Bolshevika
20th December 2003, 18:06
http://www.workers.org/ww/2003/berta1218.php
When El Libertador--Simon Bolivar--died at age 47 in 1830, Karl Marx was barely 12 years old. Bolivar had liberated five countries from the Spanish Empire under the banner of his ideals of abolition of slavery, equal distribution of wealth, end of oppression and discrimination for the Indigenous people, and the unity of all South American countries against what he then saw would be a future threat to the region, the U.S. ruling class. He was far ahead of his time.
The response from the masses then was not sufficient to carry on Bolivarian ideals. However, more than one-and-a-half centuries after his death, Bolivar's ideas are now spreading like fire. And this time, there is the added benefit of Marxism.
The prevalent slogan--"Beware imperialists, Bolivar's sword is going throughout Latin America"--is not an empty threat. The people are moving.
It is not a homogenous movement, but it does share this: It's massive, popular, anti-capitalist and mostly pro-socialist.
Another important feature of this movement is solidarity--not only within Latin America and the Caribbean, but with people all over the world who are victims of oppression and occupation, like Iraq and Palestine. It can bring tears to your eyes when you hear people chant at demonstrations, "Irak, aguanta, que el mundo se levanta" (Iraq, hold on, the world is rising). It's like saying, give us some time, we'll help you.
When El Libertador--Simon Bolivar--died at age 47 in 1830, Karl Marx was barely 12 years old. Bolivar had liberated five countries from the Spanish Empire under the banner of his ideals of abolition of slavery, equal distribution of wealth, end of oppression and discrimination for the Indigenous people, and the unity of all South American countries against what he then saw would be a future threat to the region, the U.S. ruling class. He was far ahead of his time.
The response from the masses then was not sufficient to carry on Bolivarian ideals. However, more than one-and-a-half centuries after his death, Bolivar's ideas are now spreading like fire. And this time, there is the added benefit of Marxism.
The prevalent slogan--"Beware imperialists, Bolivar's sword is going throughout Latin America"--is not an empty threat. The people are moving.
It is not a homogenous movement, but it does share this: It's massive, popular, anti-capitalist and mostly pro-socialist.
Another important feature of this movement is solidarity--not only within Latin America and the Caribbean, but with people all over the world who are victims of oppression and occupation, like Iraq and Palestine. It can bring tears to your eyes when you hear people chant at demonstrations, "Irak, aguanta, que el mundo se levanta" (Iraq, hold on, the world is rising). It's like saying, give us some time, we'll help you.