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Everywhere else
Everywhere else
It's important, as we talk of this fatidical year, not to forget the events that unfolded around the world in 1968. Afterall, it's a classical mistake to narrow one's view of world events to a single location, forgeting the global picture.
A turbulent year, without a doubt, 1968 saw revolts and a reshaping of the world social-political situation on a massive scale. Be it on streets of Prague or in the avenues of Paris, on Brazil or Argentina, on metropolis of Beijing or New york, change was in the air.
Let us look first to the situation in the Americas. While North America was in many ways a bastion of democracy on the continent, Latin America had began in the 1960's a steady decline toward military dictatorships, in large part due to the foreign policies of it's northern american neighbour.
Brazil had fallen to a military coup in 1964. The coup had the excuse of combating a possible communist revolution, and promissed a return of democratic values in the near future. As it goes, however, armies rarely give up power when they have the option to do the contrary. In 1968 the military hardliners that supported a preservation of the military regime took definitive power, implementing a series of suspensions on costitutional rights and powers of the people. The people and the student movement took to the streets in march. They were, as so many times in latin american history, supressed.
A very similar case took place in Argentina, with a military coup, officialy called a revolution, toppling the goverment and establishing a dictatorship in 1966. The dictatorship was in full effect by 1968, with a Junta holding the country in a tight grip.
1968 was the year that Operation Condor was born, a clandestine military operation that had the logistical support of the United States, Condor was accomplished by the cooperation of these right-wing dictatorships, in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and later most of the continent. It's objective was to repress any socialist ideals in the continent by means of violence. It's important never to forget that the United States, while preeching freedom and a fight agains't tyranny and political violence, did plenty to support tyranny in it's own neighborhood.
Let us move to Europe, where by 1968, the old social structures that controled the continent were starting to crumble. May saw the student movement spring up in Paris, fighting for more social freedoms in the streets of the city of lights. Barricades once again filled the streets, as the student rioters chanted and painted about their new kind of freedom. A freedom from consumerism and american imperialism. The country came to a halt, as the students were supported by labour unions, and a general strike. They were met, just like in most cases, with police brutality and political repression on the hands of President Charles de Gaulle. Gradually the protests faded away, but the memory and the cultural impact that the May Uprising had on the country never did.
In Czechoslovakia, the situation was a little more grim. The election of Alexander Dubcek send shockwaves across the Warsaw pact. His attemps to install a greater degree of political freedom in the country, a attempt that became know as the Prague Spring, was met with violence by the soviets. The soviet socialists doctrines were the only ones allowed by the Russian pylitburo, and any deviation would not be tolerated. In August, a direct intervention by the Warsaw pact begun, with soviet tanks taking and ocuppying the streets of Prague. It was the greatest direct intervention by the warsaw pact yet. The result would be a loss of confidence of many pact members on their soviet backers. A degree of autonomy by the socialist republics of eastern europe was, after all, expected if the pact was to truly work. A month later Albania would leave the alliance, and the Prague Deal of 1969 would also send ripples through the political situation in eastern europe.
Africa, so often ignored in modern historiography, would continue as a battleground. The wars of independence of Mozambique and Algeria would shape public view of the continent in the 1960's. As colonialism had it's last breath in the continent, the african nations would begin theirs internal struggles, between the two economic ideologies that defined the cold war.
The focal point in Asia was, of course, Vietnam. The violence of the war there skyrocketed throughout 1968, as the Tet offensive took efect. In China, Chairman Mao would start to suffer severe palpitations, and what was to come would shape East Asia for the following decades.
Returning to the United States, the incoming election was doing a reat job in dividing the country. on one side minorities and liberals. Be these academics or hippies. On the other side the so called silent majority. The "suits", as many were called. The conservative movement as others would name than.
The music scene was notoriously involved in this struggle. Music had been a paramount part of the counter culture of the late 1960's, and in September, Jimi Hendrix would voice his support for the Kennedy Campaign. John Lennon, would make his first political opinion known, claiming that he opposed the Vietnam war and thought that, whoever was going to end it, should be elected. The statement was made less then 6 months before the annoucement that the Beatles were splitting up.
As the year of turmoil unfolded, the election got closer. The rest of the world had it's own problems to worry about, but that didn't mean they were not watching it closely.
The Prague Spring, August, 1968
French students protest on Paris, May 1968.
The End and the Beginning of a Era, Marcus P. Edginton
..............
So, this covered the situation on the rest of the world. Not much change, as the POD did not start to affect the planet yet. But there's a few hints there about what's to come. Next week: The Election!!
