Mark Whitaker
"After the 'indigenous party' takes power in Bolivia, capital move planned"
This capital move is interesting given what I have written about Bolivia before--at this link--about the 'first indigenous government' in 500 years in Latin America, the dynamics that led to the indigenous Bolivian President, the historic ostracizing from public spaces well into the 20th century for them, as well as now their attempt to reconstruct the state on more locally autonomous zones. You might find that link an insight into the dynamics of one area of South America.
And for those interested in soccer, and its 'weak links' for uniting many different people (a social movements term in Sociology) President Evo Morales' was a keen soccer organizer his whole life before he became more openly political. Soccer seemed to be crucial to the social capital and networks that allowed him to make weak links with a huge amount of people in Bolivia--and then this went political. For more on the soccer angle, see the active link below. [Researchable Question/Paper suggestion: Perhaps the same could be said for other Argentinian or Latin American political leadership? "The Politics of Soccer?" To what extent has soccer been mobilized both to create apolitical ambivalence and 'fellow feeling' in Latin American states (an elite interest), as well as sometimes highly political movements (like the kind that is linked to Evo Morales)? Not that soccer is the only issue: only that those with economic and "anti-Drug War" grievances looked to him as their candidate. He happened to be positioned as the soccer organizer in the union from the start of his political career--and that made him well known among many groups.]
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“Capital War” in Bolivia
In July 2007, more than one million people marched in La Paz, Bolivia [picture here--the city is in a flat windblown area in a caldera which makes its urban form inverted: typically you might find slums in the middle of the city and tall buildings on the outskirts--though note the slums on the sides of the caldera--closer to the less desired windblown sand racing across the plain 'outside' the city], Bolivia to oppose a proposal to move the capital city from La Paz to Sucre. Five days later, tens of thousands of people gathered in Sucre to rally for the change.
The switch would be highly beneficial for Sucre, a city of 250,000 residents that lacks a major airport and other key infrastructure. Proponents of the move believe that because Sucre is near the country’s geographic centre, the city is better positioned to promote unity. Yet many Bolivians view the proposal as a scheme of the lowland provinces to take control of the country. Critics are concerned that changing capitals would cost billions of dollars and would only benefit the more affluent population in eastern Bolivia. The Bolivian judiciary is located in Sucre, but the larger legislative and executive branches of government are based in La Paz. The two cities have sustained a rivalry since 1898, when the administrative capital was moved from Sucre to La Paz.
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http://www.focal.ca/pdf/focalpoint_sep_2007.pdf
[The other link:
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
The Columbus Interim: 500 Years Later, the First Indigenous Government Attempts to Reinvent the State; Bolivia & Pres. Evo Morales' Ormolu Chairs
http://biostate.blogspot.com/2006/04/columbus-interim-500-years-later-first.html
Two quotes for contrast:
For a man who rose to prominence as a union leader [and their soccer organizer], and to office on the back of [indigenous] social movements with mainly economic grievances, economic policy has hardly figured in the first 60 days. Instead, he has used the parliamentary majority that came with his 54% landslide to push through a law convoking a Constituent Assembly, and allowing regional referendums on autonomy.
"In last year's election we only captured government - with the Constituent Assembly we want to capture political power."
Meanwhile:
President Bush came into office declaring that Latin America was a priority. That's hardly surprising. It's been a priority for every American president since James Monroe in 1823 whose "Monroe Doctrine" told European nations to keep out of Latin American affairs. In pursuit of American interests, the US has overthrown or undermined around 40 Latin American governments in the 20th Century.
A bit on his soccer background:
Juan Evo Morales Ayma
Evo Morales
80th President of Bolivia
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 22, 2006
Born October 26, 1959 (1959-10-26) (age 47)
Isallavi, Orinoca, Oruro
Nationality Bolivian
Political party Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS)
Spouse single
Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959 in Orinoca, Oruro), popularly known as Evo (IPA: [ˈeβ̞o]), is the President of Bolivia, and has been declared the country's first indigenous head of state since the Spanish Conquest over 470 years ago.[1][2][3][4] This claim has created controversy,[5] however, due to the number of mestizo presidents who came before him.[6]
Morales is the leader of Bolivia's cocalero movement – a loose federation of coca leaf-growing campesinos who are resisting the efforts of the United States government to eradicate coca in the province of Chapare in southeastern Bolivia. Morales is also leader of the Movement for Socialism political party (Movimiento al Socialismo, with the Spanish acronym MAS, meaning "more"), which was involved in the recent Gas Wars, along with many other groups, commonly referred to as 'social movements'.
