Seumas Milne

Seumas Milne’s, ‘The seeds of Latin America’s rebirth were sown in Cuba’, in Friday’s Guardian is one of the best articles on Latin America I’ve read in recent years. As the title suggests, Milne’s main argument is that the progressive political and social changes sweeping Latin America draw their inspiration from the Cuban Revolution 50 years ago. Milne also emphasises the impact that the failure of market reforms has had on radicalising politics across the region. He argues that Latin America was both the first region in the world to undergo neoliberal transformation, and the first to break away from an approach to policy-making, which is widely seen as responsible for some of the highest levels of poverty and inequality in the world.

Interestingly, Milne also raises the possibility that Latin America represents a model for what might happen in other parts of the world. Given the events in recent weeks in places as diverse as Iceland, France and Russia, where millions have protested against their governments’ handling of the financial crisis, there seems to be increasing evidence to support this view. I believe that we will see even more protests of this nature as ordinary people take to the streets to demand protection from their governments against the worst effects of the crisis.