Read: [NetworkAztlan_News] My Vote: Latinos for Peace.

10-25-2008 @11:34 PM ~

Gracias Hermano Bejarano ~ It is true that as a people Latinos have been pretty much below the radar screen in this Presidential Election process. In between marching and voting we still need to do the basic community education mobilization in order to make sure that we have more of a collective voice in human affairs involving our survival and future hopes, dreams and strategic goals. We will have to learn how to work better amongst ourselves as a diverse and cosmic people, link up with other people who are positive, progressive and productive and continue to do what we can in a spirit of love, respect and understanding.

These days I mainly concentrate on helping homeless people keep one roof over their heads with food in their stomach, do group and one-on-one crisis counseling, have a Ministry with recovering addicts, try to write a recovery-related article every now and then and strive to keep a balance in my life out in the community and here in my sanctuary. I met a beautiful lady a few months ago whom I plan to marry sometime next year. Time will tell and reveal more as time goes by.

It will all get better as time goes by so long as we keep learning, growing and experimenting. We need to be able to work with what we have and do the best that we can with available time, energy and resources. We must keep the faith in ourselves, faith in people yearning to be free and faith in our Creator God. Historically, Mexicanos, Chicanos, Latinos ~ La Raza Cosmica ~ have always been a people of faith, family and hope for the future..

Educate to Liberate!

Peter S. Lopez aka: Peta

Email: peter.lopez51@yahoo.com

Sacramento, California, U.S.A.

---

From: Bejarano <artxchange@yahoo.com>
To: *NetworkAztlan_Action <NetworkAztlan_Action@yahoogroups.com>; *NetworkAztlan_Arte <NetworkAztlan_Arte@yahoogroups.com>; *NetworkAztlan_News <NetworkAztlan_News@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 1:08:03 AM
Subject: [NetworkAztlan_News] My Vote: Latinos for Peace.

Folks, Most of us have marched and most of us have voted. I often hear people saying, "who ever you vote, vote for the party that best represents your values. And, no one party seems to do that in everything. OK, maybe that is why some follow a different drummer. To vote! / Don't vote, the no's have us to believe that we are voiceless and valueless in the political process and in that process our "Raza" people are vainly pursuing nothing that leads to victory all together—Hum, So Sad. I heard a good slogan from a friend today, "Today We Vote and Tomorrow We March". I think this thinking can leads to Real Victory In Pursuing Our Plan for Unity & Peace. And importantly, I do think, how do we lead Raza to a more broader viewpoint into a larger democratic force? How do we lead Latinos and other forces for peace and justice? When to "march together" for a better social, political and economic system? And, what are RAZA' core values and representations of work, which can move us forward? People "ranks" are counted as saying Yes—To Vote!!! SO VOTE, VOTE AGAIN AND AGAIN so that we can MARCH to Victory. On-line the message must be clear or real. Latinos for Peace.

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Latin America better girded for financial crisis: Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1024/p06s01-woam.html

SOURCE: International Monetary Fund/Rich Clabaugh–STAFF Click to Enlarge

Latin America better girded for financial crisis

The region is affected by global downturn, but more prepared this time thanks to greater foreign reserves and less external debt.

By Sara Miller Llana – Staff writer and Andrew Downie – correspondent

from the October 24, 2008 edition

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Reporter Sara Miller Llana talks about the impact of the global financial crisis on Latin America.

Mexico City and Sao Paulo, Brazil - As leaders in Washington rushed to stem the growing financial crisis in the United States, Latin American leaders thought they'd be unscathed. Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, when asked what repercussions he expected at home, retorted, "What crisis?" Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez called it the "crash of capitalism."

A few weeks later, the tone has changed remarkably for a region heavily dependent on the international prices of minerals, crude oil, and food – all of which have taken a hit – not to mention remittances, tourism, and investment.

Stock markets across the region are falling. Argentina's has sunk 20 percent since Tuesday. Brazil's dropped 10 percent Wednesday; Mexico's, 7 percent; Chile, 6 percent.

Mexico and Brazil, the region's two largest economies, spent chunks of their federal reserves to stem unexpected currency declines. Mexico introduced an emergency stimulus package, while Brazil offered $2 billion in loans to exporters through local banks. The era of uninterrupted economic growth and fiscal surpluses, it seems, could be on the wane.

Yet even as nations await the full impact of a crisis that is reaching every corner of the world, Latin America is better placed today to weather the downturn than at any other time in the past half century, says Gray Newman, senior Latin America economist at Morgan Stanley in New York. Countries in the region have, overall, kept spending within budget and built up their currency reserves. Many have solved external imbalances and adopted flexible exchange-rate systems.

