The Hindu : National : Rise of Left will reshape world politics: M.A. Baby

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Thursday, Jan 04, 2007
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Rise of Left will reshape world politics: M.A. Baby

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: The growing importance of the Left and democratic forces will marginalise imperialism, Kerala Minister for Education and Culture M.A. Baby said here on Wednesday.

In several Latin and Central American countries, the Left and progressive forces had formed alliances and were removing pro-imperialist forces from power through democratic means. "This is going to reshape world politics to a great extent," Mr. Baby said. He was addressing a meeting organised by Pablo Neruda School of Spanish and Latin American Studies.

Mr. Baby, long associated with the Cuban solidarity movement, said the Cuban revolution and Fidel Castro's leadership inspired other countries in the region. In Uruguay, people were aroused by the new Left alliance to assert their rights over the nation's natural resources. In Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega of the left-wing Sandinista National Liberation Front won the presidential election despite the United States' threat of cutting aid.

Praising Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, Mr. Baby said there was not just one Castro now. "New leaders are emerging. Each Latin American country is turning itself into a fortress of people aspiring for freedom and emancipation."

In South Africa, the Left was playing a crucial role along with the African National Congress. In India too, the Left was now wielding greater importance in national politics than in the past, thanks to the foundation laid by leaders. .

Presiding over the meeting which deliberated on the topic of Cuba, Latin America and the Empire, R. Vijaya Sankar, Associate Editor of Frontline, referred to the electoral successes of the Left in Latin American nations. Though what was happening in the region was not a "classical type of armed revolution," the signs were disturbing for the empire to ignore.

Gnalan Subramanian, director of the school, said his organisation would bring out Spanish literary works in Tamil and Malayalam.

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