Throughout its history, the United States has intervened in the Southern Cone countries —directly and indirectly, armed or unarmed— to change governments and ensure its own objectives are prioritised. This ever-current topic will be on the table on 4th March.
Natacha Andueza Bosch
Indeed, according to an article by John H. Coatsworth, “in the slightly less than a hundred years from 1898 to 1994, the U.S. government has intervened successfully to change governments in Latin America a total of at least 41 times. That amounts to once every 28 months for an entire century”.
The article, titled “United States Interventions” and published by the Harvard Review of Latin America, notes that these interventions “generated needless resentment in the region and called into question the U.S. commitment to democracy and rule of law in international affairs”. The ‘Colossus of the North’ has been watching as the democracies established by these countries were destroyed and replaced by dictatorships.
In other words, the United States has used various strategies to get involved in every Latin American country from the invasion of Mexico to its support of the Venezuelan opposition, always looking to gain some advantage.
Today, Latin America and Donald Trump have a special relationship, whereby some of its countries have allied with the leader, each with their different interests. Since Trump’s election, the United States and its right-wing allies in Latin America have tried to reassert its dominance through a series of coups, failed coup attempts and brazen antidemocratic attacks.
The outlook is worrying, and therefore Alborada will hold a talk in London on: “ The war on democracy in Latin America”.
The talk will be preceded by the screening of a documentary directed by Dan Kovalik and German Gutierrez, called “Nicaragua: the April crisis & beyond”. This reveals the truth concealed by many Latin American countries and their governments, in this case, Nicaragua.
Thereafter, US lawyer, author and activist, Dan Kovalik, will give a talk on the war against democracy in Latin America and how the region’s governments and progressive movements are responding. He aims to bring an understanding of the reasons behind what is happening in these countries. The talk will be followed by a question and answer session with Kovalik.
Dan Kovalik has contributed articles to CounterPunch, Huffington Post and TeleSUR. He is a workers’ right lawyer and peace activist, and currently teaches International Human Rights at the School of Law at the University of Pittsburgh.
Date and place: Wednesday 4th March, 18:00-20:30. Unite, 128 Theobalds Road, WC1X 8TN, London. For more information about the event click here or visit Alborada London
(Translated by Rebecca Ndhlovu – Email: rebeccandhlovu@hotmail.co.uk) – Photos: Pixabay