The Battle Against Racism Starts From Within

September 15, 2010

by Carlos Macías

This is my first contribution to Being Latino. Like many of my new colleagues who chip in here every week, pride for our roots and optimism about our future is what compels me to join this conversation. On my daily commute, sometimes I hear other Latinos refer to Mexicans or other Latinos with indigenous background with such revulsion, that it sincerely, makes me sad. We should stop for a minute or two, and ask ourselves if sometimes we contribute to this climate of fear-mongering and abuse against our people by using words like “wetbacks,” “beaner” or simply “these damn Mexicans.” Although we all may feel united in the crusade against racism and discrimination, I am convinced that more should be done at the personal level.

Our indigenous Latinos belong to our culture, and quite frankly, they embellish it. Despite our origins, we all share a common denominator: either we or our parents or grandparents came to America with the idea of finding a better future and a way to help our families. Some of us got the opportunity to attend college; others specialize in construction; others in the food industry, and others know how to work in farms, rippingthe fruits from the earth so we can eat abundantly year-round. We distinguish ourselves from other immigrant groups for being resourceful, hard-working and by our constant displays of happiness. We’ll do anything to earn our daily living: from improvising a tamales hot spot using a shopping cart right outside of the train station to starting our own restaurants; becoming success stories all around.

However, the deep cultural differences between our cultures cannot be ignored, including American-born Latinos who have their unique blend of cultural flavors. These differences should not be used to justify denigrating our own people. This assessment follows the same reasoning behind campaigns done by many civil rights groups against the use of words like “n**ger,” “f**got,” or any derogatory terms by anyone. We should embrace our rich cultural heritage and learn to love (if you don’t already) our Latinos with Aztec, Inca, Taino, Chibcha, Aymara and Mapuche backgrounds among others. Bottom line: I feel proud of mi gente. Do you?

PS. I would like to share with you a photo essay called The Magnificent Migrants produced by Mexican photographer Dulce Pinzón and featured by Foreignpolicy.com.

(Photo by Dulce Pinzón, a photographer working in Mexico and New York)

Original article was published on the Being Latino blog.

Canadá a Mexico: Votre visa s’il vous plaît! (Su visa por favor)

El gobierno de Canadá acaba de anunciar que a partir de Julio 14 del 2009 los ciudadanos Mexicanos deberán solicitar una visa para poder visitar a ese país. A primera vista, el anuncio parece normal dadas las duras condiciones económicas en un país en recesión como Canadá. Por lo general, los legisladores de cualquier país con ese dilema usualmente tratan de restringir la cuota de refugiados y mano de obra extranjera que aceptan cada año. Pero el número de peticiones no alcanza ni los 10 mil por año en un país de 33 millones de habitantes y con un bajo crecimiento poblacional que solo alcanzó el 1.1 por ciento en el ultimo cuatrienio. Y entonces que onda carnal, que pasa? Parece que el estigma del narcotráfico y la violencia les esta causando a los Mexicanos daños irreparables en su imagen a nivel global.

Las autoridades Canadienses insisten que la decisión se fundamenta solo en los problemas de presupuesto de su programa de refugiados. Es cierto que el número de solicitudes de asilo por parte de Mexicanos se ha casi triplicado, de 3,400 solicitudes in el 2005, a 9,400 en el 2008. El periódico El Universal de México en su editorial del Junio 15 explica que gracias a los controles que los Estados Unidos ha implementado en su frontera sur, el buscar asilo político en Canadá se convirtió en una válvula de escape tanto para gente buscando mejores oportunidades de trabajo tanto como para delincuentes. “Sin embargo, no alcanza a ser creíble que el tema de los refugiados haya sido el único motivo para adoptar esta drástica medida. La otra explicación…se halla en el robustecimiento de los nexos entre las pandillas canadienses dedicadas al tráfico de drogas y los cárteles mexicanos, en particular con la organización encabezada por Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán,” agrega ese diario.

Los efectos de la guerra sin cuartel que libra el estado Mexicano en contra de los carteles de la droga se sienten con fuerza en las ciudades Canadienses. El periódico The Globe and Mail reportó en Marzo pasado, que las agencias Canadienses de inteligencia reconocían a los carteles Mexicanos de la droga como una amenaza a su seguridad nacional. Además, programas bilaterales como la Iniciativa Mérida ha interrumpido el flujo normal de abastecimiento de drogas en el Norte del continente. Un reporte de la firma global de inteligencia Stratfor asegura que los precios callejeros de las drogas en Canadá se han disparado, causando tensiones entre bandas criminales y abastecedores, resultando en mas muertes de las que las autoridades locales pueden controlar.

