Obama and Latin America: a friendly imperialism?
by José Antonio Gutiérrez D. Friday, Jun 6 2008, 4:35pm
north america / mexico / imperialism / war / opinion/analysis

The following article seeks to dissipate false hopes in Obama meaning the end of US imperialist policies. This article can be seen as complementary to the one written by Wayne Price on Obama ( http://www.anarkismo.net/newswire.php?story_id=7681), but from a Latin American perspective.

Obama... change?

What’s the difference between a black Democrat and a white Republican?

Obama and the (Old) New World Order

A New Alliance for Progress? Do we need it? Do we want it?

Obama go home!

José Antonio Gutiérrez D.
05 June 2008

So, like, uhh.... what are y'all doing and stuff?  Can we hang out?  I'm here tomorrow.  And that's it.  So.  I propose a Monday night hanging out event.  Drinks?  

I will try to dig up phone numbers and do some callin' tomorrow when I get out of bed.  I know monday nigth is not ideal but please please pretty please?

Woot woot in advance.

Yours truly,

Carrie

Hey Everybody!

The US Social Forum is only TWO DAYS AWAY and our delegation is ready to head to Atlanta!  However, we're still about $400 short of our fundraising goal!

If any of you would like to contribute, please read my last entry for information.  We could really use the assistance!  Come on, it doesn't make sense for a Guatemalan organization to pay from it's own pockets to go to help make a better United States, does it?  Let's redistribute some of the Global North's wealth!

Thank you so much for those of you who have already contributed--even $10 makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE:  that pays for a meal in Atlanta, when our average salary where I work is about $300 per month.  

Let me know if you pledge to donate financially, as we may not receive your checks in the mail before the actual forum starts.  If you can help in any other way--introduce us to organizations, provide a meal, buy a t-shirt or just stop by our table, let me know too!  You can contact Isabell (info in my last post) or me at cacomerATgmailDOTcom.

A better world is possible.  A different United States is necessary!

Thanks to all, and best wishes.

Carrie

Text from: http://flag.blackened.net/daver/anarchism/mayday.html

May 1st, International Workers' Day, commemorates the historic struggle of working people throughout the world, and is recognized in every country except the United States, Canada, and South Africa. This despite the fact that the holiday began in the 1880s in the United States, with the fight for an eight-hour work day.

In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions passed a resolution stating that eight hours would constitute a legal day's work from and after May 1, 1886. The resolution called for a general strike to achieve the goal, since legislative methods had already failed. With workers being forced to work ten, twelve, and fourteen hours a day, rank-and-file support for the eight-hour movement grew rapidly, despite the indifference and hostility of many union leaders. By April 1886, 250,000 workers were involved in the May Day movement.

The heart of the movement was in Chicago, organized primarily by the anarchist International Working People's Association. Businesses and the state were terrified by the increasingly revolutionary character of the movement and prepared accordingly. The police and militia were increased in size and received new and powerful weapons financed by local business leaders. Chicago's Commercial Club purchased a $2000 machine gun for the Illinois National Guard to be used against strikers. Nevertheless, by May 1st, the movement had already won gains for many Chicago clothing cutters, shoemakers, and packing-house workers. But on May 3, 1886, police fired into a crowd of strikers at the McCormick Reaper Works Factory, killing four and wounding many. Anarchists called for a mass meeting the next day in Haymarket Square to protest the brutality.

The meeting proceeded without incident, and by the time the last speaker was on the platform, the rainy gathering was already breaking up, with only a few hundred people remaining. It was then that 180 cops marched into the square and ordered the meeting to disperse. As the speakers climbed down from the platform, a bomb was thrown at the police, killing one and injuring seventy. Police responded by firing into the crowd, killing one worker and injuring many others.

Although it was never determined who threw the bomb, the incident was used as an excuse to attack the entire Left and labor movement. Police ransacked the homes and offices of suspected radicals, and hundreds were arrested without charge. Anarchists in particular were harassed, and eight of Chicago's most active were charged with conspiracy to murder in connection with the Haymarket bombing. A kangaroo court found all eight guilty, despite a lack of evidence connecting any of them to the bomb-thrower (only one was even present at the meeting, and he was on the speakers' platform), and they were sentenced to die. Albert Parsons, August Spies, Adolf Fischer, and George Engel were hanged on November 11, 1887. Louis Lingg committed suicide in prison, The remaining three were finally pardoned in 1893.

It is not surprising that the state, business leaders, mainstream union officials, and the media would want to hide the true history of May Day, portraying it as a holiday celebrated only in Moscow's Red Square. In its attempt to erase the history and significance of May Day, the United States government declared May 1st to be "Law Day", and gave us instead Labor Day - a holiday devoid of any historical significance other than its importance as a day to swill beer and sit in traffic jams.

