We went to Antigua this weekend and had a wonderful time. Antigua is clean, the streets are cobbled, there is little air pollution, it is hot, there are flowers and colors and ruins and it's beautiful. It is also muy caro, gringofied, and just not Guatemala. 90% of the businesses in Antigua are owned by foreigners, there are more gringos than guatemalans in the streets, you can eat bagels, crepes, korean food, and have a wheatgrass smoothie. We definitely took advantage of the endless food options, namely at the Bagel Barn. We only saw 2 guatemalans in the Bagel Barn - the people working there. Antigua is definitely a weird place for how gringo it is and it parties hard on the weekends as many Guatemala City kids come in. It was nice to get back to Xela and appreciate its authenticity, even though the air pollution is ridiculously high.
Today I went to Xecaracoj with Lesli and Elba, and learned about some Oficina drama. Monday afternoon, the 24 communities were supposed to come together to elect the leader of the Municipal Committee for Women. In the past, candidates would bring as many people as possible to the election to have the most votes and get elected. However, this year it was decided that only 5 women from each community would be allowed to vote. Unfortunately the ladies were not told this, so many came and ended up having to pay Q5 but not be allowed to vote. What is more, food ran out so some ladies didn't vote AND didn't get free food. The lady that won for many years was Dona Elvira from Llanos de la Cruz, but this year she came only second to some other lady. This complicated things and she got angry. Eunice, who is the head of the organization and care for the groups, wasn't there because she's in a one-week training somewhere, and alot of ladies including Dona Viki (Xecaracoj's leader) who complained to us today that Eunice keeps promising that she'll come visit and that she'll do the paperwork to officialize the junta directiva, but still hasn't done it. Since I got here, Eunice hasn't been to Xecaracoj with us on Tuesdays, even though she keeps saying she will come. Tita got really mad yesterday too because only 8 out of the 24 communities showed up probably because most thought they weren't going to be given food, it was chaos because most ladies didn't get to vote, some people didn't get food while others did, Eunice - in charge of this all - wasn't there, and they left the room in complete disorder so the cultural center told them they couldn't hold a meeting there ever again. This has created a little drama in the office, the interns are scared this will all fall back on them and that the communities will get mad at them for it, and some communities and interns are upset at Eunice because they feel like she's not doing her job well or too busy all the time. A little more than a third of the Xecaracoj group didn't show up today because they were mad.
During my time here so far, I definitely have noticed that the OMM is pretty disorganized and has many plans but doesn't really complete them. I'm not convinced that their work is very effective either, as many women don't show up or only do so when they are told they'll be given something for free. I don't know if the women have truly adopted the cause of developing women's rights, women's leadership, women's place in society, and improving their psychological and health conditions - or if women have just joined the group for the free workshops, food, and courses the OMM provides, which is great and helpful in the short term but doesn't actually change anything at the root of the problem. Today I took attendance in Xecaracoj, so I passed around a paper for the women to fill out their name, ID and phone numbers, and signatures. Out of 36 women present, 12 were illiterate and 3 had just learned to write. I just feel like before teaching them how to crochet or sew baskets (today's workshop), the OMM should have a literacy program...
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Cool Stuff
Here's something cool I found out about through Facebook - it's a weekend of conference on the environment for college students: www.powershift2011.org
People can still register I think, so if y'all are willing to head to DC and pay for it...it sounds pretty amazing.
And here's another cool thing I found out about in El Cuartito, a cafe here in Xela that I go to a lot for their delicious chocolate chip cookies and chai tea.
It's called the Beehive Collective - they're a bunch of artists that denounce the negative impacts of globalization through the creation of huge intricate posters. El Cuartito received their Plan Colombia poster from a beehive artist. They're anti-copyright and their posters can be bought for a money donation of $10-20 or material donation because they want to be accessible to everyone and spread the movement. They give exhibits of their posters in schools and colleges along with a presentation of the facts and story behind the poster, explaining and spreading information about issues ranging from coal mining to free trade. They're giving a presentation at SUNY Purchase April 7th at 7:00 pm for those of you close by that want to check it out! It's amazing interesting art with a message from activists that dedicate their talent and passion to a cause without seeking profit: www.beehivecollective.org
People can still register I think, so if y'all are willing to head to DC and pay for it...it sounds pretty amazing.
And here's another cool thing I found out about in El Cuartito, a cafe here in Xela that I go to a lot for their delicious chocolate chip cookies and chai tea.
It's called the Beehive Collective - they're a bunch of artists that denounce the negative impacts of globalization through the creation of huge intricate posters. El Cuartito received their Plan Colombia poster from a beehive artist. They're anti-copyright and their posters can be bought for a money donation of $10-20 or material donation because they want to be accessible to everyone and spread the movement. They give exhibits of their posters in schools and colleges along with a presentation of the facts and story behind the poster, explaining and spreading information about issues ranging from coal mining to free trade. They're giving a presentation at SUNY Purchase April 7th at 7:00 pm for those of you close by that want to check it out! It's amazing interesting art with a message from activists that dedicate their talent and passion to a cause without seeking profit: www.beehivecollective.org
Sunday, March 27, 2011
More on elections
Here's an interesting article from the economist:
The president and first lady split up—leaving her free to run for office
TO AVOID the dynasties that have misruled many Latin American countries, Guatemala’s constitution forbids relatives of the incumbent president and vice-president from running for high office. This clause had seemed to scotch the chances of Sandra Torres, the country’s ambitious first lady, becoming its firstpresidenta. But on March 21st she and her husband, Álvaro Colom, announced a novel way to sidestep the rules: they filed for divorce.
Rather than being a sign of marital discord, the parting looks much more likely to have sprung from political unity. Speaking last month, Mr Colom gushed over his wife’s leadership skills and the “impressive passion” she inspired. On March 8th Ms Torres declared that she would run as the candidate of National Unity of Hope (UNE), her husband’s party. Candidates can register from May 2nd, and the election will be held in September.
Ms Torres’s eligibility is still in doubt. The constitution excludes the president’s blood relatives up to his cousins, and his in-laws up to grandparents and grandchildren. But there is no mention of exes, leaving the question up to the Constitutional Court. Its five members were chosen this month and will be seated in April.
Ms Torres is not the only candidate running on dubious constitutional grounds. Álvaro Arzú, a former president, is campaigning despite a ban on re-election. Zury Ríos, a congresswoman, may be blocked by a prohibition on the relatives of the organisers of coups, since her father, Efraín Ríos Montt, toppled a government in 1982 and installed himself as dictator. Eduardo Suger, another possible candidate, was born in Switzerland and may not meet the requirement to be “Guatemalan in origin”. “Ministers of religion” are forbidden from running too, which might spell problems for Harold Caballeros, the founder of a large evangelical church.
One of the few candidates free of constitutional entanglements is Otto Pérez Molina, a former general who narrowly lost a run-off vote to Mr Colom in 2007. Mr Pérez Molina is the strong favourite: a recent poll put his support at 43%, with Ms Torres next on only 11%. In 2007 he promised an “iron fist” against crime. Since then Guatemala has become far more dangerous, as Mexican cocaine smugglers have put down roots in the wild jungle areas near the northern border. After four years of the soft-spoken Mr Colom, some Guatemalans might fancy an ex-army man to drive the gunmen back across the frontier.
