FURTHER REVERSES FOR THE UNITED STATES IN LATIN AMERICA
For a long time – indeed too long – the United States regarded the countries of Latin America as its own backyard and private hunting ground. It had no hesitation in intervening to sabotage mass movements, foment coups and install dictatorships at its beck and call.
Those times are over! The example and experience of the Cuban Revolution and the struggles of the people of South and Central America have made it possible to sweep away the dictatorships and establish governments free of US tutelage which listen to their own peoples. In many countries vital resources are being nationalised, multinationals brought under control, cooperation projects initiated in the interests of the people rather than US free trade (ALBA being one example), and the United States is banished from home affairs.
This mass mobilisation, reflected in the actions of many governments, has inflicted a series of setbacks on the United States, the most recent being at the 39th General Assembly of the OAS (Organization of American States – a body set up and manipulated by the United States), which gave the US a slap in the face by lifting the ban on Cuban membership. As the Cuban government has emphasised, this ‘historic act is an open disavowal of United States policy towards Cuba since 1959 [...] and its sole purpose is to right a historical wrong done to the peoples of Cuba and America’. Indeed, from the outset the OAS was simply a slavish tool of US hegemony: it approved the embargo on Cuba, forced its members to break off diplomatic relations with Cuba and supported US destabilisation and subversion. Being a puppet created by the United States, the OAS has no reason to exist. For all these reasons, Cuba has confirmed that it will not be joining the OAS despite the lifting of the ban decided against the wishes of Washington. Cuba, which now has diplomatic relations with all countries in the region apart from the United States, is deeply committed to strengthening ties of solidarity and cooperation, defending its freedom and sovereignty, and continuing its fight for a juster and fairer society free of capitalism. Faced with the machinations of a United States which, despite the reverses inflicted on it, has not abandoned its determination to maintain its influence, the Cuban people and the peoples of Latin America are more than even in need of our support. In exchange, their experience can be of help to us in our own struggle.
Jean Paul Le Marec