Latin America sees wave of constitutional votes +

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/14/news/LT-Latam-Constitutions-Glance.php

Latin America sees wave of constitutional votes

The Associated Press

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Latin American leaders have long amended constitutions or rewritten them entirely to break with the past or simply prolong their rule. A flurry of such efforts accompanied the end of dictatorships in the late 1980s. Here's a look at some of the constitutional rewrites since then:

VENEZUELA: In 1999, President Hugo Chavez won a new constitution less than a year into his term, enhancing human rights protection, giving members of the military the right to vote and allowing the president to run for immediate re-election. In late 2007, voters narrowly defeated his attempt to make 69 more changes aimed at making Venezuela socialist. In a new vote Sunday, Chavez has rebounded with a narrower proposal that would remove term limits on politicians, including himself. Venezuela has had 24 constitutions since independence in 1811.

BOLIVIA: Last month, a proposal by President Evo Morales to give the indigenous majority greater rights and allow him to run for re-election was approved by 62 percent of voters.

ECUADOR: In September, Ecuadoreans overwhelmingly approved a new constitution championed by leftist President Rafael Correa that increased the social safety net for the poor, enhanced the power of the central government and lets Correa run for two more terms. Ecuador has had 20 constitutions since independence in 1822.

COLOMBIA: Colombia's constitution was amended in 2004 to let President Alvaro Uribe serve two consecutive terms; he won re-election in 2006. Supporters are seeking another amendment that would let him begin a third term next year; voters and the Constitutional Court would need to approve the change.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: The Dominican Republic has had an eye-popping 31 constitutions since its 1844 independence. The latest came in 2002, allowing presidents to serve more than one term. Leonel Fernandez won his second term two years later.

GUATEMALA: In a vote that fell largely along racial lines, Guatemalans rejected a 1998 package of 50 amendments intended to enshrine in the constitution the results of U.N.-brokered peace accords that ended a 36-year civil war.

PANAMA: Panamanian voters rejected a 1998 effort by President Ernesto Perez Balladares to establish consecutive re-election.

BRAZIL: Former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso won a constitutional amendment in 1997 allowing elected officials to run for consecutive re-election. He won re-election the following year.

ARGENTINA: Former President Carlos Menem pushed through an amendment in 1994 that expanded the bill of rights, streamlined the legislature and allowed presidential re-election.

PERU: Former President Alberto Fujimori rewrote the constitution in 1993 to allow his re-election, and he won two more terms until fleeing to Japan in 2000 when his government collapsed in a corruption scandal.

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Comment: Hell, we should still prosecute the Bush Cabal for crimes against humanity that actually violated the U.S. Constitution! Many Constitutional problems simply arise from governments not enforcing the good laws to ensure order and justice that are already on the law books, such as the Bill of Rights. Remember that one?

When was the last time you read the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and/or the Bill of Rights?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?

It is good that These Latin American governments are open to still make modifications to their own Constitutions and should be respected for their flexibiloity. People talk shit about Mexican corruption but the U.S.A. is the most corrupt government in all of human history!

People's basic humane rights are ordained by the Great Creator, by nature and by what is just, fair and right for people based upon our basic humane right to survival and our right to have our basic survival needs met by the powers-that-be. Or else why even have any government or system of laws?!? It always always goes back to and down to our basic survival needs as human beings: food, clothing, shelter, medicine and basic education.

Memory Links:

 

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.overview.html

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights.html

Education for Liberation!
Peter S. Lopez aka: Peta
Email: peter.lopez51@yahoo.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THIRD-WORLD-NEWS/

KeyLink: http://www.NetworkAztlan.com

The Latino vote and the GOP: Christian Science Monitor + Comment

http://www.csmonitor.com/patchworknation/csmstaff/2009/0211/the-latino-vote-and-the-gop/

The Latino vote and the GOP

Using demographic data, Patchwork Nation has identified 11 voter communities.

(Colors on map represent unique voter communities)

 

James Gimpel

Posted: 02.11.2009 / 10:34 AM EST

Exit polls from Election Day 2008 showed that nationwide, Barack Obama won 67 percent of the Latino vote and John McCain 32 percent. Latino support for Senator McCain was similar to what President Bush received in 2004, which was in the 39 to 44 percent range.