Ms Torres, on the other hand, has strong support in the countryside, where the social programmes she directs have had the biggest impact. Mi Familia Progresa (My Family Progresses), a conditional-cash-transfer scheme, has improved the lot of poor indigenous women, who may fear the consequences of Mr Pérez Molina’s hard line on crime. The concentration of Ms Torres’s backers in rural areas means that pollsters, who do not always venture into Mayan mountain villages, probably underestimate her strength.
It is too soon to make reliable forecasts about the election. The field is likely to be crowded—14 candidates, mostly from fairly new parties, stood in 2007—and the dynamics of a run-off depend on who squeaks through the first round. At the moment, many candidates are content to focus on getting on the ballot.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The story of stuff
Watch this, it's only 20 minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM
and this, it's even shorter! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ-J91SwP8w&feature=related
Tuesday I went to Xecaracoj, and once again had to find my way there alone because of miscommunication with Elba. Beggars always come on buses, usually deaf people give out papers explaining their situation, wait a little and come around to collect the little papers and money. This time a guy whose entire body was permanently shaking came and asked for money for his operation because of his central nervous sytem's deficiency; another guy came on explaining he was honduran and he and his wife and one year old daughter had left their home to cross to the US illegally but the coyote had stolen all their money and they were stuck in Guatemala scavenging for money to survive. I've started to notice the beggars more and more, especially in markets where people who are handicapped or have a body malformation camp out in the middle of the walkway exposing their misery to get some money. It's all pretty depressing.
Anyways, unfortunately, I took the wrong bus, and ended up in the wrong stop. I called Elba and she sent ladies from the group to come get me. As I waited there in the center of Xecaracoj, I had a conversation with a friendly little old lady until two Olgas from the group came to get me. The whole group had a good laugh about my getting lost. They were cooking typical sweets - camote and chilacayote. Camote is a root kind of like the Yuca and Chilacayote is a squash-type of vegetable. Basically you boil them in water for x amount of minutes and douse them in sugar and wait till they caramelize. We played a dinamica with the group of 50 ladies: two relay races where we had to pass a balloon from person to person using our knees. The mayan ladies wear long heavy skirts so the game is wildly more entertaining for everyone. I really like this group, and they've started talking to me, asking me questions, joking around, poking fun at the tall gringa etc. The kitchen's door is the only way smoke can exit the room, and because the camotes and chilacayotes were cooking in large bins on top of big fire, the smoke was unbearable. I couldn't stay in there more than 2 seconds, to the great entertainment of the ladies. As time progresses, smoke filled the inner courtyard and lingered, even though it was a completely open space. Besides being uncomfortable and making my clothes smell, it's actually really unhealthy and over the long term generates pulmonary illnesses and eye infections. The OMM is sponsoring a stove project in that community, and I hope they'll explain the dangers of not having adequate smoke exits in a kitchen. In general, the pollution in Xela is ridiculous and awful, and definitely causes health problems and subsequent economic issues as health care isn't very affordable here. The pollution has started to get to me. I didn't suspect it would be this bad, and certainly didn't think I would be so bothered by it. Every time a bus or car passes me in the narrow streets, I get submerged in dark foul exhaust smoke and try not to breathe but ultimately end up inhaling an indefinite amount of poisonous gas. I dearly miss clean streets and proper motors. The vehicle traffic in Xela is relatively new, according to Hugo there were almost no cars in the city 20 years ago, and I wonder how many health problems will be the result of such intense contamination. I wonder how it came to this: we are slowly killing ourselves by using toxic chemicals to run our stuff and "develop" - what kind of development is that? Surely not one we should want...
Wednesday I went to Llanos, and this time the group was even smaller. Only one lady has actually made her basket out of newspaper - she made two and they were really quite beautiful. Only 3 people showed up because they were handing out the Bolsas Solidarias in the village today - one of those programs created by Sandra Torres Ex de Colom (http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/03/22/guatemalan-1st-lady-divorce-presidential-bid/?test=latestnews). I just think it's a shame that the group is so small and their attendance so sporadic; the OMM is providing them with this free program and great opportunity, you'd think that people would want to take advantage of that. Most other communities have large groups attending those workshops, but Llanos is kind of depressing, and I don't really understand why there isn't stronger participation.
I've started to come to terms with the fact that the importance of my "volunteering" in the OMM is my presence. The communication there is quite limited, Eunice is super busy all the time and there just isn't much for me to do there considering I have no degree or experience in social/human rights work. So I take pictures for them sometimes and go to the communities, and although it's been kind of disappointing, my host mom Elvia explained that my presence is quite significant because it shows the ladies from the OMM and from the groups that there is support within the international community and gives them the opportunity to relate with people from different parts of the world, opening them to it and helping in the long-term therapy many Guatemalans, and especially women, need to overcome their trauma and fear.
I'm having a coffee date with Valeria, the editor of EntreMundos Magazine, next week. She suddenly decided to reappear so hopefully I'll get some feedback on my writing and figure things out.
and this, it's even shorter! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ-J91SwP8w&feature=related
Tuesday I went to Xecaracoj, and once again had to find my way there alone because of miscommunication with Elba. Beggars always come on buses, usually deaf people give out papers explaining their situation, wait a little and come around to collect the little papers and money. This time a guy whose entire body was permanently shaking came and asked for money for his operation because of his central nervous sytem's deficiency; another guy came on explaining he was honduran and he and his wife and one year old daughter had left their home to cross to the US illegally but the coyote had stolen all their money and they were stuck in Guatemala scavenging for money to survive. I've started to notice the beggars more and more, especially in markets where people who are handicapped or have a body malformation camp out in the middle of the walkway exposing their misery to get some money. It's all pretty depressing.
Anyways, unfortunately, I took the wrong bus, and ended up in the wrong stop. I called Elba and she sent ladies from the group to come get me. As I waited there in the center of Xecaracoj, I had a conversation with a friendly little old lady until two Olgas from the group came to get me. The whole group had a good laugh about my getting lost. They were cooking typical sweets - camote and chilacayote. Camote is a root kind of like the Yuca and Chilacayote is a squash-type of vegetable. Basically you boil them in water for x amount of minutes and douse them in sugar and wait till they caramelize. We played a dinamica with the group of 50 ladies: two relay races where we had to pass a balloon from person to person using our knees. The mayan ladies wear long heavy skirts so the game is wildly more entertaining for everyone. I really like this group, and they've started talking to me, asking me questions, joking around, poking fun at the tall gringa etc. The kitchen's door is the only way smoke can exit the room, and because the camotes and chilacayotes were cooking in large bins on top of big fire, the smoke was unbearable. I couldn't stay in there more than 2 seconds, to the great entertainment of the ladies. As time progresses, smoke filled the inner courtyard and lingered, even though it was a completely open space. Besides being uncomfortable and making my clothes smell, it's actually really unhealthy and over the long term generates pulmonary illnesses and eye infections. The OMM is sponsoring a stove project in that community, and I hope they'll explain the dangers of not having adequate smoke exits in a kitchen. In general, the pollution in Xela is ridiculous and awful, and definitely causes health problems and subsequent economic issues as health care isn't very affordable here. The pollution has started to get to me. I didn't suspect it would be this bad, and certainly didn't think I would be so bothered by it. Every time a bus or car passes me in the narrow streets, I get submerged in dark foul exhaust smoke and try not to breathe but ultimately end up inhaling an indefinite amount of poisonous gas. I dearly miss clean streets and proper motors. The vehicle traffic in Xela is relatively new, according to Hugo there were almost no cars in the city 20 years ago, and I wonder how many health problems will be the result of such intense contamination. I wonder how it came to this: we are slowly killing ourselves by using toxic chemicals to run our stuff and "develop" - what kind of development is that? Surely not one we should want...
