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Radio War Nerd EP #206 — Bolivia & US Imperialism in Latin America, with Greg Grandin (Patreon)

Published:
2019-11-20 21:46:33
Imported:
2026-06
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Guest: Greg Grandin, author, journalist, professor 

Recorded: November 19, 2019

Trying to make sense of the recent coup in Bolivia, the War Nerd talks to Greg Grandin, one of the premiere historians & writers on US "meddling" in  Latin America. We discuss Bolivia, coups, North American leftist discourse, and the whole sordid history of the USA using Latin America as the Empire's Workshop — the title of Greg's remarkable book that everyone should read. 

Read Greg Grandin's books — "Empire's Workshop", "Fordlandia" & his newest book, "The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America". 

Total time: 2:01:35

Direct link to this episode's mp3 here 

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Ellen Harold

A commenter on Naked Capitalism (MRLost, 9/12/2019, links ) pointed out US law forbids sending foreign aid to a country whose government has been replaced by a coup. He cites a WaPo article from 2013 when Morsi was replaced by (former) General Sisi (2013): MRLost: "So this completely changed the US definition of a coup from what one would normally consider as a description of a change in government forced by the military-- to a definition that considers as most important who got replaced. If a more left wing government is replaced by a more right wing government, then it’s not a coup. (Thank you Obama!)" He goes on, "I expect the Bolivian army receives a hefty chunk of change from the US for the purpose of combating the drug trade. Wouldn’t want to threaten that x-fer of funds." Anyway, that's why we now say, "change in government" or "regime change" instead of "coup". Here's another link, not behind paywall: http://swampland.time.com/2013/07/03/apparent-egyptian-military-coup-puts-obama-in-bind-on-military-aid/ Greg Grandin is brilliant-- terrific. Wonderful show!

Chris Burton

Really looking forward to this one. I read Greg Grandin's "End of the Myth" earlier this year and it does a fantastic job of tracing the historical evolution of the American pysche towards the border with Mexico by analyzing the "frontier" and American expansionism/Imperialism. To relate it back to the previous podcast on the Wars of Reconstruction, I was shocked to learn of all the violence along the border throughout US history. It was fairly consistent and widespread but also ignored in mainstream American history, not unlike the post-Civil War violence doled out to newly freed African Americans in the South. Also in "End of the Myth," Grandin talks about how the true melding of the North and the South in post-Civil War American was achieved in US Wars of Imperialism, specifically when the conquered were people of color. Southerners embraced the American Imperial mantra of spreading "freedom and liberty" while also indulging their violent racist tendencies, and Northerners loved them for it. The Confederate battle flag, also known as the Stars and Bars, was allowed to be carried into battle by US soldiers that hailed from the South. A crazy but telling fact is it was the first flag hoisted over Japanese headquarters at Okinawa during WWII. Empire Workshop has been sitting on my bookshelf. Need to finally crack it!

Benjamin Cheney

I immediately became a Grandin fan when I read Fordlandia

Mark Ames

Yes. The "intelligence community" is a fucking cuckoo's nest.