Today's Video: Sowing the Seeds

Note: This post was originally published on March 2014. We are repeating it today in recognition of Helen Chavez, the widow of iconic Mexican-American civil rights and labor activist Cesar Chavez, who passed away on June 6th at the age of 88. 

March 31st would have been the 84h birthday of the late civil rights activist and labor leader Cesar Chavez.  His life has received renewed attention with the new release of a Hollywood biopic that was directed by Diego Luna and stars Michael Peña, America Ferrera and Rosario Dawson.

The Mexican-American Chavez devoted his life to improving the conditions of farm workers by campaigning for equal pay and fair working conditions.  He championed nonviolent efforts to promote the rights of farmworkers who generally suffered from abusive labor conditions as well as low pay for their work.  Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW), which helped organize strikes and other actions such as a boycott in the 1980s to protest the use of toxic pesticides on grapes.

Chavez’s views on immigration varied; on the one hand, he was opposed to undocumented immigrants who he viewed as “scabs” that would potentially undermine his efforts to campaign for farmworkers.  Yet he also successfully campaigned to end the Bracero guest worker program that he believed had exploited migrant laborers and unfairly displaced domestic farmworkers.

Below the page break is the first part of a documentary depicting the Delano grape strike of the mid-1960s where Chavez and his allies fought for union recognition for farmworkers.  The film includes footage of the poor working conditions faced by laborers, picketing protesters in front of a California supermarket, and an interview with one of the grape owners who admitted to have never met Chavez but still labeled his tactics as “distasteful.”

Daily Headlines: April 17, 2014

* Cuba: As part of Cuba’s new labor law, the government officially declared Good Friday as a national holiday for the first time since prior to the Cuban Revolution in 1959.
 
* Brazil: Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff continues to handily lead in the latest presidential polls though she could face a serious challenge from ex-governor Eduardo Campos who this week teamed up with respected environmental activist Marina Silva.
  
* Colombia: The offices of the Sintraemcali union were firebombed days after a Colombian court ordered the state to apologize for alleging that union members were allied to the FARC guerillas.
 
* Argentina: Police in Argentina rescued a fifteen-year-old girl who was severely malnourished and abused by her adoptive parents who left her imprisoned for nine years in a garage.
 
Video Source– AFP via YouTube (Cuban officials recognized Good Friday as a holiday in 2012 following Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the island but did not celebrate Good Friday as its own holiday last year).

Online Sources – CBS Local; The Guardian; Bloomberg; Fox News Latino; RTE

Daily Headlines: April 10, 2014

* Venezuela: President Nicolás Maduro and opposition figures are expected to meet today in live televised discussions that could help quell some of the political unrest that has claimed 39 lives over the past two months.
 
* South America: Three of Argentina’s five main labor unions are planning a major strike on Thursday while several thousand people in Sao Paulo marched on Wednesday calling for workplace reforms.
 
* Cuba: Cuban officials are reportedly “concerned” over the hunger strike undertaken by Alan Gross, a U.S. government subcontractor imprisoned in Havana since 2010.
 
* Latin America: According to the World Bank, economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean is expected to slow down this year to approximately 2.3%.
  
Video Source– euronews via YouTube

Online Sources – Miami Herald; Tico Times; BusinessWeek; LAHT; GlobalPost

The Weekender – Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers’ Struggle

“The Weekender” is our new feature where every weekend we hope to highlight a short film, movie or documentary pertaining to the Americas. 
March 31st would have been the 84h birthday of the late civil rights activist and labor leader Cesar Chavez.  His life has received renewed attention with the new release of a Hollywood biopic that was directed by Diego Luna and stars Michael Peña, America Ferrera and Rosario Dawson.

The Mexican-American Chavez devoted his life to improving the conditions of farm workers by campaigning for equal pay and fair working conditions.  He championed nonviolent efforts to promote the rights of farmworkers who generally suffered from abusive labor conditions as well as low pay for their work.  Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW), which helped organize strikes and other actions such as a boycott in the 1980s to protest the use of toxic pesticides on grapes.

Chavez’s views on immigration varied; on the one hand, he was opposed to undocumented immigrants who he viewed as “scabs” that would potentially undermine his efforts to campaign for farmworkers.  Yet he also successfully campaigned to end the Bracero guest worker program that he believed had exploited migrant laborers and unfairly displaced domestic farmworkers.

Below the page break is the first part of a documentary depicting the Delano grape strike of the mid-1960s where Chavez and his allies fought for union recognition for farmworkers.  The film includes footage of the poor working conditions faced by laborers, picketing protesters in front of a California supermarket, and an interview with one of the grape owners who admitted to have never met Chavez but still labeled his tactics as “distasteful.”

