Full at http://blog.cheapmotelsandahotplate.org
Below is an excerpt from Naming the System. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC is the Spanish acronym) is the oldest revolutionary army in Latin America. Since 2002, it has been under some of its severest attacks by the Colombian government under the right-wing president Álvaro Uribe, aided by considerable U.S. military aid and personnel, who are in Colombia allegedly to eradicate the drug trade, but really to contain and defeat the FARC. The FARC has suffered many blows in the past few years, including the death of its founder and leader Manuel Marulanda in 2008 and the murder of several of its top leaders. Yet, it continues to fight, and it still controls large areas of the country and maintains its capacity to disrupt the Colombian economy. An update on FARC, with an overall negative view of its future, can be found at http://www.coha.org/farc-a-perilous-future-a-grim-recent-past/ All things considered, I do not think the FARC can overthrow the government, and I think it is likely that the FARC has lost a good deal of its initial revolutionary trajectory.
The prospects for the Maoists in Nepal are much more favorable. They have achieved remarkable victories since what I wrote about them, including the overthrow of the monarchy, victories in elections that resulted in their leader, Prachanda, becoming Prime Minister and then resigning, and now the real prospects of achieving victory and revolutionizing all of Nepalese society. A good summary review has been written by Gary Leupp at http://www.counterpunch.org/leupp02122010.html.
It is important for a writer to periodically evaluate what he or she has written, in light of new developments. Too often, writers assume no responsibility for what they have written or said, no doubt believing that in a throwaway and amnesiac society, what they said won’t be remembered and they will never be called on it.
I welcome comments.
Michael Yates ps A couple of reviewers were surprised and critical of my including the FARC and the Maoists in the book at all.