Neither Peace nor Freedom: the Cultural Cold War in Latin America - 1. edición

During the Cold War, left-wing Latin American artists, writers, and scholars worked as diplomats, advised rulers, opposed dictators, and even led nations. Their competing visions of social democracy and their pursuit of justice, peace, and freedom led them to organizations sponsored by the governments of the Cold War powers: the Soviet-backed World Peace Council, the U.S.-supported Congress for Cultural Freedom, and, after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, the homegrown Casa de las Américas.Neither Peace nor Freedom delves into the entwined histories of these organizations and the aspirations and dilemmas of intellectuals who participated in them, from Diego Rivera and Pablo Neruda to Gabriel García Márquez and Jorge Luis Borges. Patrick Iber corrects the view that such individuals were merely pawns of the competing superpowers. Movements for democracy and social justice sprung up among pro-Communist and anti-Communist factions, and Casa de las Américas promoted a brand of revolutionary nationalism that was beholden to neither the Soviet Union nor the United States.But ultimately, intellectuals from Latin America could not break free from the Cold War's rigid binaries. With the Soviet Union demanding fealty from Latin American communists, the United States zealously supporting their repression, and Fidel Castro pushing for regional armed revolution, advocates of social democracy found little room to promote their ideals without compromising them. Cold War politics had offered utopian dreams, but intellectuals could get neither the peace nor the freedom they sought. This Book Tells The History Of Latin America's Cultural Cold War Through An Interwoven Analysis Of Three Organizations That Targeted Influential Artists, Scholars, And Writers: The Cia-backed Congress For Cultural Freedom, The Soviet-aligned World Peace Council, And Cuba's Casa De Las Américas. The Author Argues That In Spite Of Their Status As 'front' Groups For The Interests Of The United States, The Soviet Union, And Revolutionary Cuba, Respectively, These Organizations Were Both The Creation Of Foreign Interventions And Of Preexisting Currents Of The Latin American Left That Held A Variety Of Conflicting Views About How To Bring About Greater Social Justice. The Book Thus Shows That Even Cold War Fronts Could Secure A Measure Of Independence From Their Patrons, And That Pro-democracy And Egalitarian Movements Emerged From Both The Anti-communist Left And Its Pro-communist Counterparts. Yet Each Community Eventually Found That Its Sponsor's Problems--those Of Stalin, Of The Cia, Or Of Fidel Castro--became Its Own. Rather Than Seeing The Struggles Of Latin America's Left As The Result Of Poor Choices Of Strategy, The History Of Intellectuals' Engagement With Power Shows That All Available Paths Toward A More Democratic And Egalitarian Latin America Required Debilitating Compromise, Including With Foreign Empires. The Relative Lack Of Social Democracy During Latin America's Cold War Is Therefore Not A Puzzle Requiring Explanation, But The Predictable Result Of The Intellectual And Political Problems Faced By Those Who Sought To Achieve It-- Introduction -- Exile And Dissent In The Making Of The Cultural Cold War -- Making Peace With Repression, Making Repression With Peace -- The Congress For Cultural Freedom And The Imperialism Of Liberty -- The Anti-communist Left And The Cuban Revolution -- Peace And National Liberation In The Mexican 1960s -- Modernizing Cultural Freedom -- Disenchantment And The End Of The Cultural Cold War -- Conclusion. Patrick Iber. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "This book tells the history of Latin America's cultural Cold War through an interwoven analysis of three organizations that targeted influential artists, scholars, and writers: the CIA-backed Congress for Cultural Freedom, the Soviet-aligned World Peace Council, and Cuba's Casa de las Américas. The author argues that in spite of their status as 'front' groups for the interests of the United States, the Soviet Union, and revolutionary Cuba, respectively, these organizations were both the creation of foreign interventions and of preexisting currents of the Latin American left that held a variety of conflicting views about how to bring about greater social justice. The book thus shows that even Cold War fronts could secure a measure of independence from their patrons, and that pro-democracy and egalitarian movements emerged from both the anti-Communist left and its pro-Communist counterparts. Yet each community eventually found that its sponsor's problems--those of Stalin, of the CIA, or of Fidel Castro--became its own. Rather than seeing the struggles of Latin America's left as the result of poor choices of strategy, the history of intellectuals' engagement with power shows that all available paths toward a more democratic and egalitarian Latin America required debilitating compromise, including with foreign empires. The relative lack of social democracy during Latin America's Cold War is therefore not a puzzle requiring explanation, but the predictable result of the intellectual and political problems faced by those who sought to achieve it"-- Provided by publisher