There Should Be No More Monroe Doctrine in the Americas

Published in The People's Daily
(China) on 18 Sept 2023
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Stephanie Pan. Edited by Michelle Bisson.
The United States needs to recognize the general tendancy of our times by earnestly respecting the sovereignty and the rights of the people of Latin America and earnestly abiding by the basic principles of international relations. Only in this way can it be possible to establish normal relations with Latin America.

Recently, the U.S. government declassified two documents at Chile’s request. These two documents, as well as previously declassified documents released by the United States, irrefutably prove that the United States was the mastermind behind the Chilean coup 50 years ago. This once again shows that the United States has long regarded Latin America as its "backyard" and has used the Americas as an excuse to exercise its hegemony, arbitrarily intervening militarily and economically in Latin America and causing serious disasters that have affected the people of Latin America.

The two newly declassified U.S. documents were part of the daily presidential briefings prepared by the CIA. The documents showed that the U.S. government not only had advance information about the military coup launched by Commander-in-Chief Augusto Pinochet of the Chilean Army in September 1973, but also provided support for the overthrow. Documents previously declassified by the U.S. National Security Archive also showed that the United States identified then Chilean President Salvador Allende as a threat and used diplomatic, political, economic and other means to obstruct his governance. It also plotted to overthrow the Allende regime through rumors, smear campaigns, secret assassinations and instigating coups.

Fifty years later, the scars left on Chilean society by the coup have not yet healed. When Chilean President Gabriel Boric attended an event to commemorate the victims of the coup in Santiago a few days ago, he said that the coup brought about many painful experiences and had left a deep mark on generations of Chileans. But the U.S. government has, to this day, shown no remorse, let alone apologized. The U.S. State Department even said in a statement recently that the declassification of the documents "is consistent with our joint efforts to promote democracy and human rights in our own countries and around the world.”

So how does the United States “promote democracy and human rights” in Latin America? In 1823, the United States issued the Monroe Doctrine, claiming that the American continents were for the people of the Americas. In reality, however, it meant the U.S. regarded the Americas as the exclusive backyard of Americans. President Theodore Roosevelt once publicly declared that in order to pursue the Monroe Doctrine, the United States would “exercise international police power.” In the 200 years since the Monroe Doctrine was proposed, the United States has used various means to seize natural resources in Latin America, has destroyed the economies of countries in Latin America and interfered in their internal affairs, leading to economic recession, social unrest and increasing inequality. A study by Harvard University revealed that from 1898 to 1994, in less than 100 years' time, the American government planned and implemented at least 41 coups in Latin America, equivalent to one every 28 months. Even to this day, the legacy of the Monroe Doctrine remains. The United States frequently imposes sanctions and suppressive measures on so-called disobedient countries in Latin America and also attempts to use these countries as pawns in conflicts between different camps, forcing them to choose sides. Gabriel Merino, a professor at the National University of La Plata in Argentina, pointed out that countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have been deeply harmed by U.S. hegemony.

The United States' so-called efforts to "promote democracy and human rights" cannot cover up the harm caused by the Monroe Doctrine to countries in Latin America. American dominance has also attracted increasingly more resistance and rejection in Latin America. At the Ninth Summit of the Americas hosted in the United States last year, the U.S. tried to use its home court advantage to reinvent its leadership position in the Americas. However, because the United States refused to invite the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, leaders of many countries in Latin America openly boycotted the session. A commentary on Foreign Policy's website pointed out that a major characteristic of the U.S. when discussing issues about Latin America is ignorant arrogance. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that the Americas should no longer have the Monroe Doctrine, interventionist policies and blockades of other countries, nor should any one country dominate the region.

Currently, the Global South, as a collection of emerging market countries and developing countries, has continued to increase its voice and influence in international affairs, with countries in Latin America also continuing to take new steps to unite and strengthen themselves. The United States needs to recognize the general tendancy of our times by earnestly respecting the sovereignty and people's rights in Latin America and earnestly abiding by the basic principles of international relations. Only in this way can it be possible to establish normal relations with Latin America.


美方应认清时代大势,切实尊重拉美国家主权与人民权利,切实遵守国际关系基本准则,只有这样才可能与拉美国家建立正常关系

  

  近期,美国政府应智利要求解密了两份文件,这两份文件及此前美方公布的解密文件均无可辩驳地证明,美国是50年前智利政变的幕后黑手。这再次表明,美国长期以来视拉美为“后院”,以“美洲之名”行“霸权之实”,肆意对拉美国家进行军事干预和经济掠夺,给拉美国家人民造成了沉重灾难。

  美国新近解密的两份文件是美国中央情报局编写的总统每日简报。文件显示,美国政府不仅事先掌握1973年9月智利陆军司令皮诺切特发动军事政变的信息,还向军事政变提供支持。美国国家安全档案馆此前解密的文件也显示,美国认定时任智利总统阿连德是一个威胁,通过外交、政治、经济等手段阻挠其执政,还通过造谣抹黑、秘密暗杀、策动政变等谋划推翻阿连德政权。

  50年过去了,政变给智利社会留下的伤疤仍未愈合。智利总统博里奇日前在首都圣地亚哥参加悼念政变受害者活动时表示,这场政变带来的痛苦经历给几代智利人留下深刻烙印。但美国政府迄今没有表现出丝毫悔意,遑论道歉。美国国务院在日前发布的一份声明中甚至大言不惭地说,文件的解密“符合我们在各自国家和世界促进民主和人权的共同努力”。

  美国究竟是如何在拉美“促进民主和人权”的呢?1823年,美国发表“门罗宣言”,声称“美洲是美洲人的美洲”,实际上是把美洲当作美国人独占的“后院”。美国总统西奥多·罗斯福曾公开宣称:“美国为了奉行‘门罗主义’,不得不行使国际警察的权力。”“门罗主义”提出200年来,美国采取各种手段攫取拉美自然资源,破坏拉美国家经济,干涉拉美国家内政,导致拉美国家经济衰退、社会动荡、不平等加剧。哈佛大学的一项研究表明,在1898年至1994年不到100年的时间里,美国政府在拉美地区策划和实施了至少41次政变,相当于每28个月就有一次。直到今天,“门罗主义”遗毒仍在。美国对“不听话”的拉美国家动辄制裁打压,还企图将拉美国家当作阵营对抗的棋子,强迫其选边站队。阿根廷国立拉普拉塔大学教授加布里埃尔·梅里诺指出,拉美和加勒比地区深受美国霸权伤害。

  美国所谓“促进民主和人权”的幌子,掩盖不住“门罗主义”给拉美国家带来的伤害,美式霸权在拉美国家招致越来越多的抵制和反抗。去年在美国主办的第九届美洲峰会上,美方试图借主场优势重塑自身在美洲的领导地位。然而,因美国拒绝邀请古巴、委内瑞拉和尼加拉瓜三国领导人参会,峰会遭到拉美多国领导人的公开抵制。美国《外交政策》网站评论指出,美方讨论拉美问题时的一大特点是“无知的傲慢”。墨西哥总统洛佩斯表示,美洲不应再有“门罗主义”、干涉主义政策和封锁他国行为,也不应由任何一个国家主导该地区。

  当前,作为新兴市场国家和发展中国家集合体的“全球南方”在国际事务中的话语权和影响力不断提升,拉美国家也不断迈出团结自强的新步伐。美方应认清时代大势,切实尊重拉美国家主权与人民权利,切实遵守国际关系基本准则,只有这样才可能与拉美国家建立正常关系。
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