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The Impending Political Crisis in Mexico
The electoral crisis in Mexico has not been resolved. In fact, judging by yesterday’s events, it is metastasizing into a serious political crisis. But before I comment on the recent events, I want to step back a little and look at the big picture. For the most part, and regardless of noises made by Calderón […]
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With 99.36% of Election Certificates Counted in the Districts, Felipe Calderón has a 0.39% Advantage
Con 99.36% de las actas computadas en los distritos, Felipe Calderón tiene ventaja de 0.39% Cuando se lleva el cómputo del 99.36 por ciento de las 130 mil 477 actas electorales en los 300 consejos distritales*, el candidato del PAN, Felipe Calderón, lleva en su favor el 35.79 por ciento de los sufragios y su […]
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98.45% of Polling Stations Tallied, Difference of One Percentage Point between Calderón and Obrador [Con 98.45% de casillas, diferencia de un punto entre Calderón y AMLO: PREP]
Revela el conteo desplome de Madrazo Da a conocer el IFE archivo de inconsistencias Faltan por computar 2 mil 17 casillas, lo que supone un millón 111 mil 350 sufragios potenciales Al computarse 98.45 por ciento de las casillas de la votación para la Presidencia de la República, el Programa de Resultados Electorales Preliminares (PREP) […]
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When Will the AFL-CIO Leadership Quit Blaming the Chinese Government for Multinational Corporate Decisions, US Government Policies, and US Labor Leaders’ Inept Reponses?
The AFL-CIO has just formally petitioned the Bush Administration to “take immediate action to stop exploitation by the Chinese government and multinational corporations of workers in China, who are paid as little as 15 cents per hour” (AFL-CIO, “AFL-CIO Files Workers’ Rights Case Against China ,” Press Release, June 8, 2006). It appears that the […]
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Mexican and Central American Labor: The Crux of the Immigration Issue in the U.S.
Capitalism’s demand for cheap labor is the thread that runs throughout the history of immigration in the U.S. and remains the central issue today. Currently, the crux of the immigration issue is the status of the undocumented Mexican and Central American labor force working in this country. Just how closely the U.S. economy is linked […]
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On Neoliberalism: An Interview with David Harvey
A BRIEF HISTORY OF NEOLIBERALISM by David HarveyBUY THIS BOOK Neoliberalism has left an indelible, smoldering mark on our world for the last thirty years. Eminent Marxist geographer David Harvey, author of A Brief History of Neoliberalism (Oxford, 2005), spoke earlier this year to Sasha Lilley, of the radical radio program Against the Grain, about […]
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Iran at the World Cup
I watched the World Cup match of Iran and Mexico — two peoples with whom Washington is at odds! — on 11 June, with my Iranian friends (mainly men). So I adopted Iran as my team for the day. Knowing little about Iranian footballers, before the match began, I told my friends to point out […]
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State and Gender Violence in Atenco [Violencia de Estado, Violencia de Género en Atenco]
¿Qué mujer en México, sin importar sus ideas, puede honestamente quedarse callada? Los días 3 y 4 de mayo del 2006, quedarán en la memoria de los habitantes de San Salvador Atenco, como unos de los días más tristes y violentos de su historia contemporánea. Este pueblo, de unos 33 mil habitantes, dependientes aún de […]
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Immigrants, Advocates Take Sides on Senate Guest-Worker Bill
Andrew Stern, president of the 1.7-million-member Service Employees International Union, once likened the leadership of a mass movement to the crew on a sailboat. What matters is the wind in the sails, he said, not the fight over who steers. The wind behind the movement for immigrant rights had reached gale force by May […]
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Stop Saying This Is a Nation of Immigrants!
A nation of immigrants: This is a convenient myth developed as a response to the 1960s movements against colonialism, neocolonialism, and white supremacy. The ruling class and its brain trust offered multiculturalism, diversity, and affirmative action in response to demands for decolonization, justice, reparations, social equality, an end of imperialism, and the rewriting of history — not to be “inclusive” — but to be accurate. What emerged to replace the liberal melting pot idea and the nationalist triumphal interpretation of the “greatest country on earth and in history,” was the “nation of immigrants” story.