"Faced with a global downturn the region's largest economies are likely to face a relatively normal business cycle rather than a fully fledged crisis," says Mr. Newman. "That is good news and represents a graduation from the past for some countries in the region."

Still, the region will have to readjust after years of steady growth. Average annual growth rates across Latin America – at 5.1 percent from 2004 to 2008 – are expected to fall hard, with expectations for next year at just 2.8 percent, according to Rahul Ghosh, head of Latin American country risk and financial markets at Business Monitor International in London.

Commodities prices are a key reason. The metals, grains, and livestock that South America sends around the world, particularly to China, helped push Latin America to five years of unstinting growth. Trade surpluses that averaged almost $100 billion a year between 2004 and 2008 are likely to fall to around $23 billion next year, according to a Morgan Stanley report.

The nations that have worked to get their economies in order – such as Brazil, Chile, and Peru – are among the best placed to keep growing next year.

Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador are expected to face tougher times – both because they are dependent on commodity exports, says Alfredo Coutino, a senior economist for Latin America at Moody's Economy.com, and because of greater needs for external financing.

On Tuesday, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in Argentina sent a bill to Congress with a plan to nationalize the country's $30 billion private pension system, in an effort she said was to protect retirees in the midst of the financial crisis.

The nation most directly affected by the US economy is Mexico, where more than 80 percent of exports head north, and where remittances represent one of the most important sources of income. Already, signs of trouble have surfaced in Mexico. The peso has plunged more than 20 percent this month after years of stability. Growth is now estimated at less than 2 percent for 2009.

President Felipe Calderón introduced a $4.4 billion "emergency spending" plan for a new oil refinery, infrastructure, and new hospitals and schools to stimulate job growth. He remained optimistic despite the problems. "Once these difficult moments pass, our economy will be stronger, will generate more jobs, and will grow more quickly," he said.

It is optimism that Mr. Coutino shares. He says Mexico has taken proper measures such as reducing its external debt and accumulating sufficient foreign reserves, unlike in past crises. "The big difference with past crisis episodes is that Mexico is in a better macroeconomic situation now. They are not going into recession," he says. "They do have resources they didn't have in past crises."

That is true across the region. In the past, Latin American economies were so tied to the US that when crisis hit there, the rippled effects were felt across the continent, in sales, income, and most noticeably in gross domestic product.

But nations such as Brazil have decoupled in recent years. Business Monitor International forecasts that only 14 percent of Brazilian exports in 2008, for example, will head to the US. For Brazil, Argentina, and other nations in the region, demand in Asia has been a buffer.

Over the weekend chief bankers from across the region met in Santiago, Chile, to address the regional impact. In a joint statement they said: "We're in better shape to face the financial turbulence, thanks to solid economic fundamentals."

Still, Newman cautions, some countries are being too optimistic. Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia, for example, still expect less than 4 percent growth next year, according to the International Monetary Fund; Newman estimates all will be closer to 2 percent.

The past half decade in Latin America has been one of boom times. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has been able to pour billions into social programs for the poor across his country and sent oil at subsidized rates around the rest of the region with oil windfalls. Lula has been able to tackle poverty, increasing the social spending budget fourfold in 2008.

Now the equation is changing. Oil prices, from highs of around $147 a barrel in July, has fallen to less than half that amount.. The fall robs nations like Venezuela, Mexico, Bolivia, and Ecuador of much-needed cash, and many are being forced to adjust future spending.

"What I would say is that this is the first real test for Lula and Chávez," says Mr. Ghosh.

"This has been a great time for Latin America in terms of external conditions. It will be interesting to see if they stick by the market-friendly policies they've advocated. There will be a public clamor to spend in a bid to prop up growth and help consumers hit by slower growth and inflation."

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Educate to Liberate!

Peter S. Lopez

Email: peter.lopez51@yahoo.com

Sacramento, California, U.S.A.

Re: Whatever Happened to Immigration as an Election Topic? "Immigrant Nation"? "Bracero Program" between 1942 and 1964 that the

10-21-2008 @9:26 AM PST ~
Gracias for sharing this Companera Dorinda and all your great sharing of news worthy events. We all need to practice the power of unity and centralize our present on the Internet and of course out in our local communities in conversions and discussions with others .

We should accept nothing less than a complete and unconditional amnesty for Mexicanos already living here in Aztlan, with criminal background checks the same as any U.S. citizen. Any so-called Mexican-Americans still walking around in a cloud need to embrace our Mestizo heritage and we should all offer sanctuary to those escaping fascist injustice.
We will not be ignored and we are here to stay and fight it all out if need by any and all means mandatory for our general situation in the nation.
This article by Che José Angel Hernández, PhD should be posted on the
Network Aztlan Website:
http://www.networkaztlan.com/

I subscribed to the blog sourcce: http://mexicanexpulsions.blogspot.com/2008/10/whatever-happened-to-immigration-as_20.html

Educate to Liberate!

