During the 1970s, national and international solidarity organisations arose in opposition to U.S. imperialism in Latin America. Washington’s support for repressive regimes across the region produced world wide diasporas of Salvadoreans, Argentines, Guatemalans, Chileans, Uruguayans and Colombians, inter alia. In Australia’s case, these included significant numbers of political and economic refugees. The conjuncture of Latin American activists escaping authoritarian regimes and the broad based coalition of Church, Left, labour organisations, human rights groups and Latin Americanists generated lasting solidarity with progressive and revolutionary movements which confronted and, in some cases, continue to confront U.S. intervention and ruling elites in Latin America and the Caribbean. This paper attempts to recover and rethink this area of hybrid popular struggle, vital to focus countries and heuristic for Australian society.
Panel: Viviana Ramírez and Robert Austin
Chair: Dr Estela Valverde, Head of Spanish & Latin American Studies
Details: Tuesday 13 September 2011. 1-2pm, Macquarie University Room 222, Building W6B
http://www.ofm.mq.edu.au/PDF/map_colour.pdf (Map ref. N12)
Viviana Canibilo Ramírez studied at the Universidad Técnica del Estado, Santiago de Chile, and participated in the voluntary work program of the Popular Unity government headed by Dr Salvador Allende. Following the US-backed military coup of 11 September 1973 she fought with the Chilean Resistance at its epicentre, in the working class barrio of La Legua. From 1979 until 1994 she taught in adult and school education in Santiago and Sydney. She is now the senior teacher of Spanish in Queensland schools, where she has taught since 1995. Her political autobiography has been published in Spanish at http://www.tensoesmundiais.ufc.br/artigos/Revista%20No%207/revista7.pdf
Robert Austin Henry holds a Ph.D in History and Latin American Studies (La Trobe). Since 1990 he has worked in Latin American and Australian universities, and is an editorial board member of the journals Cronos and Tensões Mundiais (Brazil) and Latin American Perspectives (USA). Among some 100 publications in the field, his books include The State, Literacy and Popular Education in Chile, 1964-1990 (2003); (ed) Diálogos sobre Estado y Educación Popular en Chile, de Frei a Frei: 1964-1993 (2004); (ed) Intelectuales y Educación Superior en Chile: de la Independencia a la Democracia Transicional, 1810-2001 (2004 & 2005) and (ed) Imperialismo Cultural en América Latina: Historiografía y Praxis (2007); all reviewed at http://robertaustinhenry.wordpress.com/
Presentations in English; discussion bilingual. Join us for a lively debate. All welcome.