The School of the Americas (SOA) reveals the true face of American democracy.
At this institution, where an undeclared amount of taxpayer's dollars is spent,
security forces from around the world train. In this training process, priests,
health care workers, teachers, students and all who fight for social change
against traditional oligarchy are declared "subversive". The
methodologies taught come from counter insurency manuals, where kidnapping,
assassination and other terrorist techniques are standard ways of removing
"subversion" from the political and social process. Over 58,000
people have trained at SOA, primarily from Latin and Central America. Even
though the U.S. Army considers the SOA to be responsible for the installation
of more "democratic" regimes, leaders from all over the Americas have
called the SOA, "The largest base for destabilization in Latin
America" and "the school of assassins".
The school was founded in 1946 as a means of maintaining the U.S.
strategic, military and economic hegemony in the region. It was originally
founded in Panama, and it was under Kennedy and his Alliance for Progress that
in 1963 the school was re-designated as the School of the Americas. the
primary purpose of the school was to "contain Communism". However,
typical foreign policy has viewed poor and non-represented indigenous people
fighting for a place in the decision making process as "communist",
largely because they are anti-imperialist and use national rhetoric.
What the relationship between the U.S. government and its economic
dependents in Central and Latin America really reflects is the bias held by
foreign policy managers, who are never elected and often come directly from
corporate managerial positions. Unfortunately, these managers still often serve
the corporate interests even after they are in the public sector. What is good
for corporations and what is good for the people is often dialectically
opposed. These people hold a great responsibility in their hands as they shape
the world's view of who and what Americans are.
All too often in the low intensity conflicts of the present, the
struggles between poor people in resource rich countries and dictatorial
regimes installed by the U.S. government and in the death and destruction
of Native people and Native land. This shows that for all the voicing of
Democratic ideals, very little real democracy has reached the bottom of the
socio-economic and political ladders.
Indigenous people of Central and Latin American countries are clearly
under-represented in land ownership and political power. Due in part to the
Spanish colonial system, in place until recently, Indians of the Americas find
themselves members of large, disenfranchised and powerless masses do prevalent
n the socio-political landscape of the developing world. When such people fight
the injustice perpetrated against them, using whatever particular means they
find appropriate, they find the power of both government and corporations
amassed against them. They are demonized in the media, the educational system
and the work place.
* Dennis Banks Home
Page; Walk for Justice.
Cuestiones de
América Nš 10, Agosto-Septiembre de 2002
Regresar a la Página Principal...