Peter S. Lopez

Email: peter.lopez51@yahoo.com

Sacramento, California, U.S.A.

----- Original Message ----
From: dorinda moreno <fuerzamundial@gmail.com>
To: Mexican Expulsions <mexican.expulsions@gmail.com>; Local/National/Global <Community4ImmigrantRights@yahoogroups.com>; Movimiento <movimiento_con-safos-y-que@yahoogroups.com>; Aztlannet News <NetworkAztlan_News@yahoogroups.com>; Tommie Camarillo <cpscchicanopark@sbcglobal.net>; Juntos <juntos_sf@yahoogroups.com>; "Yes We Can, Si Se Puede" <grassroots4obama@yahoogroups.com>; "progressivesforobama@yahoogroups.com" <progressivesforobama@yahoogroups.com>; DemocraticLeft@yahoogroups.com; ObamaBrigade@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 10:04:53 AM
Subject: [NetworkAztlan_News] Whatever Happened to Immigration as an Election Topic? "Immigrant Nation"? "Bracero Program" between 1942 and 1964 that the

On 10/21/08, Mexican Expulsions <mexican.expulsions@ gmail.com> wrote:

http://mexicanexpul sions.blogspot. com/2008/ 10/whatever- happened- to-immigration- as_20.html

Whatever Happened to Immigration as an Election Topic?
By Jose Angel Hernandez
History News Network
10/20/2008

Today is a watershed period in our history: the decline in
our economy unseen in generations, an ongoing war in Iraq,
and a historic election that may result in an African
American as President of the United States. To add to this
historical moment, we daily read about factories being
raided, about families being separated, about children
being torn from their loving mothers and fathers, and about
innocent workers being forcefully deported to Mexico and
Central America. Yet, in the debates between these
candidates, the issue of immigration has not been
discussed, nor have any questions been posed to the
candidates regarding the relationship between economies and
immigration. Indeed, the noted observer of immigration,
Marcel Suarez-Orozco of Harvard University has noted
that "the best predictor of anti-immigrant sentiment is
the economy," thus underscoring the direct relationship
between the national economy and the question of
immigration reform. Thus, the outcome of this current
election may decide how these problems and polemics get
resolved. In just a few short weeks the people of this
country will decide between John McCain and Barack Obama.

According to a 1993 piece in Foreign Affairs entitled "A
Brief History of Ethnic Cleansing," "ethnic cleansing can
be understood as the expulsion of an 'undesirable'
population from a given territory due to religious or ethnic
discrimination, political, strategic or ideological
considerations, or a combination of these.." The recent
workplace raids throughout our country and the thousands of
Mexicans and Latina/os that have borne the brunt of this
exclusion are evidence that the process of "ethnic
cleansing" via deportation raids is alive and well today
under a Republican administration. The numbers are
difficult to ascertain, but recent reports from Mexico
estimate that a million deportees have now returned to
Mexico and that 90,000 children have been abandoned at the
border as a result of these recent raids. An examination
of the historical record illustrates, following the words
of Marcelo-Suarez, that when the economic situation is
tough it is often the immigrant workers.both "legal"
and "illegal".that become the first victims of this
government response.

After the Great Depression of 1929, Republican President
Herbert Hoover implemented the forced repatriation of
Mexicans and Mexican Americans. This history is not well
known in our country, and certainly not taught in local
high schools. Some might argue that such expulsions happen
only to those who entered "illegally," yet in 1929
more "legal residents" were deported to Mexico than those
considered "illegal." It is a well documented that these
expulsions led to the well over one million people being
deported to Mexico, sixty percent of whom were actually US
citizens!

In 1954, under another well known and very beloved
Republican President, Dwight David Eisenhower, Mexicans
were forcefully removed and repatriated under a
program known as "Operation Wetback." According to the
most comprehensive study of this event entitled "Operation
Wetback: The Mass Deportation of Mexican Undocumented
Workers in 1954," Juan Ramón García notes that according
to US government estimates, approximately 1.4 million
individuals were forced or coerced to leave for Mexico.
Paradoxically, it was between 1942 and 1964 that the
governments of the US and Mexico established the well known
and periodically lauded "Bracero Program" as a way to
augment the loss of labor due to WWII. So, not only did
Mexicans and Mexican Americans participate and die
during this war, but their families and relatives were
being deported as they fought to save the world from the
grasp of fascist dictators and the false notion of "racial
superiority."

