NCJ Number
63537
Journal
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY HISTORY Volume: 7 Issue: NOS 1 AND 2 Dated: (JANUARY-APRIL 1972) Pages: 1-26
Date Published
1972
Length
26 pages
Annotation
THE HISTORY, IDEOLOGICAL BASIS, AND CURRENT NATURE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS DESCRIBED AS THE NEW RADICALISM IN LATIN AMERICA ARE EXAMINED.
Abstract
THE TERMS 'NEW LEFT' OR 'NEW RADICALISM' ARE MISLEADING ONES BECAUSE THERE IS NO SINGLE GROUP OR MOVEMENT AMONG THE 20 SEPARATE REPUBLICS OF LATIN AMERICA. THE CUBAN REVOLUTION IS NOT A RELIABLE GUIDE TO THE FORMS REVOLUTION TAKES IN LATIN AMERICA. NEITHER CAN ASIAN OR AFRICAN IDEOLOGICAL MODELS BE DIRECTLY APPLIED BECAUSE OF LATIN AMERICA'S RACIAL MIXTURES, LONGSTANDING EUROPEAN INFLUENCE, IDEOLOGICAL TENSION BETWEEN NATIONALISM AND CONTINENTALISM, AND ANTI-AMERICANISM. ALTHOUGH LATIN AMERICA'S CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN COUNTRIES HAS CONTINUED, THE CUBAN REVOLUTION HAS HAD MAJOR IMPACT BECAUSE OF ITS EMPHASIS ON PEASANTRY AS THE KEY TO REVOLUTIONARY SUCCESS. ORTHODOX COMMUNISM, IN CONTRAST, WHICH HAS STRESSED THE PRIMACY OF THE URBAN PROLETARIAT HAS HAD LITTLE SUCCESS. THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LATIN AMERICAN NEW LEFT ARE THE EMPHASIS ON VIOLENCE AND ARMED STRUGGLE, ALSO AN INCREASE IN URBAN TERRORISM, AND THE USE OF RADICAL CATHOLICISM. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT LATIN AMERICA'S RADICALISM IS CHARACTERIZED BY PREOCCUPATION WITH REVOLUTIONARY STRATEGY, BY DIVERSITY AMONG DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, AND BY CONTINUING SCATTERED AND INEFFECTIVE ACTIVITY BY SMALL GROUPS. PREDICTION OF FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN LATIN AMERICA MAY BE MORE SUCCESSFUL IF THE NEW RIGHT THAN THE NEW LEFT WERE EXAMINED. FOOTNOTES WHICH INCLUDE REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)