After giving the theology on tap presentation last week I had the chance to visit with a number of people after the session. Eduardo Galeano’s “Open Veins of Latin Americ
a” was mentioned a few times and it sounded like an interesting read.
The book details the history of Latin America from a different perspective than high school text books I remember. The idea of the Monroe Doctrine spreading market driven material bliss to the people of South America in the views of Galeano is a good that certainly never materialized. The history he pens claims the human and material resources of South America have been exploited from the very beginning. From one commodity to the next be it gold / silver, tin, coffee, sugar, rubber, or bananas the story is pretty much the same. The North grows rich while a small local oligarchy profits at the expense of the peasant workers who are paid dismal wages regardless of the market price of the commodity they serve.
Numerous examples are given from the banana fields of United (Chiquita) and Standard (Dole) Fruit to the clearing of forests for coffee planting. Galleano argues North America was left to develop on its own with an agricultural and mineral make up very similar to Europe. American industry was thus ignored and allowed to develop. The exotic tropical commodities of the South were highly desired in Europe and North America. From metals and sugar to coffee and cocoa the wealth of the South heads North while the capital that flows in remains largely in the hands of the small oligarchical class in these countries. The poor workers usually make enough to not starve but never enough to really improve their lot.
The story of Paraguay was interesting. From Galeano’s point the country of Paraguay evolved differently and chose to deliberately isolate itself from foreign trade. Before the war of the triple alliance Paraguay enjoyed the highest standard of living in all of South America.
In the Western media every time there is some type of populous movement and the corporations are tossed out our media usually paints whoever takes over as some crazy leftist who only seeks to enslave the people. What if we’re wrong? What if the people are just tired of being treated like crap and view the wealth they create as their own? Should the current generations be mistreated because of the poor selfish decisions made by those who are now gone?
To of course balance the liberal bent of my latest readings I’ve also purchased a copy of Tom Woods Jr’s “The Church and the Market Economy”. The book claims to be a Catholic defense of the free market so I’m looking forward to reading it this weekend to see how it meshes with Galeano’s take.
I’ll keep you posted.