In this contemporary era we are at war with Iraq and
Latina/os of all countries and ethnicities have taken the
frontline in this war against "Global Terrorism." Once
again, while Mexican Americans fight on the frontlines in
Iraq and Afghanistan, their families are being threatened
with deportation and their communities are being terrorized
by an agency that has as its mission this species
of "ethnic cleansing." Numerous stories have appeared about
soldiers fighting both terrorists and the deportation of
their loved ones at the same time. One such story was
published by the Associated Press on August 10, 2007 was
tellingly headlined "GIs worry illegal relatives will be
deported; GIs fear about family could lower morale as
immigrants swell military ranks." In that piece, the author
noted that Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Eduardo
Gonzalez is a citizen whose wife entered the country from
Guatemala and currently in "deportation proceedings."
Gonzalez's reaction to this case sums up the contradictory
stance of these policies when he noted "If I'm willing to
die for the United States, why can't I just be allowed to
be with my family?"

Some of the first casualties of this war, in fact, were
migrants (legal and illegal) from Mexico and Guatemala.
Marine Corporal Jose A. Garibay of Costa Mesa and Pfc.
Francisco A. Martinez Flores of Los Angeles were both 21
year old Mexican migrants who lost their lives in Iraq in
March 2003. Their deaths, however, represent only the
first casualties among a longer list of ongoing
sacrifices by both legal and "illegal" migrants. According
to a September 2007 piece by Domenico Maceri of New America
Media, "Figures from the National Center for Immigration
Law show that one in 10 U.S. soldiers who have died in
Iraq have been immigrants."

Today, we have a decision to make and we have an
observation to dissect when it comes to the political
stance of the two candidates. Just two weeks ago,
Senator McCain's attack on Senator Obama regarding
immigration generated a vicious exchange between the two
obligates us to examine the longer history of Mexican
migration and Comprehensive Immigration Reform. In fact,
although McCain had a long history of bipartisanship with
immigration reform, we know that he is now against his own
bill sponsored in 2006. Senator Obama, in this regard, has
condemned the recent deportation raids but voted for a bill
to extend the border wall.

Today we must ask ourselves, as Americans of all
backgrounds, whom should we vote for? Who will uphold our
greatest tradition of being an "Immigrant Nation"? This
election will determine the future of all Americans, but it
seems that McCain's continuing contradictions only
threatens to further the Latino struggle to become full
citizens in a country that today faces the question of what
it means to be a "Nation of Immigrants."

http://hnn.us/ articles/ 55760.html

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Reports on Violence in Latin America

