Peace Direct and John Pilger

"I interviewed some of the poorest people in the world and I had some of the most interesting and sophisticated political conversations I've ever had." Peace Direct talks to John Pilger about his new film, The War on Democracy and the power of the grassroots.

Use the player below to listen to the interview.

For more information on John’s film please visit his website or you can view the trailer here. You can read a transcript of our conversation below.

John Pilger, thanks for talking to Peace Direct. Your new film The War On Democracy is showing around the country over the next couple of months. Starting with the title, who is fighting a war on democracy?

Well it’s being fought by the superpower, the United States, on democratic movements, on attempts to bring democracy to various countries. I’ve based the film in Latin America where there has been over the last few years the rise of very different democratic movements from those that we understand in the West. That is that they are grass roots movements, popular movements. And that’s seen against the background of an historic war on democracy in Latin America, the so called backyard, the squashing of democratic governments from Chile to Brazil to Venezuela and so on.

It’s interesting that you use the phrase America’s backyard that some Americans rather dismissively use to describe Latin America. Do you think the conclusions of your film would come as a surprise to people - particularly Americans?

Not to quite a lot of people. I’ve just been in the United States and what I do think is there’s a growing awareness and a willingness to start to complete the jigsaw for many people. A disillusionment has set-in over the last few years. But yes, when they have a state school system that devotes one hour a week to what they call world history which is basically the First and Second World Wars; then that leaves a growing population, a young population in ignorance. And people have to find out for themselves.

What sort of spirit did you see from the citizens of the countries you visited in Latin America whilst making this film?

I interviewed some of the poorest people in the world and I had some of the most interesting and sophisticated political conversations I’ve ever had. People with no formal education understanding the nature of the forces ranged against them and that have been ranged against their country historically. People who when I first went to Latin America 40 years ago were described literally as invisible or abandanados – meaning abandoned people. I found talking to them now and listening to their achievements with their popular movements, with their grassroots movement as inspiring, there’s no question about that, because it answered the question that many people in the west often ask: what can be done? Well people there don’t need to ask the question, because they know what to do.

That’s a sentiment that rings true for PD and the work it does with local peacebuilders around the world and your film I suppose looks at the people who are pulling the strings at the very highest level. What do you think that people at the other end of the spectrum can teach those people and what are your thoughts about what can be achieved at that grassroots level?

I think they’re teaching them in countries like Bolivia and Venezuela and Ecuador; I think they’re teaching them that unless they’re accountable, unless they make the word democracy have real meaning, that unless they’re accountable to the mass of people, they won’t stay in power. And that’s almost the definition of real democracy. Power is only acceptable if it’s fully accountable at every level.

John, thank you for talking to us.

Thank you

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