Nevertheless, rather than suppressing labor and radical movements, the events of 1886 and the execution of the Chicago anarchists actually mobilized many generations of radicals. Emma Goldman, a young immigrant at the time, later pointed to the Haymarket affair as her political birth. Lucy Parsons, widow of Albert Parsons, called upon the poor to direct their anger toward those responsible - the rich. Instead of disappearing, the anarchist movement only grew in the wake of Haymarket, spawning other radical movements and organizations, including the Industrial Workers of the World.

By covering up the history of May Day, the state, business, mainstream unions and the media have covered up an entire legacy of dissent in this country. They are terrified of what a similarly militant and organized movement could accomplish today, and they suppress the seeds of such organization whenever and wherever they can. As workers, we must recognize and commemorate May Day not only for it's historical significance, but also as a time to organize around issues of vital importance to working-class people today. 

I just received so many caring concerned emails that I felt I should make a mass statement regarding my current mental health.  I think i may have overstated the case a bit, reading over my last few blogs.  i'm ok.  really.  Obviously this past year has been a rough one, for many reasons, and occasionally it hits me.  But overall, really, I'm fine.  I work, go to school, go out with my friends, laugh, have great roommates...

And look, I ate this fish over Easter:



That's way better than McDonalds.  I even ate its eyeball in a bet for tequila.  If that's not healthy, what is?  I mean really.

But thanks for the concern.  I love hearing from all of you. 

Well, the papers went though court today.  Now, legally, I have a new box to check.  Fuck.

But today is also the first day of the Imox cycle of the Mayan lunar calendar.  That's good for me, right?

And in lighter news, I saw an elderly Guatemalan man wearing a bright red spankin' new t-shirt that read "Crunk or Die!"  

And many people told me I looked pretty today.   And I got some very very nice emails.




The little things help.

I'm feeling a little lonely.  A little down.  

I know it will pass.



I'm thinking of all of you and wishing you well.

This week my surrogate home country received a visit from the President of my country of citizenship.  How was he received?  Let´s look at some of the headlines from around the world, and you tell me if you can see some incongruencies, some agendas at work:

Most common International headlines and photos:  

Protests Hit Bush in Guatemala Herald Sun, Australia




Maya to "Cleanse" Sacred Site after Bush Visit  Reuters UK
"No, Mr. Bush, you cannot trample and degrade the memory of our ancestors," said indigenous leader Rodolfo Pocop during a press conference. "This is not your ranch in Texas."

Latin American Resentment Spiegel, Germany



Thousands burned flags to protest the US President´s Visit

Anti-Bush March Repressed in Guatemala, Prensa Latina
"After more than two hours of protests, during which leaders from different social sectors gave speeches, the security forces began throwing tear gas and beating the demonstrators.

The attack took place despite the peaceful nature of the protest, which was aimed at expressing the people s discomfort at Bush s visit, at a time when the United States is stepping up repatriations of Guatemalans from the US."


Bush Visit Outrageous, Say Guatemalan Indigenous Prensa Latina
Mass protests were also staged in eastern Santa Cruz de Balanya and the Iximche ruins, in Chimaltenango, which were visited by Bush, his wife Laura and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

There, more than 3,000 Mayan indigenous of the rural Iximche community described the visit as outrageous and Bush as a war lord.

Most common US headlines and photos:

United States Cares Deeply About Human Condition, Bush Says  FOX News


Bush, First Lady Welcomed in Guatemala, AP, reprinted here in the Houston Chronicle
"Smiling Guatemalan children warmly greeted President Bush with cries of "Hola!" and gave first lady Laura Bush lilies Monday as the president worked to burnish the U.S. image in Latin America..."

Bush Pushes U.S. Compassion in Guatemala AP, reprinted here in Forbes
"It's very important for the people of South America and Central America to know that the United States cares deeply about the human condition, and that much of our aid is aimed at helping people realize their God-given potential," Bush said Sunday"

Even in the NY Times, who headlined their story "Bush Meets Anger Over Immigration Issue as He Promotes Free Trade in Guatemala" (a relatively objective title), used the following picture and commentary to start off the article:



"President Bush shaking hands yesterday in Santa Cruz Balanyá, Guatemala, where he was greeted with a sign saying, “Welcome President Bush.” " 


I just thought I would use ths opportunity to point out that the US media, even the media that is often proclaimed as "liberal," rarely reports true criticism of US policy abroad.  In the Guatemalan newspaper, which is owned by the right-wing oligarchy, there were also an array of truly disgusting photos of Laura Bush surrounded by indigenous girls kissing her, and George wearing an indigenous jacket while the "natives" performed for him.  This mockery was exposed by many indigenous leaders who expressed their outrage at Bush´s visit, especially to their sacred spiritual sites.

