Chury: Listeners, we are here as every Monday waiting for the communication with James Petras and we're in direct communication with him.

Petras good day, how are you?

Petras: Here we are in the normally cold winter, but we envy and the time from the South.

Chury: Here we are dealing with a lot of heat. To leave in the morning you have to wear a coat because temperatures have been the lowest in decades for an average month of December so we have not too hot around here.

Petras: Well, going against the tide of opinion that the world is warming.

Chury: Ah, yes, we go against all common here.

Petras, there was an election in Chile, won the right candidate, what assessment has been done with these first results?

Petras: I think the return on the right as a major force in Chile, reflects the exhaustion of the left center project, which many people think of the popular classes that development where the main focus of government policy is to keep fiscal accounts in stockpile situation and stimulate investment has had the effect of redistributing income. Inequality in Chile continue as before in the Pinochet era.

Second, there are episodes of corruption, but not systematically, between different government sectors.

Third, I have no alternative plan on how to tackle the problem of dependence on extractive sectors and how to foster more equitable social development. And the lack of alternatives and other factors mentioned, makes way for a billionaire spending lots of money to influence from the media about the dissatisfaction of the people.

This is one thing. The discourse is changing right in front of something that is not working for most people.

But on the other hand we also have the emergence of two seemingly center-left candidate, criticizing the government and make promises that they will end this political vacuum that represents the ruling Social Democrats, Christian Democrats.

On both sides then there is a polarization.

But we should note two things. The candidate Ominami is empty and contradictory discourse, has the right elements of populism and Arrate, supposedly the candidate of the left: Socialist Alliance, dissidents and communists, have announced they will support the candidacy of Frei, the candidate of the center continuity. And that seems an indication that there is a serious left, a left that seeks to use a flow of votes to negotiate some posts in the next government of the center, without any power and without much popular support at this time, 6 % I think they did.

And then India will go through a process of continuity with the past with Piñera, but perhaps some aspects of the harder right. You have to see how it is to express this component of the hard right. Perhaps more authoritarianism, more repression of the popular forces or may simply not share some memories of events like Allende and so on. some government official has said.

Chury: What if that candidate has right ingredients but also populist, Frei decided to accompany?

Petras said today that he will not accompany Frei because he says he is not willing to lend the prestige, the vote, and trust that it really is an alternative.

I think Ominami is young and looks towards the future, willing to sacrifice the candidate of the center to prepare to become the main center-left candidate in the forthcoming elections will be when forties.

Staying independent is important as posture and to generate the image you want that is a man of principle against ambiguity.

Chury: Petras, what other issues have been occupying your hours in analysis?

Petras: Well, at this moment I am analyzing U.S. relations with Venezuela in the last 20 years and scoring two important things. First, radical and progressive initiatives left in Venezuela, always come as a reaction to American aggression.

That is, when Bush announced the war against terrorism, interventionism necessarily Chavez must go to the opposition, rejecting the war against terrorism, saying that you can not fight terrorism using terrorist methods. That prompted the United States launched the coup in April 2002 after the lockout and the managers of the oil company. And as a consequence of this is that Chavez actually started the project of building a model he calls a socialist, nationalizing companies, banks, land reform and other measures that people can say.

Washington launched efforts to isolate Venezuela in return then launches ALBA Venezuela, Washington called for a boycott of military goods to Venezuela because Venezuela opened relations with Russia to buy arms.

The pattern is action-reaction. The U.S. unconsciously have actually caused the changes. I'm not saying that Chavez was not deeply popular ideas. But the impetus for these projects take Chavez's body is precisely the aggression of the empire.

And the second thing to note to explain the extremism of Bush and Obama is living on nostalgia, what I call reactionary romanticism, which is dreaming of the 90s when with President Caldera, with Menem, with Sanchez de Losada, was the golden era of privatization, large deliveries and theft of funds and transfers from Latin America to Washington and a conformity with the neoliberal policy. And when these employees were removed with the rule, is engraved in the minds of U.S. officials that must be and must remain the relationship between the U.S. and Latin America. They can not overcome and recognize that a new world, at least some changes in the economic and political guidance to a project independent bourgeois diversifying its relations and unwilling to subordinate themselves fully in the above manner. And when you work with this reactionary nostalgia, are unable to respond and continue to use political modes such as trying to impose free trade treaty which is outside of any possibility and are stricken from all countries. After launching a policy to isolate Cuba and generate again a unanimous rejection.

They live in this world who are fantastic but they do and play the drum and no one responds, as a policy is unsupported.

It's like watching an orchestra conductor's baton that is leading the musicians and no musician to lead and seems somewhat eerie.

That's part of the project I'm developing.

In addition, Venezuela has diversified its relationships, has strengthened the public sector, has created a strong popular base and a majority, but with enormous contradictions because in Venezuela the same government conciliators are sectors with the empire, there are policies that will zig zag: a day say they must break with Colombia and the next day say we must reconcile with Colombia, then Chavez is not exactly-at least in foreign policy-a coherent team. There are sectors that are of different orientation meet the challenge of imperialism. But every time Washington launched an attack, as the basis in Colombia, the most anti-imperialist necessarily have gained traction. How can pose reconciliation policies with Colombia and seek agreement with Washington, when they are establishing military bases for military aircraft 20 minutes from Caracas?