Wednesday I went to Llanos, and this time the group was even smaller. Only one lady has actually made her basket out of newspaper - she made two and they were really quite beautiful. Only 3 people showed up because they were handing out the Bolsas Solidarias in the village today - one of those programs created by Sandra Torres Ex de Colom (http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/03/22/guatemalan-1st-lady-divorce-presidential-bid/?test=latestnews). I just think it's a shame that the group is so small and their attendance so sporadic; the OMM is providing them with this free program and great opportunity, you'd think that people would want to take advantage of that. Most other communities have large groups attending those workshops, but Llanos is kind of depressing, and I don't really understand why there isn't stronger participation.
I've started to come to terms with the fact that the importance of my "volunteering" in the OMM is my presence. The communication there is quite limited, Eunice is super busy all the time and there just isn't much for me to do there considering I have no degree or experience in social/human rights work. So I take pictures for them sometimes and go to the communities, and although it's been kind of disappointing, my host mom Elvia explained that my presence is quite significant because it shows the ladies from the OMM and from the groups that there is support within the international community and gives them the opportunity to relate with people from different parts of the world, opening them to it and helping in the long-term therapy many Guatemalans, and especially women, need to overcome their trauma and fear.
I'm having a coffee date with Valeria, the editor of EntreMundos Magazine, next week. She suddenly decided to reappear so hopefully I'll get some feedback on my writing and figure things out.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Huelga de todos los dolores
Here are some of the denouncements of the municipalities' deficiencies and the proposals by the students:
- It should be known that it's already been 8 years that Jorge Rolando Barrientos has been mayor of the Quetzalteca community, and let's remember that in each of his electoral campaigns he's offered the city's development, starting with an adequate trash collection, public lighting, electric energy, coordination for better service of the Water Company of Xela (EMAX), street pavement, regulate the price, system and service of urban transport, the good performance of transit municipal police, and the project of traffic lights in the city. Now we wonder if during his 8 years as mayor he has accomplished what he has promised. We also wonder if transport in our city lives up to the expectations requested by the population of Xela. Definitely today is the time to think about the action of this mayor. He didn't carry out these projects in the last 8 years, so he won't implement them in the next period, so we urge the people of Xela to think and reason their vote in the next elections and to not let themselves be manipulated and coerced. We need to make the best decision and not lament ourselves for four more years.
-For all the traffic lights the mayor put, the streets are converting into a great vehicular congestion.
Suggestion: We recommend to the Transport and Transit Committee that they not experiment with the vehicular system by implementing traffic lights in transit zones but do a real study to fix the problem, because all they've achieved is to create a vial chaos within the city.
-For all the smoke the buses are firing, it's evident the suprvisors aren't doing their job and affecting people's health.
Suggestion: Require the Transport and Transit Committee to carry out the dispositions within the law and rules of transit in order to provide an efficient and quality transport service, and to sanction those that aren't following the law.
-For all the goals being scored against the Xelaju soccer team, the support is waning, and the board of directors should be fining many players and only leaving the ones really playing for the love of the sport.
Suggestion: Ask the directors of the team to fire the players that don't want to be in the institution because their salaries are real high compared to the performance on the field, completely disappointing the supporters.
-For all the uncensored pornography airing on cable TV, many kids are being perverted.
Suggestion: Suggest to the TV company owners that they incorporate channels within their programs that are useful to the Quetzalteca society - already our city has been characterized as the cradle of culture - as well as warn parents about the hours of these types of programs to care for the mental health of children and adolescents.
- Solicit the departmental governor that he coordinate with the national civil police to implement a security plan to counter the growing delinquency which keeps the people of Quetzaltenango in fear.
- For all the trash vendors in the Calvario are leaving, 17 truckloads of waste have been gathered, and passage in neighboring streets has been blocked.
Suggestion: Educate the vendors so that they deposit their garbage in the designated areas, because we don't want a city full of toxic waste that cause pulmonary diseases and infections, which is harmful to all.
Yesterday at lunch, Hansi, the spanish school's guide for expeditions and a friend of the family, was over for lunch and Hugo, him and I talked about politics. Apparently, Alvaro and Sandra de Colom have announced their divorce, making her a "legitimate" presidential candidate. Colom spent 130 million queztales, about $17 million, on his campaign and his monthly salary is of Q50 000, a little under $7,000. The campaign for running for mayor only costs Q1 million. The mayor of Xela makes Q8000 a month, or $1,050. The annual budget in Xela's municipality is Q80 million, or about $10.5 million, which gives a mayor a budget of Q320 million over his term. Hansi asked Hugo whether he had considered entering politics, since he's always talking about what should be done and how, if he was mayor what would he do, and what would he do with Q320 million. Hugo has considered entering politics by creating his own socialist party but didn't have funding to do it, and has turned down offers to enter government because he'd rather live tranquilo with his family. He also says that many things could be changed pretty easily, but that he'd be killed within a year if he was president by narcos or CIA people. If he had the Q320 million, he could create his own political party, gain support etc but that wouldn't actually help people; he'd rather create a foundation that brings education to communities and water and electricity, or a no-interest microcredit organization. Here, he repeats, people go into the presidential or mayor position poor and come out rich, blatantly stealing tax and budget money. The people in government aren't creative or innovative and don't actually love their country and their people; they just want power for money. Many people have many ideas that could actually help change the country and provide just development, but those people would get killed in no time by the deeply corrupt system in place. For the last elections, Hugo voted for Rigoberta Menchu, like Eunice, but many say she's ignorant, intellectually limited, and even illiterate; that she betrayed her own people in her lust for power and social climbing, and unfit to govern a country. Rigoberta Menchu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 and has dedicated her life to publicizing the plight of indigenous discrimination during and after the Guatemalan civil war and fighting for indigenous rights in the country. Hugo voted for her because of the powerful international backing she possesses, which he believes would be extremely useful for funding just sustainability and human rights projects that are currently neglected to the benefit of megaprojects and enriching the elite. Another thing that has to change is the general mentality of guatemalans according to Hugo. However, that's a long process that government policies can't immediately instigate. This mentality is one of complacency, one in which people ask "why should I do this, why should I get up, why should I try if there are no jobs or opportunities anyways?", one that fosters the idea that it's easier and better to head North than stay in Guatemala to make money and find opportunities. 90% of people living in rural areas of Guatemala have been to or have family in the States.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
People
People in the city are very different from the campesinos I spent most of my time with in Guatemala, and the a priori that comes with meeting people from the city is that they are on the wealthier side of things and that our lives are not actually that different. Being in Xela sometimes also makes me forget I'm in Guatemala because of all the amenities and foodstuffs that are the same at home. But everytime I talk to people and hear where they're from and what they've lived through, I get a reality check. Leslie and I had a long conversation during the workshop because we weren't really doing anything, and she kind of told me her life story. Her mom left her father when she was 9 and her brother was 4. She went to live with another man as a result of marital tensions and infidelities. Only until Leslie was 16 did her mom decide to get back into her children's lives. When Leslie was 13 she went to the capital with her class and was supposed to see her mom for the first time in awhile because her mom worked in a maquiladora there, but she never showed up. It was really hard for her to deal with not having a mom, especially at that age when she really needed one. Leslie tried to kill herself when she was 10 by taking meds and was anorexic when she was 13, and suffered from depression all through her teens. When she was 16 and her mom reached out to her, she completely rejected her because she thought her mom ruined her life, but when she was 18, she decided to be the bigger person and give her mom a second chance, and now has a close relationship with her. Her brother still hates their mom though, and doesn't think he'll ever want to see her. Leslie is one of the smiliest outgoing people I've met here, and I never would've guessed that she's lived through all that. She's also a little bit fresa, or coquette, so I never would've guessed either that she's evangelical. She talks about how there are two paths in life, the one of god and the one of the world. She used to be in the path of the world and go out dancing and drinking and listen to music. But now she chose to follow the path of God so she can't do those things anymore, and doesn't really want to, although she does miss dancing and non religious music. She goes to church three times a week for mass and bible groups, and one of her only criteria for finding a boyfriend is that he be evangelical. I guess that ensures lower probabilities of him having addiction or infidelity problems, both common amongst guatemalan males.
