The Americas

THE GROWING ENMESHMENT OF THE U.S. AND LATIN WORLDS

November, 1995 through December, 1996

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Guatemala's Peacetime Challenge -- Maya Indians Rediscover Identity While Ladinos lose Theirs
By Miguel Matias
Date: 09-27-96
The biggest challenge facing Guatemala's traditional ladino elites in the new post-civil war era is one of identity. As the traditional Maya Indian majority recover from the war years with a stronger sense of themselves and their culture, they force the ladino to redefine who he is in relationship to them. PNS commentator Miguel Matias, an agronomist and ordained Maya priest, is one of a re-emerging Maya class of educated, politically aware indigenous men and women determined to shape Guatemala at peace into a multi-cultural state. This essay was edited by PNS associate editor Mary Jo McConahay from several hours of interviews with Matias. It is one of an occasional series of "voices" by PNS editors drawn from sources whose perspectives might otherwise not be easily available. The photograph of Miguel Matias is by Mary Jo McConahay, and is available from PNS.
L.A.'s Immigrant Strikers Target Mexico's Tortilla King
By David Bacon
Date: 09-16-96
The U.S. plant moving production south has become the classic symbol of the NAFTA era. But many Mexican plants are moving north, proving cheap wages aren't only on the southern side of the border. Now immigrant workers in Los Angeles have targeted the world's largest tortilla producer -- Mexico's Mission Foods. PNS associate editor David Bacon writes regularly on labor and immigration issues.
A REPORT FROM THE FRONT LINES -- MEXICO'S ARMY SEARCHES FOR ELUSIVE REBELS
BY JOEL SIMON, PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE
Date: 09-05-96
A two-hour battle against a suspect band of insurgents winds up with no evidence the enemy was ever there. As Mexico's army deploys across the countryside in search of 200 members of the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR), rumors abound, creating a mood of near-hysteria. PNS correspondent Joel Simon reports from a small town near the Guerrero state capital of Chilpancingo, where the counterinsurgency campaign is in full force. Simon's book on the Mexican environmental crisis, Endangered Mexico, will be published by Sierra Club Books next spring. (Third of three articles on the growing role of the military in Mexico).
MILITARIZING MEXICO (SECOND OF III) -- LOW INTENSITY WAR ENHANCES ARMY ROLE
BY JOEL SIMON, PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE
Date: 09-05-96
Mexico's government estimates the country's newest guerrilla insurgency numbers fewer than 200 fighters, yet it has launched a massive low-intensity war to track them down. The campaign enhances the already growing role of Mexico's military from the countryside to the streets of the capital. PNS correspondent Joel Simon's book on the Mexican environmental crisis, Endangered Mexico, will be published by Sierra Club Books next spring. (Second of three parts on the militarization of Mexico).
Militarization of Mexico -- Part I: Mexican Army Escalates Patrols in Reputed Rebel Stronghold
By Joel Simon
Date: 08-28-96
Two months after a new peasant rebel group burst onto Mexico's national stage in Guerrero, the Mexican army has deployed troops in a swath of rugged mountains that extends across four states. Residents of villages identified with an independent but legal peasant organization now say they are under virtual siege. This is the first of two articles about the growing role of the military in Mexico. PNS correspondent Joel Simon's book on the Mexican environmental crisis, Endangered Mexico, will be published by Sierra Club Books next spring.
California Timber Industry Opens Road to Baja's Ancient Forests
By Elisa Adler
Date: 07-12-96
Rising some 9,000 feet above the desert between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez are the old growth forests of the Sierra San Pedro Martir. The forests' days may be numbered, however, as California's timber industry eyes their "pumpkin" trees (worth $3-$4,000 each) and a new law allowing local ejido farmers to sell logging rights to their land. PNS commentator Elisa Adler works on and writes about rural and environmental issues in Mexico and the United States.
Body Count Mounts From U.S.-Mexico Border
By Ruben Martinez
Date: 06-19-96
Nativists may hope the mounting death toll of undocumented migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border may serve as a symbolic deterrent. But in the hometown of three brothers who died in an April 6 crash following a high-speed chase by Border Patrol, the buses leave for the north almost daily -- filled with news of labor shortages in California's fields. PNS editor Ruben Martinez is a writer and performance artist based in Mexico City and Los Angeles.