The Republicans did not gain ground with Latino voters in 2008. But a look back at a number of election cycles indicates that the GOP can rely on 30 percent of the Hispanic vote as a reliable base. In fact, Republicans see the Latino population as a growing constituency and a desirable target of their campaigns.

Here we examine the Latino vote across the 11 community types in Patchwork Nation. Was there geographic variation in Hispanic support for McCain, or did the same percentage of Latinos support Mr. Obama from region to region?

To answer this question, we analyzed a 50-state survey conducted online by Zogby International just before Election Day. It captured a sizable number of Hispanics, more than 3,400 of whom reported that they were likely to vote. The survey's sample was better educated than the voting population as a whole, yet the estimate for the final vote division among Latinos was 65 percent for Obama and 35 percent for McCain – not far off from the exit poll result.

The vote in Patchwork Nation locales

Their political preferences did vary somewhat by region, though not as much as one might expect. Our tabulations suggest that the most lopsidedly Democratic voting occurred among Latinos living in liberal "Campus and Careers" locations, where only 25 percent supported McCain. Support for Obama also went above the 65 percent figure in large cities of the old urban core ("Industrial Metropolis"), growing and diversifying cities ("Boom Towns"), wealthy and well-educated locales ("Monied 'Burbs"), and counties with large African-American populations ("Minority Central").

McCain had a good showing among Latinos in "Immigration Nation" communities, which includes many Arizona counties, where he received 45 percent of the Hispanic vote. McCain also won an estimated 41 percent of the Latino vote in "Military Bastions" (which are near armed-forces installations), 40 percent in small-town "Service Worker Centers," and 38 percent in culturally conservative "Evangelical Epicenters."

Moreover, in "Emptying Nest" locations, many of which are in Florida, McCain won a solid majority of Latinos polled. This probably reflects the Republican support among Cubans in that state, a notable exception to the generally 2-to-1 Democratic edge among Latinos.

There were too few Latinos participating in this particular survey from the most rural locations to obtain reliable estimates for "Tractor Country" locations.

Different concentrations of Hispanics

One thing to keep in mind in reviewing these figures is that the Latino population is not evenly spread across these communities. Latinos appear to vote the most Republican in the areas where they are least concentrated – specifically in "Military Bastions" and "Service Worker Centers," where they make up a rather small percentage of the total population. In areas where they find themselves in greater concentration, they vote heavily Democratic, as in the "Monied 'Burbs" and in "Boom Towns."

The fact that McCain won an estimated 38 percent of the Latino vote in "Evangelical Epicenters" may indicate that Republicans fare better among Evangelical and "born-again" Latinos than they do among traditional Roman Catholics or the nonreligious.

Although Republicans have made little or no headway over the past decade in efforts to realign Hispanic voters, some places may offer a glimmer of hope – especially the more Republican areas of the South and Southwest.

Over the long term, Republicans can try to enlarge their voting margins among Latinos by focusing on Hispanics who are moving into areas of existing strength for the GOP. In these places, Latinos can develop ties to Republican adherents and participate in elections where GOP candidates are competitive. This will undoubtedly be a multigenerational process, not one that will develop in response to a single campaign or two.

Comment: There can be no doubt that the Latino vote will continue to play a key role in American electoral politics, though much needs to be done to assure that Latinos are not taken for granted and stuck in anyone's back pocket. In between elections, we need to focus on the power of the vote, continue to do voter registration, continue to promote community education and always seek to raise consciousness.

Latinos must see themselves as a part of the larger general population, integrate on all levels and not isolate themselves into pockets of influence. We need to utilize with wisdom the power of the Internet to get our voices out, to express our opinions and to let the world know that we are here inside the U.S.A. in opposition to the global chess game of the old Amerikan Empire!

Education for Liberation!
Peter S. Lopez aka: Peta
Email: peter.lopez51@yahoo.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THIRD-WORLD-NEWS/

KeyLink: http://www.NetworkAztlan.com

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gh6nuVrWnEaJeA54KlfRZbsN7DeQD967VNVO1

Immigrant raids often mark start of years of limbo

By IVAN MORENO – 19 hours ago

GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — Ernesto Garcia counted himself lucky after he was swept up in a 2006 immigration raid on a northern Colorado meatpacking plant: Unlike hundreds of co-workers here illegally, he was allowed to stay in the U.S.