The protests that took place in Guatemala City were not nearly as large (or as violent) as those which took place in Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, or yesterday in Mexico, but they sent clear messages:  "No queremos y no nos da la gana ser una colonia norteamericana! "  "Bush asesino, fascista, criminal, genocida, invasor!  Bush fuera de nuestra nación!  Gringos Go Home!"

Although these messages sound anti-American, the vast majority of protesters (from youth organizations, the university, peasant organizations, labor unions, womens groups, etc) welcomed the participation of other "gringos" in the demonstrations as a clear signal of North American solidarity with the people of Guatemala, and the fact that not every US Citizen agrees with official state policy.

From a personal perspective, I was pleased to see people from South and Central America mobilizing themselves this week in a united front against continued US imperialism in the region.  Unfortunately I wasn´t able to participate in the protests myself, as I was struggling through my anthropology and politics classes at the university, but I am proud that many students from my school as well as local friends were able to stand up against the egregious violations that the United States has committed historically in this country, and continues to commit today. 

I find myself taking pleasure in:

• a warm bed
• red shoes
• reading intense anthropological theory in Spanish
• and then having a stiff drink
• phonecalls to faraway places
• emails from faraway friends
• being the last ones on the dancefloor
• knowing that my mom is coming soon

Ok, if you all remember watching the video or reading the blog abuot the violent mining evictions here in Guatemala, perhaps this will come of interest to you.  The Canadian embassy is trying to portray the videographer and photojournalists as liars, and it´s such a ridiculous accusation that I can hardly believe it.  I know both Steven and James, and I´m furious.  Here´s a letter about it.  Please read it.

February 28, 2007

A Public Letter To:
Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs
James Lambert, Director General, Latin America and Caribbean Bureau, DFAIT
Kenneth Cook, Canadian Ambassador to Guatemala

RE: Canadian ambassador to Guatemala spreads misinformation about film
documenting indigenous Mayan Q'eqchi' communities forcibly evicted on
behalf of nickel mining company Skye Resources

We, the undersigned, write with deep concern over the recent conduct of
Canadian ambassador to Guatemala, Kenneth Cook. Ambassador Cook has
been misinforming people about the work of Canadian doctoral student
Steven Schnoor, who has been in Central America for several months
conducting CIDA-funded research, in collaboration with Rights Action and
various Guatemalan organizations and communities. The ambassador's
allegations also prejudice public perception of the territorial claims
of indigenous Mayan Q'eqchi' communities affected by Canadian mining
company Skye Resources.

Multiple sources, including Guatemalan church leaders, have now attested
that ambassador Cook has been engaging an active campaign of
disinformation to discredit what Schnoor has brought to light in his
recent work, which examines the conduct of Canadian mining companies
operating in Central America, and traces complicity in human rights
violations by such companies.

On January 8th and 9th of this year, Schnoor, Canadian journalist Dawn
Paley and photographer James Rodriguez were present near the town of El
Estor in eastern Guatemala during the forced evictions of several Mayan
Q'eqchi' communities that had been residing on lands claimed to be owned
by the Guatemalan Nickel Company -- a subsidiary of Canada's Skye
Resources. The evictions were illegal, destructive and violent. Close
to seven hundred police and soldiers -- many of whom were heavily armed
-- encircled the communities as workers paid by the mining company
destroyed people's homes. The army's involvement in internal policing
is illegal under the 1996 Guatemalan Peace Accords. Skye Resources
claims that the evictions were peaceful and that the forces that carried
them out were unarmed.

Schnoor captured the evictions on video, and produced a 9-minute
documentary that refutes the company's claims. This video, which has
now circulated widely on the internet, shows some of Rodriguez's photos
of heavily armed soldiers running through the woods, as families watch
their homes being burned to the ground. Also in the video, a Mayan
Q'eqchi' woman furiously rails against the injustice of the situation as
she and her family watch their home being dismantled by company
employees, all the while surrounded by hundreds of police. The video is
available at the following link:

http://www.rightsaction.org/video/elestor

Paley's article on the evictions, "This is What Development Looks Like,"
is available at http://www.dominionpaper.ca /articles/899, and
Rodriguez's photographs of the evictions are available at
http://mimundo-jamesrodriguez.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html.

In what can only be seen as an apparent effort to defend Skye's position
and discredit the long-standing land claims, development and human
rights needs of impoverished local Mayan Q'eqchi' peoples, ambassador
Cook has been repeatedly spreading misinformation about Schnoor's video.
Multiple sources attest that Cook has been insisting that the video
lacks credibility for the following reasons:

1. The photographs shown in the video were not actually taken at the
evictions; rather, they are actually old photographs -- from as far back
as the Guatemalan internal conflict -- that have been used many times
and in different places.

2. The impoverished Mayan Q'eqchi' woman who rails against the
injustice of the forced evictions was actually an actress from the town
of El Estor whom Schnoor paid to "perform" in this manner.

