Panajachel, Guatemala.

From San Cristobal I took a van/bus to Lago Atitlan in Guatemala. Wow... They say it is one of the seven wonders of the world for a reason. I met a friend within the first few minutes that I got there because all the people are very friendly and welcoming of tourists - their main source of income. I took his advice and headed for the "beach", which was really a series of rock walls cascading toward the water. I stayed the first two nights in a nice hotel with a great view of the volcanoes that surround the lake and enjoyed hot springs that flow into the lake in a couple of secluded areas. I got to know a couple of the villages in the area just by walking around and talking to people.

My new friend knew all the good spots to swim and see the views. It was obvious that he was along for the ride - as long as I paid the fare, he would show me what was good about everything. But on the third morning when I took some time to use the internet and eat by myself, a young woman approached me in the restaurant to show me the scarves she was selling. We got to talking a little bit about the area and when I told her that I was planning to head to San Pedro (a village 30 minutes away by boat) she became nervous and warned me against traveling alone with him. She said the local young men had been known to take foreign women to several spots and then steal their posessions. Of course I got nervous too and no longer wanted to go with my "friend".

So I went off to San Pedro by myself and found a party town full of drunken and stoned tourists. Annoyed by their antics, I spent one night in a dingy hotel (with an amazing view) and spent the morning walking along the lake. I found several small farms that touch the water and took advantage of the tranquility to take a dip, but by noon I decided to head back to Panajachel, the biggest of the villages bordering the lake, to buy a bus ticket for Antigua. 

Having arrived in Antigua, I am impressed by the number of foreigners here. The cafe where my long walk around town had me end up is full of accents from around the world and the food reflects its clientele. I had a grilled tofu and red pepper salad (YES!) while enjoying some down time with my new book - Who Killed the Bishop? The Autopsy of a Political Murder - a true story about the assassination of a pro-human rights catholic bishop in Guatemala. It reads like a crime novel but is based on interviews and facts from the investigation. It has me in the political mindset, so I think I will follow up with a couple of political posts. 

Oaxaca photos a little late

        

I love Radiohead too!! But I don't know Princesa well enough yet. 

This Virgin has a scary face, but I was impressed with the way the artist used paint and colored paper to make this piece on the wall. 

This piece was next to the one above and used the same media. If you look closedly you can see a clock, a painting, and a table with a lamp... Probably the most impressive two pieces I saw in Oaxaca. 

Rather angry anarchists... 

Ah, los Zapatistas are always among us. See the post below for my experience with a guerrilla group... encantadores. 

San Cristobal de Las Casas Rocks!

Saludos desde Chiapas! I am in San Cristobal de Las Casas, enjoying the cool mountain air and wonderful people. Yesterday I arrived en la madrugada (really early in the morning) after a long night in the bus, but a cup of locally grown coffee spurred me into the streets. It didn't take long before I ran into a revolutionary selling documentaries and movies for the cause. I bought their magazine and three documentaries; one about Plan Puebla-Panama that documents the negative effects that further free trade agreements will have on Mexico and Central America, one about the "The Other Campaign", or the campaign run by Zapatistas in 2006 that ran against corporate funded presidential candidates with a revolutionary message, and one about a guerrilla group that defends the people Mexico using violence only when violently attacked. All three are documentaries that are hard to come by. The information is highly controversial for public consumption, but there are truths and realities out there that only reveal themselves when one delves below the shallows of corporate media.
I had no idea that guerrillas were so active in Mexico. I thought for sure that was a phenomenon of the '60s and early '80s. But according to the new information I have, they currently arrange brigades to teach and bring medical care to impoverished regions and they even organize on campus at the National University in Mexico, DF. In fact, the struggles of revolutionary students have won them campus space (offices!) from which to organize, there are departments that help sponsor student groups, and the university funds supplies they need (like paper for printing magazines!). They are active on campus, in los campos, and in the barrios, and each member rotates through all of the jobs depending on what is needed. Their popularity in the community was evidenced by the fact that many people stopped by to search for the information they would not find in many other places, even the tour guides told tourists about the group that was handing out information about the Zapatistas, etc (even though the tourists were probably not given any other information regarding the importance of this guerrilla and social movement to the area), and many people gave a friendly wave to the "tabler" (although w/o table) as they walked along doing their daily business. Chiapas is sweet like that.