I've also gotten much closer with my host family and we talk a bunch, especially after meals, about everything and anything. Elvia, my host mom, has told me her life story too, and how she grew up. Elvia was kind of the Cinderella of her family. She was sent to live with her aunt to a far away school for being a boisterous little girl but was pulled out of school when she finished 6th grade to work. She didn't grow up with her parents so has barely any emotional connection to them, and when was sent back home, had to work to help pay for her sisters' education. Her mom taught her the very strict machista lifestyle: cook and clean, give food to your husband in bed, don't let men in the kitchen, don't stay out in the street because your place is the kitchen and the bedroom, don't talk, if your husband is cheating on you, just deal, pretend you don't know and everything is fine; suffer in silence, do what you're told, and live to serve your man. Elvia met Hugo though, and he completely changed her. He was also taught the machista ways by his father, but he chose not to build his family that way - I think the guerrilla helped him with that too. He taught Elvia that they were equals, pushed for her to continue studying, shared in home chores, and wanted her to codirect the spanish school with him. This took time for adaptation, and Elvia is the first in her family to live so progressively. Her sisters and aunts and mother disapprove of Hugo because he is from the coast, a campesino and less ladino, and probably envy their lifestyle, jealous of Elvia's happiness and lack of traditional womanly suffering. Unfortunately though, Elvia doesn't have a good relationship with her family. When she was really sick, no one came to help her, not even her mom, and they always talk. If there's one thing I learned from Guatemala it's that family is the most important thing and loving family relationships are the most solid bonds there are and that I'm extremely grateful and lucky for all the love and support I share with mine. That's what Elvia is fostering in the family she has with Hugo, David and Maria, but she relies only on them for support, and that's a lastima.
We also have long conversations about politics, governments, corruption and drug trafficking here, etc. My host dad Hugo has a pretty pessimistic world view, though he claims he's being realist. He's lived through quite a lot and has written a book. He was in the guerrilla in the 80s and after the war wanted to stay involved in the revolutionary party, the URNG, to shape political life of Guatemala. However, he said the URNG and his guerrilla member companeros changed and political life has corrupted them. He was offered to be minister several times apparently, but turned it down because of the rampant corruption and narcos complete manipulation of politics and government. He barely goes outside of his house anymore because of threats he's received while trying to fight for less corruption in Xela municipality - he created a plan for increased tourist security and against corruption and handed it to the director of human rights in the municipality; two weeks later, that guy was arrested for drug trafficking and corruption charges.
He asked me if I thought there was love in the world, and I believe there is, but he immediately shot my opinion down to say that there isn't, and that if there was there wouldn't be war or exploitation or corruption. If people truly loved each other, then we wouldn't constantly be screwing over others for our own personal gains. However, there is some love left, and that's the only way our specie is surviving. He also maintains that all governments are corrupt, but the most corrupt and hypocrite one is the US government. I disagree with him, I don't think Obama's administration is bought by narcos, but he thinks it is, and that that's why there is so much drug trade and nothing is really being done about it. He thinks that's why the US government hasn't legalized marijuana - because the cartels are paying the government good money and if it's legal it won't be as profitable. What Hugo is saying is just not true and illogical, but he isn't used to having someone argue with him in his family and point out his errors, so dialogue is slowly coming on rather than black-white preachiness. He calls the US the ultimate evil and ultimate violator and has quite a bit of anger toward the US, not without reason, but is completely focused on the negative and on the US's actions in the past rather than living in the present. As his son Hugo David pointed out to me yesterday, yes the US does terrible things and makes mistakes, but it's not all bad, and it's important to view the positive. We're here now, so let's remember the past but not let it hinder us to move forward. It's up to us, the future generation, to shape tomorrow's world, and nothing will improve if we stagnate in pessimism. Out of negativity can only come more negativity, but optimism and positivity opens all the doors to progress and betterment. For a sixteen year old, Hugo David is extremely wise, and he's probably one of the most cultured kids in Xela. Talking to him is always very interesting because of his extensive knowledge and passionate interest in literature, music, cinematography and the world. He's called weird by his reggaeton-girlhungry classmates, but I think they know like I do that it's people like Hugo David that inspire and enhance our humanity.
La semana...
One of those week recaps:
Sunday: It was a wonderful day for food. Firstly, my family got up at 11 and ate breakfast at 11:30 - pancakes with homemade mango marmalade. We spent another hour talking about what we were gonna do that day and decided to make pizza. We had homemade pizza for lunch, at 4pm, which was amazing, so delicious. And then we had a slumber party with the girls at Adelaide's where we made brazilian bean stew, rice and guacamole. The brazilian bean stew is tomatoes, onions, chile peppers, garlic, black beans and orange juice! It's incredible. A catholic procession was going on in the parque central out of the main church for the start of Lent. Men in black and purple robes and funny smurf hats surrounded the entire plaza, and 3 dozens of men were swaying and supporting a huge Jesus carrying the cross with the Last Supper table next to him. Little children were waving incense in front of it and a sarabanda was playing a marcha funebre in the back. Xela is supposedly the only place in the world where each church does a different procession every sunday during Lent until Semana Santa. We're going to San Cristobal de las Casas for Semana Santa, so we'll miss the Xela action but we'll see the mexican way of things. After dinner we watched the Coca- Cola Case, which I repeat must be watched.
