Katherine Hoyt *, Nica Notes, January 18th 2024
https://afgj.org/es-LA/nicanotes-new-house-resolution-would-annul-the-monroe-doctrine?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=b3c45e1f-090b-4765-bf19-cc2d69699550
In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt added the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.
It stated that the United States could become involved in a Latin American country’s internal
affairs in cases of what the US judged as “wrongdoing” by that Latin American country.
(Cartoon by William Allen Rogers 1904.)
On the 200th anniversary of its announcement to the US Congress by President James Monroe, Representative Nydia Velasquez (D-NY) introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives calling for the annulment of the Monroe Doctrine. This Doctrine, as Rep. Velasquez’ stated, has been used to justify American intervention in Latin American affairs throughout the policy’s history. The Doctrine, issued by President Monroe on Dec. 2, 1823, stated that any interference in the Americas by a European power would be viewed as a hostile act by the United States. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt added the Roosevelt Corollary, which stated that the United States could become involved in a Latin American country’s internal affairs in cases of what the US judged as “wrongdoing” by that Latin American country.
House Resolution 943 is also co-sponsored by Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) Jesus Chuy Garcia (D-IL), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), and Greg Casar (D-TX). Rep. Casar said in the press release announcing the resolution, “U.S. foreign policy has too often contributed to instability in Latin America. Instead of toppling duly-elected governments, we can support democracy, grow our economies, and reduce forced migration. Instead of sanctions that starve our neighbors, we can work together to solve the climate crisis. We can begin charting this new way forward by eliminating the outdated Monroe Doctrine.”
Click here to ask your Representative to co-sponsor HR 943 and get rid of the Monroe Doctrine!
The action alert put out by World Beyond War, says “Imagine what you think the text of this resolution probably says…. It’s better than that.” And it is!
In a series of “Whereas,” the Resolution traces the history of US intervention in Latin America from the annexation of Texas and of over half of Mexican territory in the 1840s to the 2019 right-wing coup in Bolivia. The longest paragraph covers the period in the 1980s when the United States funded genocide in Guatemala, murderous paramilitary death squads in El Salvador, and the violent contras trying to overthrow the revolutionary Sandinista government of Nicaragua.
The Resolution then says, “be it resolved that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that… the Department of State should formally confirm that the Monroe Doctrine is no longer a part of United States policy toward Latin American and the Caribbean; [and] in place of the Monroe Doctrine, the Federal Government should develop a ‘New Good Neighbor’ policy, designed to foster improved relations and deepen more effective cooperation with all the countries of the hemisphere.”
The Resolution calls for a new approach to promoting development based on a respect for the integrity of the sovereign economic development plans of the region’s governments. The United States has supported many coups in Latin America and the Caribbean because US leaders found a country’s development plans to be “socialist” or in another way offensive to the US government.
And, among other measures, the Resolution calls for “terminating all unilateral economic sanctions imposed through Executive orders, and working with Congress to terminate all unilateral sanctions mandated by law, such as the Cuba embargo.” The United States has imposed sanctions on many countries around the globe. This would end those imposed by the President and mandate the President to work with Congress to eliminate those resulting from laws Congress has passed, such as the infamous NICA Act which has prevented Nicaragua from receiving loans from international financial institutions.
Another measure calls for “proceeding with the prompt declassification of all United States Government archives that relate to past coups d’état, dictatorships, and periods in the history of Latin American and Caribbean countries that are characterized by a high rate of human rights crimes perpetrated by security forces.” Declassification would enable us to learn more detail about US support for coups and attempted coups in the distant past as well as more recent ones such as the golpes that overthrew Honduran President Manuel Zelaya in 2009 and Bolivian President Evo Morales in 2019, as well as the attempted coup against Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua in 2018.
Further measures included in the Resolution promote collaboration with Latin American and Caribbean governments on a far-reaching reform of the Organization of American States and support democratic reforms to the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and other international financial institutions. These are reforms that progressives have been demanding for many years. The Resolution also calls for the creation of trust fund under the UN to support climate action in developing countries with recurrent contributions from the United States to that fund. The obligation of the rich industrialized countries who caused global warming to help the rest of the world adapt has been continually voiced by Nicaragua at world forums.
HR 943 has been sent to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, presumably to the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. The members of that subcommittee are Maria Salazar (R-FL), Mark Green (R-TN), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Waren Davidson (R-OH), Keith Self (R-TX), John James (R-MI), Ranking Minority Member Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL). If your Representative sits on that subcommittee, make a special point of contacting them.
The Resolution will need additional co-sponsors in order to make any progress in the House of Representatives. Please contact your Representative asking them to co-sponsor this important Resolution. It is rare that there is a measure before Congress that we can wholeheartedly back and we should pull out all the stops to build awareness of and support for the Resolution! The World Beyond War action alert was endorsed by Code Pink and Roots Action. We will work to bring other groups to work on supporting the Resolution which would bring a major change to US Foreign Policy if it were to pass!
Click here to ask your Representative to co-sponsor HR 943 and get rid of the Monroe Doctrine!
* Katherine Hoyt was National Co-Coordinator of the Nicaragua Network and the Alliance for Global Justice for many years before her retirement. She is now on the board of the Alliance for Global Justice.