From Soccer to Presidency:
Like many Bolivians[8][9][10], his parents, while Catholic, worshipped the native earth goddess Pachamama, often with offerings of coca leaves and alcohol.[7] At the age of 12, he accompanied his father in herding llamas from Oruro to the province of Independencia in Cochabamba.[7]
When he was 14, Morales showed his organizational skills by forming a football soccer] team with other youths; he continued herding llamas to pay the bills.[11] At the age of 16, the three ayllus (network of families) within the community elected him technical director of selection for the canton's team.[11] That same year, in order to attend high school, he moved to Oruro. There he worked as a bricklayer, a baker, and a trumpet player for the Royal Imperial Band (which allowed him to travel across Bolivia).[11][1][12] Because of a lack of money, he dropped out of high school in the 11th grade and fulfilled his mandatory military service in La Paz.[11][13]
...
In 1981, he was made the head of his local [union's] soccer organization; after his father's death in 1983, he was forced to give up that position in order to concentrate on managing his family's farm.[14]
Union activity
By 1985 Morales was elected general secretary in his union of coca farmers and by 1988 was elected executive secretary of the Tropics Federation.[14] Around this time the Bolivian government encouraged by the USA began a program to eradicate most coca production (see below). By 1996 Morales was made president of the Coordinating Committee of the Six Federations of the Tropics of Cochabamba.[14] Evo was among those opposing the governments position on coca and lobbied for a different policy. This opposition often resulted in him being jailed and in an incident in 1989, beaten near to death by UMOPAR forces (who, assuming he had been slain, dumped his unconscious body in the bushes where it was discovered by his supporters).[14]
Morales soon led a 600 kilometer march from Cochabamba to the capital of La Paz.
While they were often attacked by law enforcement, they managed to proceed by sneaking around their control posts.[14] They were often greeted by supporters who gave the marchers drink, food, clothes and shoes.
They were greeted with cheers by the citizens of La Paz and the government was forced to negotiate an accord with them.[14]
After the marchers returned home, the government reneged on the deal and sent forces to harass them.[14] Morales claims that during this time in 1997 a United States Drug Enforcement Agency helicopter strafed farmers with automatic rifle fire killing five of his supporters.[14] He also claims he was grazed by assassins' bullets in Villa Tunari in 2000.[14] His actions gained international attention, and while some claim he was nominated as a 'Drugs Pacifist' for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995, this cannot be determined because Nobel nominations are secret. He was recognized in 1996 by an international coalition against the “War on Drugs”.[14]
Morales then found an audience in Europe for his positions and traveled there to gain support and to educate people on the differences between coca leaves and cocaine.[14]
In a speech on this issue, he told reporters “I am not a drug trafficker. I am a coca grower. I cultivate coca leaf, which is a natural product. I do not refine (it into) cocaine, and neither cocaine nor drugs have ever been part of the Andean culture.”[1]
1995 election, formation of MAS
On March 27th, 1995, Morales was among a united organization of farmers, colonizers and indigenous people who founded the Assembly for the Sovereignty of the Common People (ASP) and the Political Tool for the Sovereignty of the Common People (IPSP). [15] Morales and others decided to run for political office in Bolivia under this party. Since the National Electoral Court did not recognize the new organization they were forced to run under the banner of the United Left (IU), “a coalition of leftist parties that was headed by the Communist Party of Bolivia (PCB).”[15]
On June 1st, 1997, Morales (who carried 70% of the votes) was one of four IU candidates that won a seat in Parliament.
The area he represented included the provinces of Chapare and Carrasco and Morales received the most votes of any candidate in Bolivia.[15]
Facing continual legal problems because the Bolivian Supreme Court continued to refuse to recognize IPSP, [13] for the local elections of December 5th, 1999 Morales came to an agreement with the leader of MAS-U, David Añez Pedraza, to assume the acronym, name and colors of that inactive organization.
So the IPSP became the Movimiento al Socialismo or Movement Towards Socialism (MAS).[15] The MAS is described as "an indigenous-based political party that calls for the nationalization of industry, legalization of the coca leaf...and fairer distribution of national resources."[16]
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales
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Kim, SuJung
Forgotten, But Not Gone
Though it is an 14-year-old article, I thought lots of thing when I read it.
Before when I take this course, I could have heard about Maya culture. However, I have never thought about Maya people. Through this article, I could have some ideas about them.
Their situation-I don't know whether they still live like that or not- made me feel sorry. For me it seemed ironic that the people who had great culture became outcasts.
And it was very impressive that many Maya 'have seized on their old ways to make sense of their modern lives'. Isn't really there any way to improve their lives?
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A tour guide at the legendary ruins of Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico, likes to tell the story. A tourist, after staring in awe at the towering pyramids, turned to the guide and said, "The buildings are beautiful, but where did all the people go?" "Of course, she was talking to a Maya," the guide says, shaking his head at the irony. "We're still here. We never left."
