Our America and Theirs
Kennedy and the Alliance for Progress: The Debate at Punta del Este
Ernesto Che Guevara
Showdown at Punta del Este: the debate on free trade in the Americas
To check the spread of revolution in Latin America after the Cuban revolution, Kennedy initiated the "Alliance for Progress"—a program for free trade and development in the Americas. Che Guevara, representing the Cuban revolutionary government, condemned the plan as a new strategy to subjugate the continent to US interests.
Quoting one of the historic fighters for Latin America's independence, José Martí, Che Guevara argued at the Punta del Este conference in 1961: "Let us be in union with the whole world, and not just a part of it; not with one part against another. If the republics of the Americas have any function at all, it is certainly not to be herded by one of them against the future republics."
The book includes never before published material, such as Che's televised speech outlining the issues posed by Kennedy's plan. It also demonstrates how this 1960s debate is still raging in the discussion about Washington's proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) to which Venezuelan President Chávez has counterposed the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA).
This is a classic text in understanding the past, present and future of Latin America.
