Voices of the Global South: 14-Point Peace and Prosperity Plan
An unsurprising lack of media attention has been given to the United Nations General Assembly meetings this month. Whereas speeches here tend to be full of platitudes and diplomatic tongue-biting, the world is changing. US hegemony over institutions seems to have peaked, and voices from the Global South are finally breaking through the noise.
I am writing this to amplify an incredible speech by President Luiz Arce of Bolivia, a socialist economist that has presided over the economic miracle of Bolivia’s last few years. The country has one of the world’s lowest inflation rates at the moment, and has seen tremendous growth since the US orchestrated and funded coup in 2019 that usurped Evo Morales.
Last week, Arce outlined an incredible 14-point program to achieve peace, common prosperity and cultivate a new world culture of solidarity. The speech was a direct attack on capitalism, but packaged in just enough formal language and diplomatic restraint to stand in the UN.
Here are the 14 points:
- Declare the world to be a zone of peace
This one at first glance seems a little naïve, almost. However, in the remaining points, we’ll see how the essence, the drivers, of imperialism can be combatted directly, leading to a clearer, more attainable path to peace. In general, wars of conquer and dominance cannot be allowed to continue, for both the planet and the people directly involved. The working class of the countries at war always suffer an outsized impact from global conflicts, both on and off the battlefield (in the form of austerity and sanctions). Just look at Europe, poised for one of the least secure winters of modern history, and with double digit inflation records across the continent. All to fall in line with the US proxy war on Russia. Even back home in the US we are not immune from the effects of this war, with ‘Putin’s price hike’ (largely price gouging and sanctions blowback) causing economic strife for the 60%+ Americans living paycheck to paycheck.
2. Substitute the manufacturing of weapons of mass destruction with just compensation for the poor people of the world
In line with point #1, we can see the full potential of cutting military funding right here in the heart of the empire. The US budget for discretionary military spending is over 800 billion dollars this year. This is only the recorded amount, and we can guess between all the proxy wars, pocket funds and client state military spending, the US empire is shelling out over a trillion dollars annually on death and destruction. Bringing this money back home and investing in our communities will have longer term return, stability and prosperity for all. Our built-on-genocide-and-slavery colonial empire owes a huge debt to those communities and the working class at large, as well as the Earth. The US military is the single largest polluter in the world right now. We can look directly at the Nord Stream sabotage, very likely orchestrated by the United States: the largest methane release in history. Our communities need substantial help in terms of secured housing, infrastructure improvements, and laying the foundations for an ecological civilization. We cannot wait.
3. Establish universal healthcare for all, fight back privatization of essential health services
This one makes intuitive sense to most people: healthcare is a human right, not a commodity to be exploited and maximized. We must take these services back from those whose sole goal is to increase profits. This is a blindingly obvious conflict of interest that has caused unrestrained damage and misery in the US and everywhere else where private healthcare remains.
4. Focus agricultural efforts on food sovereignty and ecological harmony
Food sovereignty has become a necessity in a world dominated by capitalist hegemony. The idea and framing of globalization inspired many in the 1990s, but was really just a PR spin for limitless exploitation. What could have been a new era of cooperation and international consciousness has really only served the ruling class in their pursuit of further profits. Although I do believe a new type of ‘globalization’ will take place under socialism, being able to take care of your own people is an extremely important priority for the Global South and everywhere else. It can offer security against unilateral sanctions as well as being ecologically more sustainable as we enter a new era of climate change.
5. Rebuild the productive and economic capacities of the country of the periphery hurt by the logic of the neoliberal capitalism (spearheaded by US capitalism)
In a direct condemnation of capitalism, Arce calls out the neoliberal order established in the 1990s with the United States at its head. He called for debt relief and alternatives to forced austerity in the IMF and World Bank system.
“The restructuring of the world financial architecture is vital for the relief of external debt on the global scale, so that we developing countries have the space to implement sovereign social policies from the perspective of integral and sustainable economic and social development.”
The amount of debt in the world is truly astounding, and releasing these shackles will require an end to capitalism as a system. It will also lead to much faster and stable development for the Global South, which is artificially suppressed and held back.