The exchange illustrates a living paradox at the heart of the Maya puzzle: even as scientists continue to investigate the mysterious eclipse of the classic Maya empire, the Maya themselves are all around them. An estimated 1.2 million Maya still live in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, and nearly 5 million more are spread throughout the Yucatan Peninsula and the cities and rural farm communities of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Ethnically, they are derived from the same people who created the most exalted culture in Mesoamerica. Yet the thousands of visitors who come each year to admire the imposing temples of Palenque might be shocked to know the ignominious fate of the Maya's modern-day descendants.
Centuries of persecution and cultural isolation have turned the Maya into impoverished outcasts in their own land. At best, they are often reduced to tourist attractions; for a little money, Mexico's Lacandon Indians, for instance, will display their traditional white cotton shikur and long black hair. But condescension is the mildest of the abuses suffered by today's Maya. In a 1992 report on the indigenous peoples of the Americas, Amnesty International cited dozens of human-rights violations carried out by Mexican authorities against the Maya people of Chiapas: they include an incident in 1990 when 11 Maya were tortured after being arrested during a land dispute, and another one two years ago when 100 Maya were beaten and imprisoned for 30 hours without food or medical attention. In Guatemala's 30-year-old civil war, it has been the Maya who have been the primary victims of the military's antiguerrilla campaigns in the highlands, which have left 140,000 Guatemalans dead or missing. In some cases, government troops have burned entire Maya villages.
The systematic subjugation of the Maya dates back to the Spanish Conquest of the early 16th century, when Catholic missionaries outlawed the Maya religion and burned all but four of their sacred bark-paper books. Indians who were not killed in battle or felled by European diseases were forced to work on colonial plantations, often as slaves. Bands of Maya rebels, known to be ferocious fighters, resisted pacification for almost 400 years, first under the Spanish occupation and then under the Mexican army after Mexico became independent.
Despite this history of defiance -- or maybe, in some cases, because of it -- the Maya continued to be targets of abuse even after being incorporated into the family of Central American nations. As recently as 20 years ago, Maya peasants carrying chickens or peanuts to the town market in San Cristobal de las Casas were in danger of having their wares snatched away by non-Indian women, or "Black Widows." And though the town's economy depended on trade with the Indians, Maya found walking the streets at night would be thrown into jail and fined.
Today, despite government decrees that guarantee equal rights for Indians and the new presidency in Guatemala of human-rights champion Ramiro de Leon Carpio, indigenous peoples like the Maya remain at the bottom rung of the political and economic ladder. In Chiapas, where the natives speak nine different languages, literacy rates are about 50%, compared with 88% for Mexico as a whole. Infant mortality among the Maya is 500 per 1,000 live births, 10 times as high as the national average. And 70% of the Indians in the countryside lack access to potable water.
In these sorry conditions, many Maya have seized on their old ways to make sense of their modern lives. In the remote highlands of Guatemala and Mexico, where the rugged terrain has held the outside world at bay, contemporary Maya still practice many of the same rituals that were performed by their ancestors 4,000 years ago. Maya weavers embroider their wares with diamond motifs that are virtually identical to the cosmological patterns depicted on the lintels of ancient temples at Yaxchilan and other Maya sites. By marking their clothing with the symbols of their ancestors, the Maya artisans build a material link to pre-Columbian gods -- and the indelible spirit of their cultural past. "Depictions of everyday life do not occur in the weaving," notes Walter F. Morris Jr., a Seattle-based anthropologist and author of Living Maya. "It's always something supernatural, something dreamt, something you can only see in dreams."
With reporting by Laura Lopez/San Cristobal de las Casas
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http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,979016-1,00.html
Heaeum Cho
'Indigenous Rights Outlined by UN'
Although this article isn't directly related to Latin America I thought it was interesting how the First World was responding quite differently from the Third World and thus somewhat proving true once again the world systems and dependency theories.
It's interesting how the rights of indigenous peoples is becoming a greater issue on a global level and the mixed response it receives from different governments.
Special protection for indigenous peoples is an important responsibility for governments, especially in allowing them to maintain their lifestyle and sustenance through agriculture and fisheries. Perhaps the scarcity of resources globally is making governments reluctant to fully granting the necessary rights to the indigenous people to make use of their land.
This is where representative democracies face the challenge in answering the question of to what extent we should give "privileges" to a small group of minority compared to the total population at the cost of economic loss.
A minor point... but a part of me was wondering why the respective heads of ministries for indigenous peoples in the countries mentioned below were against this declaration. Who should they truly be representing?
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The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a non-binding declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples after 22 years of debate.
The document proposes protections for the human rights of native peoples, and for their land and resources.
It passed despite opposition from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. They said it was incompatible with their own laws.
There are estimated to be up to 370 million indigenous people in the world.
They include the Innu tribe in Canada, the Bushmen of Botswana and Australia's Aborigines.
Campaigners say they are under greater pressure than ever, as developers, loggers, farmers and mineral extractors move in on their land.
Important symbol
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples calls on countries to give more control to tribal peoples over the land and resources they traditionally possessed, and to return confiscated territory, or pay compensation.
