Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano

AN IMPOTENT TALISMAN

Of all the direct private investment in Latin America coming from abroad, less than one-fifth was from the United States when Lenin wrote Imperialism in the spring of 1916. Today, nearly three-quarters is from the United States. What was the imperialism Lenin knew? The rapacity of industrial centers seeking world markets for their merchandise; the fever to capture all possible sources of raw materials; the plunder of iron, coal, and petroleum; the railroads which linked the control of dominated areas; the voracious loans of the financial monopolies; the military expeditions; the wars of conquest. It was an imperialism that poisoned any place where a colony or semi-colony might dare to build a factory of its own. Industrialization was the privilege of the metropolis; in the poor countries it was incompatible with the rich countries' system of domination. The end of World War II found European interests in full retreat from Latin America, and U. S. investments triumphantly advancing. Since then there has been an important change in the focus of investment. Step by step, year by year, capital put into public services and mining has lost importance, while investments in petroleum and, above all, in manufacturing have grown in proportion. At the present time $1 of every $3 invested in Latin America is invested in industry.*