As neoliberal policies continue to define the rules of the world economy, great signs of change are being witnessed in many progressive governments of Latin America that are rejecting the Washington Consensus in favour of democratic and people-oriented models of development based on greater regional integration, cooperation and economic justice.
The signs point to the fact that the symbol of the Cuban revolution is reaching the end of his road. Even if it does not formally mark the definitive end of almost fifty years of undisputed leadership at the helm of the island republic, Fidel Castro’s handing over of power to brother Raul in late July is surely a precursor to what will happen sooner rather than later.
Under a five-metre tall portrait of Bolivian President Evo Morales in traditional indigenous dress, representatives of the foreign oil companies active in this South American country ceded control over their operations here, and agreed to pay a higher proportion in royalties and taxes.
Beyond the misiones and the Bolivarian process (el proceso Bolivariano) of empowering working people and the poor, two of the most significant initiatives of the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela have been the restarting of closed factories under workers’ co-management with the state, and the rapid expansion of the cooperative sector of collectively-owned and collectively-operated enterprises.
'When the elephants fight, the grass suffers,’ says an African proverb. The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha Round – whose raison d’être was, supposedly, the development of the poor countries -- collapsed after five years of negotiations (it was launched in 2001). The reason was, the apostles of liberalism widely reported in the mainstream media, the failure by the United States and the European Union (the two biggest elephants) to make sufficient concessions in agricultural and exports subsidies, and in lowering their tariffs on agricultural goods. They fought stubbornly and selfishly, these commentators argued, and the grass (the poor countries) was trampled upon.
As the border organizer for Sierra Club's Environmental Justice program, I bounce back and forth across the U.S.-Mexico border supporting grassroots environmental activists. More than the food, language, or currency, the biggest difference from one side to the other is what issues are considered "environmental." Perhaps nowhere else on earth is there such a long border between such a rich country and such a struggling one, and this disparity seems to carry over to which issues take priority, writes Oliver Bernstein.