Monday: The day started with the weekly meeting at the women's office where we talk about what we're doing during the week and talk about what needs to be done and fixed and turned in etc. These meetings I've come to notice don't really achieve much, and things are repeated each week but never actually get done. 2 new foreigner volunteers came for the meeting but Tita told them later that they couldn't work because the Office has no room for them. One of them had experience in investigation in social work, so I realized that maybe I'm taking up space from someone who can actually bring a skill set relevant to the Office's work. What I like most about the office though is that it is entirely run by Guatemalan women, and the workshops are given by guatemalan volunteers and interns. I think it's a lot more effective that way, and the only way complete societal change can occur. It has to come from within rather than being imported from the "icons of freedom" Westerners pretend to be. Since I showed the women in the Office the march and election photos, I've sort of become the official photographer for them, so whichever activities they imperatively want photodocumented, I get to go to. Monday afternoon, I went with Tita and Candy to the Rafael Landivar University to the inauguration of a new diploma that University and the public San Carlos University are offering, sponsored and coordinated by the OMM - the degree in Psychology and Mental Health Studies. About 50 people attended, mostly students, and Tita, the directors of the universities and I think the mayor spoke and honored the teachers of the new course of study. A Doctor in Psych gave a sample lecture about dynamics of the guatemalan family and couple, and how those shape today's society and national psyche. According to him the problems in society is due primarily to the dysfunctionality of couples and the disintegration of family, rather than the socio-economic decisions taken by the government. The violence in Guatemala is due to the change in values and in parenting: 17 people per day are killed here, and there are about 200,000 youth gang members - the new societal order is shaped by the individuals and by the way they are raised. He pointed out the "enemies of the couple", which were the lack of romance, money problems, in-laws, routine, violence, vice and addictions, infidelity, and the lack of fear of God. Then he talked about the disintegration of the family, which is according to him due to dwindling power of parental authority, loosening and forgetting of values, and increased rebellion of children. He mentioned these new value sets were brought by TV and increased openness to the outside world; in other words globalization. He made a lot of jokes in the process to keep the interest alive and illustrate his points. He mentioned God a couple times, and how love of God must be the ultimate priority. He also shared that the most common cases he's received in consultations are infidelity between couples and the consequences of machismo. It was really interesting to attend a Guatemalan college lecture, and I wonder how different an American psych college lecture would be - how much would the causes and points discussed differ. It was also interesting to see Guatemalan college life. I think only 2% of Guatemalans go to college, mainly because very few universities are public, and the costs are quite high. So the richer kids of Guatemala attend the private Rafael Landivar, and I kept wondering during Morales' lecture if he had anything to do with the poorer sector of Guatemalans, because most of his examples I could tell were for the upper class to identify with. How different is the nature of that field when dealing with poorer people? A companera in the office, Kery, works as an intern-psychologist and has told me that here, a psychologist is viewed by most as someone that deals with crazy people. So it's still a nascent field that people are starting to see is very necessary in guatemalan society, but still rejected by most because of the stigma it carries with it. But things are changing, which the implementation of this new degree shows.
Tuesday: I went to Xecharacoj with the oficina. But I had to catch up with the other girls because they told me the wrong time to meet. So I could've stayed in the office instead, but I decided on a little adventure. I didn't know where to take the bus or stop but I figured it out along the way, asking people, befriending mayan ladies on the bus who took me to the house I was supposed to go to in Xecharacoj. Elba, another intern, was giving a cooking class, how to bake a pastel frio. I just took pictures and talked to Leslie, another social work intern. I'm actually becoming friends with these two lovely gals, which is pretty exciting, and the first time I actually make friends with guatemalans. Elba has invited me to her house in Momostenango, which I hope I can go to one weekend.
Wednesday: We went to Llanos to the crafts recycling project, more women came and we made baskets out of newspaper rolls. It turns out that the two gringa girls from Monday morning are actually going to be volunteering too. Coming back, in the bus, a guy asked me in english where I was from. He had been living in Boston and DC for 9 years illegally and was deported 5 months ago. His 2 children are still up there, probably american citizens born from illegal parents. Now he has a visa though, so I think he'll head back up and stay there.
Wednesday night we went to El Cuartito to watch a documentary that didn't work, called the Fourth World War, and then salsa dancing.
Thursday: Entremundos morning with a terrible salsa class, and then went to Pacaja with the office. On the way there, I asked Eunice what she thought about Sandra Torres. According to Eunice, Sandra accomplished a lot and was the only first lady to do so, especially for the family. She respects all the achievements of Sandra but wouldn't want her as a president for all the corruption and blunt way she does things. Eunice, like Hugo, is voting for Rigoberta Menchu again this time around. She said there are 36 political parties this election and the one with most support so far is the Patriota party, the military party, with the leading candidate Otto Perez Molina. The rising support for the military party is due to the rising violence that people are tired of, and so they hope the military can bring order to Guatemala. Unfortunately, the military is just as corrupt as everyone else and probably owned by narcos too. Whenever I ask why people would vote for candidates they know are corrupt and involved in narco activity, people just laugh and answer that everyone is corrupt in politics here, there are no exceptions. Maybe that's why people's votes are so easily bought; if they know everyone is corrupt anyway, they might as well vote for the one who gives them the most amount of stuff before the elections!
In Pacaja, my friend Elba, the youngest intern from a crafts/finishing school, is teaching the ladies how to do embroidery. That group is too small and they haven't been able to get more people on board so they risk being abandoned by the office. We basically just sat and talked for 3 hours while Elba was teaching. At night, Kate and I went to a benefit party for Chico Mendes, and Armando and Claudia, his daughter, were there. We talked a lot, about Chico Mendes' relation to Dragons, about the community and Estela, who's been kicked out of the host family circle for breaking rules, much to my dismay. According to Armando, several incidents occurred where Estela had asked students for money, for patron money for her grandson, and had gotten money by lying about her economic situation and pretending that her husband in the States doesn't send them money. In addition, she's working with an organization called Compassion through her church, but is also breaking the rule by involving her entire family, while the organization specifies that only one member per family can participate. I don't know how true what he was telling me is. She definitely has indirectly asked me for money before. I wonder how much these families do it for the pisto and if they do it for compartir at all. The only places I've really felt were doing it from their heart are Concepcion, Venecia, and the Ixcan.
Friday, Saturday were full of Entremundos translation, salsa dancing and out with the gals. Chichicastenango market tomorrow!
Sunday: It was a wonderful day for food. Firstly, my family got up at 11 and ate breakfast at 11:30 - pancakes with homemade mango marmalade. We spent another hour talking about what we were gonna do that day and decided to make pizza. We had homemade pizza for lunch, at 4pm, which was amazing, so delicious. And then we had a slumber party with the girls at Adelaide's where we made brazilian bean stew, rice and guacamole. The brazilian bean stew is tomatoes, onions, chile peppers, garlic, black beans and orange juice! It's incredible. A catholic procession was going on in the parque central out of the main church for the start of Lent. Men in black and purple robes and funny smurf hats surrounded the entire plaza, and 3 dozens of men were swaying and supporting a huge Jesus carrying the cross with the Last Supper table next to him. Little children were waving incense in front of it and a sarabanda was playing a marcha funebre in the back. Xela is supposedly the only place in the world where each church does a different procession every sunday during Lent until Semana Santa. We're going to San Cristobal de las Casas for Semana Santa, so we'll miss the Xela action but we'll see the mexican way of things. After dinner we watched the Coca- Cola Case, which I repeat must be watched.