It's important, as we talk of this fatidical year, not to forget the events that unfolded around the world in 1968. Afterall, it's a classical mistake to narrow one's view of world events to a single location, forgeting the global picture.
A turbulent year, without a doubt, 1968 saw revolts and a reshaping of the world social-political situation on a massive scale. Be it on streets of Prague or in the avenues of Paris, on Brazil or Argentina, on metropolis of Beijing or New york, change was in the air.
Let us look first to the situation in the Americas. While North America was in many ways a bastion of democracy on the continent, Latin America had began in the 1960's a steady decline toward military dictatorships, in large part due to the foreign policies of it's northern american neighbour.
Brazil had fallen to a military coup in 1964. The coup had the excuse of combating a possible communist revolution, and promissed a return of democratic values in the near future. As it goes, however, armies rarely give up power when they have the option to do the contrary. In 1968 the military hardliners that supported a preservation of the military regime took definitive power, implementing a series of suspensions on costitutional rights and powers of the people. The people and the student movement took to the streets in march. They were, as so many times in latin american history, supressed.
A very similar case took place in Argentina, with a military coup, officialy called a revolution, toppling the goverment and establishing a dictatorship in 1966. The dictatorship was in full effect by 1968, with a Junta holding the country in a tight grip.
1968 was the year that Operation Condor was born, a clandestine military operation that had the logistical support of the United States, Condor was accomplished by the cooperation of these right-wing dictatorships, in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and later most of the continent. It's objective was to repress any socialist ideals in the continent by means of violence. It's important never to forget that the United States, while preeching freedom and a fight agains't tyranny and political violence, did plenty to support tyranny in it's own neighborhood.
Let us move to Europe, where by 1968, the old social structures that controled the continent were starting to crumble. May saw the student movement spring up in Paris, fighting for more social freedoms in the streets of the city of lights. Barricades once again filled the streets, as the student rioters chanted and painted about their new kind of freedom. A freedom from consumerism and american imperialism. The country came to a halt, as the students were supported by labour unions, and a general strike. They were met, just like in most cases, with police brutality and political repression on the hands of President Charles de Gaulle. Gradually the protests faded away, but the memory and the cultural impact that the May Uprising had on the country never did.
In Czechoslovakia, the situation was a little more grim. The election of Alexander Dubcek send shockwaves across the Warsaw pact. His attemps to install a greater degree of political freedom in the country, a attempt that became know as the Prague Spring, was met with violence by the soviets. The soviet socialists doctrines were the only ones allowed by the Russian pylitburo, and any deviation would not be tolerated. In August, a direct intervention by the Warsaw pact begun, with soviet tanks taking and ocuppying the streets of Prague. It was the greatest direct intervention by the warsaw pact yet. The result would be a loss of confidence of many pact members on their soviet backers. A degree of autonomy by the socialist republics of eastern europe was, after all, expected if the pact was to truly work. A month later Albania would leave the alliance, and the Prague Deal of 1969 would also send ripples through the political situation in eastern europe.
Africa, so often ignored in modern historiography, would continue as a battleground. The wars of independence of Mozambique and Algeria would shape public view of the continent in the 1960's. As colonialism had it's last breath in the continent, the african nations would begin theirs internal struggles, between the two economic ideologies that defined the cold war.
The focal point in Asia was, of course, Vietnam. The violence of the war there skyrocketed throughout 1968, as the Tet offensive took efect. In China, Chairman Mao would start to suffer severe palpitations, and what was to come would shape East Asia for the following decades.
Returning to the United States, the incoming election was doing a reat job in dividing the country. on one side minorities and liberals. Be these academics or hippies. On the other side the so called silent majority. The "suits", as many were called. The conservative movement as others would name than.
The music scene was notoriously involved in this struggle. Music had been a paramount part of the counter culture of the late 1960's, and in September, Jimi Hendrix would voice his support for the Kennedy Campaign. John Lennon, would make his first political opinion known, claiming that he opposed the Vietnam war and thought that, whoever was going to end it, should be elected. The statement was made less then 6 months before the annoucement that the Beatles were splitting up.
As the year of turmoil unfolded, the election got closer. The rest of the world had it's own problems to worry about, but that didn't mean they were not watching it closely.
The Prague Spring, August, 1968
French students protest on Paris, May 1968.
The End and the Beginning of a Era, Marcus P. Edginton
..............
So, this covered the situation on the rest of the world. Not much change, as the POD did not start to affect the planet yet. But there's a few hints there about what's to come. Next week: The Election!!