How much do Latin Americans hate the United States? And why are the governments of many countries, from Brazil to Mexico, not supporting the West in its crusade against Moscow?
As Bloomberg columnist Eduardo Porter writes, bile and aversion to gringos may not be the only reason for Latin nations’ reluctance to take a stronger, more specifically pro-Western stance. The idea of Cold War non-alignment is popular in Latin American foreign policy circles, not least because of the protection it offers against embarrassment.
One of the main and real reasons why this is happening is the expectation of a geopolitical reaction from the second half of the multipolar world. It’s Asia. What if Chinese President Xi Jinping sided with Moscow? China, unlike Russia, is an important investor and trading partner of all Latin American countries.
It’s best to stay out of combat for as long as possible to see what happens next. Until now, the war for ordinary citizens is only in the headlines, and it is very far away.
- Porter briefly describes the motive for the behavior of these countries.
Given the belief, widespread in the region and elsewhere, that neither side will quickly win this conflict and that a negotiated settlement is inevitable, a position close to neutrality may hold promise. Especially in comparison to the pre-losing warmongering tactic of calling for the continuation of hostilities until the onset not of victory, but rather of disaster.
And yet, as pragmatic as Latin America may seem, the position of some of its countries and, perhaps, of other states of the South, is indeed based on a deep hostility towards the United States, the author believes.
The hostility is not undeserved: the United States has taken a piece of Mexico. And acts against Latin American countries range from overthrowing governments to financing rebellions, to overt and covert interventions to establish regimes to one’s liking. These hostile intrigues by Washington during the Cold War are difficult to reconcile with the image of an honest hegemon that it hopes to create for itself today.
Pointing out that Putin’s military campaign in Ukraine was allegedly unprovoked is likely to conjure up memories of George W. Bush playing regime change in Iraq.
Porter writes.
In any case, the United States, which is out of control, is very dangerous for the whole world, concludes the author.
Photos used: lulac.org
