On November 12, I had the honor of releasing my latest book to a heartwarming audience in Loveland, Colorado. Hosted by Keep Colorado Free & Open and accompanied by 40 friendly attendees, I presented the backstory of and key findings in The Latin America Red Pill: My Search for Freedom South of the Border. As of November 20, it is also available in Spanish as La píldora roja de América Latina: Mi búsqueda de libertad al sur de la frontera.
While I released a livestream for the occasion, the internet connection proved insufficient, so the video was choppy. The good news is that Keep Colorado Free & Open uploaded their own recording, which runs for about 80 minutes.
My chief task was to explain the need for the book, as outlined in its introduction, and how that fit with the red-pill metaphor. Aside from this being a partly autobiographical work, my objective has been to dismiss myths about the region—offering the red-pill alternative—and explain its economic underdevelopment relative to Canada and the United States.
After presenting for 30 minutes, I opened up the floor for questions, and this proved the highlight of the night. Audience members, likely there for a politically incorrect forum, shared a wide range of concerns and questions.
We were fortunate to have Yvonne Páez in attendance. Of Ecuadorian and Mexican heritage, she leads Perspectives 101, a liberty-oriented educational association in Northern Colorado, and offered first-hand stories. To get on the Perspectives 101 email list, write to perspectives101.info@gmail.com.
In particular, many audience members expressed the concern that Latin America’s challenges are pounced upon by misguided social engineers and foreign-aid opportunists. For example, a local entrepreneur asked, “How do you help these countries help themselves, so that people don’t want to jump the border?” His implication was that the United States should not subsidize dependence.
Similarly, Páez and others shared that poverty alone or different ways of life should not invoke a knee-jerk reaction for meddling. This was in keeping with the laissez-faire or noninterventionist proclivities of the organizers. Similarly, various audience members demonstrated a skepticism of past US engagement and expressed frustration that US foreign policy has just made problems worse. One contrarian attendee added color to the evening and was curious about the alleged escape of Adolf Hitler to Bariloche in Argentina after World War II.
At the same time, there was an awareness that illegal immigration has raised the prominence and relevance of Latin American affairs. Further, there is the ongoing challenge of new arrivals being pawns in political power plays. Author Trevor Loudon highlighted this at a previous Keep Colorado Free & Open event.
The book’s publisher is Econ Americas, the parent company of the Impunity Observer. This is Econ Americas’ second book, with more on the way, and much of my Impunity Observer work fed into the Latin America Red Pill.
Including references, the book is 368 pages. My desire was to add a few more chapters, but that page count reached the feasible limit. I also wanted to get the book out before the US presidential election, although my team and I got to the finish line a week after. We intend to have the audio versions out before the end of the year.
I would like to thank Julie Fornby of Keep Colorado Free & Open. She gave kind support and does priceless work preserving liberty in the classical-liberal tradition. Established during draconian COVID-19 lockdowns, Keep Colorado Free & Open has a substack blog with updates on in-person events. There is also a private members association, which is building a parallel economy of like-minded individuals and businesses.
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