Serious Economic Product of Common People, instead of Drugs • Protected by “Nacro-Guerillas” • Comparison with the “Opium Empire”– Afghanistan • Why is it “Terrible”?

16. Colombian Nacro-Guerillas • The Rule of Colombian Government: • President Alvaro Uribe • Effective Rule Only in Main Cities like Bogota • The Rule of Nacro-Guerillas • Rule of the Drug Cartels • Effective Rule of Slumps/ Decaying Towns like Medellin • “Protector” of “Local Economy” • Nacro-Guerillas + Anti-Right-Wing Governmental Movement  • = Enemy of USA = “Enemy of Peace” • = “Terrorism”

17. Assigned Readings • Main Text: • Noam Chomsky. Rogue States: the Rule of Force in World Affairs. New York: South End Press, 2002. Chapter 5: Plan Colombia. P.62-81. • Supplementary Text: • Gordon McCormick. “The Shining Path and Peruvian Terrorism.” David Rapoport Ed. Inside Terrorist Organizations. London: Frank Cass, 2001. P.109-128.

18. PART III Bush “Abandoned”Latin America After 911?

19. “Butterfly Diplomacy” • Body of the Butterfly: • North America, Central America and South America • Left Wing of the Butterfly: • Asian-Pacific Allies (Japan, Australia, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore…) • Right Wing of the Butterfly: • European Allies (NATO + EU) • Target of the Butterfly: • China, Russia, Middle East • Bush’s Initial Foreign Policy: Latin America as his “Top Priority” (2000)

20. South American Financial Crisis • Worldwide Financial Crisis • Bangkok  Indonesia  USA  South America  Vicious Cycles… • Foreign Exchange Devaluation • The Controversial Roles of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) • From Financial Crises to Political Crises

21. The American Abandonment • (Ir-)relevancy of Latin American and Middle East: • Politic of Oil: Venezuela Only • Support in the Anti-Terror Coalition: Nominal • Economic Investment: More Economical in Middle East after 911 • Redistribution of American Resources from Latin American after 911 • Financial Crises Pushed Leftist Candidates into Power in Latin American •  Further American Retreat

22. Example 1: Argentina • December 2001 • Fall of President De la Rua •  Leftist President Eduardo Duhalde (the “heir of Peron and Evita”)

23. Example 2: Brazil • August 2002 • President Fernando Cardoso (the “Tony Blair of Brazil”) •  President Lula (the People’s Worker) • Redistribution of Power in Latin America towards the Left?

24. PART IV Bush “Exploited”Latin America After 911?

25. South America as the “Last Shelter of the World” • Isolated Position as the “Hermit’s Continent” • Money Shelters (tax-havens) • Switzerland, Bermuda… • Paraguay, Bahamas, Haiti… • Political Shelters • “New Lives” of Nazis in Brazil after WWII • “New Lives” of the “Rejuvenated” Marilyn Monroe?

26. US Financial Expansion?“Financial War against Terrorism” • Bush Doctrine: • Either with us, or with the Terrorists • Against Financial Power of Al-Qaeda • Paul O’Neil, US Secretary of the Treasury • Financial War against Terrorism [More on Lecture 31] • Report any Possible Source of Al-Qaeda Money •  Leakage of Financial Secrets of Tax Havens in Latin America •  Further Eroding the Economic Base of the Decaying Latin America

27. US Military Expansion? -- the “Triple Frontiers” • Frontier between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay • Suspected “Terrorism”: • 10 million of Muslims as a de facto Autonomous Region/ Ghetto • A Tax Haven •  Financial War against Terrorism •  US Pressured the 3 Countries to be “Aware” of the Muslims

28. US Political Expansion? –“Plan Colombia” • US Government Provided the Greatest Amount of Financial Aid to the Colombian Government • Nominal Motivation: Vs Drugs and Nacro-Guerillas • Real Motivation: Military Expansion against any Anti-American Campaigns in Latin America? • Noam Chomsky: “Rogue State”

29. The Case of Venezuela • Venezuela as the Only Oil Producer of South America • President Hugo Chavez: • Sympathetic towards Cuba, Iraq, China… • The First National Head to Visit Baghdad since the UN Embargo • Potential Candidate of the Axis of Evil • American-supported Coup and Anti-coup (2002) •  A New Castro?

30. PART V Conclusion –How do you know the world??

31. The American Preference • Latin America as the “Backyard” • No News is Good News? • Lack of Report of the Latin American Right-wing Dictators (e.g. Pinochet of Chile) • Lots of Reports of the Latin American Left-wing Dictators (e.g. Castro of Cuba)

32. Features of Globalization • The Rule of Media • US-controlled Media • American Perspective/ Liberal Perspective • Against the Rule of Media? • The Case of Al-Jazeera, the “CNN of the Middle East” • Why no “CNN of Latin America”?

33. Limitations of Globalization (I) Machiavellian Diplomacy • Other Countries “Concern” Latin America only When it is Useful • The “Mexico Plan” of Germany during WWI • The Money Diplomacy of Taiwan • Belize, Costa Rica, the Commonwealth of Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, St. Christopher and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines

34. Limitations of Globalization (II) • International Inertia • Too Lazy to Explore the Virgin Land? • Comparison with the Northwest Economic Program of China

35. Demagogue-nature of Latin Americans • How to Catch International Attention? • Formal Methods: • Political/ Diplomatic Attention • Economic Attention • Cultural Attention • The Ignored People, the Ignored Continent • Messages behind the “Live Shows” of Fidel Castro, Che Guevera and Rene Higuita…

36. ~~The End~~ Thank you for attending