Environmental Decay Poses Mexico's Gravest Risk -- Drought Turns Arid North into Dustbowl
By Joel Simon
Date: 06-04-96
Last month the Clinton Administration sent a high level delegation to Mexico City to identify hot spots that could flare up during the presidential elections. But far more than another economic meltdown or ongoing political violence it is environmental decay -- exacerbated by a five-year drought -- that threatens Mexico's long-term stability. As much of northern Mexico turns into a dust bowl, corn farmers are abandoning their farms, sacking government-owned warehouses, crossing the border. An old-fashioned water war looms with the U.S., and maquiladoras are threatened with water rationing. PNS contributing editor Joel Simon's book on the Mexican environmental crisis will be published by Sierra Club Books next year.
Will Slot Machines Bring Salvation to Mexico's Indians? -- U.S. Gambling Industry Eyes Mexico
By Sam Quinones
Date: 05-22-96
A two-day seminar in Mexico City to promote gambling in Mexico drew over 400 people and a huge media contingent -- despite the fact that Mexico has outlawed gambling since the 1930s. That may change as Mexico's tourist industry looks for ways to attract tourists and American Indian casino operators tout gambling as economic salvation for Mexico's 8 million Indians. PNS associate editor Sam Quinones, a freelance writer based in Mexico City, reports for Mexican and U.S. publications, including Mexico Business.
Mexico's New Ties with U.S. -- Sign of Hope or Despair?
By Andrew Reding
Date: 05-14-96
Some U.S. observers view Mexico's increasingly close military and political ties with Washington as a sign of its commitment to institute the rule of law over and above the rule of narco-politicians and drug lords. But Mexico's military -- in line for major U.S. aid -- is among its most corrupt institutions. And the cross-border initiatives have not been matched by domestic reforms. PNS associate editor Andrew Reding directs the North America Project of the World Policy Institute at The New School for Social Research, where he is also Senior Fellow for Hemispheric Affairs.
Mexican Town Turns American Immigration Debate on Its Head
By Sam Quinones
Date: 05-03-96
While American politicians vent the public's anti-immigrant feelings in new legislation against undocumented immigrants, Mexicans in a picture postcard town are venting their own anger against American illegals. The town has the largest number of U.S. immigrants per capita of any in Mexico. PNS contributing editor Sam Quinones reports from San Miguel de Allende.
Letter From Mexico City -- Mexicans in the Move Opening Up "Ungovernable Spaces"
By Ruben Martinez
Date: 04-18-96
Mexico in crisis is Mexico on the move. But while U.S. politicians fret over migrants moving North, observers in Mexico are talking about internal migration which is pushing the country towards a more open and democratic culture. PNS editor Ruben Martinez, a bi-national writer based in Mexico City and Los Angeles, is author of "The Other Side."
Letter from Antigua -- As Long Night Ends Guatemalans Grapple with Civil Paralysis
By Mary Jo McConahay
Date: 04-04-96
Fear still rules the hearts of many Guatemalans, despite visible signs the country is moving towards a democratic structure and the end of 35 years of civil war. The psychological effects of the "long night" are much harder to eliminate than the fighting itself. PNS Central America editor Mary Jo McConahay has lived and worked in Guatemala for over a decade.
Small Town Mayor Gets the Last Word -- A Sign of Hope in Stemming Southern Mexico's Lawless Tide
By Kent Paterson and Andrew Reding
Date: 03-18-96
While the media-savvy Zapatistas in the Mexican state of Chiapas continue to hold foreigners spellbound, southern Mexico is confronting a far larger challenge: how to overcome the generalized lawlessness that has spread through the dirt-poor region in the past year. The resignation of Guerrero governor Ruben Figueroa amidst a mounting scandal over last year's massacre by state police of 17 peasants is a small sign of hope that grassroots leadership might turn the lawlessness around. PNS reporter Kent Paterson spent four weeks researching this story which he wrote with PNS associate editor Andrew Reding, who directs the North America Project of the World Policy Institute.
Certification a Polite Fiction -- Neither Mexico Nor U.S. Can Afford a Real Crackdown on Drugs
By Andrew Reding
Date: 03-06-96
The Clinton Administration's decision last week to certify Mexico's war on drugs made great political theater. Behind the pontificating on both sides, the hard fact is that neither Mexico nor the U.S. can afford more than a cosmetic approach to fighting drug trafficking. PNS associate editor Andrew Reding directs the North America Project of the World Policy Institute at The New School for Social Research, where he is also Senior Fellow for Hemispheric Affairs.
