21

Oct

12:52am
Own Correspondent
Shaw: ‘Those who are responsible for neocolonialism cannot pretend to bring the cure’

Shaw: ‘Those who are responsible for neocolonialism cannot pretend to bring the cure’

Own Correspondent//12:52am, Oct 21st '22

Danny Shaw, an American political analyst and professor at the City University of New York, spoke to The International about Haiti’s struggle for freedom.

The Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry recently called for foreign states to send troops to help bring order to his country, a request that echoes deep into the colonial history of the impoverished nation. Shaw pointed out that if there was a military intervention, it would be the fifth such event in just a century. Noting the hypocrisy of the West and its pretence of acting in the name of the international community, Shaw told us: “We have to push back against this evil euphemism, ‘the international community’. The United States and its allies are in no position to talk about the ‘international community’.”

Haiti has long been misunderstood in the West, Shaw observes: “You have to go back in history and understand that this nation has never been poor, but rather an exploited, oppressed and misunderstood country."

If you read our blogs then why not our magazine!!!
Image
Click here to subscribe our monthly magazine

In a recent interview with Yasmel Corporán, Shaw commented that foreign powers’ investments in Haiti mean that nothing there escapes their notice. But the Haitian people don't need foreign interference, he argued. Rather they want to be left in peace to determine their own destiny. When Corporán asked if Haiti can really overcome its problems by itself - its fuel shortage, health crisis, problems with crime, social crisis - Shaw insisted that it could, arguing that the recent protests in the country are a sign of a people seeking positive change for their country: "What we are seeing right now is a continuation of the protests that began years ago. The people have the right to protest, to mobilize,” he said, adding that, of course, he did not pretend that the path ahead was an easy one.

Recent years have seen a resurgence of the left in Latin America, a return of the so-called Pink Tide. Shaw applauds this, and looks forward to a free Haiti that would stand have an independent foreign policy, free to speak to whoever it wanted without worrying about what the US or its allies thought: “A true ‘international community’ would mean that the Haitian people were in dialogue with Caracas, Havana, La Paz, Managua, Beijing, Moscow, Harare. That is to say, dialogue with countries that are in resistance, countries that are building a truly multipolar world,” he told The International.

The US offers a unipolar world, dominated by itself and its allies, together with the neoliberal capitalist experiment of “globalization”, which Shaw prefers to call “Gringoization” in Latin America because it has been so one-sided. US economic power, he believes, is now clearly on the decline, even as the superpower retains its military supremacy.

Just as the resurgent left in Chile, Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia reflects a weakening of neocolonial influence in the region, Haiti must similarly avoid falling into the trap of following US and Western prescriptions. “Those who are responsible for the disease of neocolonialism cannot pretend now to bring the cure," says Shaw. Looking at history, he believes that “a mobilized people is a conscious people” and the current mobilization in Haiti may therefore be the precursor to real change.

IMPERIAL THEFT
Jose Luis da Silva Neto Brazil//11:13pm, Mar 16th '22

IMPERIAL THEFT

The subjugation of one nation by another, colonialism, takes on various bodies and forms. Throughout history, the goals of colonialist nations may vary according to the socio-spatial environment, but in....

Read More
Book Review: Return Of The Public
Megan Sherman UK//2:08am, Mar 5th '22

Book Review: Return Of The Public

Dan Hind certainly has a sophisticated understanding of how the corporate political economy of contemporary media degrades the moral fibre of journalism, as well as understanding the practical policy requirements....

Read More
To You Beloved Comrade
Paul Robeson//5:35pm, Dec 21st '22

To You Beloved Comrade

There is no richer store of human experience than the folk tales, folk poems and songs of a people. In many, the heroes are always fully recognizable humans—only larger and more embracing in dimension.....

Read More
South Africa Takes Israel to International Court for Genocide in Palestine
Sourav Chakraborty Executive Editor//6:15am, Jan 6th '24

South Africa Takes Israel to International Court for Genocide in Palestine

In a gripping turn of events, South Africa has taken a powerful stance for Palestine, throwing down the gauntlet by officially filing a case against Israel in the International Court of Justice. Delving....

Read More
HAVANA'S HOPES: SECURING REVOLUTIONARY FUTURES
Titas Ganguly USA//10:33am, Jul 29th '21

HAVANA'S HOPES: SECURING REVOLUTIONARY FUTURES

Keiko Fujimori was clearly inspired. In April this year, as news came in of teacher-union activist Pedro Castillo’s possible victory in the Peruvian general elections, Fujimori (daughter to former strongman-president....

Read More
Starvation cannot bring the resilient Cubans to their knees
Chathura Dissanayake Srilanka//12:14pm, Jan 6th '22

Starvation cannot bring the resilient Cubans to their knees

Cubans will be celebrating the 62nd national day on the 1st of January 2022. This anniversary celebration comes at a time when US administration has imposed economic sanctions and financial embargo in....

Read More