Then I had a fascinating encounter in a coffee shop called Natura yesterday morning. I met a Mexican business man who comes directly from Spain (his grandparents and parents are Spanish). His family is huge in the wine industry and has lived the American dream in Mexico. Now he is taking over most of the business and investing a ton of money into a blackberry growing business in Chiapas. He proudly boasts of high wage rates and health programs for his workers and their families and even talked about the new green and renewable energy sources used in all his endeavors. Later he took me to see the local businesses where he sells wines, jams, and various artesanía and he answered questions about local plants and the fair price for organic soap ($2.50). He encourages "foreign investment" but in partnership with the locals which is how he and 100 or more foreign associates he prodded toward Mexico. He says he gets joy from seeing happy peasants in Chiapas who are making two to three times more working for Marco than for themselves or other big businesses. He brings the investment, they get the jobs, everything is done organically and with the best interest of the local environment in mind. Being the critic of capitalist ventures that I am, questioned his good intentions and assumed that Marco was making millions for himself in a greedy fashion. But after drinking like 10 cups of coffee and taking a long walk around el centro, meeting friends from all over the world (including Seattle!) I came to realize that he is one of the amazing people that can distribute wealth without being forced by the state, or anyone for that matter. If more people with the energy to make and spend money would learn from Marco's model, we would live in a more green and healthy world where all people would benefit from a redistribution of wealth. When he provides for his workers and the local community, he benefits and they benefit. He talked about real people-to-people fair trade that eliminates the unfair gains of corporate greed. Someday I would like to take on a similar venture, but probably someplace besides Mexico since there are already plenty of people doing it here.

I'm currently trying to stay caught up on research to prepare me for my arrival in El Salvador. I'm watching a great documentary called "Compañero!" about a great CISPES organizer. You too can watch it at cispes.org/blog

A Random Collection of Photos

Security?

Yesterday in a hostel in Oaxaca I met a punk-rocker woman from Australia who is traveling through Mexico and Central America as a freelance journalist, basically asking the same kind of questions that I am. Unlike me, however, she was able to put into words what I have been finding throughout my trip. She said people here seem hesitant to criticize the government and even if they do, it is not through action and not with vigor.

There are various ways to explain this sentiment. I think a lot of it has to do with the security question. People here note that narco-trafficking requires further security measures from the government and some people are willing to accept violence from the police as a step toward security. The media has a strong influence on this point of view. The news programs here talk about the great problems that narcotrafficking causes and promote President Calderon's efforts to bring the illegal trade to a halt. However, it seems quite contradictory for the populace to believe that the government is succeeding in ending violence when thousands of people are subject to violence every day, and much of it is committed by the police or military officials.

I picked up a book from an indy media source that details the lives of several women who are involved in the drug trade. Throughout the stories police are complicit and often fully responsible for maintaining the drug trade. The police have not been successful in halting the gangs that trade drugs and create violence, so what is a government to do?

I have a suggestion that would allow the government to uphold human rights and stop people from getting to the point where they feel the best way to make money is through growing and/or selling drugs. How about taking all the money that is currently going toward weapons and a corrupt police force and putting it instead toward education and employment opportunities. I know it seems radical, and certainly beyond the neoliberal paradigm that Calderon promotes, but I saw success in Homeboy Industries in LA that convinced me that organizing for other opportunities is more important that killing off entire families that are involved in narcotrafficking. Unfortunately, that is not what the President, nor his political party has on the agenda.

Thinking about all these things in one of the more organized cities in the nation, Oaxaca, is disappointing. The city continues to flourish on tourism, even at the trickling end of the season, despite the knowledge of popular uprisings and brutal police response that happened a couple of years ago. People have said they think that tourism has decreased since the violent incidents that caused the death of one American indy media artist and inspired one of my favorite documentaries (Un Poquito de Tanta Verdad), but that was two whole years ago and I have seen more white people here than in any other city I have visited so far. Maybe the fear of driving away tourists explains why I haven't run into the revolutionaries on the streets, even the political graffiti seems half-assed, and no one is handing out pamphlets or selling newspapers.