Trouble in Tabasco -- Mexico's Political Turbulence Hits Oil Wells
By Sam Quinones
Date: 02-28-96
A four-week-long oil well occupation in Tabasco spotlights Mexico's moribund political system which can no longer address simmering social or political grievances. As much as Mexico needs economic change, it needs political change as well. PNS associate editor Sam Quinones, a Mexico City based freelance writer, reports from Tabasco.
Trial's Forgotten Story -- Accused Drug Kingpin's Tale of Bribery on Both Sides of Border
By Beatriz Johnston Hernandez
Date: 02-12-96
When Mexican anti-drug agents turned suspected drug trafficker Juan Garcia Abrego over for trial in the U.S., Mexico's reform-minded elites were furious. They wanted Abrego tried in Mexico to get information on his alleged bribery of Mexican officials. But equally important to his career was his bribery of U.S. federal agents, documented in earlier federal trials but largely ignored on the U.S. side of the border. PNS associate editor Beatriz Johnston Hernandez is West Coast correspondent for Proceso.
Church Drawn into Central America's New Battlefield -- The Economy
By Mary Jo McConahay
Date: 02-05-96
Pope John Paul II's visit to Central America underscores the Church's new role in the region. As the stark disparities between rich and poor grow, activist priests and prelates alike are finding themselves drawn ever deeper into the region's economic battlefield. PNS associate editor Mary Jo McConahay has reported from Central America for over a decade.
Why Militarizing Borders Won't Stop Migration
By David Bacon
Date: 01-17-96
The Clinton administration is overseeing the biggest military buildup on the U.S.-Mexico border in modern history. Touted as a move to cut migration, in fact these are nothing more than an election year ploy. Meanwhile, far more effective measures to reduce the pressures accelerating global migration have been proposed by the International Labour Organization and the UN High Commission on Refugees. PNS associate editor David Bacon writes widely on issues of labor and immigration.
Lori Berenson's Grim Future -- Prison Life For Guerrillas Worsens Under Fujimori
By Robin Kirk
Date: 01-16-96
Life for guerrillas imprisoned in Peru's labyrinthian prisons is decidedly harsher today than it was during the early 1990s. While Lori Berenson will find a sisterhood of revolutionaries behind bars -- women, for example, made up over half the members of Peru's feared Shining Path movement -- she will find few, if any, foreign guerrillas. Nor do guerrillas control their own cellblocks as they once did. PNS correspondent Robin Kirk visited women revolutionaries in Peruvian prisons in 1991 and 1992 when she worked as a reporter in Peru.
Police Are Part of the Problem -- In Mexico City Necessity is the Mother of Crime
By Sam Quinones
Date: 01-12-96
Great increases in crime rates, like Mexico City's unprecedented jump last year, occur only when societies are being shredded and pulverized, according to one of Mexico's leading criminologists. For a public almost as distrustful of police as they are fearful of crime, expanding police forces only adds to the problem. PNS contributing editor Sam Quinones is a Mexico City-based freelance writer.
La Elección De Diputada Lesbiana Señala Grandes Cambios En Tierra Del Machismo
By Andrew Reding
Date: 09-02-97
Los enormes cambios del panorama político de México incluyen una novedad de gran impacto. Por primera vez en América Latina una lesbiana declarada gana una curul en la Cámara de Diputados. En una sociedad que es predominantemente católica, enormemente conservadora y fuertemente machista, la elección de Patria Jiménez, totalmente respaldada por su partido, podría marcar el inicio de una nueva era para los ciudadanos homosexuales de México. El editor asociado de PNS, Andrew Reding, es miembro sénior para asuntos hemisféricos en el Instituto de Política Mundial.
Mexico's Artisans Abandon Their Crafts -- Guitar-Makers of Paracho Compete with Factories of Asia
By Sam Quinones
Date: 12-28-95
Thousands of Mexico's artisans are in trouble. Facing a global economy, free trade, stagnant sales and rising raw material costs, they are unprepared to compete. One town famous for its hand-made guitars is falling prey to battalions of cheaper, factory-made guitars from Asia. PNS associate editor Sam Quinones is a freelance reporter based in Mexico City.
