Editorial Voces del Sur

and nothing in the economic or social justice news articles shows any constructive response.

First and most painful, the paramilitaries are rising again with impunity in Chiapas - against Zapatistas and the communities that support them. After moving through communities, threatening, kidnapping and killing, they go directly to the nearest federal army base.

The government denies it, but human rights organisations have documented that the army is re-deploying and stocking its bases; there are convoys of tanks and troops moving ever closer to autonomous villages who are working to be self-sufficient, free of alcoholism, building schools and resisting government attempts to disable them or take their land.

People have shown great courage, and there is some - not enough - foreign presence of observers to verify incidents with the truth instead of government lies.

Some of the military movement is due to "Plan Puebla Panama", the corporate-motivated and financed project to gain control of indigenous-occupied land and protected bio-reserves for more maquiladora sweatshops, illegal harvest of hardwood, planting of un-original crops
(eucalyptus for paper, African palm for oil), stealing native healing knowledge, and building a dry canal to replace Panama with the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It all destroys communities and forests.

Also in Mexico, the battle goes on - of words and politics - about privatisation of electricity. The PRI (ruling party from 1928 until 2000) is playing with this publicly and debating internally. The PRD (traditional left) is weakened by internal struggles and inefficiencies, while the PAN (rigidly right) is not too well represented by President Vicente Fox, who seems to accomplish little. He finally joined other voices of protest two or three hours before the Texas execution of a
Mexican convicted of murder but without counsel mandated by international convention. At least Fox had the wisdom, or good advice, to cancel his trip to Texas, including a meeting with Bush.

At the same time, Fox claims (with his usual volume of rhetoric) to be opening old records exposing disappearances, killings and massacres of previous administrations, but he seems to be doing nothing about the October murder of respected human rights activist Digna Ochoa in October.

Newspaper accounts expose the US struggle about Iraq and other issues. One article pointedly indicated that, while Mexico's agricultural sector is in deep struggle economically, the US just upped agricultural subsidies massively and, under NAFTA, illegally. Also, it was reported
that Enron supported the Fox presidential campaign, which is illegal under Mexican law, and is waiting with ten other multi-nationals to invest in (and profit from?) privatisation of electricity.

Asking a Mexican, one hears, "Well, the government-run electricity system is inefficient and private business will run it better." Asked whether the price will go way up, "Well, no, I think the 'tariff' will only go up a little and we'll have better service." Will they remember this question if and when they are hit with new costs reflecting service plus profit?

As ever, despite unfortunate robberies, the country is beautiful, alive and hospitable, with the world's best cuisine.

Mexican-owned speciality coffee shops are seen frequently, with wonderful aromas and flavours. Unfortunately, Starbucks thinks it can enhance this atmosphere and is entering the market and opening its shops. Many Mexicans are profoundly disturbed by the foreign economic invasion
(Wal-Mart, Citicorp, McDonalds, etc.) Wal-Mart is everywhere already. There is a battle in progress against allowing McDonalds to open a store in Oaxaca's historic central park - "McTaco versus fried crickets" read one headline. Only one or two banks are still under public control or
Mexican owned. In spite of alleged Mexican corruption, foreign ownership is not the right solution.

The Bishop in San Cristóbal de las Casas in Mexico said (18 August, 2002) "The global economic system is demonic," and that it is unacceptable that countries paying foreign debt cause masses of their people to live in misery. "Our obligation is to insist on looking for
alternatives to make a united and human economy..." He said the poor shouldn't live on crumbs but with valid, dignified work so they can sit at the table with every right as children of God. He used the illustration of coffee saying that its value should not depend on speculators in New York or London, and that "it is absurd, incomprehensible and unjust" that Mexico would use transnational coffee brands instead of the high quality coffee from Oaxaca and Chiapas.

The week of August 19 saw major protests against Costco which has illegally purchased an historic property in Cuernavaca for a mega-store, mall and parking lot. Beautiful murals have been destroyed with the Casino de la Selva Hotel and hundreds of trees which could make a needed urban park, will come down for the big boxes and parking lots. 32 were arrested for blocking streets, and the struggle continues.

We need to be aware and vigilant in struggles against mega-corporations and unjust global economic policies. America, too, is affected by unrealistic policies, trading the old tariff methods for protecting certain industries for new secret tribunals of the World Trade Organization, which has just ruled that the European Union can impose $4 billion in penalties on the US on account of an illegal American tax break for exporters. The New York Times (August 31, 2002) says this
verdict is the biggest penalty since the start of the WTO in 1995.]

A t-shirt is available from Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). It's $10 plus shipping and says on the front: "Slavery is the legal fiction that a person is property. Corporate personhood is the legal fiction that property is a person." On the back: "Abolish
Corporate Personhood." Contact Grace Braley

Personal note - As I moved (for photos) with a procession August 15, carrying Mary back to the Nuestra Señora de los Remedios church in Cholula (now repaired 1999 earthquake damage), I couldn't entirely resolve the conflict over this beautiful church on top of a "hill" larger than Cheops in Egypt. The "hill" is a mostly-unexcavated pyramid built in the pre-Hispanic era, and to me it represents original people, self-sufficiency, art and music, a working community.
The church on top haunts me because it represents conquest, Christianity, colonialism, and exploitation.

From, Grace Braley 001 914-476-4381 gracetime@earthlink.net

What things can be done:

1) Get your organisation/business to use only Fair Trade coffee, which helps keep farmers in sustainable production by guaranteeing fair prices. (Plus it's great quality coffee.)

2) Sustain public information ventures which show the military/economic complicities the US government supports to maintain advantage over many countries of the world (and us).

3) Get information about Genetically Modified food issues. Resistance to GM food runs from Oaxdaca and Chiapas and other parts of Mexico, to European countries who refuse it, to Zambia in Africa which has refused GM food aid.

4) Support LAC to get more information out by joining us.

To unsubscribe from this list contact:
Latin America Solidarity Committee Aotearoa New Zealand
LAC@apc.org.nz
P O Box 6083, Wellington.
Tel/Fax 64 4 972 8699
http://www.converge.org.nz/lac
http://www.casalatinanz.com/

`The real outrage is not that Enron violated the rules; the real
outrage is that Enron made the rules,''
- John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20020205/ts/world_forum.html

"When the whole property of this universe has been inherited by all
creatures, how can there be any justification for the system in which some
one gets a flow of huge excess while others die for a handful of grains?"
P. R. Sarkar

(Thanks to PROUT for article: www.prout.org or www.proutworld.org)