Last night I talked to a guy in a vegetarian restaurant who suggested I not ask about the popular organizations and not try to get involved in any of that stuff because the last gringa he met that did got arrested and put in jail along with several other protestors. Maybe it is fear of violent oppression by the state apparatus, along with the perceived failures of former social organizing, that keeps people from taking action.

Puebla
Last weekend I was in Puebla, one of the safest cities in the nation. In the 6 months that I studied there (two years ago), I spent several nights out walking with friends or taking taxis home late without any problems. People are proud of the safe streets and the well-kept buildings that line them. While there is still poverty in the outlaying areas of the city, Volkswagen and other big companies have managed to keep the unemployment level somewhat low, and organized workers maintain fair wages. Beyond that, there are several universities in the city and the surrounding area that keep young people hopeful for opportunities. One of them keeps tuition very low so that almost anyone can be accepted.

At the same time, there are more Poblanos (people from Puebla) living in New York City than in the city of Puebla (some 2-3 million). What would allow people to stay in their homeland with their families if they wish? More jobs, more education, more opportunity... more questioning of corrupt government.

In Puebla, like Oaxaca, should stand up against the corruption that everyone knows permeates the local, state, and national governments of Mexico. I return to the beginning of this piece in hopes that these things will change, not through bogus electoral aparatus (which obviously failed the people in the elections of 2006) but instead in popular organizing and resistance to the false claims of mainstream media.

And I maintain the same hope that we can do something similar in the United States.

Follow-up in Amy Goodman´s own words

Source: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080903_why_we_were_falsely_arrested/
Why We Were Falsely Arrested
By Amy Goodman
ST. PAUL, Minn.—Government crackdowns on journalists are a true threat to democracy. As the Republican National Convention meets in St. Paul, Minn., this week, police are systematically targeting journalists. I was arrested with my two colleagues, “Democracy Now!” producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, while reporting on the first day of the RNC. I have been wrongly charged with a misdemeanor. My co-workers, who were simply reporting, may be charged with felony riot.
The Democratic and Republican national conventions have become very expensive and protracted acts of political theater, essentially four-day-long advertisements for the major presidential candidates. Outside the fences, they have become major gatherings for grass-roots movements—for people to come, amidst the banners, bunting, flags and confetti, to express the rights enumerated in the Constitution’s First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Behind all the patriotic hyperbole that accompanies the conventions, and the thousands of journalists and media workers who arrive to cover the staged events, there are serious violations of the basic right of freedom of the press. Here on the streets of St. Paul, the press is free to report on the official proceedings of the RNC, but not to report on the police violence and mass arrests directed at those who have come to petition their government, to protest.
It was Labor Day, and there was an anti-war march, with a huge turnout, with local families, students, veterans and people from around the country gathered to oppose the war. The protesters greatly outnumbered the Republican delegates.
There was a positive, festive feeling, coupled with a growing anxiety about the course that Hurricane Gustav was taking, and whether New Orleans would be devastated anew. Later in the day, there was a splinter march. The police—clad in full body armor, with helmets, face shields, batons and canisters of pepper spray—charged. They forced marchers, onlookers and working journalists into a nearby parking lot, then surrounded the people and began handcuffing them.
Nicole was videotaping. Her tape of her own violent arrest is chilling. Police in riot gear charged her, yelling, “Get down on your face.” You hear her voice, clearly and repeatedly announcing “Press! Press! Where are we supposed to go?” She was trapped between parked cars. The camera drops to the pavement amidst Nicole’s screams of pain. Her face was smashed into the pavement, and she was bleeding from the nose, with the heavy officer with a boot or knee on her back. Another officer was pulling on her leg. Sharif was thrown up against the wall and kicked in the chest, and he was bleeding from his arm.
I was at the Xcel Center on the convention floor, interviewing delegates. I had just made it to the Minnesota delegation when I got a call on my cell phone with news that Sharif and Nicole were being bloody arrested, in every sense. Filmmaker Rick Rowley of Big Noise Films and I raced on foot to the scene. Out of breath, we arrived at the parking lot. I went up to the line of riot police and asked to speak to a commanding officer, saying that they had arrested accredited journalists.
Within seconds, they grabbed me, pulled me behind the police line and forcibly twisted my arms behind my back and handcuffed me, the rigid plastic cuffs digging into my wrists. I saw Sharif, his arm bloody, his credentials hanging from his neck. I repeated we were accredited journalists, whereupon a Secret Service agent came over and ripped my convention credential from my neck. I was taken to the St. Paul police garage where cages were set up for protesters. I was charged with obstruction of a peace officer. Nicole and Sharif were taken to jail, facing riot charges.
The attack on and arrest of me and the “Democracy Now!” producers was not an isolated event. A video group called I-Witness Video was raided two days earlier. Another video documentary group, the Glass Bead Collective, was detained, with its computers and video cameras confiscated. On Wednesday, I-Witness Video was again raided, forced out of its office location. When I asked St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington how reporters are to operate in this atmosphere, he suggested, “By embedding reporters in our mobile field force.”
On Monday night, hours after we were arrested, after much public outcry, Nicole, Sharif and I were released. That was our Labor Day. It’s all in a day’s work.
Amy Goodman is the host of “Democracy Now!,” a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 700 stations in North America.
© 2008 Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman Arrested!