Monday: The day started with the weekly meeting at the women's office where we talk about what we're doing during the week and talk about what needs to be done and fixed and turned in etc. These meetings I've come to notice don't really achieve much, and things are repeated each week but never actually get done. 2 new foreigner volunteers came for the meeting but Tita told them later that they couldn't work because the Office has no room for them. One of them had experience in investigation in social work, so I realized that maybe I'm taking up space from someone who can actually bring a skill set relevant to the Office's work. What I like most about the office though is that it is entirely run by Guatemalan women, and the workshops are given by guatemalan volunteers and interns. I think it's a lot more effective that way, and the only way complete societal change can occur. It has to come from within rather than being imported from the "icons of freedom" Westerners pretend to be. Since I showed the women in the Office the march and election photos, I've sort of become the official photographer for them, so whichever activities they imperatively want photodocumented, I get to go to. Monday afternoon, I went with Tita and Candy to the Rafael Landivar University to the inauguration of a new diploma that University and the public San Carlos University are offering, sponsored and coordinated by the OMM - the degree in Psychology and Mental Health Studies. About 50 people attended, mostly students, and Tita, the directors of the universities and I think the mayor spoke and honored the teachers of the new course of study. A Doctor in Psych gave a sample lecture about dynamics of the guatemalan family and couple, and how those shape today's society and national psyche. According to him the problems in society is due primarily to the dysfunctionality of couples and the disintegration of family, rather than the socio-economic decisions taken by the government. The violence in Guatemala is due to the change in values and in parenting: 17 people per day are killed here, and there are about 200,000 youth gang members - the new societal order is shaped by the individuals and by the way they are raised. He pointed out the "enemies of the couple", which were the lack of romance, money problems, in-laws, routine, violence, vice and addictions, infidelity, and the lack of fear of God. Then he talked about the disintegration of the family, which is according to him due to dwindling power of parental authority, loosening and forgetting of values, and increased rebellion of children. He mentioned these new value sets were brought by TV and increased openness to the outside world; in other words globalization. He made a lot of jokes in the process to keep the interest alive and illustrate his points. He mentioned God a couple times, and how love of God must be the ultimate priority. He also shared that the most common cases he's received in consultations are infidelity between couples and the consequences of machismo. It was really interesting to attend a Guatemalan college lecture, and I wonder how different an American psych college lecture would be - how much would the causes and points discussed differ. It was also interesting to see Guatemalan college life. I think only 2% of Guatemalans go to college, mainly because very few universities are public, and the costs are quite high. So the richer kids of Guatemala attend the private Rafael Landivar, and I kept wondering during Morales' lecture if he had anything to do with the poorer sector of Guatemalans, because most of his examples I could tell were for the upper class to identify with. How different is the nature of that field when dealing with poorer people? A companera in the office, Kery, works as an intern-psychologist and has told me that here, a psychologist is viewed by most as someone that deals with crazy people. So it's still a nascent field that people are starting to see is very necessary in guatemalan society, but still rejected by most because of the stigma it carries with it. But things are changing, which the implementation of this new degree shows.
Tuesday: I went to Xecharacoj with the oficina. But I had to catch up with the other girls because they told me the wrong time to meet. So I could've stayed in the office instead, but I decided on a little adventure. I didn't know where to take the bus or stop but I figured it out along the way, asking people, befriending mayan ladies on the bus who took me to the house I was supposed to go to in Xecharacoj. Elba, another intern, was giving a cooking class, how to bake a pastel frio. I just took pictures and talked to Leslie, another social work intern. I'm actually becoming friends with these two lovely gals, which is pretty exciting, and the first time I actually make friends with guatemalans. Elba has invited me to her house in Momostenango, which I hope I can go to one weekend.
Wednesday: We went to Llanos to the crafts recycling project, more women came and we made baskets out of newspaper rolls. It turns out that the two gringa girls from Monday morning are actually going to be volunteering too. Coming back, in the bus, a guy asked me in english where I was from. He had been living in Boston and DC for 9 years illegally and was deported 5 months ago. His 2 children are still up there, probably american citizens born from illegal parents. Now he has a visa though, so I think he'll head back up and stay there.
Wednesday night we went to El Cuartito to watch a documentary that didn't work, called the Fourth World War, and then salsa dancing.
Thursday: Entremundos morning with a terrible salsa class, and then went to Pacaja with the office. On the way there, I asked Eunice what she thought about Sandra Torres. According to Eunice, Sandra accomplished a lot and was the only first lady to do so, especially for the family. She respects all the achievements of Sandra but wouldn't want her as a president for all the corruption and blunt way she does things. Eunice, like Hugo, is voting for Rigoberta Menchu again this time around. She said there are 36 political parties this election and the one with most support so far is the Patriota party, the military party, with the leading candidate Otto Perez Molina. The rising support for the military party is due to the rising violence that people are tired of, and so they hope the military can bring order to Guatemala. Unfortunately, the military is just as corrupt as everyone else and probably owned by narcos too. Whenever I ask why people would vote for candidates they know are corrupt and involved in narco activity, people just laugh and answer that everyone is corrupt in politics here, there are no exceptions. Maybe that's why people's votes are so easily bought; if they know everyone is corrupt anyway, they might as well vote for the one who gives them the most amount of stuff before the elections!
In Pacaja, my friend Elba, the youngest intern from a crafts/finishing school, is teaching the ladies how to do embroidery. That group is too small and they haven't been able to get more people on board so they risk being abandoned by the office. We basically just sat and talked for 3 hours while Elba was teaching. At night, Kate and I went to a benefit party for Chico Mendes, and Armando and Claudia, his daughter, were there. We talked a lot, about Chico Mendes' relation to Dragons, about the community and Estela, who's been kicked out of the host family circle for breaking rules, much to my dismay. According to Armando, several incidents occurred where Estela had asked students for money, for patron money for her grandson, and had gotten money by lying about her economic situation and pretending that her husband in the States doesn't send them money. In addition, she's working with an organization called Compassion through her church, but is also breaking the rule by involving her entire family, while the organization specifies that only one member per family can participate. I don't know how true what he was telling me is. She definitely has indirectly asked me for money before. I wonder how much these families do it for the pisto and if they do it for compartir at all. The only places I've really felt were doing it from their heart are Concepcion, Venecia, and the Ixcan.
Friday, Saturday were full of Entremundos translation, salsa dancing and out with the gals. Chichicastenango market tomorrow!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Documentaries
You can watch The Money Fix for free here: http://www.themoneyfix.org/
Yesterday we watched another documentary called The Coca-Cola Case, extremely interesting. It's about the lawsuit that 8 Colombian workers on the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Colombia filled against the famous company for financing and hiring paramilitary groups to torture or kill unionized workers. I think everyone should see this and start thinking about their consumer choices...
Here is the link: http://www.thecoca-colacase.org/
Enjoy!
Yesterday we watched another documentary called The Coca-Cola Case, extremely interesting. It's about the lawsuit that 8 Colombian workers on the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Colombia filled against the famous company for financing and hiring paramilitary groups to torture or kill unionized workers. I think everyone should see this and start thinking about their consumer choices...
Here is the link: http://www.thecoca-colacase.org/
Enjoy!
More on Sandra Torres de Colom
I did some more research on the first lady and her controversial candidacy.
It is positively unconstitutional for her to run, but the Guatemalan constitutional court will weigh article 186 versus another clause, that guarantees the right of all to participate in elections, and decide. In 2003, the court overturned a constitutional ban that prevented individuals who had come to power from a coup from becoming president. This clause was directed to Efrain Rios Montt, the ruthless dictator that governed Guatemala from 1982 to 1984 and orchestrated some of the worst massacres and human rights abuses during the 36 year civil war, and he ran in the 2003 presidential elections regardless. So it's not unheard of for the court to make decisions that are against the constitution's intents, and the Coloms don't think it'll be a problem. The court is definitely imbued with corruption anyway, so it's almost expected that they rule in favor of Torres' candidacy. Some have speculated that Torres and Colom would get a divorce before the elections if the court were to rule her candidacy as unconstitutional, but the President has denied those allegations.
Torres' current ratings are 11% but will probably go up a bit now that she's officially announced her candidacy. She is now the eighth person to announce her intention to run for president and she is a likely front-runner along with Otto Perez Molina, who is currently at 43% in the polls.
Torres is running as the head of the UNE (Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza - National Unity for Hope) - GANA ticket. The UNE was founded in 2002 and identifies itself as a social democratic and social-Christian party. They currently hold 48 of the 158 seats in Congress. UNE and Colom in 2007 ran on the image of being a different, pro-people government that identifies with the cause of the rebel party (URNG) that fought against the government during the 36 year war. They are supposedly center-left and promised to bring alot more social programs, namely in health and education, and strengthen security by investing more on the National Civil Police and combatting narco-trafficking and organized crime. They also promoted free trade and foreign investment as their favored economic policy with the objective to create at least 2 million jobs.
