Latin American Politics

Latin America has been the foremost theatre of colonial expansion, American imperialism, the suppression of indigenous movements, the birth of liberation theology and the rise of the New Left. Today, no other continent contains as many conflicting political processes and as much hope for a new alternative to neoliberal hegemony.

This course will be focused around a number of themes, but perhaps most importantly: solidarity. Input and participation will be necessary to make this a worthwhile experience. It will be a reading & discussion course. A reading package of articles will be mandatory, along with additional resources. We will attempt to have a guest speaker present on the topic at hand, followed by discussion and debate.

All participants should respect the rights of others to express their opinions. The house where the course will be held is themed on vegetarianism and progressive politics, and is LGBT positive.

FACILITATORS: Andrew Pinto & Kris Orantes

CONTACT: andrew@anarchistu.org, kris@anarchistu.org

TIMEFRAME: January 10 - April 18, 2007

LOCATION: Winchester Intentional Community at 139 Winchester Street (in Cabbagetown)

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Last update: Feb 21, 2007

_All classes begin promptly at 7 pm and end at 9 pm._

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1: Introduction to Latin America (Wed Jan 10)
• Geography
• History (Pre-Colonial, Colonial, Post-Colonial)
Facilitator(s): Kris & Andrew
Readings:
- Wikipedia article: “Latin America” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_America

2: Imperialism and Latin America (Wed Jan 17)
• Haiti
• Colombia
Facilitator(s): Andrew
Readings:
- Chomsky N. Latin America: from colonialization to globalization. Ocean Press, New York: 1999. p. 6-33
- Ahmad A. Haitian tragedy and imperial farce. Canadian Dimension, May/June 2004; p. 40-44.
- Galeano, E. The white curse. New Internationalist, August 2004.
- Mate, A. “Canada’s dubious role in Haiti”. Toronto Star, July 25, 2005. p. A17.
- McCollester^?, C. Haiti matters! Monthly Review 2004; 56(4). http://www.monthlyreview.org/0904mccollester.htm
- Crandall R. Clinton, Bush and Plan Columbia. Survival 2002; 44(1): 159-172.
- Canby P. Latin America’s longest war. The Nation, Aug 16, 2004. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20040816/canby
- Klein N. The threat of hope in Latin America. The Nation, Nov 21 2005. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051121/klein

3: Revolutionary movements (Wed Jan 24)
• Central America (Nicaragua, Guatemala)
• Cuba
Facilitator(s): Kris
Readings: This week is a bit heavy on readings. Please choose one of the following readings to focus on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_revolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaraguan_Revolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemalan_Civil_War

4: Indigenous struggles (Wed Jan 31)
• Guatemala
• Peru
• Bolivia
Facilitator(s): Kris
Readings:
- Conklin B, Graham L. The shifting middle ground: Amazonian Indians and eco-politics. American Anthropologist 1995; 97 (4) 695-710.
- De la Cadena, M. Indigenous mestizos: The politics of race and culture in Cuzco, Peru, 1919-1991. Duke University Press, 2000.

5: Focus: Zapatistas & Mexico I (Wed Feb 7)
Facilitator(s): Kris
Movie: “A place called Chiapas” (1998), Directed by Nettie Wild http://www.canadawildproductions.com/chiapas/

6: Focus: Zapatistas & Mexico II (Wed Feb 21)
Facilitator(s): Andrew
Readings:
- Olesen T. Globalising the Zapatistas: from Third World solidarity to global solidarity? Third World Quarterly 2004; 25 (1): 255-267.
- Holloway J. Zapatismo and the social sciences. Capital & Class #78.
- "The rebellion in Chiapas". Resistance and Rebellion. Chp 10, p 303-310.
- Hayden, T (ed).The Zapatista Reader. Thunder’s Mouth Press/Nation Books, Ney York, 2002. (selections): EZLN. "First declaration of war: Today we say enough is enough!". p. 217-220 [PHOTOCOPIES WILL BE HANDED OUT ON FEB 7]

7: FIELD TRIP
"Venezuela: The challenge of 21st century socialism"
Wed Feb 28 @ 7 pm
Bahen Centre (Rm 1180)
40 St. George Street (University of Toronto)
Prof Greg Albo, York University
Dr. Maria Paez Victor
Robin Breon, Steelworkers
John Riddell
Amparo Torres
Sponsors: Coalition Venezuela We Are With You (CVEC), Hands off Venezuela, Latin American Solidarity Committee, Bolivarian Circles

8: Focus: Landless movement in Brazil & Unemployed workers in Argentia (Wed Mar 7)
Facilitator(s): Andrew
Readings:
- de Almeida, LF and Sanchez, FR. The Landless Workers’ Movement and social struggles against neoliberalism. Latin American Perspectives 2000; 27 (5): 11-32.
Website: http://www.mstbrazil.org
- Petras, J. The unemployed workers movement in Argentina. Monthly Review 2003; 53(8). http://www.monthlyreview.org/0102petras.htm
- Huff-Hannon, J. The pollen and the bees. New Internationalist 2004, 368. http://newint.org/features/2004/06/01/factory-occupations/
Website: http://www.theworkingworld.org
Website: “The Take” (Movie) http://www.thetake.org.

