Tag Archives: Quebec

Reflections Week 10: Comments on the Peronist Philosophy

Hi all. For this week’s reflections, I will be commenting on a video, entitled ’’Power to the People: Peronism’’, as well as on the broader Peronist movement.

Firstly, the first part of the video outlines Peron as an opportunist who only saw this rise of the labour movement as an opportunity for him to gain political power. This is not only inaccurate but also based on speculation. This is also reinforced by the fact that he was a civil servant for a long time, being a Lt. General for over 30 years in the Argentine military, as well as serving in different high-ranking senior government positions, including that of Secretary of Labour and Social Security, and Minister of War. Although I do not fully agree with the Peronist philosophy, painting this picture without stating facts to back it up can appear dishonest.

Additionally, as the video rightly points out, the Peronist movement was originating from a need of representation from the labour and working class, which had just seen a tremendous influx of people from Europe, mostly in relation to the Great War. In a way, Peron was seen as the cure to the ill that had plagued Argentine politics for long, with a long line of political and military insiders and leaders with fascist or corporatist ideological leanings preceding him. This was, however, not entirely accurate, as he was himself a military general and a member of the political class. Despite this, his charisma, political stances and discourse made him appealing to the Argentine people, and made him one of the first popular populists in history.

This is a theme that is still very much true in modern politics, whether in Latin American politics or otherwise. Indeed, in the United States, people like Ross Perot, famous multi billionaire oil tycoon who ran for President twice as an independent, Tea Party politicians, Donald Trump, and others, although being part of the political and financial elite, adopt populist rhetoric and are portrayed as ’’men of the people’’, even though their policies often times do not reflect this portrayal. Similarly, in Latin America, self-described ’’populists’’, including the Perons, as well as others, including Vargas in Brazil, Ibarra in Ecuador, and Chavez in Venezuela, are characterized as leaders of the people and populists although they had militaristic, authoritarian or even dictatorial and fascistic tendencies as rulers. We in Canada, for now, have been spared of this dichotomy, and have not had our share of authoritarian populist rulers. Some exception may be made with Quebec, which was ruled by Maurice Duplessis, whose time in office was accurately characterized as La grande noirceur (The Great Darkness) due to his crackdown on left-leaning ideology, trade unions, civil liberties and his promotion of a heavily Catholic State.

Joseph

Reflections Week 8: The Mexican Revolution

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Hello, all. Since there is no online lecture linked to this week’s material and classes, I will be commenting on an interview assigned to us, entitled “The Mexican Revolution”.

To start, I will comment on the claim “Revolution is a claim of ownership on history”. This is an interesting claim, but only partially true. Revolutions usually mean a social, economic or political break from the current course of history, which can be either violent or non-violent. Revolutions and revolutionary factions do not claim to own a certain part of history or try to change it, but rather want to change its current predicted trajectory. However, there have been revolutionary factions and movements which have seeked to re-write history in their image and dismiss the past histories written, such as was the case with the Chinese Cultural Revolution and its continuation to this day, as well as with the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, which tried to own history to rewrite it as well as change its trajectory.

Further, It is interesting to see how some of these historical dynamics from the Mexican Revolution still persist to this day. In fact, when mentioning Emiliano Zapato and his Zapatista revolutionaries, I was reminded of the trips I made last year to Chiapas, in Southern Mexico. An important chunk of the Chiapaneco territory is still claimed by Zapatista factions, after many violent clashes with the Mexican and state government. Also interesting to note is the fact that many people in the state see the Zapatistas and other Indigenous factions as the legitimate governors of the state, whereas they see the Mexican federal government as an illegitimate aggressor cracking down on their rights and sovereignty. This bears quite a lot of resemblance to the Quebec sovereigntist/independentist movement, which claims that the provincial government is the legitimate sovereign in the province, while the federal government is aggressing Quebecois peoples and ruling over them in an unconstitutional, undemocratic, or even fascist manner. They also claim that since the Quebecois peoples (the French and French Canadians, as well as the American Indian Peoples (Peuples Amérindiens du Québec) settled on Quebec land before the British and English Canadians did, they hold sovereignty over such land. The broader story of both of these sovereigntist revolutionary movements, as well as many other ones, is about local peoples trying to decentralize power and bring it into their hands in order to be able to decide their own history.

Joseph

Reflections Week 7: Modernization of Modernity

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Happy Thanksgiving, all. Since there was no video lecture given by our professor for this week, I will be comenting on a related video, entitled “Modernity and Modernization in Mexico”.

The first thought that caught my eye were the disconcerting similarities between the definition given of modernity and that which is understood of progress. Especially, this is true when talking about technological and social innovation, as well as positive change to one’s society. However, although these definitions are somewhat similar and, one might say, interchangeable, they are not associated with the same era(s). In fact, modernity is often talked about in a philosophical and historical context, when discussing the Western world entering a certain historical era, whereas progress, and progressive politics, have been flowing in and out of political discourse for centuries. Other themes that are included in modernity, such as secularization and emancipation, are still discussed today, also. For instance, France and my home of Quebec have continuously and for decades brought forth legislation aiming for la laïcité de l’État (laicity of the state). La Charte de la laïcité de l’État in France and La Loi 21 only two recent examples of this principle. In the United States, ever since slavery and the emancipation of the slaves, there has been continued dicussion about reparations, and modern forms of slavery, and how to tackle them. Thus, these topics are still touched on in today’s political discourse.

Also, another element of modernity that is left unaccounted for or rather that is stated as true (but which isn’t) is how only a democratic regime and system are compatible with modernity. Nonetheless, although a democratic system is usually preferable for the well-being of a nation, it is wrong to assume that it is the only system that is compatible with modernity. This would only be true if seen through a Western, pro-democratic, liberalist (in the historical sense of the term) lense. There are two main elements of criticism to this notion. Firstly, the West at the time (and still today, to some extent) hardly fit the definition of a democratic regime, as many individuals and groups were (and are) barred from voting, including racial minorities, expats, ex-prisoners, and so forth. Additionally, there are many examples of countries and states which, although not democratic, fit into the definition of a modern state, mostly based on the level of human development and technological inovation. Notably, the People’s Republic of China, Singapore, and many Latin American countries, have historically proved this idea wrong.

Joseph