Two years later, he's jobless and barely getting by while he waits for his immigration case to be resolved.

The 34-year-old Guatemalan is among hundreds of people across the country stuck in limbo while their cases inch their way through immigration courts. A favorable ruling would get them a green card. But in the meantime — and the meantime can be years — they're barred from working.

Julien Ross, director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, calls it a "sadistic" way to get immigrants to give up and go home.

"This is another example of why the raids don't work," Ross said. "It's almost salt on the wound to have them wait for years for their cases to be resolved. And the government knows they can't work."

Immigration cases do not have the same "speedy trial" requirements as criminal cases. Denver's four immigration judges each have up to 2,000 cases at a time, so delays are inevitable, said Christina Fiflis, an attorney who has represented some of the workers detained in the federal raid on the Swift & Co. plant in Greeley on Dec. 12, 2006.

Some can apply for work permits, but often there's an "extraordinary delay" in getting them, she said.

Unable to work, many rely on friends, family and charity.

"In many cases, the families will exhaust all options to see if they can remain in the country, especially families who have been here for a long time," said Rosa Maria Castaneda, a researcher with the Urban Institute, a Washington-based group that tracks the impact of workplace raids.

Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agency doesn't know how many people arrested in raids are still in the United States waiting for immigration court hearings.

"Although this is their right, there are limits on what they can and cannot do in the meantime. There is no provision in law to give work authorization to those who have been found working illegally in the United States," Rusnok said.

Elaine Komis, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review — the immigration court system — said it's common for immigration cases to take years when people appeal a decision by the immigration judge.

Castaneda's group doesn't have an exact count of pending cases from recent work-site raids.

But she said they include some of the 261 people detained in the Swift raid in Greeley and another 261 in a same-day raid in Grand Island, Neb. They also include 361 workers swept up in a March 2007 raid on the Michael Bianco Inc. textile factory in New Bedford, Mass. As of December, 201 of those workers remained in New Bedford.

"It's difficult because you can't get work. But we're putting our faith in God, that he will help us," said Brenda Miranda, whose husband, Jose Mendoza, was detained in Greeley, 60 miles north of Denver. "It's worth it because our children will have better opportunities," she said in Spanish.

Miranda, 26, said her husband, who like her is from northern Mexico, has been working sporadically — and illegally — in construction. She said he's left with about $120 a week after making child support payments.

Mendoza, 29, was arrested again late last year when Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck launched an investigation into more than 1,300 people he says filed tax returns with false or stolen identities. Mendoza's next immigration hearing is in December.

Garcia also has worked illegally since the raid; his last job, in a carrot and onion field, ended in November. It paid him $300 a week, part of which he used to pay an immigration attorney.

The raid in which Garcia was picked up was part of an ICE operation that also targeted Swift plants in Grand Island; Cactus, Texas; Hyrum, Utah; Marshalltown, Iowa; and Worthington, Minn.. ICE said a total of 1,297 workers were arrested that day. In the end, Garcia and others — including some whose next court date isn't until December, or three years after the raid — may be deported.

A church and a community group have stepped in to help the immigrants in Greeley.

"I feel like they're here, they're hungry, and we have a moral imperative to help them," said Ann Ratcliffe, 65, a Family of Christ Presbyterian Church member. She calls the families picked up in the raid "vecinos" — neighbors.

The church and its affiliates have pitched in more than $30,000 over the last two years to help about two dozen families while they wait for their cases to be resolved.

"Here they are and they're stuck," said the Rev. Richard Craft, pastor of the Greeley church that helps administer the funds through the community group Al Frente de la Lucha (At the Front of the Battle).

Garcia, who came to Colorado illegally 13 years ago, hopes that the amount of time he has spent here will lead to legal status.

"If it's horrible for me here, in my country it would be worse," said Garcia. "Better to fight here and see what happens."

Ricardo Romero, a leader of Al Frente de la Lucha, said the families still in Greeley include about 13 from Guatemala, six from Mexico and two from El Salvador.