These accusations are extremely serious and entirely, unequivocally
false. They discredit the legitimate voices of the Mayan people
depicted in the video, and depict Schnoor as a manipulative
propagandist. They deny the ugly reality on the ground, and imply that
the indigenous peoples' voices of resistance and the images of the
illegal evictions cannot possibly be real.

On Thursday, February 21st, Schnoor wrote an e-mail to ambassador Cook,
insisting that the allegations are false and asking that Cook provide an
account for why he, as a high-ranking representative of the government
of Canada, would make such egregious statements. Schnoor respectfully
asked Cook to cease making misrepresentations that cast aspersion on his
work and interfere with his constitutionally guaranteed rights of
freedom of expression.

To be absolutely clear: all photographs in Schnoor's video were shot by
photographer James Rodriguez at the evictions near El Estor on January
8th and 9th, 2007. In fact, one particular photograph which Cook claims
to have seen many times before -- of an indigenous man burying his head
in his hand in a gesture of despair -- is currently on the cover of
Guatemalan magazine Este País (February 2007, Vol. 2, No. 8) for a
feature story on the recent evictions. Several more of Rodriguez's
photos from the evictions can be found inside the magazine. Dawn Paley,
the Canadian journalist who was also present at the evictions and was
also photographing the events, has photographs of the very same
individual. All are willing to testify and provide evidence that Cook's
allegations are entirely false and that all photographs included in the
video were indeed taken at the evictions.

Cook's allegation that the Mayan Q'eqchi' woman in the video was
actually a paid actress is so absurd that it almost might not merit a
serious response, were it not for the damage such a claim can do to
Schnoor's reputation, to say little of how insulting such a claim is to
the woman in question.

We hereby call upon the Government of Canada for an explanation, apology
and inquiry into this matter. We are very concerned that such behaviour
is symptomatic of a larger policy position which privileges Canadian
extractive industries operating abroad over concerns for the rights and
well-being of local communities.

Those familiar with Guatemalan history know that the country is infamous
for its record of repression, corruption and flagrant violations of
human rights. During the 36-year armed conflict, which officially ended
10 years ago, it is estimated that over 250,000 people were killed or
disappeared -- 80% of whom were indigenous people.

Canadian mining investment is implicated in this bloody history.
Subsoil rights to the lands where the recent evictions took place were
granted to INCO by a Guatemalan military government in 1965. INCO's
activities were facilitated by brutal and repressive military
dictatorships that massacred and repressed the local indigenous people.
Both the United Nations Commission for Historical Clarification in
Guatemala (CEH) and the “Nunca Mas” (‘Never Again’) report by the Human
Rights Office of the Archbishop of Guatemala, found INCO (through
EXMIBAL -- the Guatemalan mining company 80% owned by INCO) complicit in
grave human rights violations against opponents of the mining project,
including threats and assassinations.

It is within this historical context and through the recent illegal
evictions that Skye Resources advances its plans for the Fenix nickel
mine in the region. It does so despite local indigenous peoples' claims
that they were never previously and freely consulted, as required by the
International Labor Organization’s Convention 169 concerning Indigenous
and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, ratified by Guatemala in
1996. Furthermore, Skye has never produced property titles to many of
the lands it claims to own -- casting doubt upon the legality of the
recent evictions.

The serious human rights violations and developmental harms that for
decades have accompanied nickel mining near El Estor are but a few
examples amongst many -- from Guatemala to Ghana, from Colombia to the
Congo -- of the complicity of Canadian mining companies, the Canadian
government and by extension, the Canadian public, in political,
socio-economic and cultural rights violations. For years, Canadian
governments have promoted and funded harmful mining operations through
the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), the
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Export Development
Canada (EDC) and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). Many of the mining
activities supported are at complete odds with the locally-controlled
integral development envisioned by local communities and indigenous peoples.

We call upon Ambassador Cook to provide an account for why he made his
statements and to publicly retract them. We call upon the Government of
Canada for an inquiry into this matter, investigating the broader
implications of the ambassador's actions -- actions that are symptomatic
of Canadian government policy that privileges Canadian extractive
industries operating abroad over the human rights and development needs
of local communities. Cook's predecessor, James Lambert, also made
public statements defending Canadian mining investments while dismissing
concerns over human rights violations in the process.

We also add our voices to the others that are demanding the ratification
of binding legislation in Canada that would hold Canadian mining
companies and governmental institutions legally accountable for their
complicity in human rights violations abroad.

We look forward to hearing from you and will respond to any questions
you might have, provide further information about these issues and
participate in any hearings your offices and parties might organize.

Respectfully,

Steven Schnoor, independent filmmaker & PhD candidate, York/Ryerson
Universities

Dawn Paley, independent journalist

Grahame Russell, Rights Action co-director

James Rodriguez, independent photographer