Needless to say, the UNE and Colom did not achieve their promises in terms of job creation or security enforcement. Many people accuse Colom of corruption and of being involved with narcotraficantes. Colom's government has not been pro-people as human and land rights have been disregarded to the benefit of mining companies and other megaprojects extremely hurtful to the environment and to public health. The UN and Interamerican Human Rights Court had to intervene and basically force Colom to suspend the notoriously controversial Marlin mining project. Impunity has increased as crimes done by federal officials and police have been dismissed by the corrupt justice system, and gang presence and violence has also remained high.
As first lady, Sandra Torres was in charge of the creation, implementation, and strengthening of social programs. She works as the head of the Secretariat of Social Work of the President's Spouse (SOSEP). Within UNE she created and headed the National Coordinator of Women, to which 30, 000 Guatemalan women are currently affiliated. She also created a bunch of social-work and social-politics programs catering mostly to women, children, youth, communities, and poor families, which were her responsibilities as first lady. I'm not sure how effective she's been; one of her main programs, Mi Familia Progresa (monetary assistance to families) has reached 300 communities, and gender disparities are still enormous but slowly changing for the better. But the situation of the Guatemalan people has not been drastically altered or improved, considering Guatemala remains 116th out of 169 countries in development level. Guatemalans that I have spoken to haven't felt any difference, not to mention improvement, as economic times are dim and violence is on the rise.
One can understand why people are skeptical of Torres and the program she pretends she'll provide as president, and her disregard for the constitution isn't helping her in public opinion. However, she is a woman and has focused much of her recent political career on women's development, so I would be optimistic that she would continue on that path and improve the deplorable situation of women here. But some women here are so machista in the way they were brought up that it cannot be assured that Torres would easily obtain women's votes...
It is positively unconstitutional for her to run, but the Guatemalan constitutional court will weigh article 186 versus another clause, that guarantees the right of all to participate in elections, and decide. In 2003, the court overturned a constitutional ban that prevented individuals who had come to power from a coup from becoming president. This clause was directed to Efrain Rios Montt, the ruthless dictator that governed Guatemala from 1982 to 1984 and orchestrated some of the worst massacres and human rights abuses during the 36 year civil war, and he ran in the 2003 presidential elections regardless. So it's not unheard of for the court to make decisions that are against the constitution's intents, and the Coloms don't think it'll be a problem. The court is definitely imbued with corruption anyway, so it's almost expected that they rule in favor of Torres' candidacy. Some have speculated that Torres and Colom would get a divorce before the elections if the court were to rule her candidacy as unconstitutional, but the President has denied those allegations.
Torres' current ratings are 11% but will probably go up a bit now that she's officially announced her candidacy. She is now the eighth person to announce her intention to run for president and she is a likely front-runner along with Otto Perez Molina, who is currently at 43% in the polls.
Torres is running as the head of the UNE (Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza - National Unity for Hope) - GANA ticket. The UNE was founded in 2002 and identifies itself as a social democratic and social-Christian party. They currently hold 48 of the 158 seats in Congress. UNE and Colom in 2007 ran on the image of being a different, pro-people government that identifies with the cause of the rebel party (URNG) that fought against the government during the 36 year war. They are supposedly center-left and promised to bring alot more social programs, namely in health and education, and strengthen security by investing more on the National Civil Police and combatting narco-trafficking and organized crime. They also promoted free trade and foreign investment as their favored economic policy with the objective to create at least 2 million jobs.
Needless to say, the UNE and Colom did not achieve their promises in terms of job creation or security enforcement. Many people accuse Colom of corruption and of being involved with narcotraficantes. Colom's government has not been pro-people as human and land rights have been disregarded to the benefit of mining companies and other megaprojects extremely hurtful to the environment and to public health. The UN and Interamerican Human Rights Court had to intervene and basically force Colom to suspend the notoriously controversial Marlin mining project. Impunity has increased as crimes done by federal officials and police have been dismissed by the corrupt justice system, and gang presence and violence has also remained high.
As first lady, Sandra Torres was in charge of the creation, implementation, and strengthening of social programs. She works as the head of the Secretariat of Social Work of the President's Spouse (SOSEP). Within UNE she created and headed the National Coordinator of Women, to which 30, 000 Guatemalan women are currently affiliated. She also created a bunch of social-work and social-politics programs catering mostly to women, children, youth, communities, and poor families, which were her responsibilities as first lady. I'm not sure how effective she's been; one of her main programs, Mi Familia Progresa (monetary assistance to families) has reached 300 communities, and gender disparities are still enormous but slowly changing for the better. But the situation of the Guatemalan people has not been drastically altered or improved, considering Guatemala remains 116th out of 169 countries in development level. Guatemalans that I have spoken to haven't felt any difference, not to mention improvement, as economic times are dim and violence is on the rise.
One can understand why people are skeptical of Torres and the program she pretends she'll provide as president, and her disregard for the constitution isn't helping her in public opinion. However, she is a woman and has focused much of her recent political career on women's development, so I would be optimistic that she would continue on that path and improve the deplorable situation of women here. But some women here are so machista in the way they were brought up that it cannot be assured that Torres would easily obtain women's votes...
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Presidential Elections
Yesterday I read an article from the Prensa Libre about a political debate around the upcoming presidential elections in Guate that I am translating for you here:
On Women's International Day, Sandra Torres, the wife of the current Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom, announced she would run for president in the September 2011 elections.
"I took this decision for a simple reason: for you, for my people, for my country, for women, for the elderly, for the handicaped, for the abandoned, single moms, and widows, and for all the needy of Guatemala. I took this decision because I want to protect the social programs and progress we have achieved." She also sent a conciliatory message to business-owners, "my government will be open to them, because they are the main generators of employment and wealth". She accused the political opponents to oppose social programs, "Now that the electoral campaign is near, they say they support [social programs]" but she considers these to be threatened by "politics as usual, which have tried to destroy them." "My promise is to generate employment and development for all, dedicate myself to fight against deliquence, against narcotrafficking, against gangs and organized crime; a municipality safety program is included in my government plan." "I want to tell you that in my government there will not be one lonely woman; we'e going to include special programs for single moms, widows, and daughters and sons of the poorest women."
Torres' candidacy is very controversial. Some civil lawyers consider that she has immediate prohibition from participating in the presidential race because of her kinship to Colom. Others say that marriage does generate kinship but not to the extent of blood relation, which would mean her candidacy is legitimate.
As I scrolled down the page, I wondered what Guatemalans were thinking about this, so I read the comments. Out of 11 pages of comments, only 3 comments were not vehemently reprimanding Torres' actions and outraged by her candidacy. Here are some of the comments:
"The Guatemalan magna carta is treated like toilet paper here",
"It's lamentable and embarassing what this lady is pretending, violating our constitution is the first act of corruption; people of Guatemala let's react, let's not fall in the trap, let's not continue with more insecurity, no to the lack of transparency, this is an astounding act of hoarding power",
"If in four years her husband's government that she's been manipulating behind the scenes hasn't done anything to improve security and worsened our situation, she'll just make us poorer",
"Jesus Christ, what have the Guatemalan people done to undergo this malicious cancer",
"If instead of having given us half a pound of beans they would've given us safe streets, then maybe it would be a different story, but let her jump out of the Inguat building asap",
"This is electoral fraud, I hope CICIG will do something and not let them out of sight",
"This is a circus",
"I hope everyone says they are against Sandra de Colom, I hope that the parties will unite against this and defend the constitution, because if not and she stays, I can assure you that her government will reform the constitution in a referendum where reelection will be allowed and ready for manipulation. That's how dictators arise - by people's passivity - and ousting these crusts from power will cost blood like in Libya."