Dos cosas importantes que aclarar. Primero, los carteles Mexicanos no son los únicos que operan en suelo Canadiense. Allí tambien operan la mafia Rusa, la mafia Asiática, y pandillas Centroamericanas entre otras. Segundo, los Estados Unidos tambien son culpables en gran parte del deterioro de la seguridad en ciudades como Vancouver o Toronto. Las pocas regulaciones al mercado de armas de ese país hace que sea muy fácil que pistolas y rifles de alto calibre sean comercializadas en el mercado negro y lleguen a manos delictivas tanto al norte como al sur de sus fronteras. Ese flujo ilegal de armas alimenta el número de muertos y aviva el sentimiento anti-inmigrante entre los nativos.

La medida ha causado revuelo en Canadá dado que los turistas mexicanos sobrepasan los 266,000 por año. En los últimos cinco años, Toronto ha recibido mas visitas de mexicanos que de japoneses o alemanes. El columnista Jim Creskey del magazine de política exterior canadiense Embassy explica que el problema no reside en el número de solicitudes de asilo, el problema radica en el tortuoso e ineficaz sistema migratorio de Canadá. “Bajos de personal, con pocos fondos, culpables si dejan entrar a alguien no deseado, y con poco tiempo para tomar las decisiones correctas, los oficiales de inmigración viven en un constante estado de incertidumbre,” dice el columnista. Al contrario, el periódico Calgary Herald aplaudió la medida aduciendo que la mayoría de refugiados mexicanos buscan trabajo y no huyen de persecución política o torturas por parte del estado. Además dice que los contribuyentes canadienses pierden alrededor de 29,000 dólares por cada petición de asilo fraudulenta.

Cabe resaltar que México era el único país de Latinoamérica que no necesitaba visa para entrar a Canadá y es un socio comercial estratégico para el gobierno de Ottawa. Bajo el Tratado de Libre Comercio de Norte América (NAFTA) el intercambio comercial entre los dos países alcanzó en el 2008 los $26.2 billones de dólares. Una medida similar fue extendida para los ciudadanos de la República Checa, causando tensiones con la comunidad europea.

Round Five for the DREAM Act AS/COA Online 04/03/09

Enactment of the DREAM Act would allow some undocumented students to gain legal status. (AP Photo)

In a first step to bring immigration reform back to the front burner, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Rubin (D-IL) and Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) in the Senate on March 26. A similar bill called the American Dream Act was submitted in the House of Representatives in a bipartisan effort. Yet, despite domestic debate over immigration in recent years, the controversial initiative has not reached the national spotlight. As an example, during President Barack Obama’s interactive town hall meeting held on March 26, none of the top ten questions voted on by more than 3.5 million people were related to immigration reform.

The DREAM Act offers a two-step legalization process for children described as “1.5ers.” As Washington Post columnist Marcela Sanchez explained in a 2007 article, “One-point-fivers are neither first-generation immigrants, adults who immigrated to the United States; nor are they second-generation, children born here of immigrant parents.” According to the National Immigration Law Center, students who came to the United States before turning 16 at least five years before the bill’s enactment could gain conditional permanent resident status if they have clean criminal records and attain high school graduation or college acceptance. To upgrade from conditional to permanent status, participants must then finish two years of college or serve a minimum of two years in the U.S. military.

How many people would benefit from the measure? Research from 2003 by the Pew Hispanic Center published in a Congressional Research Service report estimated that “each year 65,000 undocumented immigrants graduate high school who have lived in the country for more than five years.” In 2006, the Migration Policy Institute calculated that roughly 360,000 undocumented high school graduates would benefit from the measure that year alone. The Center for Immigration Studies reported in 2007 that 2.1 million could qualify for legal status under the DREAM Act.

The legislation was first introduced in 2001 and rejected four times. But the fifth round may be the charm. As the Orlando Sentinal’s “Hispanosphere” blog points out, “[N]ow Democrats have control of U.S. Congress with a president who has expressed support and voted in favor of this legislation in the last go-round.”