“Following the recovery of democracy in 2020,” he recalled, Bolivia returned to its “social, communitarian, productive economic model, a sovereign economic model in which we don’t accept and we will not accept impositions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).”
I love the directness of this statement. It shows a unity and shift in global politics towards solving the real problems in the world, and, most importantly, placing blame where it belongs. Global South countries are not inherently ‘backwards’ economically OR socially. All of these ailments are the product of colonialism and imperialism, and can be solved for with sovereignty and solidarity.
Arce said that Bolivia’s economic model, and the proposed blueprint for any and all countries in the world, “is based on the active role of the state in the economy, in the nationalization of our strategic natural resources, the articulation of all forms of economic organization, the strengthening of public investment, import substitution industrialization, the dynamization of the internal market, productive diversification, security with food sovereignty, redistribution of revenues, the struggle against poverty and inequalities.” This is the death knell of neoliberalism and the juvenile mindset of American conservatives, libertarians, and even anarchists, who denounce strong and active states.
6. The climate crisis requires responsibility, solidarity, and harmony between human beings and nature, not usury
Arce starts this section by calling out the Global North. He points out that they have been accountable and unequal in their climate ‘solutions’, failing to implement policies that recognize the uneven development and the outsized climate impact of the developed countries. For example, the United States is the #1 carbon emitter in the world with only 330 million citizens. China, who takes a ridiculous amount of criticism on climate issues, is #2 with 1.4 BILLION citizens. If China were to emit the way the US does, we’d have entered a climate apocalypse. Having said that, we are headed in that direction, and it is solely due to the priorities of capitalism.
“Perhaps the historic climate debtors want us all to worry only about the future, to avoid discussing in the present the broken promises made to developing countries about financing, technology transfers, and strengthening capacities.”
Although said with a certain level of sarcasm, the point of the statement stands.
“We are convinced that a future low in emissions and resilient to the climate is not possible if we keep concentrating wealth and incomes in a few hands….Therefore, to reverse the climate crisis we need to resolve the economic, social, and political contradictions caused by the capitalist model, as well as those that exist between human beings and nature.”
Here, Arce doesn’t allow the wiggle room green capitalists love to reside in: capitalism has got to go! Anyone even remotely serious about changing things will come to this conclusion. The issue, sadly, is that corporate owned newspapers are deeply unserious these days, avoiding the issue entirely and even shaming the Global South for their attempts to develop.
7. Industrialization of lithium (and other alternative energy sources), for the benefit of the peoples and a fundamental pillar for the energy transition
Similar to the healthcare point made earlier, Arce is signaling to the international community that one of the best ways to fight imperialism is to keep a tight grip on natural resources. In a post-profit world, this would secure countries abilities to sustainably develop and lead to deeper and more meaningful cooperation and sharing between countries. In a world still dominated by imperialism, this is primarily about controlling the resources that bring in funds for development projects. Allowing transnational corporations to own and distribute these resources often leads to export economies, where the citizens of the export country don’t even get preferential access to their own resources. Just look to Syria now, who is being invaded and occupied by the US and others for their oil. Keep this in mind next time the corporate media makes a lot of noise about al-Assad.
8. From nationalization to regionalization of the struggle against drug trafficking
This point shares a lot of synergy with another Global South leader from Columbia: Gustavo Petro. He had declared in his speech to the UN that the ‘war on drugs’ had failed. Petro pointed the finger at US militarization of Latin America and sponsoring of violent extremism that funneled drugs primarily back to the Global North.
“It remains clear that the war on drugs, principally the one unleashed by the United States, has failed…Therefore there is an imperative need that this country [the US] does a deep analysis about changing its policy, with attention to the fact that it has become one of the main consuming countries, which has resulted in the lamentable death of more than 100,000 people by overdoses and drug addictions inside of its territory.”
