Week Four: Independence Narratives

Out of the three narratives we read for this week, I found Chavez' most compelling. Through the use of statistics and comparisons he is able to take a global and powerful stance on the damages of neoliberalism. In particular, I found it interesting how he was able to include other countries in his narrative of North versus South, mentioning Africa as another example of where neoliberalism failed left the country struggling. To me I think the Cold War is really an integral part of the story of Northern Paternalism and control. Chavez mentions 1945-1975 as a time where there was more growth than in modern day. This time period aligns with the democratic spring where following world war II, Latin American countries were developing their economies and their own governments before U.S. intervention. The story of neoliberalism begins with the control imposed by foreign governments afraid of the potential power that newly democratic Latin countries held.

Chavez also incorporates the youth more than the other two pieces, seeing children and in particular the education of children as the future. The use of children has multiple effects in the piece. First it situates the narrative as one of the future and one of hope. Second, children are universal and persuasive. While colonial powers may not care about other countries, they have a political stake in pretending to care about or actually facilitating education, food, and living standard for children. In this manner, Chavez is making both a true and very compelling argument of why Latin America need to expel the North. He also argues for an active rejection of colonial powers; to get rid of the North there must be active and potentially violent struggle. I found this to be an interesting approach as often non violent resistance is triumphed as the best method for political structure. 

While arguing for strong resistance, Chavez also suggests tangible goals for Latin America: banks, education, health care programs, and trade agreements. His emphasis on media is also crucial to the struggle especially considering the western propaganda during the Cold War period. I think this mix of both concrete action and larger goals is what makes his piece more compelling as it situates the struggle in achievable realities for the people. His piece is convincing even though he as a leader was not, making me wonder what strong leadership with this framework could have achieved. 


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