War On Democracy (2007) Movie Review

It's no secret that the United States has virtually enslaved the economies of Latin America for its own interests. Reporter-filmmaker Pilger forcefully examines how this policy has undermined democracy and liberty. And how the people are fighting back.

Pilger doesn't pull his punches. This film is alarming and absolutely riveting, even though it feels both one-sided and heavy-handed. Yet for every interview that feels contrived or staged, there's another one that bristles with raw honesty, digging beneath the surface to show a side of the story the media rarely reports.

Pilger starts in Venezuela, a hot spot for populist Latino politics. In an extensive and intriguingly casual interview with President Chavez, the film traces the country's recent history, including the political and economic interests that have tried repeatedly to undermine Chavez's efforts to improve health care and education for the poor people in his country. "We don't want wealth," he says. "We want life with dignity." And yet the US government helped organise a violent coup against him, and continues to use false media reports to paint him as a communist villain.

The film also explores situations in Guatemala, Chile and Bolivia over the past 50 years, during which time America has backed some 50 coup attempts in the name of preserving "US interests". It's quickly clear that democracy and liberty have nothing to do with this; it's all about money and control. True democracy--of the people, by the people, for the people--is actually what's happening in Venezuela under Chavez and Bolivia under Morales. But this challenges America's stranglehold on the continent, so these men are vilified.

The material here is tragic and deeply compelling, and eerily relevant to what's happening elsewhere (torture victim Ortiz, an American nun who was working in Guatemala, astutely compares her ordeal to Abu Ghraib). The USA has so much blood on its hands that continued denial is insulting. George W Bush's so-called "economic miracle" is a blatant lie, as the rich get richer and poverty spreads.

So it's a shame that Pilger pushes things with unconvincing interviews and deadpan derision (hilarious as it may be). The only voices against his perspective are utterly bonkers, from former Secretary of State Noriega lying through his teeth to former CIA chief Clarridge's inane bluster. Even so, it's vitally important that Pilger keeps opening the books on what's really happening in "America's back yard".