I agree wwith most of what you say. But I do not think we should place
some kind of hope in the "National military" in Latin America and
"their concern for their own people"
I do not want to sound absolute here (there are exceptions in terms of
individuals and they are known), but in general, the military
institutions of Latin America are the direct decendants of the armed
spanish criollos, which in Chile and Argentina, and in most of Latin
America developed the fight to exterminate indians as an extension of the
fight for "independence."
In El Salvador General Barrios (the great liberal fighter for the
unification of Central America), as liberals did in many other countries
in the region (Guatemala, as a tragic example), set the legal frame and
initiated the "new nation's"
oppression and cultural if not physical extermination of the indigenous
peoples.
In central America, the fight for "independence" from Spain was so
lukewarm, that you may consider that alll the "proceres" were part of
the Spanish military machine, they just happened to shift sides.
The mentality of the criollo who fought for independence is not that
different form that of the conquistador, the criollo just happened to
decide to stay, but in his world of values "the madre patria" will
remain, as a remainder of the difference between him and the rest:
indios, mestizos, cholos, morochos, zambos y negros.
The nation of the dominat sectors in Latin America is different form that
of the majority of the population.
The concept of nation of the military has always been something foreign
but precious that you have tried to impose onto the mass of savages.
No wonder that when the doctrine of "National Security" is developped by
the "vecinos del norte," it is so easily assimilated by "our" military.
"Our" military have even refined it (Guatemala, Argentina).
It was so easy for "our" military to understand that "National Security"
meant to defend the interest of another "nation" (another culture), and
impose them onto the majority. They just had to make some
historical adjustments in their mind set and out they were to do their
job. One updating equation, with it's regional nuances will be:
Indios = Communists
(pobres) (terrorists)
(rotos) (savages)
(morochos)
Finally, isn't it a shame? Should we be surprised to learn through recent
newspapers reports that the majority of the Chiefs of Staff of "National
Defense" in Guatemala have (at least) maintained close friendship
relations with the heads of a "foreign nation" spy agency?
Who's "nation" are "our" military "defending?"
Decia mi madre, "Dios mio salvame de los salvadores".
Carlos Osorio National Security Archive
Phone: (202) 994-7219 Suite 701, Gelman Library
Fax: (202) 994-7005 2130 H St. NW
Email: cosorio@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu Washington, D.C. 20037
On Thu, 13 Apr 1995, Victor O. Story wrote:
B
> The recent post on the recent exposure of another murderer trained at the
> SOA should help clear the air of some of the crap the SOA puts out.
> Comrade Martel's attempts to make the SOA look clinical are worthy of
> comment. His hype is exactly what the SOA is all about. The school does
> not teach torture. Instead, it practices an insidious form of
> indoctrination, wherein the Latin American officers are shown, ever so
> quietly, that "democracy" is considered "good" by the US sources of money
> to the Latin American military establishments, and "communist threats"
> are evil, and of course, being careful to always work to destroy evil and
> promote good is what Comrade Martel is all about, so heck, who is too
> stupid to not get the message: do whatever it takes to destroy elements
> the US military identifies with "COMMUNIST THREAT" and the money will be
> paid to support the military establishment in Latin America. This is the
> mentality in the US army and the LA armies, in spite of the tremendous
> differences between the US and LA cultures and national interests, and
> both sides use this quiet rapport to channel money, build cliques, and
> organize murder of progressives trying to help the people of Latin
> America. It is shameful that the SOA exists, even more shameful that we
> pay for it, and perhaps more shameful of all, is the fact that the
> so-called nationalist military officers in Latin America sell out their
> own people playing this game.
>
> Victor Story
> Latin American History
> Kutztown University
>