Latin America has taken a rightward shift. Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Peru and other countries in Latin America have elected right-wing governments sweeping out governments which were on the left. This shift, some say, is natural. After 20 years of left-wing governments, it is said that the people want something different. Some lay the blame at the increasing levels of crime in these countries, and others point to the ‘assault’ on liberal democratic norms.
While there are some half-truths in those comments, they do not tell the full story of why these elections went the way they did and omit the fact that the right has been funded by external actors. Elections have been stolen for them, and countries face the threat of sanctions and tariffs if they don’t vote a certain way.
In Colombia, for example, there have been credible allegations made by former president Petro that the elections were rigged in favour of the right-wing challenger. The allegations are that the programme dealing with the elections were hacked, resulting in the right-wing candidate being declared the winner.
Similar allegations were made about the Ecuadorian elections where the president is said to have benefited from a hacking of election software, allegedly adding votes to his tally.
In Argentina we saw the open pressure placed on voters to ensure that the right-wing won. During the midterm elections which the right-wing were projected to lose, US president Trump stated that the US would be floating a loan to Argentina but that in the event the right-wing lost the elections the US would withhold the funds. That strategy was successful as the right-wing bucked trends and opinion polls and won the election.
What we are witnessing across the region is a right-wing which is well funded, well organised, and in contact with each other learning from each success and failure. This is a right-wing which is not afraid to spend money and not afraid to lie to further its agenda. We are also witnessing a right-wing which, because of the successes of various left-wing movements, is now rabidly pushing back.
We see this with the US putting out documents condemning left-wing movements and countries run by left-wing governments. We see this in the regional conferences bringing together the right-wing governments of the hemisphere all in order to condemn countries like Cuba and Nicaragua.
It is going to be harder to be a person on the left in this region as the US far-right increases its funding and interactions with right-wing parties. In Jamaica, for example, we have seen the reaction to the People’s National Party (PNP) stating that it was embracing the very tame democratic socialism. The reaction by some sections was to openly condemn it while others gave a warped revised version of our history blaming all ills on the democratic socialist experiment of the 70s.
As capitalism remains in crisis and the US empire looks to double down in Latin America and the Caribbean, attacks on the left will become commonplace. We must never forget, however, that it is the same right-wing elements that have caused the very same issues they complain about now and lay at the feet of the left.
It is not anti-democratic to bar candidates who have received foreign funding from running in elections. It is not anti-democratic to ban organisations which have a history of receiving their marching orders from foreign governments and it is not anti-democratic to demand that those accepting foreign funds be registered. These are rules which exist in all countries so to demonise those countries for enacting laws and calling them anti-democratic is blatant hypocrisy.
It is easy to fall into the trap of the right-wing, to blame others and those weakest for our issues. It is more difficult to accept that the system is operating as it is designed to and that the only way to get anything different is to change it. The former is easy to accept as it means less work and just oppressing people to achieve your goals. The latter is harder to accept, as it means introspection and creating something new and different.
The mass deportations from the US will increase this sense of others coming into our homelands and will be a boon to members of the far-right as they seek to blame them for issues of crime as well as utilising social services.
The US far-right remains active, sponsoring political parties, media and religious institutions across the hemisphere, and it is on us to be on guard. Social movements have won far too many rights and battles to surrender the spoils to those who would see us oppressed.
This is not the time to run scared, drop everything we believe in and hide. This is also not the time to take undue risks and put unnecessary targets on our backs. What is needed is what has always been needed, organising of the people, letting them know that the power is in their hands to change the system and to move accordingly. Will it be risky, yes. Are our enemies on the rise, yes. Does that mean we should give up, no.