Paraguay: Thousands Protest in General Strike

Several thousand Paraguayans took to the streets on Wednesday as part of a general strike against the government’s economic and social policies. 

The nationwide protests were organized by labor unions and were held on the twentieth anniversary of the country’s previous general strike in 1994.  Social groups, peasants and teachers were among the scores of participants in the general strike and called for a variety of demands including better education, reducing the fare on public transportation and agrarian reform.  Labor unions, for example, have sought a 25% across-the-board salary increase and are upset over a law permitting private companies to invest in government infrastructure in exchange for owning concessions and charging fees. 

“(The government) claims that there has been development, that funds are distributed across the nation.  But that money doesn’t flow to the workers or the peasants, nor does it arrive to the hospitals or the schools,” declared labor leader Teodolina Villalba.

The largest demonstration took part in the capital of Asunción where traffic reportedly came to a standstill and most businesses and schools were closed. Marches were also organized in the country’s interior cities and for the most part were peaceful aside from minor tensions resulting from the temporary shutdown of the Friendship Bridge connecting Ciudad del Este to Foz do Iguacu, Brazil.

Prior to the strike, president Horacio Cartes gave in by permitting the establishment of dialogues in order to hear the demands from the protesters.  Otherwise it appears unlikely that he will provide any more concessions such as the public-private investment plan that Public Works Minister Ramon Jimenez defended as necessary to improve government infrastructure.

Daily Headlines: August 15, 2013

* Ecuador: Edwin Johnson, Ecuador’s ambassador to Egypt, was recalled back to his homeland as a wave of political violence throughout the Northern African country has left at least 525 people dead.

* Guatemala: An international delegation of labor union members warned that Guatemala could lose its preferential trade status with the U.S. and E.U. due to violence against workers’ rights activists.

* Bolivia: Is Bolivian goat herder Carmelo Flores really 123-years-old and, therefore, the world’s oldest person?

* Cuba: Immigration officials reportedly refused to allow entry into Cuba of Blanca Reyes, the European representative of the political dissident group the Ladies in White.

Video Source – YouTube via Associated Press

Online Sources- Bernama; Reuters; GlobalPost; Irish Times; The Guardian

Daily Headlines: September 26, 2012

* Mexico: Trade unions and the #YoSoy132 student movement are among the groups protesting against a labor reform proposal backed by President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto.

* Haiti: According to the U.N. a little more than half of the approximately $5.33 billion pledged at a donors' conference after Haiti's 2010 earthquake has been disbursed.

* Ecuador: Several U.S. business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers called on the White House to cut trade benefits to Ecuador.

* Peru: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights urged Peruvian officials to overturn a Supreme Court ruling that could’ve led to an early release of jailed ex-President Alberto Fujimori.

Video Source – YouTube via Milenio

Online Sources- MSNBC, Washington Post, Reuters, Mercopress

Daily Headlines: October 3, 2011

* Cuba: According to the Miami Herald’s website the first member of a group of convicted spies known as the “Cuban Five” will be released from prison on Friday.

* Latin America: U.S. President Barack Obama could send stalled free trade pacts with Colombia and Panama to Congress today, while Human Rights Watch warned that Colombia has made "virtually no progress" in getting convictions against killers of labor activists.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez claimed that he prayed to “God to protect the life of our brother Muammar Gaddafi” and also expressed solidarity with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

* Argentina: Los Pumas qualified to the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup but they will face the daunting task of trying to beat host country and heavy favorites New Zealand.

Online Sources - NPR, MiamiHerald.com, Reuters, CBC News

Image –BBC News (Supporters of the “Cuban Five” claim that they were wrongly convicted of spying on the U.S. government and have been mistreated while imprisoned).

Weekend Headlines: May 27-28, 2011

* Peru: Indigenous protesters continued their two-week protest against a Canadian firm’s plans for a silver mine in southern Peru.

* South America: Philip Morris filed a lawsuit in international court against Uruguay’s strict anti-smoking measures while British American Tobacco purchased Colombia’s second-largest tobacco company.

* Haiti: A draft report commissioned by the US Agency for International Development found that the death toll from a 2010 earthquake might have been between 46,000 and 85,000 instead of the estimated 250,000.

* Guatemala: Human rights groups including Amnesty International called on Guatemalan authorities to fully investigate the murder of a labor union official on Thursday.

