The War on Democracy - a documentary by Chris Martin, John Pilger (6.2007)

Award winning journalist John Pilger examines the role of Washington in America's manipulation of Latin American politics during the last 50 years leading up to the struggle by ordinary people to free themselves from poverty and racism. Since the mid 19th Century Latin America has been the 'backyard' of the US, a collection of mostly vassal states whose compliant and often brutal regimes have reinforced the 'invisibility' of their majority peoples. The film reveals similar CIA policies to be continuing in Iraq, Iran and Lebanon. The rise of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez despite ongoing Washington backed efforts to unseat him in spite of his overwhelming mass popularity, is democratic in a way that we have forgotten or abandoned in the west. True Democracy being a solid 80% voter turnout in support of Chavez in over 6 elections.

Synopsis:
Set both in Latin America and the United States, the film explores the historic and current relationship of Washington with countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. Pilger says that the film "...tells a universal story... analysing and revealing, through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths. It allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called "war on terror". According to Pilger, the film's message is that the greed and power of empire is not invincible and that people power is always the "seed beneath the snow".

Pilger interviews several ex-CIA agents who purportedly took part in secret campaigns against democratic countries and who he claims are profiting from the war in Iraq. He investigates the School of the Americas in the U.S. state of Georgia, where General Pinochet's torture squads were reportedly trained along with tyrants and death-squad leaders in Haiti, El Salvador, Brazil and Argentina.

The film uses archive footage to support its claim that democracy has been wiped out in country after country in Latin America since the 1950s. Testimonies from those who fought for democracy in Chile and Bolivia are also used.

Segments filmed in Bolivia show that for the last five years huge popular movements have demanded that multinational companies be refused to access the country's natural reserves of gas, or to buy up the water supply. In Bolivia, Pilger interviews people who say that their country's resources, including their water and rainwater, were asset stripped by multinational interests. He describes how they threw out a foreign water consortium and reclaimed their water supply. The narrative leads to the landslide election of the country's first indigenous President.

In Chile, Pilger talks to women who survived the pogroms of General Augusto Pinochet, in remembrance of colleagues who perished at the hands of the dictator. He walks with Sara de Witt through the grounds of the torture house in which she was tortured and survived. Pilger also investigates the "model democracy" that Chile has become and claims that there is a façade of prosperity and that Pinochet's legacy is still alive.

The film also tells the story of an American nun, Dianna Ortiz, who tells how she was tortured and gang raped in the late 1980s by a gang reportedly led by a fellow American clearly in league with the U.S.-backed regime, at a time when the Reagan administration was supplying the military regime with planes and guns. Ortiz asks whether the American people are aware of the role their country plays in subverting innocent nations under the guise of a "war on terror". Former CIA agent and Watergate scandal conspirator Howard Hunt, who describes how he and others overthrew the previously democratically elected government. Hunt describes how he organised "a little harmless bombing". Duane Clarridge, former head of CIA operations in South America is also interviewed.

Pilger traveled through Venezuela with its president, Hugo Chavez, who he regards as the only leader of an oil-producing nation who has used its resources democratically for the education and health of its people. The Venezuelan segment of the film features the coup of 2002, captured in archival footage. The film holds that the 2002 coup against Chavez was backed by rich and powerful interests under U.S. support and that Chavez was brought back to power by the Venezuelan people. Pilger describes the advances in Venezuela's new social democracy, but he also questions Chavez on why there are still poor people in such an oil-rich country.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• John
• Pilger
• US
• Bush
• democracy
• Latin
• America
• CIA
• Iraq
• Iran
• Lebanon
• Venezuela
• Hugo
• Chavez
• protests

[TheFreejac]

Socialism rules. amerika sucks air.

[Kzaaps]

@andrik1978

We did some "Harmless bombing"

[Kzaaps]

@andrik1978 Dude like Pilger said it was ok to

topple democratic leaders because they were not so

Market Capitalistic ? Yeah they were communists right ?

Haha lol ! It's U.S.A who is fully communist I mean Bailouts ?!? Really ?

They socialize losses and privatize winnings, works really well. Everybody knows your lies now. 7,1 growth on the backs of the poor is great is it not ? Don't forget to cut down whole fucking rain forest while you are at it or send your love bombs.

[5334881]

I do hope America will fall down soon to the ashes, like every other empire of evil, violence and expolitation in the history of humanity. I do hope, really God doesn't bless America anymore.

[aynradd]

!✿! • |2ight On • !✿!

A World |2evolution Now

[GreenGoSolar]

☼ Donec ♫ αγάπη ♥ स्वतंत्रता ∞

[andrik1978]

Although I am very critical of CIA actions abroad in general, it is guys like Chavez that make sure there is still a reason for the CIA to interfere and exist. For the good of the Venezuelan people I sincerely hope that the CIA will succeed in plotting a coup against him one day...

[andrik1978]

@floppymax From the other perspective?? Have you been to Venezuela recently? All you hear there is governmental propaganda...because Chavez has banned all opposition media. So your "other perspective" in Venezuelan terms would actually refer to those been stripped of all rights during this current, totalitarian regime. And yes, I have been to Venezuela several times...

[andrik1978]

@Kzaaps Yes, Chile. Chile has had the world´s highest average economic growth rate since 2006. In fact, in this year of more financial downturn Chile is still achieving a 7,1% annual growth. Why, you ask? Because unlike in many other Latin nations they havent been tricked in to adopting populist, socialist policies like those of Chavez

[andrik1978]

@TheStamon You seriously need to study statistics and Latina American societies, buddy. Several Latin American countries have a good number of middle class people. Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Costa Rica and more..they arent really 3rd world nations at all.

A good example: Cristina Kirchner may be Argentina´s (corrupt) current president, but she only achieved 24% of the votes in Buenos Aires where people have more studies and more societal knowledge than in the poor countryside.