Arce mirrors Petro’s resolutions on drug trafficking here and elsewhere in his incredible speech. He calls out the biased focus on supply of drugs, saying that we should at the same time address the demand for drugs. This demand is caused by an alienated, suffering working class in the global north, many of whom are addicted to these drugs. Arce takes a materialist stance on solving this issue, saying that solutions should be socio-economic rather than violent. He argues nations should be allowed to pursue these policies independently, and that the unilateral sanctions placed on countries ‘causing’ the drug problem do more harm than good.
9. Strengthen international mechanisms for preferential treatment for landlocked countries
This issue is particular to Bolivia but one that much of the world shares. The domination of waterways across the world has been a key area of influence and profit extraction for colonialists and imperialists. Arce calls for universal access to waterways and security assurances for countries that are not naturally located near the sea.
10. Widen our restricted vision of human rights and democracy.
“We need to widen our restricted concept of human rights and their relation with democracy. Neither one of the two exists, when the preservation of the privileges of a few is done at the cost of the effective unfulfillment of the economic, social, and cultural rights of the majorities.”
Not much needs to be said here. What Arce is implying is that capitalism is not a democracy, nor is it able to appropriately address human rights. There is no guarantee of an individual’s existence or comfort in capitalism, only the continuance of the working class as a whole as a source of surplus value.
11. Intergenerational solidarity
This one is absolutely huge. The weaponization of generations against other generations is a necessity and goal of capitalism. It disrupts working class solidarity and engenders animosity in groups facing largely the same issues. Here’s an excellent podcast about this type of focus in media.
And, as a treat, checkout this absolutely monstrous headline from last month:
12. Declare the decade of depatriarchalization to struggle against all forms of violence against women and girls
Another incredible condemnation of patriarchal society, calling for a direct end to gender violence, particularly on victims of colonization and imperialism (as well as indigenous communities under settler governments).
Arce spoke about how COVID has exasperated these issues, and that intersectional campaigns against the patriarchy and gender norms will be necessary for true liberation (a nod to our transgender comrades fighting capitalist reaction).
“We are advancing policies oriented not only at strengthening regulatory goalposts but also attacking the structural causes of violence, from education, strengthening economic autonomy of women, and also through cultural processes, to transform that lamentable reality, rooted in patriarchy, as the oldest system of oppression, that has a feedback loop with colonialism and capitalism.”
Every country on earth should make this a priority. I’m unconvinced capitalist countries are capable of such a thing, and calling for a complete transformation of the economy and social life itself is the only way forward.
13. Reject unilateral sanctions
“It is inconceivable, in a world rocked by crises and the pandemic, that unilateral coercive measures are still applied with the goal of subduing governments, at the expense of people’s hunger and suffering.”
If we can take a step back and look at the world we are in, sanctions come across as unnecessarily cruel, exceptionally violent actions. When a single country can spearhead an entire sanctions imposition campaign against any country that crosses them, they hold unfair leverage over the world. Simple as.
Arce specifically calls out the Cuba blockade, which every year is voted against at the United Nations. It is inhumane political terrorism against a country that chose its own path. Arce uses this example to show that even the United Nations itself cannot consider itself democratic in light of this and other decisions. He is implicitly calling for an end to US hegemony and reform of the UN, to turn it into an effective international governance mechanism/body.
14. Guarantee the full validity of the UN charter and the principle of multilateralism
To finish, Arce reiterates “[t]he multidirectional crisis that the planet is going through as a result of capitalist ambition, far from being overcome, will get even worse if urgent measures are not taken”. These urgent measures hinge on a break from the unipolar world order, the ‘rules based’ order that imposes rules on some while granting nearly unlimited immunity to others.
Arce ends by claiming his country is in the process of revolution, at war with the profit system and endless consumption that puts the needs of the few over the needs of everyone. He calls on all in the international community to begin their own fight for freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity. The real kind, not the fake and hypocritical platitudes used to weaponize good nature against economic rivals.
Do you want to live in a world built on this sort of cooperation, trust, and security for all? A world where each nation is driven by a need to improve the situation of its citizens and humanity at large? I know I do.
A full English translation is available here. Please keep in mind the relative bias and flawed nature of English translations, and if you have corrections on what I have quoted above, please let me know.
