Article
The Good, the Bad, and the Benevolent Interventionist: U.S. Press and Intellectual Distortions of the Latin American Left
Latin American Perspectives
(2013)
Abstract
U.S. journalists and commentators have helped popularize the image of two distinct Latin American lefts: a “bad” left that is politically authoritarian and economically erratic and a “good” left that is democratic and committed to free-market economics. This binary image oversimplifies the Latin American left in three ways: by overstating the contrast between the two alleged camps, by ignoring complex realities within each camp, and by exaggerating the failings of the so-called bad-left governments. The distinction makes sense, however, as a strategy for countering the rise of independent left-leaning governments in Latin America. Binary characterizations of subordinate peoples reflect a common discursive response to popular resistance on the part of imperial interests and one with many precedents in the history of U.S.–Latin American relations. Widespread U.S. media adherence to the good-left/bad-left thesis is explicable given this context and given the historic and continuing dependence of the press on state and corporate interests.
Keywords
- United States,
- Media,
- Imperialism,
- Neoliberalism,
- Propaganda model
Disciplines
Publication Date
Spring May, 2013
DOI
10.1177/0094582X13476672
Citation Information
Kevin A. Young. "The Good, the Bad, and the Benevolent Interventionist: U.S. Press and Intellectual Distortions of the Latin American Left" Latin American Perspectives Vol. 40 Iss. 3 (2013) p. 207 - 225 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kevin-young/2/