Che’s critique of the Organization of American States: from Punta del Este (1961) to Bolivia (2019)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Che's revolutionary solidarity championed the Spirit of Bolivar and Marti across the Latin American Community. Underlying this solidarism was a fervent belief in the potential for an emancipated regional Americas freed of neo–imperialist control. Yet, Che saw this possibility thwarted by the regional hegemony of the US government and its dominance of regional organizations through which it was able to intervene economically and even militarily across its southern neighbours. In this article, we explore Che's critique of the US' dominance of the Organization of American States (OAS) and how this has distorted regional integration in the Latin American Community by focusing on his famous speeches at Punta del Este at the Alliance for Progress (AFP) conference in 1961. We argue that Che's critique remains relevant for analysing regional integration today by highlighting the role of the OAS and its intervention in the Bolivian coup of 2019.