The Role Of Imperialism In Latin America

Marxism was sweeping across Latin America during the 20th century and acted as a stand to Capitalism and the United States. According to John Chasteen, a professor of history at the University of North Carolina, says this about Latin Americans adopting Marxist-ideas, “to adopt Marxism meant basically one thing: to side with the weal and impoverished masses against the rich minority and the US multinational corporations.” Latin America was fully influenced by imperialism and their society was shaped by imperialism especially by the United States. Vladimir Lenin was the one who realized that, “capitalism had reached a state unforeseen by Marx, the stage of imperialism.” Lenin recognized that imperial capitalists, “had seized much of the “backward” world from which they [the capitalists] extracted “super profits.”” Therefore, Latin Americans were primarily concerned with ridding themselves of the imperial powers that plagued their lands since the Spanish colonial times. Latin America used Leninism-Marxism as a way of escaping their imperial past and as a way for continuing into the future. This paper will attempt to rationalize Leninism-Marxism as it developed in Cuba and Argentina, it will look towards autonomism as an alternative to Capitalism and Marxism, and it will acknowledge the US and how their views of Marxism skewed their actions in Latin America, especially in Cuba.
As much as Latin America was affected by Marx and Marxism, Cuban politics were predominantly affiliated with Leninist ideas and fused those with Marxism and Socialism to create something completely
Cubanized. The development of Leninist-Marxist ideas in Cuba began with an Argentine doctor turned soldier named Ernesto “Che” Guevara who rode around the Andes Mountains examining the poorest regions of South America where industrialization and imperialism left millions in poverty and barely able to survive. Che eventually met Fidel Castro, who was in Mexico, and from there the two and Raul Castro, sent off for Cuba where, for the next two years, they launched attacks from the Sierra Maestro Mountains. Eventually, Fidel Castro and his supporters seized power but the Revolution was just beginning and Castro developed reforms in a Marxist light which rubbed the US the wrong way and he delivered speeches which talked about his interpretation of Marxism. Che believed in many different ideas such as the destruction of money and that men should work for ideals and not profit. Che also wanted Cuba to industrialize and that was going to happen with support from the Soviet Union and China but the Soviets only wanted Cuban sugar in-exchange for the Soviet’s manufactured goods. The Cuban Revolution and Cuban-influenced Marxism was an example for the rest of Latin America to follow and many countries tried to do just that but were stopped by intervening US Armed Forces. Autonomism is seen as a post-Marxist movement which has gained steam in the 20th and 21st century and it is a set of ideas which tries to transcend both Leninist-Marxist ideas and Capitalism. Autonomism stresses the need for a decentralization of decision-making, communal autonomy, and the need for the prevention of state intrusion and the creation of a bureaucracy. Autonomism also stresses, “the importance of political struggle over economic forces.” Autonomists argue that the concentration of political and economic power which is held in the hands of the few, should be spread so that everyone has a say to develop alternatives to capitalism and that communal autonomy is more useful than states. Autonomism is an interesting example of how a society should be developed in Latin America. Marxism has its benefits but the power of is usually concentrated into too few hands and the average person like the poor native peoples do not get their share in the political and economic power which makes something like Autonomism attractive. Cuba and the Soviet Union both had Marxist ideas but the power, both politically and economically, was only held in a few hands with political strongmen the most dominant in these Communist countries. Autonomism allows the free expression of the, “libertarian aspects of Marxism,” which spreads the power to everyone. Autonomism would be an attractive alternative to the traditionally repressive capitalist-system especially in Latin America where wealth is in the hands of the powerful and the peasants do not have a solid voice in the government. The US and its views on Marxism skewed how they looked upon the Marxist ideas in Latin America. The US continually tried to beat the Cuban Revolution to the ground but continued to fail to try and prevent it from aligning with the Soviet Union. The US also put an embargo on Cuba which still affects the country to this day. However, Castro and his regime continued to stand up against the US and The US viewed Communism as something that was trying to destroy the social order which had been established and so the US worked tirelessly during the Cold War to stop the spread of anything remotely Marxist. The US through its, “National Security Doctrine,” tried to use the armies of Latin America to rid it of Marxism. The US throughout the Cold War continually tried to stop the spread of Marxism which was rapidly spreading throughout Latin America. In conclusion, Marxism, Leninism, and Cuban ideals like those of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara was the reason of the Cubanization of Marxism. Even though the US continually tried anything to stop the Cuban Revolution, that Revolution still continues to this day. Autonomism is an example of an alternative theory as to where Latin America could have gone if not for the United States’ continued interference. As we move further into the 21st century, the theories of Marx and Lenin continue to influence political theories and economic policies because they preached a return of power to the poor and underrepresented.