My favorite broadcaster was arrested at the Republican National Convention. It is not that hard to believe when we consider that the Republican Party cannot withstand any criticism and really, anyone might be a terrorist. Yikes. I post the press release below, but I have just received an email saying that Amy and the two producers were released from jail. Pass on any other information you have about this event.

Amy Goodman and Two Democracy Now!
Producers Unlawfully Arrested At the RNC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
www.democracynow.org
September 1, 2008
Contact:Denis Moynihan 917-549-5000 Mike Burke 646-552-5107, mike@democracynow.org

ST. PAUL, MN—Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman was unlawfully arrested indowntown St. Paul, Minnesota at approximately 5 p.m. local time. Policeviolently manhandled Goodman, yanking her arm, as they arrested her. Video ofher arrest can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ
Goodman was arrested while attempting to free two Democracy Now! producers whowere being unlawfully detained. They are Sharif Abdel Kouddous and NicoleSalazar. Kouddous and Salazar were arrested while they carried out theirjournalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican NationalConvention. Goodman's crime appears to have been defending her colleaguesand the freedom of the press.Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous andSalazar were being arrested on suspicion of rioting. They are currently beingheld at the Ramsey County jail in St. Paul.Democracy Now! is calling on all journalists and concerned citizens to call theoffice of Mayor Chris Coleman and the Ramsey County Jail and demand theimmediate release of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar.
These calls can be directedto: Chris Rider from Mayor Coleman's office at 651-266-8535 and the RamseyCounty Jail at 651-266-9350 (press extension 0).Democracy Now! stands by Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and condemns this actionby Twin Cities law enforcement as a clear violation of the freedom of the pressand the First Amendment rights of these journalists.During the demonstration in which they were arrested law enforcement officersused pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force.Several dozen others were also arrested during this action.Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected journalists in theUnited States. She has received journalism's top honors for her reportingand has a distinguished reputation of bravery and courage. The arrest ofGoodman, Kouddous and Salazar is a transparent attempt to intimidate journalists from the nation's leading independent news outlet.Democracy Now! is a nationally syndicated public TV and radio program that airson over 700 radio and TV stations across the US and the globe.Video of Amy Goodman's Arrest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ

Los Mochis to Zacatecas

From a hostel in Zacatecas I salute all workers on Labor Day! This morning I stumbled upon a huge march of unionized teachers who are protesting the fact that their union leader signed a contract with the Calderón government that takes steps toward privatizing the education system. Without state funding, teachers would have to be fired and conditions in public schools would become worse than they already are. With radical chants against the neo-liberal government, the community took to the streets in support of the teachers. This is not a local problem, it is a problem that teachers and workers face around the world, and especially today we should recognize that privatization will only worsen the plight of those already suffering from a lack of funds.

