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Interview with Tariq Ali.

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He's been described as 'the thinking woman's Omar Sharif'. You can imagine Tariq Ali not disapproving--after all, there are worse things to be called by the mainstream media. Dapper and urbane he is, with a voice better suited to the stage than to polemics, Tariq Ali's use of language is always colourful, if not theatrical. The compliant Palestinian president, Abbas, is described as a weak, pathetic figure 'soon to be flushed down the toilet like a used condom'. The BBC's managerial elite morph into 'total management Daleks', whilst Afghan leader Hamid Karzai (in tailored cloak and fez) will find it hard to discard his perception as 'the Gucci model'. Tariq Ali's timing is comedy's loss because serious argumentation is at stake.

Why does he feel the need to write his current book (Pirates of the Caribbean) on the magnitude of change occurring in South America at present? Because

media networks and publishing networks are so merged no space is given for views like this in the mainstream. And all state broadcasters are feeling the cold harsh winds of globalised politics. One way to get ideas out is to write short sharp books like Pirates of the Caribbean. One is challenging the dominant ideology and it's an effective way to do it.

The efforts of Evo Morales, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez form a tripartite affront to the Washington Consensus and their efforts to create a viable political alternative makes for a riveting read. If 'a red wave' is sweeping the South American continent, from Tierra del Fuego to the Straits of Magellan, then it owes something to Che Guevara's dream of a united Pan-American continent. Forty years after his killing in Vallegrande, it's an appropriate passing of the political baton.

Tariq Ali is no stranger to South America and is an apt spokesman for its current transformation. It's appropriate then that he was detained in Bolivia years ago for his likeness to Che's bodyguard 'Pombo'.

Jorge Sotirios: Tariq, tell us about TELESUR.

Tariq Ali: In Venezuela the privately owned media networks were against Hugo Chavez, and state broadcasting in Latin America is excremental and always has been. So I suggested in a conference in Caracas in 2002 that they launch an alternative cable channel which would unite Latin America. I explained just...

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