http://www.oas.org/OASpage/press_releases/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-382/08 IN MEXICO, OAS' INSULZA CALLS FOR REGULAR MEETING OF SECURITY MINISTERS AND JOINT ACTION TO TACKLE TRANSNATIONAL CRIME October 7, 2008 Mexico City—Mexican President Felipe Calderón and Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General José Miguel Insulza today inaugurated the First Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Public Security in the Americas, an OAS forum convened to consider joint strategies to tackle the scourge of crime and violence worldwide, and particularly in this hemisphere. Addressing top security officials from the 34 Member States, the Mexican leader praised the OAS' initiative to bring the security ministers together to share experiences and devise a joint approach to transnational crime. He called on countries to collaborate to fight transnational crime on the basis of a collaborative approach, shared responsibility and respect for sovereignty. Secretary General Insulza, for his part, suggested that amidst the differences among the countries of the Americas, "all, without exception, are suffering or are beginning to suffer the consequences of this scourge"—a reference to violence stemming from organized crime. "This plague," he said, "kills more people than AIDS or any other known epidemic; destroys more homes than any economic crisis; and threatens state institutions. It is as dangerous as any other subversion element we have seen." He added: "Ridding ourselves of it, or at least substantially reducing it, is an absolute priority." He described crime and violence as "a problem that threatens the security, health, physical safety and lives of hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens," saying it furthermore directly affects the very foundations of our region's economic and political development. He stressed that "the very integrity of the state and democratic institutions in our region are seriously at risk given the scope, power and impact of crime." Insulza added that most violence against individuals is related to drug consumption and trafficking. Insulza said that acknowledging the problem is the first step towards a solution, the second being admitting that despite all efforts, a solution remains elusive. "Serious challenges remain and we still have a long way to go before we can begin to feel satisfied," he argued, identifying as a great challenge the lack of technical capacity to manage the problem. He also cited the significant constraints and lack of capacity at the institutional level. Secretary General Insulza warned that although there are public security instruments in the inter-American system to deal with transnational threats and several hemispheric mechanisms for coordination, "they are not mechanisms for comprehensive policy discussion on public security which we have an obligation to develop and coordinate today. According to Insulza, "our pressing needs call for a standing mechanism for hemispheric discussion and agreement to help us get to the root of the problem and find consensus around coordinated action to confront it." He said that this first OAS meeting of senior security officials from around the Americas "challenges us to deal with a common threat through solidarity and cooperation. "That, ultimately, is the deepest significance of the First Meeting of Ministers of Public Security of the Americas," he stated. The OAS Secretary General said this meeting should be held regularly and become the technical and policy forum for the hemisphere on all matters related to public security, and should involve coordination of effort in information, communication, technology and other areas necessary for the for the collective fight against crime in the region to succeed. +++ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/09/mexico.humanrights Rampant violence is Latin America's 'worst epidemic' * Rory Carroll in Caracas, The Guardian, * Thursday October 9 2008 Violent crime in Latin America kills more people and wreaks more economic havoc than Aids, the head of the Organisation of American States warned this week. Drug trafficking, gang warfare, kidnapping and other crimes pose one of the gravest threats to the region's stability, said José Miguel Insulza. "It is an epidemic, a plague on our continent that kills more people than Aids or any other known epidemic. It destroys more homes than any economic crisis." The warning came amid a backdrop of horrific violence in Mexico, where drug cartels are waging war against the state, and evidence that cities from Caracas to Buenos Aires are becoming more dangerous. The number of people killed by gun crime in central and south America is four times the world average, according to UN estimates, with a homicide rate of more than 25 per 100,000 people. In parts of El Salvador, Guatemala and Venezuela the rate is more than 100 per 100,000. The violence has been blamed on factors including poverty, inequality, cocaine trafficking, the legacy of civil wars, a bountiful supply of guns and corrupt, ineffective state institutions, notably the police, prisons and courts. Anger at crime and distrust of the police often leads to lynchings, with several suspects recently beaten and hacked to death in Bolivia, Guatemala and Peru. There are even grimmer stories from jails which are controlled by inmates. Rigoberta Menchu, Guatemala's human rights activist and Nobel laureate, has referred to crime as a cancer. Crime stories, often accompanied by grisly images, dominate media coverage and rank at or near the top of public concerns. Most victims are impoverished slum-dwellers but the perception of danger still hinders tourism and investment, with several Caribbean countries feeling the sting of recent high-profile murders. Some studies suggest Latin America"s income could be 25% higher if its crime rate, which began soaring in the 1980s, was similar to the rest of the world. Aids, in contrast, has stayed largely in check, with HIV prevalence remaining at under 1% in most countries. Insulza made his dramatic warning at a two-day security meeting of the OAS in Mexico City. He praised the host government's controversial decision to deploy 20,000 soldiers against powerful drug cartels, a move which provoked a vicious backlash. Thousands have died, the state has lost control of several areas and headless bodies are discovered with numbing regularity. Mexico's president, Felipe Calderón, called for a pan-regional database on criminals and a "continental front" which would include the US. "We must attack simultaneously not only drug smuggling, but the world's main market," he said. Some countries, such as Costa Rica, are relatively untouched by the violence and in Colombia, once-notorious cities such as Bogotá and Medellín have enjoyed a renaissance as leftwing insurgency has ebbed before a US-supported military offensive. Brazil's favelas, however, remain killing zones for gangs and police and a perceived crime wave in Argentina has driven anxious middle-class families into South Africa-style gated communities. +++ http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/235819,violence-against-journalists-increasing-in-latin-america-sip-warns.html Violence against journalists increasing in Latin America, SIP warns Posted : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:21:46 GMT Madrid - The Inter-American Press Society (SIP) warned Tuesday of increasing violence and pressure against journalists in Latin America. The association concluded its five-day 64th general assembly that brought more than 500 American and European media owners, directors and other representatives to the Spanish capital Madrid. Press freedom has suffered this year in Latin America, where eight journalists were killed in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela, SIP said. Relations between governments and the media have deteriorated, with authorities using "constant and systematic verbal aggressions" against journalists, the association said. Public funds were also used to pressure the media, and laws were circumvented to hamper public access to information, SIP complained. In Mexico, drug traffickers wanted to impose "a law of silence" in many parts of the country, the association said. SIP also expressed concern over attempts to restrict press freedom in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. On closing the assembly, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said his government would propose a law to guarantee the largest possible access of citizens to public information. Come Together and Create! Peter S. Lopez aka: Peta Email: sacranative@yahoo.com Sacramento, California, Aztlan