1 US influence in Latin America Human Rights in Latin America Prof. Angelina Godoy

2 1. What does US intervention in Latin America have to do with human rights? 2. Do you think we owe Marjorie Agosín an apology?

3 US interventions in Latin America What does this have to do with human rights? –Human right to self-determination violated –Throughout early to mid-20th century,US interventions propped up military regimes that committed massive HR violations –The best known check on human rights violations is a responsive, representative state; these were removed from office –Human rights framework presumes national sovereignty (boomerang effect) yet many policies dictated from beyond national territory; this creates a challenge HR orgs are still ill-positioned to address

4 Shifting forms of US intervention Transition from “friendly dictators” to “democracy promotion” What forces drove this change? Is it an improvement, in human rights terms? An increasing number of human rights scholars see more continuity than change in US policy towards Latin America -questioning Cold War justifications -Samuel Huntington: “You may have to sell [intervention in the Third World] in such a way to create the misimpression that it is the Soviet Union you are fighting. That is what the United States has done ever since the Truman Doctrine.” -If it wasn’t the Soviet Union, what was the US fighting in Latin America?

5 Shifting forms of US intervention Cold War explanations for massive terror are not enough -Focus on an implausible threat -Elide economics behind political posturing -Historical evidence simply does not support Soviet threat in Latin America; either politicians were hysterical, or they were up to something else -Guatemala 1954, Chile 1973 justified as responding to Soviet threat, but there was no Soviet connection with Arbenz or Allende -Nicaragua under Sandinistas: 1985 state department report: "aid from Western Europe and UN agencies has been...substantial, and hence crucial. Furthermore, it must also be said that in the context of her overall aid to Third World nations, Moscow's commitment to Nicaragua is modest". => US threatened to withdraw support from IDB if provided any financing to Nicaragua

6 Shifting forms of US intervention If the US was not concerned about Soviet influence, what were they concerned about? -domestic economic policies that “threatened US interests,” either because they adversely affected US corporations or because they promoted economic policies that were contrary to US thinking -Nixon on Allende in 1970: The US's main concern "is the prospect that he [Allende] can consolidate himself and the picture projected to the world will be his success...If we let the potential leaders in South America think they can move like Chile and have it both ways, we will be in trouble.No impression should be permitted in Latin America that they can get away with this, that it's safe to go this way".

7 Shifting forms of US intervention National Security Council Memorandum NSC-68 (key policy document of post WW2 era): US foreign policy has “two subsidiary policies”: 1. To foster a “world environment in which the American system can survive and flourish” 2. Containment of the Soviet Union Evidence for both priorities in 20th Century US policy toward Latin America So what does this have to do with human rights? Human rights include economic, social, and cultural rights, and efforts to achieve these have been greeted with violence, need to understand why

8 Latin American authoritarianism in perspective Greg Grandin, The Last Colonial Massacre (2004): The authoritarian period in Latin America should be understood as a counterrevolution that reversed the democratic gains of mid-century Why did dictatorships happen? To reverse the gains made by popular masses in first wave of democracy Latin American democracies of mid-century included extensive provisions for social rights; today’s Latin American democracies are modeled on individual rights

9 US “Democracy promotion” in perspective William Robinson Promoting Polyarchy (1996): -post 1980s shift in US policy towards “democracy promotion” -National Endowment for Democracy (1983), State Department Center for Democratic Governance, provide funding and training for political parties, business groups, NGOs, civic organizations who “promote democracy” What do we mean when we say democracy? -Polyarchy vs. substantive democracy -USAID: promoting democracy “is complementary to and supportive of the transition to market-oriented economies” -Robinson: US aid typically supports “transnational kernel” of economic elites in countries -US economic interests are better served by stable regimes under polyarchies than under dictatorships; this is the reason for the shift in policy

10 What does this have to do with human rights, again? Understanding human rights holistically means envisioning economic arrangements that might better meet basic needs of region’s impoverished majorities Yet understanding the Cold War conflicts as reflection of US/Soviet binary masks underlying conflict over whose interests are served by national policies in Latin America Today: US opposition to regime of Hugo Chavez, to those who oppose “free” trade agreements, suggests strong interest in preserving current economic model -these forces often described as antidemocratic, but are they? -what does democracy mean?

11 Los Guaraguao, “Perdóneme Tío Juan/ Forgive me Uncle Juan” Perdóneme Tío Juan pero se ve que no sabe nada las cosas que yo le digo se sienten en carne propia que en tierra venezolana el imperialismo yankee hace lo que le da la gana ¿es que usted no se ha paseado por un campo petrolero? ¿usted no ve que se llevan lo que es de nuestra tierra? y solo nos van dejando miseria y sudor de obrero y solo nos van dejando miseria y sudor de obrero Forgive me Uncle Juan But it´s clear you don´t know anything The things that I´m telling you about Can be felt in our own experience In Venezuela, Yankee imperialism Does whatever it pleases Haven´t you passed by The petroleum fields? Haven’t you seen how they take What is ours? They only leave behind Misery and workers’ sweat They only leave behind Misery and workers’ sweat

12 Los niñitos macilentos que habitan allá en los cerros mas que vivir agonizan entreteniendo sus sueños mas que vivir agonizan entreteniendo sus sueños. Contésteme Tío Juan no se me quede callado. Conteste si no hay razón en que sigamos luchando por echar de nuestra Patria al yankee que nos la quita y al lacayo que lo tapa ¿es que usted no se ha fijado lo que pasa con el hierro? nos pagan la tonelada por menos de tres centavos ¡vamos a luchar, caramba! o nos quedamos sin cerro ¡vamos a luchar, caramba! o nos quedamos sin cerro The malnourished children That live there in the hills More than living, they’re agonizing As they entertain their dreams More than living, they’re agonizing As they entertain their dreams Answer me Uncle Juan Don’t just stay silent Answer me, isn’t there a reason For us to keep struggling To throw out of our country the yankee that takes it from us And the lackey that covers it up Haven’t you noticed What happens with the iron? They pay less than three cents For the ton Let’s fight, damn it! Or we’ll be left without our land Let’s fight, damn it! Or we’ll be left without our land

13 No te dejes engañar cuando te hablen de progreso por que tú te quedas flaco y ellos aumentan de peso por que tú te quedas flaco y ellos aumentan de peso. Contésteme Tío Juan no se me quede callado conteste si no hay razón en que sigamos luchando por echar de nuestra Patria al yankee que nos la quita y al lacayo que lo tapa Don’t be fooled When they talk about progress Because you’ll stay skinny While they gain weight Because you’ll stay skinny While they gain weight. Answer me, Uncle Juan, Don’t just stay silent Answer me, isn’t there a reason For us to keep struggling To throw out of our country the yankee that takes it from us And the lackey that covers it up

14 ¿Es que usted no se ha paseado por un campo petrolero? ¿Usted no ve que se llevan lo que es de nuestra tierra? y solo nos van dejando miseria y sudor de obrero y solo nos van dejando miseria y sudor de obrero. Los niñitos macilentos que habitan allá en los cerros mas que vivir agonizan entreteniendo sus sueños mas que vivir agonizan entreteniendo sus sueños Haven´t you passed by The petroleum fields? Haven’t you seen how they take What is ours? They only leave behind Misery and workers’ sweat They only leave behind Misery and workers’ sweat. The malnourished children That live there in the hills More than living, they’re agonizing As they entertain their dreams More than living, they’re agonizing As they entertain their dreams.