The General Assembly passed it, with 143 countries voting in favour and 11 abstaining.
Four nations - Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States - each with large indigenous populations, voted against.
Australia said it could not allow tribes' customary law to be given precedence over national law.
"There should only be one law for all Australians and we should not enshrine in law practices that are not acceptable in the modern world," said Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough.
A leader of a group representing Canada's native communities criticised his government's decision to oppose the declaration.
"We're very disappointed... It's about the human rights of indigenous peoples throughout the world. It's an important symbol," said Phil Fontaine, leader of the Assembly of First Nations.
Need for balance
Campaign group Survival International says Canada's Innu tribe, who live in the frozen Labrador-Quebec peninsula, are struggling to maintain their traditional lifestyle as the government allows mining concessions, hydro-electric power schemes, and roads on their land.
The Canadian government said it supported the "spirit" of the declaration, but could not support it because it "contains provisions that are fundamentally incompatible with Canada's constitutional framework."
"It also does not recognise Canada's need to balance indigenous rights to lands and resources with the rights of others," a joint statement from the Canadian ministries of Indian and Foreign Affairs said.
Canada has 1.3 million indigenous people, among a total population of 32.7 million.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/6993776.stm
Kyung-Hee,Kang
Mexico’s Congress Considers Proposals to Change Election Laws
It explains some major points for understanding the current political and economic situation of Mexico's. Well, descrpited economic phase seems pretty well known and it also is common phenomenon. But I thinks it'd be nice to summarzie it specifically, just acknowledgeing 3 major political parties and their positions, some things like that.
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By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: September 14, 2007
MEXICO CITY, Sept. 13 — A year after a closely contested presidential election divided this nation, the Congress is moving to revamp electoral laws to rein in negative campaigns and to keep businesses and individuals from trying to influence elections.
The proposed changes to the electoral laws, and charges by some groups that they would lead to a return to the old authoritarian style of government, demonstrate that the deep wounds from last year’s race have yet to heal.
A year ago, President Felipe Calderón eked out a paper-thin victory after running a negative campaign that implied that his opponent, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, was a leftist autocrat at heart. Big business also spent lavishly on attack advertisements to stop Mr. López Obrador from coming to power.
“The spine of the reform is to push the power of money out of the electoral struggle in Mexico,” said Senator Carlos Navarrete of Mr. López Obrador’s left-wing Democratic Revolution Party.
Late Wednesday, the Senate approved, by a vote of 111 to 11, a series of constitutional changes that would radically change how Mexico conducts elections. If they become law, the bills would change the structure of the autonomous Federal Electoral Institute, effectively ousting its president, whom many leftists accuse of giving the election to Mr. Calderón by refusing to do a complete recount.
The package of bills now goes to the lower chamber, the House of Deputies. If the bills pass, those measures that would amend the Constitution must then go to the states for ratification. But because the three main parties support the amendments, their ratification is considered likely, political strategists say.
Still, the proposed changes have unleashed a bitter debate in Mexico. Media moguls have denounced a ban on paid political advertising on radio and television as an attack on free speech and have said that it will cut unfairly into their profits, putting some small radio stations out of business. Business groups have called for a referendum on the matter and promised to circulate petitions. Most political advertising in the recent past has been on radio and television.
The embattled president of the electoral institute, Luis Carlos Ugalde, meanwhile, has said Congress is undermining the institute’s independence and jeopardizing Mexico’s inchoate democracy.
Advocates of free speech also have roundly criticized the proposed changes, saying they would give the electoral institute too much control over the public debate and, interpreted strictly, could lead to censorship. Journalists also worry that a provision banning “denigration” of candidates could be used to censor their work.
The deal among the parties came about as part of a legislative trade, and it would benefit the party structures because it consolidates their power. Among other provisions, it bars independent candidates and limits political advertising to established political parties — the three main parties and a few registered smaller parties.
The proposed legislation says that political parties have the obligation “to abstain from using in their political or electoral propaganda denigrating expressions against institutions, against the parties themselves, or that defame people.”
Mr. Calderón’s National Action Party has agreed to support the measure in return for the passage of a tax reform bill that the president desperately needs to raise revenue, lawmakers and political strategists said.
“This is a done deal,” said Sergio Sarmiento, a columnist who opposes the bill. “It’s a trade. It’s a bad law, a return to the authoritarian Mexico of the past.”
Under the proposed measures, all political advertisements would be placed through the electoral institute. The institute would distribute three minutes of free airtime that television and radio stations would be required to reserve for public service announcements among the main parties, saving them millions of dollars.
The electoral institute could bar any spot that denigrates a candidate or party and order broadcasters to stop carrying it.
The proposed legislation also says that, other than established parties, “No other person, public or private, be it on his own behalf or the behalf of others, will be able to contract to broadcast messages on radio and television aimed at influencing the electoral preference of the citizens.”
