JohnRawls wrote:Yes we did have apartheid like systems in our history with different variance of cruelty for 800 years.
John, the truth is that you have a very hard time admitting just the slightest possibility that the US Empire is really unjust with the nations and governments in Latin America and the Caribbean region.
It is very easy to blame the poor for being poor. People do that all the time. But part of being analytical is to dig deep there.
What is it that is true?
Why did the Europeans arrive to the African continent? They were looking for something right? What were they looking for?
What are the results of the decolonization of Africa since the 20th century? You study each nation that was decolonized in the African continent it was because the colonized were not benefiting them enough to have a sustainable society. Not for them. The natives of all those nations. South Africa either.
They were not benefiting from the policies in place. If they were benefiting enough? They would still be in the colonial relationship with England, France, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Portugal, Germany, etc. They are not. That is a fact John Rawls.
What is the prescription for South Africa. Mandela was controversial. He was highly criticized for fraternizing with known socialists and known Communists. Including Fidel Castro, Raul Castro and the Cuban government sent Cuban troops to fight the military of the South African government. Kissinger, Henry Kissinger, the super Anti Communist extraordinaire war criminal did state that Castro's actions in South Africa surprised him. Because he said that the only reason a foreign nation sends troops to die in a foreign land in the African continent has always been to make sure the resources and profits and interests were secure for that invading army. And that he did not see any benefit for Castro to spend his time and money there unless it was to support Mandela's ANC and their fight for racial and political equality. Castro always knew that Cuba is a nation with a lot of African cultures, African people, and African solidarity in terms of the racism of the past and the colonial element. There was identification. And the ANC had a strong communist element present.
Che Guevara knew Patrice Lamumba and his fight for freedom as well. Anti-colonial. All of Latin America has struggled with that problem. Trying to get out of the problem of being set up as extraction-only economies and nations ruled by a very wealthy elite while the vast masses always live in poverty, squalor, and deprivation. That is the point of identification. The USA and other wealthy nations of the Northern sphere have not done much to alleviate poverty or do good diplomatic or economic ties in that region. It has always been beating the other side and manipulating it to enrich itself. The truth is that policy is going to fail spectacularly in a world with limited ability to recover from climate issues. That is reality.
Africa and Latin America are not Estonia John. The far-right has been bloody, violent, oppressive, exploitative and huge failures at bringing decent jobs, decent salaries, and decent standards of living to most of our nations. And they are capitalist and full of promising things that never materialized. That is reality. The pro-capitalist crowd in Latin America are not trusted, and not responding to the working class. Most people don't know that Latin America is 80% urban. City dwellers. This means that urban development is what should be happening alongside of protecting the rural parts of the South American and Central American nations and Mexico. John Perkins in his book,
Confessions of an Economic Hitman talks about what happens when Washington DC sends people like he was to go and negotiate with the US government. They need to comply or risk being deposed or ousted. That is not democracy at all. It is blackmail.
That is what they do. I really think you only are concerned with Estonian context. You should be acknowledging what is true to the context of the South Africans and the Latin Americans. It is a very difficult history. As Eduardo Galeano stated long ago in his book,
the Open Veins of Latin America. Everyone differs about the solutions or policies on how to fix the problems. What is not really in contention is that the region has enormous resources and they should be living a decent existence. But they are not. Why? It has to do with systemic obstacles for a long time. And unless you realize it has to do with being set up as extraction economies and not allowed to be independent in thought and in political government leadership and not allowed to reflect what the working class want in Latin America...nothing will improve. Period.
Who showed up for that Mandela funeral? Cuban leaders, American US diplomats and many others. All who respected what he had tried to accomplish in his lifetime.