Bolívar Remains the Horizon

In Bolivar Square, Caracas -- J.A. Vergara, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

By Guillermo R. Barreto

We are living in complex times in which U.S. imperialism is manifesting itself in an extremely aggressive manner, with greater violence and disregard for international law and the sovereignty of peoples, but with a desperation that translates into increasingly irrational decisions that openly threaten not only world peace but the future of all humanity. What we are witnessing is nothing less than the continuation of a process that began with the very founding of the United States, a process that took shape in the confrontation between two diametrically opposed models: the Monroe Doctrine and the Bolivarian Doctrine.

Simón Bolívar, the Liberator, defined Our America as the product of a heritage that was not solely Spanish or European. We are the children of Spain (usurpers of this land) just as much as we are of the indigenous peoples—the ‘legitimate owners of this land’—and of the millions of Africans who were kidnapped and brought to these lands and forced to work as enslaved labor, as stated both in Jamaica Letter in 1815 and in the Address at Angostura in 1819. Bolívar defines a distinct identity for the inhabitants of the American lands, which leads directly to the concept of sovereignty and the right and responsibility to defend it. For Bolívar, the new nations have a powerful foundation, stemming from their vast expanse, their natural resources, and their possession of a distinct identity, a common language, and a shared religion. The union of these nations emerges as a vital necessity with the aim of generating greater strength and providing the people with ‘the greatest possible sum of happiness, the greatest sum of social security, and the greatest sum of political stability,’ as he stated in the Address at Angostura. For Bolívar, unity and social justice are central elements. These are the foundations upon which we would relate to other nations in an equitable and respectful manner, thereby guaranteeing lasting peace and what Bolívar called the equilibrium of the universe.

In contrast to this line of thought stands the Monroe Doctrine. This was a speech delivered by U.S. President James Monroe in 1823—though written by his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams—and it would define U.S. foreign policy to this day. At the time it was delivered, the United States sought to make it clear that the affairs of the American continent were none of the European powers’ business. Some patriots in Spanish America welcomed this speech, seeing in it an ally that would defend them against any attempt by Europe to re-colonize the region. The reality is that the U.S. had clear plans to expand its territory and sphere of influence throughout the Americas.

At its core, the Monroe Doctrine embodies the myth of Manifest Destiny, according to which the United States—or, more accurately, white Americans—had been entrusted by God to bring freedom and democracy to the rest of the world. It is based on a position of superiority that allows them to define what freedom and democracy are and to determine who is free or a democrat. This is the vision that the slave-owning landowners who founded the United States held and expressed. I am referring to figures such as Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and others. When we hold dollar bills in our hands, we are in fact displaying a veritable altar dedicated to all of them.

One figure we cannot fail to mention is Alfred Mahan (1840–1914). Mahan was a historian and U.S. Navy officer whose work significantly influenced his country’s foreign policy; in fact, in the words of the Argentine intellectual Atilio Borón, he was the one who translated the Monroe Doctrine into geopolitics.

Mahan conducted an in-depth study of the British Empire, demonstrating the importance of naval power in maintaining global dominance. Mahan envisioned a path of development that begins with the establishment of foreign trade networks, a merchant marine capable of sustaining and supporting this trade, a powerful navy capable of protecting these vessels as well as trade routes, a network of bases and ports around the world where ships can resupply and repair damage, and a series of countries (neo-colonies?) that would allow the trade network to be organized in accordance with U.S. interests. Mahan considered the development of the navy and control of the seas—from the nearest waters, the Caribbean Sea (which he called Mare Nostrum), to the farthest reaches—a top priority. He considered it important to control the then Danish West Indies—sold to the U.S. in 1916 and now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands—as well as a couple of ports in Central America, and he was emphatic about the need to establish an interoceanic canal in Central America under full U.S. control. Control of the interoceanic canal could not be guaranteed without first securing dominance over the four Caribbean trade routes: the Yucatán Passage (between Cuba and Mexico), the Windward Passage (between Cuba and Haiti), the Mona Passage (between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic), and the Anegada Passage (near St. Thomas, east of Puerto Rico). Mahan also spoke of the importance of possessing Hawaii as a base for controlling the Pacific routes.

Mahan is a key figure who influenced presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt, and his influence is evident throughout U.S. expansionist policy. In fact, as of today, the United States has the largest military budget of any country: $1.537 trillion according to official 2022 figures, representing 6 percent of its GDP.

If we add to that the total NATO budget and take into account that the Alliance continues to operate, in practice, under U.S. control, we can see that the U.S. and its allies account for 74.3 percent of all global military spending.

The United States also has 902 military bases around the world, including a ring encircling China and Iran and a complete chain of military presence in the Caribbean. If we add to that its constant interference in the affairs of every country—through invasions, support for and promotion of coups, destabilization programs, unilateral coercive measures, control of the financial system, the powerful media apparatus, and the ever-present military-industrial-cultural complex—we have the Monroe Doctrine in its advanced stage.

Sorrowful examples, just in that ‘Mare Nostrum’ that Mahan refers to, include the numerous interventions in Haiti—including the disastrous MINUSTAH mission—the invasion of Grenada that led to the assassination of Maurice Bishop, the invasion of the Dominican Republic, and the funding and support of the counterrevolution in Nicaragua, the genocide in Guatemala, the death squads in El Salvador, and Colombian paramilitarism.

The U.S. has maintained an embargo against Cuba for more than 60 years, and this year it has escalated to levels of extreme aggression, brutally impacting the Cuban population, with the Trump administration not ruling out a possible armed intervention. In Venezuela, the hybrid war has escalated to the point of bombing Caracas on January 3, kidnapping President Nicolás Maduro and National Assembly Member Cilia Flores, and keeping the country under constant threat ever since—forcing the Bolivarian government to make complex decisions and creating an extremely difficult situation for the Venezuelan people.

The Monroe Doctrine is attempting to survive what is now the obvious decline of the U.S. empire. The U.S. has the world’s largest debt, estimated in the trillions of dollars, as well as internal social problems stemming from racial segregation, rising unemployment rates, difficulties in accessing healthcare and education, drug addiction, and violence. Beyond its borders, the United States is losing commercial control over vast regions of the world; it is falling behind in the technological race; its financial dominance is being challenged as never before by the BRICS+; and all that remains is its military might. All that remains is its policy of death—supporting and relying on local right-wing forces and openly promoting the resurgence of fascist tendencies, especially in Latin America.

The United States is an empire that has no friends and shows no mercy to those who do not submit to it. A decadent empire that knows it is mortally wounded and will go down fighting. That is what makes it so dangerous, and that is why the anti-imperialist struggle becomes more urgent every day. It is Bolívar versus Monroe. Life versus death. Consistency is urgently needed. We urgently need unity among anti-imperialist forces. Unity, as Simón Bolívar so often insisted.

Guillermo R. Barreto is Venezuelan and holds a Ph.D. in Science (University of Oxford). He is a retired professor at Simón Bolívar University (Venezuela). He served as Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, President of the National Fund for Science and Technology, and Minister of Ecosocialism and Water (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela). He is currently a researcher at the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research and a visiting scholar at the Center for the Study of Social Transformations-IVIC.

This article was produced by Globetrotter.