While the conflict in Ukraine continues, the world discusses more and more the transition to multipolarity. Latin America is a field of conflict as well on that transition, with the US opposing the economic and military presence of extra continental powers such as Russia and China.
We spoke on the Latin American perspective on the Ukraine conflict with Rubén Zardoya, professor of philosophy and former Rector of the University of La Habana, Cuba.
What is your perception of the war in Ukraine?
This is a war between the United States and NATO on one side and Russia on the other, carried on Ukrainian soil. This armed conflict occurs between the forces of socialism and capitalism, or in the Left and the Right on the international level.
The conflict reflects the contradictions between the socialist and the imperialist camp. It buries the illusion that a range of agreements or compromises could solve these contradictions.
How do you evaluate the U.S. position in the conflict?
The United States has pushed Ukraine deliberately into war. They have been preparing, that is, arming and training the country since at least 2014 towards this war. They knew very well that Russia would not accept Ukraine’s NATO membership, and still insisted on it.
The reason behind that policy is that the U.S. is losing its global economic dominance, while it maintains a military one. In 2021, the U.S. accounted for only 16% of global economic production. Hence, humanity faces a dangerous moment when the U.S. might decide to use its military capacity in order to balance its economic losses.
The United States has lost the economic competition with China: In 2018, China’s exports surpassed that of the U.S. by 53%; since 2007, the U.S. economy has grown by 24%, while the Chinese achieved a growth of 177%.
Taken all together, the United States faces the fact of economic multipolarization, and responds to that militarily.
How do you evaluate an alliance between Russia and China in that context?
The results of the war in Ukraine are not only decisive for Russia but also for China, as I indicated above, and for the world in general.
A strategic or at least tactical alliance of Russia and China constitutes the most important element to dissuade the U.S. from pursuing more aggressive and risky policies and to keep it from engaging with nuclear weapons against one of these two countries.
There are currently two main forces to oppose U.S. military expansionism: 1. The economic development of China that enables the country in middle term to establish a military power comparable to that of the United States; 2. The opposition of the majority of the world’s countries from a moral and self-interested point of view.
In my opinion, forming a global front against the US militarism is the most crucial duty today.
How is the Latin American perspective on the conflict in Ukraine?
Latin America in general and Mexico and the Caribbean in particular are suffering US interventions since 200 years. They have occupied half of Mexico’s territory, and in Cuba, my country, they have intervened several times and dominated politics until the success of the Cuban Revolution.
Now for me as a Communist the goal is a socialist revolution worldwide. But while working towards that goal, I also am an anti-imperialist, a patriot, because every defeat of the United States is a defeat of its system of global domination.
On the other hand, if the U.S. succeeds in that conflict, they will turn much more aggressive towards the entire world. And for Latin America, that would mean that they dominate us even more.
What should Latin America do in this conflict?
Well, the continent should make the socialist revolution. But for the time being, and to be realistic, it is already doing what it should. We are fighting a battle against the political parties of the Right, that are neoliberal and anti-national, serving the interests of the transnational companies. And we are getting them down from power one by one.
And anti-imperialist governments replace these. Though these new governments are careful, moderate and not radical, they are also recovering sovereignty and changing foreign policy.
In regard to the Ukraine conflict, that implies that countries of our continent position themselves against US aggressions in multilateral organizations such as the UN, as well as struggling against their mass media and brainwashing. Or as Fidel has put it: “enter the war of ideas”.