The Hegemon and the Would-be Hegemon
by Jorge Vargas
President Hugo Chavez has become a sort of icon in Latin America; in large part because he has insisted on uniting his image and his message with that of the South American 19th century liberator, Simon Bolivar. Never mind, of course, that Bolivar did everything possible to divide Peru from the rest of South America because he had a strong lack of trust for the Peruvian aristocracy, and never mind, of course, the fact that Bolivar then went on to lead 'Gran Colombia' (which eventually broke up to create Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela) in armed conflicts against Peru. The message of President Chavez has been one of unity, which is the same message that Brazil's president keeps bombarding Southern America with, along with President Bachelet of Chile and President Alan Garcia of Peru.
Yes, Colombia broke international norms and, most importantly, international law by persecuting a top terrorist leader in Ecuadorean territory. And yes, if Colombia were to do that to a nation like Venezuela or Peru - to say nothing of Brazil - Colombia would soon be taught to respect national sovereignty.
But Colombia apologized!
So, why the war drums? Why the escalation, President Chavez? As a matter of fact, why intervene, President Chavez?
Yes, it is true that Colombia is acting out the wishes of the almighty behemoth that sits up in the Ivory Tower, belittling all of our accomplishments. But that does not mean that we, South Americans, should be fighting fire with fire. If the United States wants to blindly sponsor every reactionary government in the world, then let the United States do what it will. If we South Americans allow ourselves to become too concerned with Goliath, we will ignore the things that really matter.
President Chavez acted rashly, immaturely, and foolishly. Yes, the Colombians behaved criminally and the United States acted out of ignorance, arrogance, and the ever-enraging sense of self-entitlement but no one made Venezuela the keeper of South America. No one ever made President Hugo Chavez the Lord Protector of Hispanic America.
So let us go over what we know and what we allege.
Venezuela under President Hugo Chavez has become a fierce opponent of the US in Latin America, and has become a staunch ally of Cuba while also helping Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), and Evo Morales (Bolivia) come to power in their respective countries and keep power. Furthermore, Venezuela under President Hugo Chavez has helped strengthen unitarian South American projects, such as the UNASUR agreement signed in Dec. 12, 2004 in the Peruvian city of Cuzco, which created a South American Community of Nations composed of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Uruguay and Venezuela, with Mexico and Panama holding associate membership.
UNASUR has worked to foment scientific research in Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela, which will be utilized for the benefit of all of the full UNASUR members. UNASUR is responsible for new road networks connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Brazil-Peru and Argentina-Chile. UNASUR has also changed travel requirements for citizens of full UNASUR member countries such that they now no longer require passports to travel within these countries so long as they do not stay for longer than a period of six consecutive months.
This is the new South America. And we thank you for some of that, President Chavez.
But that is not the only new thing in South America. The United States helped Pinochet take power in Chile, ushering in a period of cruel autocracy on 11 September 1973. The United States helped overthrow Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua in the 1980s. The United States helped Fujimori stay in power in Peru in the 1990s despite the fact that he was clearly violating human rights. The United States under Mr. Bush is over-looking rampant human rights violations in Colombia so long as the Colombians fight what the US considers to be the 'good fight.' Fine. We know that. That is the old South America.
President Hugo Chavez and his Bolivarian Movement are creating a wave of subversive leftist actions throughout South America. President Hugo Chavez is clearly working with the FARC terrorists and providing them with some sort of support though the specific type of support is still not clear. Furthermore, President Hugo Chavez attempted to influence elections in Mexico and in Peru in the year 2006 in order to bring his candidates to the office of presidency of the two nations.
Now, the allegations. Colombia claims that the FARC group is attempting to build nuclear weapons - no credible evidence has been provided yet. Venezuela is setting up Bolivarian Movement cells in Peru and helping these groups to organize and act within Peruvian territory - and here, there is ample evidence.
The peoples of South America will tolerate US hegemony - though certainly not for as long as the US would hope and certainly not for much longer - but the peoples of South America will never tolerate overt hegemonistic attempts by a fellow South American nation over the rest of the nations of the continent. That, alas, is not possible. President Hugo Chavez should take note of this fact: The people of South America do not mind hearing him rail against the United States, but outbursts such as the ones seen against Colombia and, more importantly, support for subversive groups in foreign lands will not be tolerated in South America.
In the meantime, the Bolivarian Movement must be outlawed, its members interrogated and arrested.
Peru, more so than any other nation in the Continent, knows the evils of rampant terrorism and must oppose every shadow of such horrors from ever recurring in Peruvian territory again. The Bolivarian Movement is such a shadow, and the time to act is now.
The would-be hegemon of South America must learn to hold his tongue, whereas the hegemons must realize that the past is over and the present does not include them, nor does the future.
In the meantime, peace must be allowed to prevail in South America and all efforts of unity must be strengthened and supported by all of the nations in South America, including Colombia.