Last year, Mexico’s main business council blitzed the airwaves with campaign spots warning that Mr. López Obrador was a danger to Mexico and suggesting that people would lose their belongings and savings if he were elected.
One proposal would also create a new position for an auditor within the electoral institute and allow that person to examine the parties’ bank accounts. It would cut spending limits for presidential elections in half and limit campaigning to three months before the vote.
Some political analysts said the proposed changes stemmed from two strong currents in Congress. Leaders of the three main parties want to consolidate their power over the electoral process and keep private industry out of the fray. Leftists, meanwhile, want to avoid the kind of defeat they suffered last year.
José Antonio Crespo, a political scientist and columnist, said that because the parties had a pact, the bills were very likely to become law. The only chance of derailing them would arise if broadcasters put pressure on Mr. Calderón to veto the package. The anger and doubt over the outcome of last year’s contest have given the proposals strong political momentum, Mr. Crespo said.
“It was such a dirty campaign,” he recalled. “It caused so much polarization and rancor.”
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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/14/world/americas/14mexico.html?ref=americas
Euna Lee
"Traffickers Infiltrate Military in Colombia"
-Officers Provided Secret Information On U.S. Navy Ships
This article was a reminder of how mistrust and allegation can result to more than just an internal problem among personnel. It also showed how one person's choice can change society at large as did the officers' in this article.
If Columbian officers have really put their hand in drug trafficking, though initially they intended to help themselves to a portion of the pie, they not only put their lives in jeopardy, but also the country's ties to the US, which in turn affects national security.
I was also reminded of what the people in the films said about Western Media promoting propaganda about South America by highlighting drug trafficking above other social issues. Nonetheless, the fact is, it is a problem, and perhaps taking the matter by a 'top-down' approach, as the Columbian gov't and military have done, may not be the most optimal or plausible solution.
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BOGOTA, Colombia -- An investigation by the Colombian Defense Ministry has found that drug traffickers and rebels from the country's largest guerrilla group infiltrated the U.S.-backed military here, paying high-ranking officers for classified information to help elude capture and continue smuggling cocaine.
The information obtained by the powerful Norte del Valle drug cartel included the secret positioning of U.S. naval vessels and aircraft in the Caribbean early last year, part of a carefully coordinated web designed to stop cocaine from reaching the United States, according to high-ranking Colombian military officials. The cartel is headed by Diego Montoya, who is on the FBI's list of most wanted fugitives.
Separately, rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, obtained reports about army operations against guerrilla commanders in the far south, officials say. Gen. Freddy Padilla, head of the armed forces, said in an interview that most of the information that was leaked was from 2003 or earlier.
The episodes, some of which have been outlined in the Colombian press in the past month, represent the most serious cases of infiltration here in recent years and are a blow to a military that depends on U.S. funds and training. The U.S. government has provided $5.4 billion in mostly military aid to Colombia this decade, making the country the biggest recipient of American support outside the Middle East and Afghanistan and helping to make the Colombian military the second-largest force in Latin America.
In interviews, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos and the commanders of the armed forces said that the breaches were discovered by military counterintelligence operatives and that the evidence was turned over to the attorney general's office, which has opened several investigations. While other cases of infiltration have been discovered in the past, officials suggested that those cases often were not investigated properly.
"From the beginning, I've said we have to see how penetrated we are," said Santos, a civilian who has headed the Defense Ministry for 15 months. "The situation is a penetration of some sectors of the military forces, and it's a small percentage of the forces. We cannot say it's generalized."
Santos also said that he has sacked about 150 officers during his tenure, many of whom were suspected of corruption or ties to traffickers or illegal armed groups. He said investigators are continuing to search for moles in the ministry.
So far, two lieutenant colonels in the army have been arrested, as have four majors and a noncommissioned officer. Two army generals also resigned from the army's Third Division in the city of Cali, where investigators say traffickers had built close links with corrupt officers. In the navy, Rear Adm. Gabriel Arango has been cashiered, officials say, and is under investigation along with 10 other naval officers.
Adam Isacson, who tracks the Colombian military for the Center for International Policy in Washington, said the military should be commended for revealing the corruption. But he said the scandal probably would give more leverage to Democrats on Capitol Hill, who have pushed for cuts in aid to Colombia.
"When you have this new layer of corruption allegations," he said, "it's just going to give more fuel to the legislative opposition here in Washington."
The case of Arango, a promising commander in the Caribbean port of Cartagena, has captured the most attention here. When a fishing boat used to smuggle cocaine was intercepted in January 2006 by the Colombian coast guard, in a region Arango oversaw, investigators found navigational charts on board that showed not only the positioning of U.S. vessels but also that of warships from Britain, the Netherlands and Colombia.
