For over a hundred years, Latin America was regarded by US imperialism as its’ own backyard. With its gunboat diplomacy, and later through its covert agencies like the CIA, US imperialism used to ensure that only those regimes which are ready to carry out its bidding remain in office. US imperialism has backed murderous dictatorships like that of Pinochet in Chile, and has openly funded counter–revolutionaries and death squads in Nicaragua and other countries. One country which it has never been able to subdue since the fifties has been Cuba.

However, over the last few years, many more countries of Latin America such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua have brought in governments which are ready to work for the welfare of their own people – even if it means defying the big bully US openly. These countries have not only walked out of anti–people trade agreements such as the “Free Trade Agreement of the Americas” floated by the US imperialists and other imperialist blocs, they have also envisioned and brought into being new trade and cooperation bodies. Led by Fidel Castro and President Chavez of Venezuela, they founded the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) in December 2004 as a Latin American and Caribbean integration project. Its trade program is called “The Peoples Trade Agreement" (TCP). Bolivia and Nicaragua later joined ALBA.

Countries like Bolivia and Venezuela are taking over their natural resources from foreign companies and Venezuela is now even planning to quit bodies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) while vigorous struggles of workers in defence of people’s rights are taking place in other Latin American countries like Peru. A brief round up of news from Latin America follows.

Fifth ALBA summit successfully concluded

The Fifth Summit of ALBA, coinciding with the first anniversary of the joining of Bolivia, ended on Sunday, April 29, 2007. Apart from trade and cooperation talks, the second ALBA Games in ten sports disciplines were also held in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.

Delegations from Ecuador, Haiti, and several Caribbean nations also participated in the summit. The inclusion of leaders of social movements from Latin American and Caribbean was based on the political precept that the integration of states begins with the people. Accords on mining, energy, education and medical care were reached among the participating countries. Under one of the agreements, Venezuela will set up a joint venture with Cuba to produce 500 million tons of stainless steel a year. In addition, a Cuban-Venezuelan joint venture is to be set up in Cuba to produce 68,000 tons of ferrous nickel a year. Studies are underway in Nicaragua to create a company to produce aluminum for the Nicaraguan and Latin American markets. An agreement was signed with Bolivia to extract its huge reserves of iron and to build a steelworks and two cement factories in that country.

Bolivia’s Production and Micro-Company Minister Celinda Sosa stated that accords of the ALBA raise hope in historically marginalized sectors of her country. She said that ALBA-TCP "is above all solidarity, complementarity and also a way to recover our natural resources … to save national dignity." Bolivian President Evo Morales confirmed that the next ALBA Summit will be held in Cochabamba, Bolivia in November 2007, and will condemn neoliberalism and impel the transformation of Latin American societies. He stated that his government rejects the “free trade” agreements that the United States promotes in the region, to which ALBA is an alternative. Many more social organizations from different countries in South and Central America have been invited to be present at the November event in Bolivia to widely popularise the principles of ALBA and TCP.

Venezuela takes control of Orinoco oil strip

Oil and gas fields in the eastern Orinoco region were earlier being exploited by 13 foreign owned firms including Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips, Statoil and BP. In January – February this year, President Chavez announced plans under which Venezuela would take on majority stakes of 60% in four projects which process the crude oil in the country's Orinoco Belt. According to him, the earlier arrangements were clearly harmful for national sovereignty and the economy. In a victory for the Venezuelan government, many of the world's biggest oil companies agreed to transfer operational control to the government. Of the 13 foreign companies that were operating in the Strip, ten signed the documents.

The Venezuelan government has announced that production has resumed from May 1, 2007, under State control over those fields. The four projects can refine about 600,000 barrels of crude oil a day. State oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) will control at least 60% of the projects, which have been ceded by the oil majors Chevron, Exxon Mobil, BP, Statoil and Total. Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said that among the companies that did not sign the letter of understanding are Conoco Phillips (United States) and Eni Dacion (Italy). He added that these companies would be dealt with according to the new law on May 1.

Mr Chavez told cheering workers that foreign oil companies had damaged Venezuela's national interests and that reclaiming them represented an historic victory. "This is the true nationalisation of our natural resources," the president said during a ceremony at the Jose Oil processing plant. "Today we are closing a perverse cycle." It is reported that the workers at these oil extraction and refining facilities are very excited about the prospects of working for the Venezuelan people rather than foreign oil monopolies.

Bolivia too moves to nationalise oil industry

Soon after coming to power last year, Bolivian president Evo Morales vowed to nationalise the countries natural resources, especially oil and gas. A year after issuing the nationalization decree, President Evo Morales signed the agreements to regulate the future relationship between the State, represented by Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB), and the oil companies. On May 5, 2007, the YPFB took control of energy resources after the Bolivian government signed 44 oil contracts with 12 multinational companies. The agreements are expected to allow the Bolivian State to have revenues of 1.57 billion dollars.

In this years May Day address, President Morales said "If we really want to live in a dignified Bolivia then we must take the path of anti-imperialism, anti-liberalism and anti-colonialism”. It is also reported that plans to nationalise the telecom industry are being actively pursued in Bolivia.

Conspiracies to destabilise Venezuela

Concerned at the growing unity of the peoples and governments of Latin America outside the framework set by the US and its agencies, several incidents were organised by the agents of US imperialism to destabilise Venezuela. These included sabotage at the Bolivian embassy and others, a few days before the ALBA summit.

The Inter-American Human Rights Commission accused Venezuela of violating the freedom of expression after the authorities decided not to renew the concession to the private station RCTV, which expires on May 27, 2007, on the basis that RCTV violated the law and backed the coup d’ etat against Chavez in April 2002.

Various ex – presidents of Latin American countries and Spain have been activated to assist the opposition in Venezuela. These include Spanish Jose Maria Aznar, Mexican Vicente Fox, and Peruvian Alejandro Toledo, who are all known to be close to the US government. It may be recalled that Jose Anzar, for example, extolled the August 2002 coup to depose President Chavez. The government of Venezuela has vowed that it would not be daunted by such attempts and would continue their efforts to unite the Latin American and Caribbean peoples and governments through ALBA – PTC and similar measures. President Chavez ridiculed the efforts of these ex-presidents, and warned that they will not be able to stop "the avalanche" of the Latin American peoples.

Venezuela to quit imperialist controlled international bodies

Venezuela might quit several international organizations that it considers illegitimate and subordinated to US interests. The agencies are the Organization of American States, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which are institutions that are campaigning against the Venezuelan revolution, according to the government.

At the ALBA summit, Venezuelan president Chavez announced that the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IAHRC) serves the interests of the empire (the United States) and had lost legitimacy. In an event to commemorate May Day, Chavez said that Venezuela will also quit the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He pointed out that the country has a deposit in those institutions "that must be returned to the Venezuelans, before they steal it, because they are capable of that, because they are in a crisis." Venezuela paid off its debts with the two international financial agencies in advance in mid April 2007.

Nationwide strike by miners in Peru

Though Peru is the world's second-largest silver producer and third-largest producer of copper and zinc, its people live in poverty and deprivation. Most of the country's mines, which together employ as many as 110,000 workers, are controlled by large multinational companies.

Over 40,000 miners are reported to be participating in a nationwide strike in Peru, demanding that their jobs be protected and that they be paid higher wages in the wake of increasing metal prices world wide. The National Federation of Mining, Metallurgy and Steelworkers called for the walkout after four days of talks between unions and the government broke down.