After a Year of Zedillo -- Mexico Adrift and Leaderless
By Louis E.V. Nevaer
Date: 11-21-95
The emergence of a mature, well-organized opposition may be the only promising development in Mexico this year. But the unexpected collapse of the peso, combined with the ruling party's mid-November election losses across the country, reflect an ominous loss of credibility for the country's president. PNS analyst Louis E.V. Nevaer, a Mexican writer and businessman, is author of "Strategies for Business in Mexico" (Greenwood Press, 1995).
After NAFTA -- Eighteen Months Later, the Hits Keep Coming
By David Bacon
Date: 11-10-95
Touted as a development model that would generate jobs and raise living standards on both sides of the border, NAFTA in fact has done the opposite. A year and a half after it went into effect, people in North and South America are linked as never before. But the benefits flow only one way -- upward -- leaving workers, communities and the environment even more marginalized. PNS associate editor David Bacon is a California writer specializing on labor and immigration issues.
A Return to Somocismo?: Nicaraguans Favor Right Wing Populist For President
By Roger Burbach
Date: 11-14-95
Disillusionment and apathy are the twin allies of Nicaragua's right-wing contender for president, Arnoldo Aleman. A former supporter of the old dicatator Somoza, Aleman is well ahead of Sandinista hero Daniel Ortega in the polls. PNS correspondent Roger Burbach, director of the Center for the Study of the Americas, has covered Nicaragua for over two decades.
After NAFTA: People Blame NAFTA, Economists Blame Politics For Mexico's Woes
By Sam Quinones
Date: 11-10-95
As the peso continues its downward spiral and inflation creeps ever higher, Mexicans are blaming their economic woes on NAFTA. Economists, however, insist that the roots of the crisis are political and argue that the leadership didn't go far enough in pursuing market reforms. PNS correspondent Sam Quinones reports from Mexico City.
Mexico's Giant Polluter: Will Privitization Force Pemex to Clean Up Its Act?
By Joel Simon
Date: 11-01-95
This month Mexico's giant state-owned oil company, Pemex, is privatizing the first of dozens of plants in a region that some environmentalists view as a potential Love Canal. Concern is mounting that Pemex will simply use the sale to hand over an environmental time bomb before it explodes. PNS associate editor Joel Simon's book "Bordering on Destruction: Exploring Mexico's Environmental Crisis," will be published by Sierra Club Books next year.
Haiti Becomes Haiti Again: Salvation Still to Come for Aristide's Flock
By Herbert Gold
Date: 10-20-95
A year after the return of President Jean Bertrand Aristide, Haiti is inexorably becoming Haiti again, a place of unreasonable expectations, frantic maneuvering, stagnation on the ground. So the crowds, which have no real experience with constitutions and democracy, ask why Titid can't just go on as President to make up for the period when he was in exile. PNS writer Herbert Gold is the author of "Best Nightmare on Earth: A Life in Haiti."
Haiti Climbing From Her Knees
By Herbert Gold
Date: 10-11-95
A writer who lived in Haiti during the 1950s and has returned frequently in the intervening years writes of the hope and turbulence that have become hallmarks of daily life in the country today. PNS contributor Herbert Gold is the author of "Best Nightmare on Earth: A Life in Haiti" (Simon & Schuster).
Can Butterflies Save Mexico's Rain Forest?
By Joel Simon
Date: 09-19-95
A butterfly project in Mexico's endangered rain forest typifies the small-scale projects designed to create alternatives to cattle ranching and logging. In one poor town deep within the jungle, butterflies have transformed how residents view the jungle. PNS associate editor Joel Simon is researching Mexico's environmental crisis for a book "Bordering on Destruction: Exploring Mexico's Environmental Crisis" to be published by Sierra Club Books in 1996.
The Mexican Peso: Mexico City's Middle Class Unravels
By Sam Quinones
Date: 03-30-95
Mexico's nosediving peso and skyrocketing interest rates have hit its middle class harder than any other segment of society. Last year residents of Mexico City eagerly embraced then-President Carlos Salinas de Gortari's vision of a new Mexico in which debts were a natural part of the middle-class lifestyle. This year many have lost hope in a better life, unable to afford even a night out at a fast food restaurant. PNS correspondent Sam Quinones is based in Mexico City. This is the first of a two-part series.

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