Investigators said some information useful to traffickers was provided by a former navy sailor who served as middleman, Victor Palmera, who was arrested last week. But Arango's ties to traffickers were reportedly tight. Investigators said they found that Arango had provided a fingerprint on a receipt for a $115,000 payment he'd received from Norte del Valle traffickers, a common way of ensuring allegiance in Colombia's underworld. He also had met with traffickers or had associates meet with them, witnesses have told investigators. Arango has vehemently denied collaborating with traffickers.
Colombian authorities have passed on their findings, particularly the navigational charts, to the Drug Enforcement Administration and other U.S. agencies. The Colombian military does not track the coordinates of U.S., Dutch or British ships on patrol, suggesting there had been a breach in American security.
The U.S. Embassy in Bogota would not discuss the case or say whether it was investigating.
At the Southern Command in Florida, the American headquarters for U.S. military operations in Latin America, a spokesman said the military was unaware of any American investigation into the allegations. The spokesman, Jose Ruiz, said security measures were tight at an interagency anti-drug task force in Key West, Fla., that coordinates anti-drug monitoring in the Caribbean for the United States and its allies, including Colombia.
The Joint Interagency Task Force-South, or JIATF-S, as it is known, is run by the Defense Department. "JIATF-South has very stringent and effective security measures," Ruiz said, "and as of today, we have no reason to believe that those security measures have been compromised."
While traffickers on the coast received detailed information, high-ranking officers in Colombia's southwest were allegedly on cartel chief Montoya's payroll, prosecutors say. Those officers include Lt. Col. Javier Escobar, who was chief of operations for the Third Division's Third Brigade in Cali, Defense Ministry officials say.
The investigation into the activities of rogue officers in the Third Division has shed light on a murky episode from 2006 that angered Colombian officials and raised questions among U.S. lawmakers. On May 22, a platoon of troops ambushed and killed 10 members of an elite, U.S.-trained team of policemen that was on a counter-drug operation in the town of Jamundi.
Authorities now say that army Col. Bayron Carvajal and several soldiers -- all of whom were arrested last year -- were probably in the pay of the Norte del Valle cartel. "You can presume that Jamundi is connected to the penetration of the Third Brigade," Santos said, "because of where it happened, because of the ties to narco-trafficking."
The military also found that a guerrilla who was killed in combat in the southern state of Meta in July had been carrying portable hard drives that contained maps outlining anti-guerrilla operations and other information about Omega, an operation aimed at capturing guerrilla commanders.
El Tiempo, Colombia's most influential newspaper, said in an editorial that the disclosures showed that intelligence and counterintelligence had become "the weakest flank" in Colombia's effort to fight the guerrillas and drug traffickers.
Military officials acknowledged the concerns but said a restructuring of the military intelligence apparatus has been in the works. "We started restructuring the counterintelligence more than nine months ago, and it was because we were restructuring, because we strengthened the counterintelligence, that we were able to discover this," Santos said.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090702569_pf.html
Ju, Hyun Ji
Ecuador's 'open mike' revolution
As we all know, many South American countries-maybe all of them- have struggled dictatorship. Moreover, even though some of their polirical structure did not look like real 'dictatorship' their characteristics were so deep inside. Very few people with big money and power have controlled the continent.
This article shows how ecuadorians are dealing with such problems. It has not been long since the people in South America began to speak up. This La Luna's - a radio station- unique system 'open mike' provides people with an opportunity to tell the public their opinions. And in this way, people in Ecuador realized that they are not the only one who had problem with their own government - in fact, every one did!
I was very glad to see the people finally beginning the 'right' movement for their 'right.' And at the same time, it made me wonder why they had not started such movement earlier. Why did they stand such situation for a long time?
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"Long live insurrection", urges one piece of political graffiti, a common sight on the streets of Ecuador's capital, Quito.
Here high in the Andes mountains, that spirit of insurrection is alive and well.
Banging pots and pans, blowing whistles and chanting slogans, the men, women and children of this small South American country have brought down yet another president.
Some say demonstrating is a national pastime in this country of around 13 million people.
If the events of the past week are anything to go by, that seems to be the case.
On Wednesday, Lucio Gutierrez became the third Ecuadorean head of state since 1997 to be deposed by massive street protests.
'Open microphones'
That revolutionary fervour was buoyed in part by a local radio station, La Luna.
It has had an open mike policy since it was founded 11 years ago, but in the past week this small outfit which works out of a tiny basement room, has become a catalyst for change.
The station's manager Ataulfo Tobar says it has given Quito's disgruntled people a unique opportunity of sharing their frustration with the political situation.
"Most forms of media in Ecuador don't do what we do; they keep the public uninformed.
"We are journalists, we are not political leaders. We are communicators, we are not social agitators," said Mr Tobar, as dozens of people crowded on the stairs outside La Luna waiting for their opportunity to talk.
"The people of Ecuador are sick of the acts of the former president and politicians in this country and what we have done is open our microphones so people know the reality of what is going on," he added.
