The American Lefts

The fact that Latin America is now tinged with tones of red can be attributed to relationships and alliances established between the Latin American and U.S. Left. A living example of this history in progress is Chilean Jose Miguel Insulza, the new General Secretary of The Organization of American States (OAS).

For many decades the political geometry in Latin America was a simple cardboard cut-out. The Right self-interestedly adored the anticommunist U.S. The Left repudiated Yankee Imperialism, a sentiment they deemed well justified by the history of abuses perpetrated by the superpower. However, outright rejection of the U.S. failed to take into account the social tapestry of that country, which contains political and social forces that in other parts of the hemisphere would explicitly be defined as “leftist”. The reserve imposed by history has led the U.S. Left to identify themselves as “liberal”, “very liberal”, or “progressive”. For the most part they are focused on domestic issues, but some sectors bear a marked internationalism