About Time.

[the_future_modernes]

Latin America: The Empire retreats

In the span of a few days two events occurred that reveal that in small Latin American countries that were previously subordinate to Washington, the ex-superpower no longer controls their decades-old allies. The recent episodes in Paraguay and Honduras reveal that the empire's withdrawal from its own backyard is accelerating in the present systemic crisis.

The government of Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo decided to suspend the U.S. Southern Command's (SouthCom) New Horizons program in his country. The program called for the deployment of 400 U.S. soldiers for "humanitarian" work. The foreign military presence in Paraguay has long been rejected not only by campesino and social movements, but also by neighboring Brazil. The Brazilian government objected to the operations held near the Itaipu Dam, which is responsible for 20% of the energy consumed by the eighth industrial power on the planet.

Lugo has explained his decision to refuse the SouthCom operations by citing "the new international scene in terms of defense, security, and sovereignty." The president affirmed the impact of recent debates in the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) regarding the U.S.-Colombia base agreement on his decision where he said, "The presence of American soldiers in the region was highly questioned."

Washington's ambassador in Asunción, Liliana Ayalde, called the decision "regrettable." Her response reflects the imperial impotence of the United States in a country that had been one of its most docile allies for eight decades. Ayalde weakly denied that the presence of U.S. troops in Paraguay is related to intelligence work connected with the Guarani Aquifer, one of the largest fresh-water reserves on earth. Her comments regarding the social projects that the soldiers are building and their public health efforts also failed to resonate.But there is a fly in the ointment

Comments

[la_vie_noire]

Hey, thanks for this!