Whether consideration of the DREAM Act represents near-term action on comprehensive immigration reform remains unclear. In a recent visit to Mexico, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that immigration reform is “a high priority” for Obama’s administration. “We believe strongly that there have to be changes made, and we hope we will be able to pursue those in the coming months,” she said. In early March, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told a San Francisco church crowd that “we cannot wait any longer for fair and just immigration reform.” However, during this week’s visit to Costa Rica, Vice President Joe Biden warned Central American leaders that the ailing economy hinders immediate action on U.S. immigration reform.

Read the article as originally published at the AS/COA website.

A Tit for Tat over Trucks AS/COA Online 03/20/09

Trucks at the U.S.-Mexico border. (AP Photo)

A move by U.S. Congress to stop a cross-border trucking program drew a counterpunch from Mexico this week. The recently signed U.S. spending bill ended funding for a pilot program allowing Mexican trucks to transport cargo inside the United States and vice versa. With the program a long overdue part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mexico chose to retaliate. The administration of Mexican President Felipe Calderón unveiled new tariffs for close to 90 industrial and agricultural products imported from the United States. Yet Washington announced a pair of high-profile visits to Mexico by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. President Barack Obama, opening the door to smooth the turbulence over trade and security issues.

As the tariffs were announced, Mexico’s Economy Secretary Gerardo Ruiz Mateos said that the now-suspended pilot program had been successful with no major safety incidents. He also said the cancellation of the program is “wrong, protectionist, and clearly violates the [NAFTA] treaty.” A Department of Transportation report found that Mexican truckers registered under the program met all 22 safety mandates demanded by U.S. Congress.

The duties, which went into effect on March 19, represent tariff increases of as much as 45 percent on $2.4 billion worth of exports, explains Sidney Weintraub of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in a Forbes.com editorial that breaks down the history of the trucking plan. The Mexican government carefully chose the products on the tariff list “to avoid pushing up prices of staples in Mexico while hitting goods that are important exports for a range of American states. That way, it could have maximum political effect north of the border,” The Economist explains. Wall Street Journal warns that Mexico can turn to other trading partners—Europe, Canada, and Latin America—to replace the U.S. brands. Total trade between Mexico and the United States stood at over $367 billion in 2008.

Trade and trucks are not the only matters troubling U.S.-Mexican relations at the moment. At AS/COA’s recent annual Mexico City conference, Calderón condemned remarks originating in the United States that question Mexico’s institutional strength in the face of violent organized crime. He raised concerns about U.S. drug consumption and arms smuggling and urged joint U.S.-Mexican action to fight drug cartels.

Given the tensions, the timing of the upcoming visits by Obama and Clinton could prove crucial to giving ties between the neighbors a boost. Appearing on National Public Radio’s “Diane Rehm Show,” COA’s Eric Farnsworth explained expects that this bump in trade relations won’t escalate “at a time when, I think, neither nation could afford it.”

Mexico’s El Universal takes a closer look at the trade rift and plans for Obama’s trip to Mexico in advance of April’s Summit of the Americas. Clinton’s visit next week will pave the way for Obama’s. Moreover, the appointment of former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk as the new U.S. Trade Representative gained congressional approval this week, just in time to tackle the problem. “It will be one gnarly challenge after the next for the new U.S. trade representative, starting with the trade war that erupted this week with Mexico,” says Dallas Morning News.

Some contend that killing plans for a trucking program will result in higher shipping costs. Bloomberg reports that what a truck could haul from one point in Mexico to another in the United States will take three different trucks and one extra day without the program. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics shows that the value of goods transported by truck between both countries rose to $234 billion last year. Mexico’s decision came as the World Bank raised alarm about protectionist measures undertaken by G20 members in the midst of the global financial crisis.

AS/COA hosts a program on March 24 in advance of the Obama and Clinton visits. Learn about the event, which will involve a panel videoconferenced in New York and Washington.

Read the article as originally posted at the AS/COA website.

The Americas 2008: A Year in Retrospective AS/COA Online 12/23/08

View a slideshow of the most compelling events in the hemisphere. Also, read an article by AS/COA Online Managing Editor Carin Zissis on the most riveting events affecting the Americas in 2008.

Click the image to watch the photo gallery.