The recent events in Venezuela, which included bombing of the capital Caracas and some other cities, and kidnapping of its President Maduro by US forces, are extremely worrying, and call for an insightful explanation. I am here giving my own.
In 1823 US President Monroe proclaimed the ‘Monroe Doctrine’ , which announced to the world that Latin America ( that is countries south of USA ) was a US backyard, and all countries therein were in the US sphere of influence. No European power would henceforth be allowed to interfere with US domination in this region.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroe_Doctrine
Latin American countries were reduced to the status of US neo-colonies i.e. sources of cheap raw materials, cheap labour, and markets for the growing US industries
https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/neocolonialism-latin-america
https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Courses/Long_Beach_City_College/Sociology_of_Latin@s%3A_An_Intersectional_Approach_(Ramos)/02%3A_Colonialism_and_Neo-Colonialism/2.03%3A_Neo-Colonialism_and_U.S._Intervention
Whenever a government was formed ( by election, military coup, or otherwise ) in a Latin American country which threatened the interests of big US corporates ( e.g. by nationalising industries or land ), the US government would overthrow that government, either by directly sending in US troops, as happened in Panama, Granada, etc, or by using local surrogates, as happened in Gautemala, Chile etc, and execute a regime change
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_invasion_of_Panama
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_invasion_of_Grenada
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Chilean_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat
https://sanhati.com/excerpted/17343/
http://www.hechohistorico.com.ar/trabajos/valores_socioculturales/lecvmx302.html
An attempt was made by Che Guevara to spread revolution in Latin America, but that totally failed and he was executed in 1967
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Che-Guevara
So Latin America remained a US backyard, i.e. US a neo-colony, and would have remained so but for a historical event : the meteoric rise of China as an industrial super power, next only to USA
https://marxist.com/the-meaning-of-the-rise-of-china.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Century
https://www.theindiaforum.in/international-affairs/chinas-rise-dominance
https://www.oerproject.com/OER-Materials/OER-Media/HTML-Articles/AP-World-History/Unit9/Rise-of-China
According to The Economist, today China accounts for 30% of the world’s manufacture, more than the US, Germany, Japan and South Korea combined. There is no sign of stopping, as China’s value-added industrial output, or new value created by industry, continues to grow at around five to six percent yearly.
port Image Jaxer Wikimedia Commons
Gone are the days when China only produced low quality clothing, toys, and daily accessories. The words ‘Made in China’ are now linked with the world’s most advanced tech products. Since 2020, China has been dominating the world’s production of computers and electronics, chemicals, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, basic metals, fabricated metals, and electrical equipment.
Moreover, China has become a powerhouse in research and innovations. Today, seven out of the world’s top 10 research institutions, according to Nature Index, are Chinese. It dominates the field of robotics both in patents filed (two thirds of which are from China) and in number of robots installed, with more than the rest of the world combined.
In the last decade Chinese overseas investment has skyrocketed. Today the Chinese are everywhere–Asia, Africa, Latin America, and of course USA and Europe. Their Belt and Road Initiative is a network of roads, railways, oil pipelines, power grids, ports and other infrastructure projects connecting China with the world.
One of the biggest concerns for US leaders is the Chinese massive economic penetration of Latin America, thus undermining the Monroe Doctrine, which till now has prevailed in this region. Latin America is a huge source of raw materials and cheap labour for US industries, and a huge market for its products. Now the Chinese are posing a big threat to US domination in this region.
The amount of bilateral trade between China and Venezuela expanded about 24-fold from $742,417,000 in 2003 to $20 billion in 2012. Moreover, during this same time period, Venezuela became China’s fourth largest supplier of oil. The two countries established the China-Venezuela Joint Fund in 2007.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93Venezuela_relations
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For nearly two decades, China has been more than just a trading partner for Venezuela: it was a key political backer, a financial lifeline during the worst years of sanctions, and an ally willing to defy the isolation imposed by the United States when Hugo Chavez, a strong critic of the USA, was President. China has over 105 billion dollars in loans invested in Venezuela
https://theprint.in/diplomacy/whats-at-stake-for-china-in-venezuela-a-100-billion-in-loans-and-a-crumbling-economy/2817924/
China’s greatest concern over the recent developments would be that its investment in Venezuela would be adversely affected by the current political crisis caused by the US. One possible risk for China, should a pro-US government eventually take over Venezuela, is potential restrictions on Chinese oil companies, while the doors of convenience for American oil firms will be widely opened.
Thus, my explanation for the recent developments in Venezuela is this :
(1) On the one hand, the US Government is determined to continue the Monroe Doctrine, and be the sole force in Latin America, and feels its economic interests threatened if some other country starts intruding, trespassing, and encroaching into what the US regards its exclusive economic zone
(2) On the other hand, China has become a mighty, expanding, industrial power, which needs areas where it can profitably invest in, and one such area it has found is Latin America, where it has already made huge investments. China would certainly be strongly opposed to the US action in Venezuela, fearing that it may be squeezed out by a US installed puppet government, and lose its huge investments.
The action of the US Government in Venezuela is to send a harsh message to the leaders of all Latin American countries that they will meet the same fate as President Maduro ( he was kidnapped , blindfolded, handcuffed, and taken to America to face a kangaroo trial ) if they try to break out of the US hegemony.
But it can be certain that the Chinese, who are also a super power, will not take this lying low. With their ally Russia, the Chinese will certainly strike back. What form, and how much time, that takes is to be seen
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