Again this policy is action and reaction: Washington launched the project and the seven bases Colombia, launched the coup in Honduras, and consequently there is little room for the sectors to find a basis conciliators and influence the sunshine policy.

Chury: Petras, ending: really sad what the Nobel Committee and the receiving of the Nobel Peace Prize by Barack Obama at a time when thousands of soldiers sent to pursue the war.

Petras: Yes, it's a farce. If it is true that Obama is very generally discredited. What happens now is that the Committee and the same award are devalued. With this act I think the prestige of the Nobel prize has lost much value. Now no one believes the award is given by some excellence that reflects the global sentiment that is a good merit for good conduct.

I think the Committee is ridiculous material for comedians. I think what happens is that every time you engage in such policies in the world lost recognition.

The same in Copenhagen now with this effort to manipulate the agenda and procedures to favor the home countries. In Europe and the United States has become a boomerang and today there is a boycott of 78 countries together for not attending the sessions.

I imagine that in the afternoon will be back together but there is a conflict environment that shows the division between North and South, between the imperialist countries and those who are questioning the current world order.

Chury: Well Petras, as always thank you in our name and hearing these tests. Te mando un abrazo desde Uruguay

Petras: A hug for you too and take advantage of good weather.

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James Petras is the author of more than 62 books published in 29 languages, and over 600 articles in professional journals, including the American Sociological Review, British Journal of Sociology, Social Research, and Journal of Peasant Studies. He has published over 2000 articles in nonprofessional journals such as the New York Times, the Guardian, the Nation, Christian Science Monitor, Foreign Policy, New Left Review, Partisan Review, TempsModerne, Le Monde Diplomatique, and his commentary is widely carried on the internet. James Petras, is a former Professor of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York, owns a 50-year membership in the class struggle, is an adviser to the landless and jobless in Brazil and Argentina, and is co-author of Globalization Unmasked (Zed Books) and Zionism, Militarism and the Decline of US Power (Clarity Press, 2008). Look for James Petras latest book Global Depression and Regional Wars: The United States, Latin America and the Middle East (Clarity Press September 2009) He can be reached at: jpetras@binghamton.edu. | Read other articles by James petras, or visit his website: http://petras.lahaine.org/index.php

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CHILE: ALIANZA SOCIALISTA, DISIDENTES Y COMUNISTAS, HAN ANUNCIADO QUE VAN A APOYAR LA CANDIDATURA DE FREI, EL CANDIDATO DEL CENTRO CONTINUISTA

15 de diciembre 2009

James Petras Comentarios para CX36 Radio Centenario

Comentarios para CX36 Radio Centenario, del sociólogo norteamericano, Prof. James Petras desde Estados Unidos. Lunes 14 de diciembre de 2009. “el retorno de la derecha como fuerza importante en Chile, refleja el agotamiento del proyecto del centro izquierda, que mucha gente de las clases populares piensa que ese desarrollismo donde el principal eje de la política gubernamental es mantener las cuentas fiscales en situación de acumular reservas y estimular la inversión no ha tenido el efecto de redistribuir los ingresos. Las desigualdades en Chile siguen como antes en la época de Pinochet” www.radio36.com.uy

Chury: Oyentes, estamos aquí como todos los lunes aguardando la comunicación con James Petras y ya estamos en comunicación directa con él.

Petras buen día, ¿cómo estás?

Petras: Aquí estamos, en el invierno frío como es normal, pero seguimos y con envidia por el tiempo que viene por el Sur.

Chury: Aquí no nos está tratando con mucho calor. Para salir por las mañanas hay que ponerse un abrigo porque las temperaturas han sido las más bajas en promedio en décadas para un mes de diciembre así que no tenemos demasiado calor por aquí.

Petras: Bueno, van contra la corriente de opinión de que se está calentando el mundo.

Chury: Ah, sí, vamos contra todas las corrientes aquí.

Petras, hubo una elección en Chile, ganó el candidato de la derecha, ¿qué balance has podido hacer con estos primeros resultados?

Petras: yo creo que el retorno de la derecha como fuerza importante en Chile, refleja el agotamiento del proyecto del centro izquierda, que mucha gente de las clases populares piensa que ese desarrollismo donde el principal eje de la política gubernamental es mantener las cuentas fiscales en situación de acumular reservas y estimular la inversión no ha tenido el efecto de redistribuir los ingresos. Las desigualdades en Chile siguen como antes en la época de Pinochet.

Segundo, hay episodios de corrupción, aunque no sistemáticamente, entre diferentes sectores oficiales.

Tercero, creo que no tienen ningún proyecto alternativo sobre cómo enfrentar el problema de la dependencia en sectores extractivos y cómo fomentar un desarrollo social más igualitario. Y la falta de alternativas y los otros factores que mencionamos, abre paso para que un multimillonario gastando mucho dinero pueda influir a partir de los medios de comunicación sobre la insatisfacción de la gente.

Eso por un lado. El discurso de la derecha es el cambio frente a algo que no está funcionando para la mayoría de la población.

Pero del otro lado tenemos también el surgimiento de dos candidatos