The REAL Last LAST Blog:

The REAL Last LAST Blog:

I’ve been dragged out of blog retirement quite quickly. 

So, for this week, we are to reflect on what we have learned in LAST 301: Human and Civil Rights in Latin America. The first thought that comes to my head is: wow. Once-a-week classes sure do fly by. Although busing back to UBC after class was a tiny drag, I can’t really complain because I’ve lived on campus my whole time studying. Perhaps it was about time I commuted to relate to the tens of thousands that do so every day.  Truth is, I loved going to the class because the environment was very open and dialogue-inducing from the very beginning, and the downtown change of setting actually made for a sense of novelty every Monday. 

Ok: as far as lessons learned, the first thing that really came at me when looking back was the fact that the entire Human Rights discourse (which I took for granted for my whole life) seems to crumble pretty quickly when it is discussed. Perhaps it doesn’t crumble entirely, but it surely is a concept that, upon analysis, shows gaping holes between its rhetoric and its reality. Mentioning the fact that, previous to this class I took human rights for granted as this existing, clearly defined concept, I realize that I never gave any thought to their nature. As soon as I started thinking about them from different angles (comparing it to law, looking back towards times in history in which the discourse did not operate or exist, etc) I saw that it was not a very clearly defined concept: sure their are many ‘rights’ enshrined, some are respected, hundreds are broken. But what makes them rights? why are they called ‘rights’, what the hell are they? (personally, being last named Izquierdo, I find the concept exclusionary. Not really, but why ‘rights’? I like etymology.) It is a question that I'm still grappling with, but one I never asked myself before this class. As a sociologist in training, I believe asking one’s self these kinds of questions is healthy. 

The notion of Human Rights as Western Hegemony was interesting. Very interesting. The Makau Matua reading ‘hipped’ me to that idea and it’s a heavy one that can be explored quite deeply. 

The fact that H.R.s shine for their absence, or the absence of their respect, was another thing I came to see towards the end of the course. On this subject, I believe reading the more, how to put it.... emotionally powerful readings we worked through, was great not only for the sake of better understanding Latin America, but also for what could be a sort of 'bearing witness'. However, I do have to say that the human psyche is such that, towards the end of the course, the laundry lists of utterly awful actions that we now interpret under the rubric of human rights violations, started losing its shock. I don’t know if anyone else felt like that. 

I learned more about the conquest, but also about the continued struggles for and in Latin America. 

Finally, I learned of a whole new slew of Grade-A Villains and the role they played in the history of my peoples. But what I got out of the course that was my personally favorite part, was a large list of new Heroes. I will not type it up here, but I hope everyone else got some too. 

Awesome class. 

Peace!!!

Final Post - Guatemala pt II.

“I’m from where people worship the gods of their conquerors and practically every president’s a money launderer...”    

Immortal Technique, The 3rd World. 

“The Army killed us like chuchos...” (95)

This was again, a powerful reading. The first thing I can think of as I look back at all the chapters, is the feeling that first: the reading tied towards the end clearly with the Argentina case study, in particular with the ‘gringa’ character in the end and her mission, eerily reminiscent of the Argentine Madres. Second: that the two case studies for the session seem to represent the common experiences of the ‘Southern Cone’ with its dictatorships, and of the nations from Guatemala on down to about Bolivia, with their  very much contemporary history of internal (although with plenty of external [U.S.] help) insurgency-state conflicts. 

The first chapter we read, Nebaj, drew my attention from its second paragraph to the centrality of the institution that is the military in Guatemalan society. This was through its description of the barracks's placement in the town, although it would become evident throughout the readings as we learned of just how far Guatemalan life experience has been dictated by its Army in recent decades (centuries?). 

I did feel as though Nebaj’s historical context was a bit too Jared Diamond (which I don't particularly enjoy). From this chapter, I drew a parallel between the initial militarization of haciendas to the same process through which Colombia’s paramilitary nightmare was created. 

A clear theme here was a feeling throughout all chapters of a continuation, or rather a continuum, of The Conquest. The labor situation that first led to the arming of the peasants and guerrillas, was not anything unlike the slavery and peonage that has been occurring for 500 plus years now. And of course, the zealousness with which so many denominations of Christianity were salivating for the souls of the Guatemalan Original People also added to this theme significantly. 

In fact, the biggest theme perhaps, was that of hypocrisy: Absolute Christian hypocrisy, killing and torturing in the name of the lord, of civilization or of whatever else. Political hypocrisy, fighting an alleged global communist conspiracy with methods of turning the populace against itself clearly reminiscent of the Soviet Union and East Germany. Military hypocrisy, first immersing the population into a course on cruelty and torture, and then expecting peace to grow out of this. 