"Once the (church) money runs out, I don't know what we'll do," Romero said. "But if we make it to the court dates, and somebody gets citizenship, then I guess it was all worth it."

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Comment: We need a general amnesty now for all law-biding Mexican workers inside the United States. This is only the beginning for a rational and humane immigration legislation package.

Education for Liberation!
Peter S. Lopez aka: Peta
Email: peter.lopez51@yahoo.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THIRD-WORLD-NEWS/

KeyLink: http://www.NetworkAztlan.com

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-immigrant10-2009feb10,0,2660538.story

Foundation aims to help L.A. immigrants

The California Community Foundation plans a campaign to help L.A. immigrants become more active citizens by helping them learn English, improve job skills and increase civic participation.

By Teresa Watanabe
Email: teresa.watanabe@latimes.com
7:20 PM PST, February 9, 2009

A leading California foundation plans today to announce a broad campaign to help Los Angeles immigrants become more active citizens with a new $3.75-million, five-year program to help them learn English, improve job skills and increase civic participation.

The California Community Foundation in Los Angeles also is set to release a 75-page report that documents the essential and dynamic role immigrants play in the regional economy and suggests ways to help them become even more productive.

Immigrants make up nearly half the Los Angeles workforce and contribute nearly 40% of the county's gross regional product, with rates of entrepreneurship higher than their native-born counterparts, according to the report by Manuel Pastor and Rhonda Ortiz of the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration. Despite lower-than-average wages, immigrants also account for more than one-third of the county's spending power.

But the report also found pressing needs for more English classes, job training and leadership development programs to help immigrants acquire the skills needed to keep the state economically competitive as baby boomers age and begin to retire. About 28% of Los Angeles County residents are baby boomers who will eventually need to be replaced in the workforce -- many of them by immigrants who on average are less skilled and educated.

"The fates of Los Angeles County and immigrants are intertwined," said Antonia Hernandez, foundation president. "The programs that will most benefit this county are tied to our economic vibrancy, and that is tied to our immigrant workforce."

In response to the report's call for more private efforts to help immigrants become better citizens, the foundation plans today to release the first of its requests for proposals to improve English fluency, widen access to social services and build cross-cultural trust.

Hernandez called the proposals the start of a "comprehensive approach to integrating immigrants into the fabric of Southern California life" and said she hoped the seed money would encourage other foundations, businesses and community organizations to join the initiative.

Hernandez said that lack of English skills was one of the greatest impediments for immigrants to move up the economic ladder. Although 45% of immigrants who arrived in Los Angeles in the last decade speak English well, nearly half of those who work in the two industries with the highest concentration of foreign-born workers -- production/building and grounds cleaning/maintenance -- are not proficient, according to Ortiz. Yet researchers have found that the ability to speak English can raise wages by up to 20%.

To help rectify what the report called a "striking shortage" of English-language programs, the foundation plans to fund two-year grants totaling $150,000 for instructional technology and workplace English classes. One ground-breaking program identified by Pastor and Ortiz is collaboration between the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce and the Rancho Santiago Community College District to teach English to 50,000 Santa Ana workers in 70 locations around the city by 2010; the program offers a home language kit for those unable to attend on-site classes.

In addition, the foundation plans to offer grants ranging from $25,000 to $200,000 to increase immigrant access to social services, increase civic engagement and build trust between immigrants and native-born populations.

The report specifically cited tensions in South Los Angeles, where seven major public high schools, for instance, changed from 85 percent African American in the early 1980s to more than 70% Latino today. The report called on continued investment in African American communities.

Hernandez and Pastor said they aimed to change public perceptions of immigrants as social burdens to assets. As a practical matter, they said, immigrants are here to stay.

"We have the largest number of immigrants in the country, and we have to figure out how to make them succeed," Pastor said. "If they and their children do well, the region does well."

Comment: This is the kind of positive community-based programs that Latino-Chicano activists should be busy about doing. We need practical programs that are going to be sustainable and provide concrete services for the people, not mere rallies and marches.

Education for Liberation!
Peter S. Lopez aka: Peta
Email: peter.lopez51@yahoo.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THIRD-WORLD-NEWS/

KeyLink: http://www.NetworkAztlan.com