[stop-imf] Chomsky: Latin America And Asia Are At Last Breaking Free Of Washington's Grip

[robert weissman]

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ZNet Commentary
Latin America And Asia Are At Last Breaking Free Of Washington's Grip March=
 16, 2006
By Noam Chomsky

The prospect that Europe and Asia might move towards greater independence h=
as troubled US planners since the second world war. The concerns have only =
risen as the "tripolar order" - Europe, North America and Asia - has contin=
ued to evolve.

Every day Latin America, too, is becoming more independent. Now Asia and th=
e Americas are strengthening their ties while the reigning superpower, the =
odd man out, consumes itself in misadventures in the Middle East.

Regional integration in Asia and Latin America is a crucial and increasingl=
y important issue that, from Washington's perspective, betokens a defiant w=
orld gone out of control. Energy, of course, remains a defining factor - th=
e object of contention - everywhere.

China, unlike Europe, refuses to be intimidated by Washington, a primary re=
ason for the fear of China by US planners, which presents a dilemma: steps =
toward confrontation are inhibited by US corporate reliance on China as an =
export platform and growing market, as well as by China's financial reserve=
s - reported to be approaching Japan's in scale.

In January, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah visited Beijing, which is expected=
 to lead to a Sino-Saudi memorandum of understanding calling for "increased=
 cooperation and investment between the two countries in oil, natural gas a=
nd investment", the Wall Street Journal reports.

Already much of Iran's oil goes to China, and China is providing Iran with =
weapons that both states presumably regard as deterrent to US designs. Indi=
a also has options. India may choose to be a US client, or it may prefer to=
 join the more independent Asian bloc that is taking shape, with ever more =
ties to Middle East oil producers. Siddharth Varadarjan, the deputy editor =
of the Hindu, observes that "if the 21st century is to be an 'Asian century=
,' Asia's passivity in the energy sector has to end".

The key is India-China cooperation. In January, an agreement signed in Beij=
ing "cleared the way for India and China to collaborate not only in technol=
ogy but also in hydrocarbon exploration and production, a partnership that =
could eventually alter fundamental equations in the world's oil and natural=
 gas sector", Varadarjan points out.

An additional step, already being contemplated, is an Asian oil market trad=
ing in euros. The impact on the international financial system and the bala=
nce of global power could be significant. It should be no surprise that Pre=
sident Bush paid a recent visit to try to keep India in the fold, offering =
nuclear cooperation and other inducements as a lure.

Meanwhile, in Latin America left-centre governments prevail from Venezuela =
to Argentina. The indigenous populations have become much more active and i=
nfluential, particularly in Bolivia and Ecuador, where they either want oil=
 and gas to be domestically controlled or, in some cases, oppose production=
 altogether.

Many indigenous people apparently do not see any reason why their lives, so=
cieties and cultures should be disrupted or destroyed so that New Yorkers c=
an sit in their SUVs in traffic gridlock.

Venezuela, the leading oil exporter in the hemisphere, has forged probably =
the closest relations with China of any Latin American country, and is plan=
ning to sell increasing amounts of oil to China as part of its effort to re=
duce dependence on the openly hostile US government.

Venezuela has joined Mercosur, the South American customs union - a move de=
scribed by Nestor Kirchner, the Argentinian president, as "a milestone" in =
the development of this trading bloc, and welcomed as a "new chapter in our=
 integration" by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president.

Venezuela, apart from supplying Argentina with fuel oil, bought almost a th=
ird of Argentinian debt issued in 2005, one element of a region-wide effort=
 to free the countries from the controls of the IMF after two decades of di=
sastrous conformity to the rules imposed by the US-dominated international =
financial institutions.

Steps toward Southern Cone [the southern states of South America] integrati=
on advanced further in December with the election in Bolivia of Evo Morales=
, the country's first indigenous president. Morales moved quickly to reach =
a series of energy accords with Venezuela. The Financial Times reported tha=
t these "are expected to underpin forthcoming radical reforms to Bolivia's =
economy and energy sector" with its huge gas reserves, second only to Venez=
uela's in South America.

Cuba-Venezuela relations are becoming ever closer, each relying on its comp=
arative advantage. Venezuela is providing low-cost oil, while in return Cub=
a organises literacy and health programmes, sending thousands of highly ski=
lled professionals, teachers and doctors, who work in the poorest and most =
neglected areas, as they do elsewhere in the third world.

Cuban medical assistance is also being welcomed elsewhere. One of the most =
horrendous tragedies of recent years was the earthquake in Pakistan last Oc=
tober. Besides the huge death toll, unknown numbers of survivors have to fa=
ce brutal winter weather with little shelter, food or medical assistance.

"Cuba has provided the largest contingent of doctors and paramedics to Paki=
stan," paying all the costs (perhaps with Venezuelan funding), writes John =
Cherian in India's Frontline magazine, citing Dawn, a leading Pakistan dail=
y.

President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan expressed his "deep gratitude" to Fi=
del Castro for the "spirit and compassion" of the Cuban medical teams - rep=
orted to comprise more than 1,000 trained personnel, 44% of them women, who=
 remained to work in remote mountain villages, "living in tents in freezing=
 weather and in an alien culture", after western aid teams had been withdra=
wn.

Growing popular movements, primarily in the south but with increasing parti=
cipation in the rich industrial countries, are serving as the bases for man=
y of these developments towards more independence and concern for the needs=
 of the great majority of the population.

=C2=95 Noam Chomsky, the author, most recently, of Imperial Ambitions: Conv=
ersations on the Post-9/11 World, is a professor of linguistics at the Mass=
achusetts Institute of Technology