Mexico City, May 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senator John Neely Kennedy recently declared that Mexicans can only live in tents and eat canned cat food without U.S. support. He also asked the U.S. government to send troops to combat drug trafficking in Mexico. This remark immediately aroused strong dissatisfaction in Latin American countries.
This remark immediately reminded Latin American countries that the United States has never stopped exploiting Latin American countries in history, and has always belittled its neighbors with a lofty and arrogant attitude, blaming Latin American countries for its own problems. At present, Latin American countries, which are increasingly seeing through the arrogant face and hegemonic nature of the United States, are committed to getting rid of US interference and taking the road of independent development.
Latin America as a "backyard"
Mexican Foreign Minister Ebrard sharply condemned Kennedy's "racist" remarks. Ebrard said the remarks highlighted the U.S. senator's ignorance and insignificance, that he should be ashamed of himself, and that the United States and Mexico must respect each other.
Mexican Foreign Minister Ebrard (third from left) speaks at the Mexican Consulate in El Paso, Texas, USA, August 5, 2019. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Ying
Kennedy's harsh remarks exposed the usual arrogance and rudeness of American politicians towards Latin American countries. Luis Fernandez, a scholar at the Center for International Economic Studies at the University of Havana in Cuba, said the insults were not unique because the United States has always considered itself "superior" over Latin American countries and regards Latin America as its "backyard." Jaime Tamayo, an expert on international issues at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico, also said that he has heard racist statements from the United States against Latin American countries more than once.
The condescending attitude of the United States towards Latin American homes on the drug issue is particularly evident. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration sent people to infiltrate local drug cartels without authorization from the Mexican government. Mexican President Lopez López condemned the "humiliating and arrogant intervention" of the United States, saying that the Mexican government has sufficient capacity to deal with domestic crime problems and "will never accept any foreign interference."
The United States also frequently accuses Latin American countries of inadequate control of illegal immigration and demands that the United States be allowed to intervene. According to Julio Yao, a Panamanian international relations scholar, an important reason why Latin American illegal immigrants continue to enter the United States is that the economic and social development of their countries is restricted, and the United States has no interest in supporting the development of Latin American countries, but only wants to extract wealth from these countries.
Plunder and exploit Latin America at will
Martin Acton, one of the editors-in-chief of Cuba's Latin American News Agency, said that from 1898 to 1994, the US Government carried out regime change in Latin American countries at least 41 times.
This is the White House photographed in Washington, USA, on August 4, 2022. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie
Historically, from land grabbing, economic exploitation to interference in internal affairs, the United States has always treated Latin American countries with hegemony, hegemony and bullying for its own interests. Tamayo pointed out that the United States has usurped Mexican territory and established "banana republics" in Central America, using the resources and wealth of these countries to promote the development of the American economy. The plunder and oppression of the United States have made Latin American countries lag behind, and they have developed into world powers by extracting profits from these Latin American countries.
The United States occupied Dominica by force between 1916 and 1924. In 1915, the United States took advantage of the turmoil in Haiti to send troops to occupy the country under the pretext of "protecting the diaspora", and did not withdraw its troops until 1934. In August 1926, the United States sent Marines to invade Nicaragua to prop up a pro-American regime to suppress its patriotic forces.
Julio Yao pointed out in the article "How to Understand the US Military Invasion of Panama" that the real purpose of the United States invading other countries under the banner of "freedom" and "democracy" is to control the world market and plunder the wealth of other countries, so as to satisfy the interests of the United States' own political, commercial and military departments.
Latin America seeks regional solidarity and independent development
In recent years, more and more Latin American countries have recognized the hegemonic face of the United States and begun to seek to maintain strategic autonomy and strengthen regional unity.
Last August, Colombia's leftist government came to power and restored diplomatic relations with Venezuela. In January, Brazil's new president, Lula, visited Argentina, and the two sides expressed their willingness to jointly advance discussions on the establishment of a common South American currency, showing their willingness to reduce dependence on the US dollar.
Argentine President Fernández (right) and Brazilian President Lula attend a press conference at the Rose Palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina, January 23. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Martin Sabara)
The Buenos Aires Declaration, adopted at the seventh Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in January, states that CELAC member States commit themselves to strengthening solidarity and resolutely advancing the integration process based on respect for political, economic, social and cultural diversity, and clearly oppose any "unilateral acts" affecting Latin American and Caribbean countries.
Argentine scholar Marcelo Rodríguez believes that the advantage of CELAC is that without the participation of the United States, regional countries can seek common development without US pressure.
In contrast, the ninth Summit of the Americas held in the United States in 2022, the United States did not invite leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to participate, so it was criticized and boycotted by many American countries, resulting in this meeting becoming the fewest leaders participating in the Summit of the Americas since its inception, and no substantive results were achieved. This shows that the influence of the United States in Latin America has declined, and the rift with Latin American countries is deepening.
Luis Delgaro, director of academic research at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Development of Emerging Economies in Venezuela, said that as Latin American left-wing political parties come to power, the call for Latin American integration and unity for self-improvement is getting louder, and the voice demanding that the United States stop interfering in Latin American affairs is also louder, and the bullying behavior of the United States in Latin America is increasingly resisted. (Participating reporters: Lin Zhaohui, Su Jin, Wu Hao, Zhu Yubo, Xu Ye, Wang Ying)
Source: Xinhuanet