Mr Tobar said the government of Mr Gutierrez cut the station's phone lines to try to prevent people communicating with it in mid-April.
People here in Ecuador need to know that there is punishment for this kind of governments
Bernardo Canizares, film director
"So we gave out mobile phone numbers and because mobiles are so popular here in Ecuador, people turned into reporters on the street, calling and telling us what happened and sending text messages urging others to join the protests."
It worked, thousands of people surged onto the streets of Ecuador in protests buoyed by La Luna's irreverent and modern way of communication.
Following calls from the radio, they marched with balloons and even rolls of toilet paper, symbolising what Mr Gutierrez meant to the many of the people of Ecuador.
The radio says it insists on peaceful protests. For the most part this was the case, although as Mr Gutierrez was ousted and security forces cracked down on the protesters some of them burned a government office and looted buildings.
And even after his departure, Radio La Luna kept on calling the people to the streets.
"Ecuadorean society doesn't trust traditional media. La Luna has been a catalyst for change," said Bernardo Canizares, a 32-year-old filmmaker, as he protested outside the residence of the Brazilian ambassador in Quito.
This became one of the focal points for protests in the days after Mr Gutierrez was ousted because Brazil offered asylum to the former president, who remained in the residence as the Brazilian and Ecuadorean authorities negotiated his safe passage to exile.
Demonstrators clustered outside the high white walls surrounding the building, watched over by police in riot gear. They waved banners with slogans like "Show your face, you coward" and chanted phrases like "Lucio, prison".
'Real democracy'
Mr Canizares said many people in Quito regarded Mr Gutierrez as a dictator.
"He took lives, he took money from the presidency for public funds and he should be prosecuted.
"We have gone through a lot of trouble to get him out of the presidential palace, to take him out, and we have the need, people here in Ecuador need to know that there is punishment for this kind of governments."
He said people were not content with simply helping remove him from office.
"People are trying to get control of their fate as a nation. We are trying to really build a real democracy, a democracy that responds to the needs of the people.
We are building a different country, a different society, a society that is for the people, by the people and the people should be in control."
As drivers passed by beeping their car horns in support of the protesters, Irena Torres said it did not matter how often Ecuador had a new president if the public was unhappy.
She said that even though Ecuador now has its seventh president since 1996, stability and democracy could only be achieved when the country's politicians listened to the demands of Ecuador's people.
Next to her, Norma Canto had brought four of her children to the protest.
"We need to teach values to our children," she said.
I believe I am making a difference
Miguel Canto, 13
"This is a way of teaching them how to chose and ensure they are not manipulated by people who have wealth and power."
Her 13-year-old son, Miguel, agreed. "I believe I am making a difference. I want to be a good person and if one day I could be president I will never hurt anyone."
As he spoke, the protesters erupted into song. "We are singing the national anthem because we are very patriotic; that is why we demonstrate," said Irena Torres.
By Hannah Hennessy
BBC News, Quito
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4477595.stm
Yongmie Jo
Moving Clocks Ahead, Reaching Back in Time
The title of this article presents a clearly political interpretation itself of the recent measure taken by Hugo Chavez, the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, to move Venezuela’s time zone forward by half an hour. The writer mentions how the time zone had been once shifted in the past by an earlier president, Raúl Leoni, whose government was known in favor of the bourgeoisies. Thus by moving the clock backwards of what the past pro-bourgeoisie-government had done, the president Chavez is in a way making a political point, that his government is not a capitalism-oriented government for a minority of rich Venezuelan people, and certainly not a neo-liberalist’s government.
In fact, Hugo Chavez’s government is becoming well-known for its political or theatrical sense to most of its newly brought up social policies. Another example of his theatrical policies is his recent national law restricting the naming style of the parents. The inventive(?) and extreme social policies of Hugo Chavez may seem absurd and in many times out-of-nowhere for foreigners without a background of Venezuelan cultural context, but as some commented during the interview of the article, most of the policies seem to have a considerate purpose for the country’s development project. However, it does raise a personal concern when some of the policies seem to be clouding the distinction line between ‘people’s sovereignty’ and ‘Chavez’s sovereignty.’
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CITY’S Routine Will Adjust to New Time Zone,” read Thursday’s headline of Últimas Notícias, the most widely circulated daily in Caracas. The tabloid, sympathetic to President Hugo Chávez, went on to describe the benefits of his plan to move clocks forward by half an hour in a bid to improve the “metabolism” of his fellow citizens.
In a time of startling policy announcements from Mr. Chávez, it is no wonder that picking up a newspaper in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela can sometimes feel like perusing The Onion. Recent statements by Mr. Chávez have some Venezuelans pondering the inspiration for his latest moves.
Last Sunday, Mr. Chávez rolled out plans to build a set of artificial island-cities, intended to demarcate Venezuela’s sovereignty in the Caribbean, and to import 5,000 Russian sniper rifles to arm guerrillas in the event of an American invasion. It was also the day he announced the change in time zone.