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The Next Greed Revolution
“Green-minded activists failed to move the broader public not because they were wrong about the problems, but because the solutions they offered were unappealing to most people.” — Alex Steffen, “The Next Green Revolution,” Wired Magazine, May 2006 — It’s about time you woke up to the good news, Jimmy! If we can just unleash the […]
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Circling the Wagons and Building Walls:Washington’s Immigration Policy
So Bush and company want to put thousands of armed troops on the border between the United States and Mexico. The supposed reason for this move is to stem the flow of immigrants coming into the US from the south. I have a feeling that this move will be probably popular in Congress and amongst […]
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Good Neighbor Senator Sessions Walls Out Mexico . . . and Robert Frost
“The Senate fence measure was embodied in an amendment offered by Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama, who borrowed from the poet Robert Frost. ‘Good fences make good neighbors,’ he said. ‘Fences don’t make bad neighbors.’” — New York Times, 17 May 2006 What Senator Sessions knows is of no interest to me. It must […]
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The Sewing Factory in Gaza, the Administration in Tel-Aviv, and the Owners in New York: Israeli Industrialists’ Strategy in the Global Supply Chain
The aim of this paper is to try to understand the Israeli industrialists’ strategy in the globalization process in the course of the recent years. The new strategy was implemented in the days of the first Intifada (the Palestinian uprising) in the late 80s. At that time voices were heard in the Association of Israeli […]
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Quiet Gestures, Heroic Acts: A Conversation with Robert Ellsberg
Robert Ellsberg is a well-known activist and author of numerous books, but most importantly, a tireless advocate for social justice and a witness to the lives of others whose integrity and purpose provide useful models. His most recent book is Blessed Among All Women: Women Saints, Prophets and Witnesses for Our Times. One of my […]
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Amnesty Now!
When a gun-touting cowboy, who calls for 6,000 National Guard troops to be stationed along the US-Mexico border, is presented as having taken the “middle ground” in the immigration debate, you know how far to the right mainstream politics are in the US. Bush’s address on May 15 calls not only for strict border control […]
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“Hispanic Quebec” Makes Its Entrance [L’entrée en scène du «Québec hispanophone»]
En ce Premier Mai 2006, des milliers et des milliers de Latinos se sont absentés du travail et de l’école, ont manifesté dans les rues des principales villes américaines et ont fait grève de consommation pour protester contre le projet de loi HR 4437 sur le contrôle de l’immigration illégale et faire reconnaître leur apport […]
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Stolen Birthright: The U. S. Conquest and Exploitation of the Mexican People [El patrimonio robado: La conquista estadounidense y la explotación de los mexicanos]
[This essay is the second installment of “Stolen Birthright: The U. S. Conquest and Exploitation of the Mexican People” by Richard D. Vogel. Read the first installment here.] La guerra de Estados Unidos en México La guerra de Estados Unidos en México de 1846-1848 fue la primera guerra estadounidense de agresión en contra de una […]
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Stolen Birthright: The U.S. Conquest and Exploitation of the Mexican People [El patrimonio robado: La conquista estadounidense y la explotación de los mexicanos]
Un espíritu del pasado está penando en América. Pero ese espíritu no es un fantasma — es la emergencia de millones de mexicanos y méxicoamericanos, descendientes de los desterrados, a quienes se les negaron sus patrimonio en el suroeste de los Estados Unidos, y quienes están creciendo en poder y tienen hambre de justicia. La […]
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Harperism: The First Three Months
The opening of the 39th Parliament of Canada on 3 April 2006 quickly revealed what should now be plain to all. Under the Conservative Party leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Canadians are faced with a government with an unambiguous right-wing agenda. The outlines of the “Harperism” project can readily be discerned: there is a […]