Video Source – Al Jazeera English via YouTube
Online Sources- Amnesty International, Radio New Zealand, CBC News, The Telegraph, UPI

Daily Headlines: February 4, 2011

* Haiti: The country’s electoral commission ruled against permitting government-backed candidate Jude Celestin to participate in next month’s second round of presidential elections.

* Colombia: A U.S. appeals court reopened a lawsuit alleging that the Drummond mining firm hired paramilitaries to kill three Colombian union activists.

* Chile: Energy could soon be rationed due to a variety of factors including a dry spell causing decreased hydroelectric output.

* Venezuela: The number of cholera cases in Venezuela has increased to 239 though there has yet to be a reported fatality.

Video Source – Reuters (Ex-first lady Mirlande Manigat will face musician Michel Martelly in the March 16th runoff election for the Haitian presidency).
Online Sources- CNN, Reuters, ABC News, Xinhua

World Watch: Seeking justice for Bhopal

* India: Could ex-Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson be forced to face trial over the 1984 Bhopal disaster?

* China: Roughly 1700 workers at a Chinese Honda factory are expected to strike and call for the right to form a labor union.

* Turkey: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied that Turkey was shunning the E.U. in favor of the Middle East.

* Philippines: International leaders such as Barack Obama of the U.S. and China’s Hu Jintao congratulated Philippine President-elect Benigno Aquino III.

Image – ABC Online
Online Sources- BBC News, Voice of America, New York Times, AP

Reports highlight violence in Colombia

A pair of reports published this week has highlighted how violence continues to hurt Colombia despite the advances made in eight years under President Alvaro Uribe.

According to the Global Peace Index's (GPI) 2010 study Colombia is the most violent country in Latin America and in 138th place out of 149 countries worldwide. Of the 23 indicators were used to rank countries in the GPI, Colombia scored very negatively in categories such as displaced people, “potential for terrorist acts”, and homicides per 100,000 people.

In terms of the rest of the Americas, Honduras and Venezuela were ranked as the second- and third-most violent countries in Latin America respectively. Uruguay was named as the most peaceful in the region under the GPI with a ranking of 24th. (New Zealand topped the list while Iraq was placed in last).

Meanwhile, a report from the International Confederation of Trade Unions concluded that Colombia is the world’s deadliest country for labor activists. 48 Colombian labor activists were slain in 2009 according to the study that also signaled Latin America as the most violent region for trade unionists:

Colombia was the deadliest country for workers; it said, with a total of 48 killings including 22 senior trade union leaders, 5 of them women. Next most dangerous were Guatemala, with 16 dead, and Honduras with 12.

Six were killed in both Bangladesh and Mexico and 4 in Brazil, the report said. Other countries where murders of union activists were reported were the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, India, Iraq and Nigeria.

Violence in Colombia was one of the main topics discussed between the country’s presidential candidates and visiting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Ex-Bogota mayor Antanas Mockus denounced the deaths against Colombian labor members during his meeting with Clinton while former defense minister Juan Manuel Santos focused on free trade and security policies.

Image- LAHT (Photo of a Colombian police officer)
Online Sources- El Tiempo, El Espectador, Reuters, Global Peace Index poder360.com, BusinessWeek, Colombia Reports

“Maletagate” suspect pleads guilty; debate over Colombian free trade

The main focus of news in Latin America over the past few days has been on Raul Reyes’ death by Colombian forces and the subsequent diplomatic row involving countries like Venezuela. However, a pair of other stories has emerged from Colombia and Venezuela that have caught out attention.

One of the defendants in the “Maletagate” case pled guilty in a U.S. federal court. In his guilty plea, Carlos Kauffmann said that he and four others tried to coerce Guido Antonini Wilson [image] into staying quiet. (Wilson has been accused of smuggling $800,000 in cash from Venezuela to fund the campaign of current Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

As part of the agreement, Kauffmann’s possible jail time may be significantly reduced and he may not be deported to his native Venezuela.

Meanwhile, a U.S. legislator wants to investigate into the removal of a Colombian judge from "a special tribunal” looking into the deaths of labor leaders. With Congress debating the approval of a free trade pact with Colombia, Rep. George Miller believes that the Uribe administration needs to ensure the safety of trade unionists:

"As the U.S. Congress debates the proposed trade agreement with Colombia, it is essential that we consider whether Colombia is doing everything it can to protect the safety of workers who want to exercise their basic workplace rights without worrying about becoming a victim of violence," Miller said in a statement.

Sources- Reuters, Los Angeles Times, International Herald Tribune, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist

Image- El Pais