9: Neoliberalism and alternatives (Wed Mar 14)
• overview of IFIs
• World Social Forum
• Mercosur versus FTAA
• Example: Argentina
Facilitator(s): Andrew
Readings:
- Carranza ME. Mercosur and the end game of the FTAA negotiations: challenges and prospects after the Argentine crisis. Third World Quarterly 2004; 25 (2): 319-337.
- Grandin G. Latin America’s new consensus. The Nation, May 1 2006. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060501/grandin

10: The “New Left” (Wed April 4)
• Latin America Rising
• Focus on: Brazil
• Focus on: Venezuela
Facilitator(s): Kris
Readings:
- Gibbs T. Business as unusual: what the Chavez era tells us about democracy under globalization. Third World Quarterly 2006; 27 (2): 265-279.
- Petras J. US and Latin America: Overview of 2006. Canadian Dimension, December 2006. http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2006/12/18/776/

11: Focus on: Plan Puebla Panama (Wed April 11)
Facilitator(s): Kris
Readings:
- Pickard M. "PPP: Plan Puebla Panama, or Private Plans for Profit?" September 19th, 2002. http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=3953
Website: http://www.planpuebla-panama.org/

12: Canadians & Latin America (Wed April 18)
• Expatriate communities: Refugees, immigrants and migrant labour
• Canada and the mining industry
• Activism in Toronto
Facilitator(s): Kris & Andrew
Readings: (pending)

Other Resources

Paul Farmer. "The uses of Haiti". Common Courage Press 2003, ISBN 1-56751-242-9

Film: "The Agronomist" Directed by Jonathan Demme. 2003. (Documentary on the life and death of Haitian activist Jean Dominique).

Web resources on Colombia:
Colombia Journal Online http://www.colombiajournal.org
Mama Coca http://www.mamacoca.org
Etnias de Colombia (espanol) http://www.etniasdecolombia.org

Micro Credit NGOs:
http://www.kiva.org

Help Stop Repression in Oaxaca & Other Updates
http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=1443

Women Changing Unions
For more than two decades, women in Latin American banana unions have been educating and asserting themselves, thereby transforming union activism, gender politics, and labor internationalism. Historian Dana Frank has documented all this in her book Bananeras. And Charity Ryerson of US/LEAP describes the targeting of trade unionists in Colombia.
http://againstthegrain.org/audio1.24.07.mp3
http://www.southendpress.org/2005/items/7557

"Favella Rising"
FAVELA RISING documents a man and a movement, a city divided and a favela (Brazilian squatter settlement) united. Haunted by the murders of his family and many of his friends, Anderson Sá is a former drug-trafficker who turns social revolutionary in Rio de Janeiro’s most feared slum. Through hip-hop music, the rhythms of the street, and Afro-Brazilian dance he rallies his community to counteract the violent oppression enforced by teenage drug armies and sustained by corrupt police. At the dawn of liberation, just as collective mobility is overcoming all odds and Anderson’s grassroots Afro Reggae movement is at the height of its success, a tragic accident threatens to silence the movement forever.
http://favelarising.com/default.php

"Killer's Paradise"
Since 1999 more than two thousand women have been murdered in Guatemala, with the numbers escalating every year. Yet, lawmakers and government officials continue to turn a blind eye. Powerful and uncompromising, Killer's Paradise uncovers one of the most emotionally-wrenching hidden human rights abuses taking place, while exposing the impunity allowed by an inept judicial system. http://www.nfb.ca/trouverunfilm/fichefilm.php?lg=en&id=54178&v=h

"Five Years Later, Venezuelan Ambassador Reflects on US-Backed Coup"
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/11/1432233

"Bolivia Expands Coca Growing Over US Objection"
In Bolivia, President Evo Morales has announced plans for a major expansion of the legal area for growing coca.
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/20/1442255&mode=thread&tid=25

Media coverage of the course!

"The Anarchist's Schoolbook" Article and Photo has been published in three university newspapers so far.
The Muse - http://www.themuse.ca/view.php?aid=39846
The Link - http://thelink.concordia.ca/view.php?aid=39203
The McGill^? Daily - http://www.mcgilldaily.com/view.php?aid=5779

Globe & Mail article (Jan 6, 2007) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070106.ANARCHIST06/TPStory/Education

Events

"Cuba Profunda"
Latin American/Caribbean Studies Speaker Series
Tues Feb 13 4-6 pm
Speaker: Bernardo Garcia-Dominguez
208N - North House, Munk Centre
University of Toronto
1 Devonshire Place
http://www.utoronto.ca/mcis/

"Child of Chernobyl"
CBC documentary of Cuba's medical treatment for Ukranian Children at Tarara, near Havana, Cuba
Sunday, February 25th at 1:30 p.m.
Association of United Ukranian Canadians (AUUC) Hall,
1604 Bloor Street West (2 blocks East of Keele subway)

Refreshments. Donations to cover costs welcome.
Sponsored by Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association Toronto and the AUUC Toronto.
More info: 905-951-8499

Conference: "Building Power: Social and Political Transformations in Latin America"
Ryerson University
http://www.ryerson.ca/socialjustice
FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2007 - Public meeting, open to all, $10 or PWYC
SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2007 - Conference, limited registration, apply for a space now!
* Participatory Democracy and New Ways of Doing Politics
* Indigenous People and the Struggles in Latin America
* Women and feminism in the movement
* Sustainable Development