The Liberal Peril and Anglo-Saxon Contagion: Latin American Responses from Rodó and Galeano

Abstract

Liberalism can be capitalism, democracy, liberty, or whatever it prefers when imposed freely in the Global South. Latin America makes no exception in having suffered the Liberal peril, primarily because of the Anglo-Saxon collaboration that never stopped stepping into the region. By retrieving the thinking of the Uruguayan intellectuals José Enrique Rodó (1871–1917) and Eduardo Galeano (1940–2015), this paper aims to show that in Latin America, liberalism is not in crisis. Instead, looking at the absurd justifications of Liberal arguments tailored for Latin America & the Caribbean, any single invasion of liberalism has been autochthonously countered by authors who still rely on Rodó and Galeano. A simple historical analysis provides evidence of the wounds imposed by Liberal democracy in the region. With the help of inefficient figures that liberalism would easily discard, the paper portrays the vast open need for consciousness about the Liberal peril in Latin America & the Caribbean.

            Keywords: Liberalism, Latin America, Galeano, Rodó, Capitalism, United States