Such announcements reflect the deep changes to political institutions that have allowed Mr. Chávez to solidify his grip on power. His is a government intent on leaving a symbolic mark on everything from the country’s coat of arms — redesigned with a white horse pointing leftward in sync with the president’s left-wing ideas — to its oil tankers, renamed in honor of historical figures instead of beauty queens.
The time-change proposal — planned to accompany a shift to a six-hour workday as Mr. Chávez accelerates a socialist-inspired project to transform Venezuelan society — raised eyebrows around the world.
It would put Venezuela in company with Afghanistan, India, Iran and Myanmar, countries that offset time in half-hour increments from Greenwich Mean Time. (Nepal stands out, with its clocks 15 minutes ahead of India and 5 hours and 45 minutes ahead of Greenwich, England.)
Mr. Chávez’s highest-ranking science adviser, Héctor Navarro, whose official title is minister of the popular power for science and technology, justified the change by saying it would improve the metabolism and productivity of Venezuelans by giving them more access to sunlight each day.
Politics is also at play in the time-zone change. Mr. Navarro told Venezuela’s official news agency that the move would reverse a decision to turn back the clocks by a half-hour in the mid-1960’s during the administration of an earlier president, Raúl Leoni, a “government of the interests of the bourgeoisie in which aspects which affected human beings were tied to the profits of companies.”
With proposals from Mr. Chávez and his senior officials growing more unpredictable, Francisco Rodríguez, once a supporter of Mr. Chávez as chief economist of the National Assembly and now a critic, recommends a close reading of Venezuela’s rich history of “caudillos,” or strongmen, as a way to understand its current state.
MR. Rodríguez, who teaches Latin American studies at Wesleyan University, said Mr. Chávez’s closest predecessor in style was Cipriano Castro, who ruled the country from 1899 to 1908. Like Mr. Chávez, Mr. Castro took control of foreign companies and dreamed of restoring Simón Bolívar’s “Greater Colombia” project for a union of Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador.
Mr. Castro also had little regard for Venezuela’s haughty economic elite. He had the country’s bankers put in chains, paraded through Caracas and thrown in prison for refusing to roll over the domestic debt. They did so the next day.
And, Mr. Rodríguez said, Mr. Castro’s constitutional reform of 1904 is “eerily similar” to Mr. Chávez’s constitutional overhaul this month, in eliminating term limits, increasing the number of vice presidents and greatly reducing the power of provincial governments.
“The good news for anti-Chavistas is that Castro stayed in power only until 1908,” Mr. Rodríguez said. “The bad news is that he was replaced by his vice president, Juan Vicente Gómez, who remained in power until 1935.”
Given the theatrical aspects of Mr. Chávez, it can be easy to lose sight of the breadth of the political and economic change he has put in motion, both at home and abroad.
Within OPEC, Mr. Chávez helped straighten the cartel’s spine through frenzied lobbying for cuts in oil production, contributing to climbing oil prices this decade.
And he has challenged the supremacy of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Latin American financial circles by offering cut-rate loans to countries like Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador.
But Mr. Chávez’s most radical changes have taken place in Venezuela, especially since his re-election in December to a six-year term.
He has forged a single Socialist Party for his followers; nationalized oil, telephone and electricity companies; forced a critical television station off the public airwaves; and strengthened, amid climbing inflation, price controls on basic foods like chicken, milk and eggs.
His ambitions to rewrite the Constitution would tighten his control over political institutions, effectively circumscribing the influence of opponents in charge of a few municipal and state governments. Mr. Chávez’s loyalists already control the Supreme Court, the federal bureaucracy, the National Assembly and every state-owned company.
Most controversially, the reform project would allow Mr. Chávez to be re-elected indefinitely and carve out new regional governing entities run by vice presidents appointed by the president.
It is not without irony that Tal Cual, an opposition newspaper, is referring to Mr. Chávez as “Yo-el-supremo,” or “I, the Supreme,” after the classic novel of the same name by Augusto Roa Bastos on the life of the Paraguayan dictator José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia.
“The president wants to carry out a ‘constitutional’ coup to perpetuate himself in power,” said Teodoro Petkoff, a former guerrilla with impeccable leftist credentials who is the editor of Tal Cual.
With such dreary assessments of Mr. Chávez’s rule coming from some quarters, the potentially positive effects of some of his ideas, even those concerning the country’s time zone, are sometimes overlooked.
Víctor Rodríguez, a respected astrophysicist in Maracaibo, said the measure was justified since it would cut down on energy consumption.
“I’m not a Chavista; I don’t have a position in the government; but speaking truthfully, this will benefit the country,” Mr. Rodríguez said. “Every country has the liberty to choose its own time zone.”
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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/weekinreview/26romero.html?ex=1190001600&en=042b1df6166254b0&ei=5070
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