Saturday 27 November 2010

The New Bolivarians


It's funny how things are increasingly connected. I've mentioned I like Oliver Stone's work and that the person I most like listening to and reading at the moment is Tariq Ali. Well I recently watched both of them in a video clip as they worked together on Oliver Stone's "South of the border" documentary about American Imperialism in South American, so I downloaded it last night to check it out.

One of the reasons I'm still engaged in political thinking is because of the unchecked role of the media, particularly in the American Empire's politics. I have always kept a lazy eye on South American politics and particularly on Hugo Chavez and so it was a gust of clean fresh air to learn more about the man than I've ever managed to accumulate before. Most importantly it blew away some of the demonic myths circulated by the American propaganda machine.

I think it's self evident that the leaders Oliver Stone interviews here like Lula, Evo Morales, Hugo Chavez, Fernando Lugo, Rafael Correa all come across as principled and decent men with countries that the U.S has fucked over at one time or another. Most surprising though is the modesty of Raul Castro and of course the inclusive societal vision of Hugo Chavez. Fox News make their usual retarded (for profit) contribution with one host confusing cocoa with cocaine in an attempt to demonize one of the most inspirational political figures of the 21st century. 


The U.S. elite has a lot to fear if the increasingly powerful Stateside Latino lobby catch on to the reality that democracy isn't about filling the pockets of the rich but instead about providing as much as possible to as many as possible.

As an interesting aside I learned last night that John Lennon's Power to the People was inspired by his interview with Tariq Ali in the sixties for The Black Dwarf. Tariq Ali is a very interesting guy.


The Bolivarian Revolution name comes from the 19th century Simon Bolivar who led many South American countries to freedom from the Spanish Empire. The latest country the U.S. has fucked over in South American is Honduras. Hardly anybody in the U.S. knows.