"The money for her campaign, let's not kid ourselves, we are providing it, and we've already paid for it through taxes that go to those social programs that don't help and just become an incentive to laziness",
"If with Colom we don't have enough to eat, then with this lady we're going to fight for a tortilla",
"If Sandra Torres (our Mubarak) stays, she'll govern for 20 more years; that'll be the only way we Guatemalans wake up and prepare to unite to destroy once and for all this generation of plunderers of our beautiful Guatemala.",
"Unfortunately in Guatemala, everything is bought...".
"We can't expect a better government after 3 years that she's already been governing us. Firstly: she stole the presidency from her husband. Secondly: She and her party are narcos. Thirdly: they start by violating the constitution, what else will they do during 4 years. She wants to continue in power because no one says anything. Therefore Guatemalan, continue in silence like always and leave it to the rest of the world, while that insignificant woman will continue violating and killing you like she's done until now.",
"Article 186 of the Guatemalan constitution forbids relatives up to the 4th degree of removal in sanguinity and up to the 2nd in affinity to a representative of the country to be a presidential candidate. In this case, Torres is the spouse of the country's representative, and so is in the 1st degree of affinity. And still she has the nerve to say that there is no impediment!!! Where are we going to stop with these people?"
"The simple thought that this lady would come to govern our country...makes me nautious..."
On Women's International Day, Sandra Torres, the wife of the current Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom, announced she would run for president in the September 2011 elections.
"I took this decision for a simple reason: for you, for my people, for my country, for women, for the elderly, for the handicaped, for the abandoned, single moms, and widows, and for all the needy of Guatemala. I took this decision because I want to protect the social programs and progress we have achieved." She also sent a conciliatory message to business-owners, "my government will be open to them, because they are the main generators of employment and wealth". She accused the political opponents to oppose social programs, "Now that the electoral campaign is near, they say they support [social programs]" but she considers these to be threatened by "politics as usual, which have tried to destroy them." "My promise is to generate employment and development for all, dedicate myself to fight against deliquence, against narcotrafficking, against gangs and organized crime; a municipality safety program is included in my government plan." "I want to tell you that in my government there will not be one lonely woman; we'e going to include special programs for single moms, widows, and daughters and sons of the poorest women."
Torres' candidacy is very controversial. Some civil lawyers consider that she has immediate prohibition from participating in the presidential race because of her kinship to Colom. Others say that marriage does generate kinship but not to the extent of blood relation, which would mean her candidacy is legitimate.
As I scrolled down the page, I wondered what Guatemalans were thinking about this, so I read the comments. Out of 11 pages of comments, only 3 comments were not vehemently reprimanding Torres' actions and outraged by her candidacy. Here are some of the comments:
"The Guatemalan magna carta is treated like toilet paper here",
"It's lamentable and embarassing what this lady is pretending, violating our constitution is the first act of corruption; people of Guatemala let's react, let's not fall in the trap, let's not continue with more insecurity, no to the lack of transparency, this is an astounding act of hoarding power",
"If in four years her husband's government that she's been manipulating behind the scenes hasn't done anything to improve security and worsened our situation, she'll just make us poorer",
"Jesus Christ, what have the Guatemalan people done to undergo this malicious cancer",
"If instead of having given us half a pound of beans they would've given us safe streets, then maybe it would be a different story, but let her jump out of the Inguat building asap",
"This is electoral fraud, I hope CICIG will do something and not let them out of sight",
"This is a circus",
"I hope everyone says they are against Sandra de Colom, I hope that the parties will unite against this and defend the constitution, because if not and she stays, I can assure you that her government will reform the constitution in a referendum where reelection will be allowed and ready for manipulation. That's how dictators arise - by people's passivity - and ousting these crusts from power will cost blood like in Libya."
"The money for her campaign, let's not kid ourselves, we are providing it, and we've already paid for it through taxes that go to those social programs that don't help and just become an incentive to laziness",
"If with Colom we don't have enough to eat, then with this lady we're going to fight for a tortilla",
"If Sandra Torres (our Mubarak) stays, she'll govern for 20 more years; that'll be the only way we Guatemalans wake up and prepare to unite to destroy once and for all this generation of plunderers of our beautiful Guatemala.",
"Unfortunately in Guatemala, everything is bought...".
"We can't expect a better government after 3 years that she's already been governing us. Firstly: she stole the presidency from her husband. Secondly: She and her party are narcos. Thirdly: they start by violating the constitution, what else will they do during 4 years. She wants to continue in power because no one says anything. Therefore Guatemalan, continue in silence like always and leave it to the rest of the world, while that insignificant woman will continue violating and killing you like she's done until now.",
"Article 186 of the Guatemalan constitution forbids relatives up to the 4th degree of removal in sanguinity and up to the 2nd in affinity to a representative of the country to be a presidential candidate. In this case, Torres is the spouse of the country's representative, and so is in the 1st degree of affinity. And still she has the nerve to say that there is no impediment!!! Where are we going to stop with these people?"
"The simple thought that this lady would come to govern our country...makes me nautious..."
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Angry environmentalism
The earthquake in Japan was the biggest in the country's history. In the last year, a dozen environmental disasters have occurred, from the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile to Hurricane Agatha in Central America devastating the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. The elevated frequency of these types of phenomena in recent years is proved to be due to climate change. While it is hard to control or be prepared for such damaging natural occurrences, we can decide to change the way we live today and take fast and sweeping action to mitigate global warming and its subsequent destructive consequences. It is in our power to prevent man-made disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; and it’s up to us to decide when to stop violating the planet and its inhabitants to divert our energy and capacities to building a sustainable world. However, if our government keeps neglecting transformative climate change policy, if our representatives keep denying global warming, and if people continue to expect others to start overturning our modern society’s lifestyle, where are we headed?
A House subcommittee has voted to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its power to regulate greenhouse gases and the Interior department has granted 37 new permits for oil wells in shallow water and one new deepwater permit. Here are the 2 articles that made me angry and write this post in reaction:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03This is unacceptable, heading in the wrong direction, and essentially due to the new Republican majority in Congress. I’d rather think that people have short-term memory loss, but the truth is that people just don’t care. Aggressive action needs to be taken and the Republicans are preventing that to the benefit of oil companies and corporations.
Climate change is real and very much here, people are being killed by our individualistic denial, and draining the planet’s resources is accelerating disaster in the environment and in communities, and simply not sustainable. How many more times are we going to passively shake our head and be angry for a genuine sole instant right after something happens, and then forget about it and resume our routine in our clearly flawed system? We’re all guilty, but now is the time to start caring a little more and change the powers that be around.
Nature is crying out to us that we need to change; the question is, how many more disasters are we willing to withstand before we are ready to listen?
Friday, March 11, 2011
Election
The people of Llanos
Eunice and line for registration
Coca cola refaccion
Registering the voters
The winner, Dona Elvira
Candidate numbers
Voting
It started to rain as votes were being counted
Refa Refa Refa
OMM poster converted into poncho
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