Underdevelopment is in mind The case of Latin America

Abstract

The astonishing events in Eastern Europe in recent years have signaled the collapse not only of communist regimes but also of the theoretical building of Marxism-Leninism. Less noted has been an impact of comparable significance on Latin American intellectual and political circles, where dependency theory had prevailed for four decades. That theory, which blames the so-called "imperialism" of the United States for the underdeveloped conditions of Latin America, a theory rooted in the Leninist doctrine of imperialism, has been buried by the combination of the anti-communist revolution in Eastern Europe, the results of this year's Nicaraguan elections, and the astonishing growth of the so-called "four dragons"-Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore-within a distinctly "dependant" scheme.

In other words, it has been proven that the foundation of much of intellectual and political activism in Latin America after World War II (and, I must add, an important part of intellectual activity in the United States, Canada and Western Europe) has essentially been a myth. But such a seductive and universal myth dies slowly, and while Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, Romanians, and even Russians, who have lived the reality of Marxism-Leninism, are crushing the statues of Marx and Lenin, some left-wing Latin intellectuals are referred to with the explanation that there are no flaws in doctrine but in leaders.