Upon assuming the US presidency, Joe Biden asserted in his first major foreign policy address, “America is back!” For Latin America and the Caribbean, this has meant an “aggressive expansion” of the US military in the region.
US Military Projection in Latin America and the Caribbean Intensifies
Growing US Military Presence in Brazil
To this end, the United States faces a series of obstacles in our continent. The most important immediate obstacle is Venezuela, clearly counter-hegemonic, bent on building important geopolitical bridges with Russia, China and Iran, and now focused on beginning to resolve the problem of the Guyanas.
You might not know it by the relatively scant news coverage, but the U.S. congressional delegation, led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, that visited Brazil, Chile, and Colombia in August marked a big step forward in the development of a new U.S. approach to Latin America and highlighted the important role that the U.S. progressive left has to play in it.
AOC-Led Delegation Can Push for New Approach to Latin America
Related:
AOC urges US to apologize for meddling in Latin America: ‘We’re here to reset relationships’
Asked if the left needs to build a counterweight network, Ocasio-Cortez, whose trip to Latin America was branded “AOC’s socialist sympathy tour” by Rupert Murdoch’s conservative Wall Street Journal newspaper, replied: “I absolutely believe that the battle for democracy must be transnational and it must be global, and it especially must be hemispheric.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez set to tour Latin America with a group of congressional Democrats
The agenda (which has not yet been made public) is expected to include meetings with Presidents Lula da Silva (Brazil), Gabriel Boric (Chile) and Gustavo Petro (Colombia) and parliamentary representatives. The legislators will also meet with civil society organizations that work “on the frontlines of ecological transitions, democratic transformations and peace negotiations in the countries,” the delegation explains in a joint statement. The trip seeks to “promote a U.S.-Latin American relationship based on mutual respect, understanding and a commitment to cooperation.”
Ocasio-Cortez, a key figure in the Democratic Party’s most progressive wing, and Misty Rebik, Sanders’s chief of staff (sent on behalf of the 81-year-old veteran senator), will be joined by four congressmen: Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar (both from Texas), Nydia Velázquez (New York) and Maxwell Frost (Florida), who is the youngest congressman in the House of Representatives at 26. Castro is a member of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, which is part of the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee. He recently spearheaded a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken to pressure Peru’s President Dina Boluarte over human rights violations occurring in that country. Casar is in his first term as a congressman and belongs to the Progressive Caucus, while Velazquez became the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress in 1993.
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The defense of democracy is another ideal that guides the trip. According to the congresspeople, the “twin” insurrections on Capitol Hill, on January 6, 2021, and in Brasilia (on January 8, 2023) “made it clear that the fate of democracy in the United States is closely tied to that of its southern neighbors. “[Our] democracies,” they believe, “not only share the challenge of defending their institutions from political violence, disinformation and other forms of anti-democratic intervention; they also share the challenge of restoring confidence in the ability of those institutions to meet citizens’ fundamental needs.”
Ocasio-Cortez highlights another goal of the trip: exploring how to “confront disinformation and violent threats to our democracies.” The charismatic congresswoman adds that “it’s long past time for a realignment of the United States’ relationship to Latin America. The U.S. needs to publicly acknowledge the harms we’ve committed through interventionist and extractive policies, and chart a new course based on trust and mutual respect.”
The tragicomic “insurrection” in Brasilia on Sunday was destined to meet a sudden death. The universal condemnation and, in particular, the brusqueness with which the Biden Administration distanced itself from the protestors, sealed their fate. Certainly, this revolt is no “civil war,” although it is difficult to make predictions about new protests in the country.
Biden Stoops to Conquer Brazil’s Lula
Thousands took to the streets to celebrate as Lula, the candidate of the Workers’ Party of Brazil, defeated Jair Bolsonaro in one the most crucial elections in the country’s history
President Lula!
By Roger D. Harris on October 26, 2022
NATO recently expanded to Sweden and Finland, has been de facto incorporated in Ukraine, and may extend to Georgia. Now, NATO’s entry into the Amazon is in the works under the aegis of newly elected President Gustavo Petro of Colombia.
NATO in the Amazon: Petro Plays with Fire
Related:
The US warns Petro of the danger of falling into the hands of China:
The Government of Colombia replies to Washington that if it wants to prevail over Beijing, it must finance the purchase of land from ranchers to distribute among the peasants
Quid pro quo?!
Brazilian Anarchist expert reveals Social War behind key Lula / Bolsonaro Vote
Despite the glowing picture that progressives and social democrats paint of Lula, it was under the PT (Worker’s Party) that Brazil’s government made its turn toward austerity. Given that this will likely be a second term in office for him, how effective do you think left organizations and movements will be at wringing concessions from a Lula-led PT government?
From Rio de Janeiro, son of former Voice of America chief invents new cold war narrative
Tucker/Fox Rally Behind Bolsonaro
The president-elect of the Republic of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, reiterated his desire to normalize relations with Venezuela in order to ameliorate the economic development of the region.
Petro Reiterates Willingness to Normalize Relations with Venezuela
Related:
Petro Upends Colombia Diplomacy by Reaching out to Venezuela:
During the election campaign, Petro – a former member of the M-19 guerilla group – tried to distance himself from Venezuela and Cuba, which he had previously defended, and focus more on Chile and Brazil. His goal is to normalize relations with Venezuela after years of diplomatic conflict, and adopt a position similar to that of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador – Mexico’s foreign policy has traditionally been based on the policy of non-intervention. But Petro acknowledged that it is a “long process.” “Normalizing relations is not something that happens overnight,” he said to the press after announcing the reopening of the border. And he sent a clear message about his priorities on election night: after his victory was confirmed he made sure to call US President Joe Biden and the leaders of many other Latin American nations, before he spoke with Maduro.
Biden moves fast to open dialogue with Colombia’s incoming leftist president Petro:
A day earlier, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had already called Petro with a similar message “to reiterate the United States’ steadfast commitment to the bilateral relationship,” according to a summary of the call released by the State Department.
Interesting, two days before calling Maduro, Petro talked to Blinken. 🤔💭
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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