NACLA as Coalition
Tyson, Brady
It is important for everyone who is interested in IACLA to keep in mind that it is being formed by a diverse group of individuals and groups. We have been drawn together by 1) our common sense of...
...At the New York meeting in February, a Latin American (Paulo Singer) insisted that a new, general theory of imperialism and the Latin American situation must be a high priority, and disagreed with the tendency among American scholars to multiply monographs that deal with specific and limited aspects of the overall problem...
...And they need not be disruptive but can perhaps provide the creative stimulation needed to force the birth of a radical, new conceptual framework for the study of Latin America...
...2) our common commitment to the necessity of a far-reaching social revolution in Latin America...
...John Gerassi is interested in a "non-academic" magazine that will report what is now absent from U.S...
...Many of the young professors and graduate students are interested in coordinating "independent research" of the type that the establishment is not likely to fund...
...Because of this diverse background, NACLA has developed what Steve Weissman has called a "pragmatic approach," or a "popular front...
...From the beginning, several distinct groups have consciously tried to work together to create NACLA...
...In coming together in NACLA it is hoped that now and then groups with specific interests will "spin-off" and form their own groups...
...Until something better appears, it seems to me that NACLA affords a good opportunity for study, action and dialogue among those of us who are committed to the liberation of Latin America from North American imperialism, and the preservation of the integrity of Latin American culture...
...Many people can be identified with several groups, or with no particular group...
...There is also an occasional "conflict of generations" in NACLA...
...Some feel that the major task is to educate the American public, or to create a radical alternative to present attitudes and policies...
...For instance, there are some of us in ACLA who are convinced that "violence is reactionary" (Glenn Smiley), while others hold hat there is no hope for Latin America except through a violent, social revolution...
...But, as Bill went on to say, these alliances are not based on suspicion but on honest differences in opinions and/or attitudes...
...Still others look upon NACLA as a way to form a cadre for the radical re-organization of American society, since "there is apparently no public conscience in the United States that can be appealedMACLA Newsletter, March '67 - 5 to" (Mike Locker...
...Also participating were ew Peace Movement people, "traditional" pacifists, left-Catholics, labor movement people, returned Peace Corps Volunteers, and various young professors and graduate students...
...4) the geographical dispersion of those of us interested in Latin America...
...Organizationally, the prime movers were SDS and University Christian Movement personnel...
...We have been drawn together by 1) our common sense of dismay as we perceive the obstructionist role of the United States in Latin America...
...As long as the essentially associational nature of NACLA is remembered, and it is conceived as a forum and not as a movement, these differences can contribute to a common, deeper understanding of U.S.-Latin American relations and can aid in defining common action projects...
...A few feel that it is legitimate and helpful to appeal to officials in the establishment in the hope of modifying some policies...
...3) our common sense of inadequacy because of the fewness of those of us interested in Latin America...
...Perhaps such groups can and will stay in NACLA also...
...Some are most interested in establishing alliances and conversation with the Latin American revolutionists to help them make their own revolution, while others feel that the Latin American revolution is largely contingent upon some form of revolution in the United States...
...And perhaps NACLA will find unanimous or near-unanimous opinion on specific problems as they arise...
...All of us work together in what Bill Rogers at Cornell called in a statement made at the February 11 meeting at NYU, a series of "uneasy alliances...
...Further, we have the tensions between the "Christers" (Catholic and Protestant) and those who have no particular religious motivation...
...and 5) a general feeling among us that our own perspectives (whatever they may be) need to be further developed and expanded...
...There is a difference in emphasis between the academically and the agitationally oriented, and between those who are interested in dialogue with all sectors (as exemplified by Brazilian Archbishop Dom Helder CAmara) and those who are convinced that talking with some people is a waste of time...
...SNCC has been interested and participated from the beginning...
...news media, and that will carry interpretative articles by North and Latin Americans...
Vol. 1 • March 1967 • No. 2