For the sake of business, of cheap labor, of modern day slavery, the Church, military and the law all came together to beat on the population that they are all supposed to service. Man, this reading pissed me off. 

I enjoyed the rebellions in the farms. It was reminiscent of Fernando Soto Aparicio’s La Rebelion de las Ratas. The author’s quick blame of these actions as causing more trouble to the population, while true, do seem quite a bit paternalistic, as it is clear that the authors would have needed generations of personally suffering torture, humiliation and death in order to give an informed judgment on why it was a stupid thing to act that way. Clearly, it was a time in which no logic held any kind of ground. This paternalism reared its ugly head, at least in my opinionated opinion, at the end, when it is suggested that the struggle of the Guatemalan people for the past few decades was only in need of a brave white woman to make real progress. I thought that was a tiny bit of BS, in particular due to the fact that, whatever the temporary hubbub in Washington, nothing really changed in the hills of the Ixil. 

Anyways, the emotions that this reading brought up have led me to rant. I will end by saying that this reading clearly demonstrates why in the culture that is Hip Hop, the letter agency so prominently involved in this case study (both parts) is known either as Criminals In Action, or the Cocaine Importing Agency. 

-Also of great interest: the word ‘racism’ never came up. Plenty of talk about ladinos this, Mayas that, Christians and gringos the other, even ethnic cleansing. Can we acknowledge that a lot of this is rooted in basic and pure racism? 

-And... what’s up with all the Satanism references? The pope was satanic, Gorbachev was the Anti-Christ, Rios-Montt, criminal-against-humanity par excellence was there to usher in the second-coming of Christ! .... Religious Psychological Warfare 101. 

Peace. 

News Story - Belize - LGBT Rights.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/16/global-campaign-decriminalise-homosexuality-belize-court?newsfeed=true


Very interesting for several reasons: First, I wanted to look at those three countries East of V/zuela that we barely consider as Latino. Second, it describes steps taken from the U.K. to change the laws of another sovereign country. Third, the barbarity of outlawing homosexual intercourse. Lastly: it connects to our last case study in that we see the Church(es) side with the rights-abusing party in the conflict.


Peace!

News Story - Paraguay

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/11/paraguay’s-indigenous-peoples’-rights-slowly-improving/

An interesting story about the current conditions of Paraguayan indigenous people, in relation to a U.N. visit. It is interesting to see how at the end, the official talks about the U.N. declaration on the rights of ingenious peoples as being the answer. I've read the charter and it is a powerful document, if only in its language. It would be interested to see how Paraguay, or any colonized area in the world, would be shaped by an implementation to the letter of it.

Peace.

RE: Case Study: Guatemala, Bitter Fruit

“...The United States were more interested in unquestioning allies than democratic ones...” (254).

This week's readings were very interesting, however, the cyclical nature of recent history in Guatemala made it so that by the end, things were getting confusing. Many of the 'changes' of power seemed to be replaying the previous regime, only worse. It reminded me of the whole 'dream within a dream within a dream' idea, although it was clearly a nightmare for all involved. Except, apparently, the CIA. They seemed to have faired pretty good by the end, growing their reputation for their.... intelligence assessment?

Not quite. 

Here are some of the things that jumped at me. I feel as though some go with a theme that I’ve explored in previous blogs of ‘things that remind me of the the contemporary U.S.’ The first chapter, however, reminds me of a different theme that I have also noticed in previous class readings: that is, the way in which certain individuals, strong personalities, ‘crazies’ even, have had huge effects on the history of millions of people. We saw it in A Memory of Fire , for example. Here we see it with Banana Sam. Also of great interest in this chapter was learning of the connection between New England and Central America. 

The fist instance of my U.S. theme came with the bogus Czech shipment in ‘the final countdown’. I could not help but feeling as though it was the day’s Iraqi WMDs scenario. The second instance was the fact that at the time, the U.S. was acting under an idea that the Cold War meant a different set of rules for ‘the game’, which seems to parallel the paradigm under which the war on terror is ran. 

The part with Che was very interesting in that it implied that U.S. actions somehow, by further radicalizing Guevara, had a direct role of causation in the way the Cuban Revolution developed. As the fight against Arbenz developed, the opening of the caches by the American-supported army connected with my U.S. theme again, as it mirrored what happened in Iraq at the beginning of the occupation. 

