The Plan

So what's the deal? Latin America is changing the world. The changes taking place within its borders have sparked changes in praxis across the globe. If that sounds a little over the top, let me elaborate. The social movements of the southern continent are restructuring social, political, and economic systems in ways that are redefining the possibilities of our world. That's a pretty fantastic feat. There are a variety of types of movements and the results are playing out in a multitude of ways- there are a few essays to this end along the sidebar, as well as links to other news and analysis sources on the region. What fascinates me is that many of Latin America's movements have moved away from traditional, resistance-based movements, and are now either working from within the central state power or as autonomous, independent sectors. These movements are seriously confronting the traditional hierarchies of power and economics in the name of the poor and the marginalized, in the name of human rights, and of dignity. The possibilities are stunning.

Of course when you fight in the name of the poor, you are not only working to grant dignity to lives that have been trampled, but to end the poverty which constrains them. Finding these movements inspiring is not enough- social empowerment remains incomplete when you're sick and hungry. But political and economic restructuring of this nature should, in theory, lead to "developmental" improvements as well. Does it do so in practice? How can it best do so? And if it does, as actors in solidarity, how can we support and augment those efforts? The development and international aid community, as "depoliticized" as it claims to be, should be obligated to support a movement that is bringing about such success. But how can it do so in a meaningful, respectful, effective way? This intersection has become my main point of fascination with what is happening.

Why the focus on health? First, health programs have historically been the most successful of all development efforts. Successful programs often sited in the development literature include the eradication of smallpox and massive immunization campaign implementation. Three of the eight Millennium Development Goals deal with health in some way. From a more personal perspective, health is one of the least politically contentious issues in the development world. Health is a service that communities cannot necessarily create on their own without some kind of assistance. In addition, a healthy population is a population more ready and able to organize and create meaningful change on their own terms. Additionally, Paul Farmer has pioneered the social justice approach to health, which combines practical action with social action. This rights based approach to development is echoed by Amartya Sen in his book, Development as Freedom.

So the plan. The plan is to head back to Latin America and check things out while also being as useful as possible, whatever that might mean. I am beginning in Mexico and working my way, by bus, down to Argentina. Where I can I will stop to participate in some public health efforts of the region, through PAHO and other organizations, to see what's going down on the ground on the international end of things. Otherwise I will be counting on the brilliance and kindness of the radicals of Latin America to help me try and see, understand, and participate in what they are in the process of building. I intend for this blog to be a kind of record of what I find, in terms of both international efforts and social movement theory and practice. Inevitably it will have some stories-about-me-traveling-about moments and such, but mainly I'm going to be nerding out about what I can find and get my hands on. Contacts, suggestions, comments, arguments, stories: all welcome.

Let's see where this goes, then. Onwards!