I was impressed by the radical chants today after the rather depressing political conversations I have had thus far. While I was stuck in Los Mochis, a city near the coast that faces Baja California, waiting for the rain to let up enough for the train to go, I split the cost of a hotel room and taxi with a woman from Hermosillo. Flor Amanda Ochoa, a remarried widow and mother of two, laughed out loud when President Felipe Calderón came on TV. She told me it was the government's fault that families are being massacred and she blames the police for committing political violence. She dislikes Calderón for all of his rhetoric about security, but she appreciates the economic policy that he inherited from Vicente Fox two years ago. To me, both aspects of her opinion are depressing. I agree that the state is responsible for many of the deaths and violence happening in large part due to narco-trafficking, and that makes me sad. Won't Calderón and those funding him in the US learn something from what happened in COLOMBIA!? And on the other side I find it depressing that people blindly support foreign investment which only whisks profits out of the country or puts them in the pockets of the domestic super rich.

When the train was finally able to get through the misty mountains (which I am told are golden, but I only saw grey and green) also known and Las Barrancas del Cobre, I ended up at an international hostel in Creel. There I met up with a diverse group of tourists who also wanted to explore the mountain range. As we hiked to hidden waterfalls and hot springs, we talked about politics and social policy in our respective countries and in Mexico. The rest of the group held a perspective that looks down upon the silliness or the laziness of Mexicans that my Jesuit education and prior experience in Mexico had taught me to leave behind. The group laughed at the bright yellow cowboy boots and matching belts that are all the rage in the state of Chihuahua and they couldn't understand the serious demeanor of the hotel manager who really had a sense of humor but didn't understand English very well. Oh well, some people just haven't studied the social, historic, economic, and cultural realities that drastically change one's perspective on things.

In front of the church in Creel signs with red writing demand justice and peace. When I asked what they were all about, I got a confused answer from the driver who took our group around to the various hiking spots. He said that the same thing happened in Creel that has been happening in Sinaloa and Ciudad Juarez for a long time; family-based narco-trafickers are battling over growing and transportation rights with guns. Only two weeks ago 14 people were shot, including a 1 1/2 year old baby, all male members of the same family. Obviously this had the town in shock and explained why there were police circling the city constantly. Investigations like that one take a long time and justice is a hard term to define between gangs. On Saturday, people around the country took to the streets in white to demand peace, but when people would rather take the risk of drug trafficking than take the low wage of a teacher, peace will be hard to come by.

On Friday I took a bus to the city of Chihuahua where I shared the cost of the room with a German couple I had met in Creel. Andrea and Michael are super nice and very well traveled, so we had a nice time sharing stories and social anecdotes about our respective nations.

Then I met Gilberto, a furniture salesman from Monterrey, in the lobby of the hotel. We drank coffee and watched the rain while he told me another depressing political perspective. He is the epitome of capitalist, and well, it was just hard for me to listen to such a one-sided perspective for very long.

Luckily the rain let up enough for me to walk to several great museums in Chihuahua. The Casa de Chihuahua had an incredible exhibition of the ecology, history, and culture of the entire state, as well as a great photo exhibition of Mexican fashion from 1900-1950. I also went to Pancho Villa's house (a prominent leader of the Mexican Revolution) and Benito Juarez's house (a fighter for independence from Spain). My favorite museum was the Casa de Quinta Gameros because it had amazing contemporary art in a Baroque setting, plus a great story. Apparently the husband had the house built for his wife and the wife fell in love with the Colombian architect. After I had enough of the museums I walked around and took photos of the graffiti around the city. It took me all day, but at long last I found some pieces worth documenting that weren't just scribbles on the wall that exemplify how bored and not creative young people can be.

Last night I jumped on a bus and journeyed 14 hours to the lovely city of Zacatecas. Finally the sun is out, there are great people in the streets, and I had an amazing breakfast. While I wouldn't go as far as to say that I wasn't having fun before, my mood is certainly lifted just by being here. The protest will continue with a big party tonight, so I will certainly be reporting about that soon.... until then, SEGUIMOS ADELANTE!