I found of interest the many hands that came to the Guatemalan pot. From the UFC (not the Ultimate fighting Championship, but the company that brought us the lovely term ‘Banana Republic’, which by the way, how offensive of a brand name is it?) to Time magazine writers called to draft constitutions, to the bizarre way in which the diplomats behaved (even getting assassinated in the dubious line of duty). 

The entire post-‘liberation’ period just stinks of a Guatemala with zero point zero sovereignty, which is a sad picture. The way in which Castillo-Armas (can you get a better name for that job? What is this, a Dickens-written telenovela?) was ‘built up’ as a Libertador made me wonder how much of the alleged predilection for caudillos in Latin America is fabricated.

The end of the story was part sad part ‘karma’s a bitch’, except of course, as I mentioned before, for the CIA. It is interesting to see all this in the current context of Guatemala, as the old story seems to be shaping the current one: we have an outgoing Colom, nephew of the one in our story, and an incoming School of the Americas gradute, General Perez-Molina. Just makes you wonder... who’s hands are in the pie now? 

Un Abrazo, Guatemala.

Peace. 

News link for Nov. 6

"Mayan girls are the country’s most disadvantaged group, leading lives characterized by early marriage, limited schooling, frequent childbearing, social isolation, and chronic poverty." 

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=105738

An article trying to bring to light the specific challenges faced by young maya women in Guatemala. In reality, the article only touches on the tip of the iceberg of the situation of women in Guatemala, where what has been called a 'feminicide' is taking place.

The violent deaths of 3,800 women in the country since 2000 is studied to a deeper degreee in this link: 

http://cgrs.uchastings.edu/campaigns/femicide.php


Peace

CASE STUDY: ARGENTINA, PT. II. RE: OPEN LETTER FROM A WRITER TO THE MILITARY JUNTA.

“The battle we are waging has no moral or natural limits, it takes place beyond good and evil.” (288)

I must start by acknowledging that I have been so preoccupied with the literature review I just finished that, at this point, I can only comment on Rodolfo Walsh’s reading.I found this letter to be very interesting. It was written in a concise manner which seems to be shaped by his profession as a journalist, in particular due to his ability to compile evidence out of the monstrous-come-monotonous occurrences of late 70s Argentina and tie the strings of information and ghastly numbers into visions of a systematic nightmare. In its goal of public denunciation and the courage it took to write, the reading reminded me of Olympe De Gouges’ letter. The fact that Walsh’s letter comes from a modern period, and describes the crimes of a state much closer to what we see around the world today than the one De Gouges was writing against, made Walsh’s readings much more relatable. 

As I have mentioned, I am fresh from finishing my literature review, for which I researched about human rights violations attributed to the Colombian state. As could be expected, there are some aspects in common with Walsh’s reading. First of all, the mere title of walsh’s letter reminds me of the question which led me to choose my literature review topic: Who do you go to for protection when it is your own government you need protection from? This question, of course, remains unanswered. 

His highlighting of the fallacy of a discourse of ‘national spirit’ (285) piqued my inner cynic, which tends to think that most overtly national discourses mask projects that usually adversely affect a significant chunk of that nation’s population. 

The discussion of the repression suffered by labor definitely reminded me of my literature review and the astronomical numbers of assassinated labor union organizers and members in Colombia. This made it seem as though labor repression usually comes hand-in-hand with political repression. In so-called ‘peaceful’, ‘free’ societies such as ours, sometimes it is easy to forget that, just like the Feminist sisters asserted that ‘the personal is political’, work is also always inherently political. This makes me fear the current international climate of labor movement erosion. 

The talk about habeas corpus was central to this reading, as well as to last week’s and to the whole enterprise of citizens trying to achieve some justice, or at least accountability, from their government. It made me think of the Bush administration’s suspension of said legal right. This connection to that particular administration was brought up again in Walsh’s discussion of the use of torture (285-286), which reminded me of Leigh Gilmore’s essay “How We Confess Now: Reading the Abu Ghraib Archive.”

I found that, as with my literature review (and the class readings for last few weeks) the numbers of victims are so outrageous that they start to loose their shock value by virtue of going over anything one should be able to imagine. Finally, I really enjoyed the way Walsh wrapped up his letter by listing the basic implementation of ‘Chicago Boy’ economic policies as worst than and the root of all the horrendous crimes committed against Argentina (288). This, along with his description of a deteriorating geography (288), made me feel that what the Junta was doing was not governing a nation, but rather implementing an economic plan by any means necessary. An economic plan that was obviously not for the benefit of the population. 

PS: Did his discussion about the stock exchange and privatization of banks remind anyone of what is going on with our neighbors south of the 49th? 

Peace.