Other United States

Otros Estados Unidos: la mirada desde América Latina / Other United States: The view from Latin America (June 29, 2007) Also listen to audio of the session.

The Hemispheric Council of the Americas Social Forum organized a panel presenting perspectives from Latin America on the United States.

Alejandro Villamar (Mexico) began the session with a discussion of US independence leader Thomas Paine as part of a radical tradition that exists in the United States. When Great Britain asked the United States to lower its tariffs, Ulysses Grant said it would do so after 200 years when the economy was already developed. Villamar argued for the need to unify around common concerns, to look not only at hates but also to remember that loves are part of a shared history.

Maisa Mendonça (Brazil) examined current strategies to extend trade pacts (TLCs), for example the Plan Puebla-Panama-Putumayo that would extend south into Colombia. This is part of making Plan Colombia an economic strategy that is not only for Colombia but for all of the Americas. US focus on the Triple Border region points to the importance of strategic resources and geo-political positionings. This is also apparent in the issue of ethanol that the United States is using as a way to reshape its image as embracing environmental concerns. Mendoza pointed out that even if all agricultural land was planted for ethanol production it still could not meet growing energy demands. Growing cane for ethanol in Brazil has turned into a new form of slavery.

Liliana Cotto (Puerto Rico) noted how we are unified by a history of racism and imperialism. Puerto Rico faces a challenge of gaining independence now or forever remaining a colony. Vieques creates a strong positive example of a broad-based struggle. To be free, Cotto observed, is to begin to be so.