A Zapatista President?

After another public statement that made the AP wire, it appears that Subcomante Marcos may be gearing up to either run for president or offer a candidate based in the rebel movement. He continued his criticism against the political system of Mexico, including the leftist Mexico City mayor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is leading most of the early polls for next years elections. Marcos said the Zapatistas were to begin a country-wide tour in an effort to garner support and help to determine the direction of the group. Of course, those in the political system are discounting the efforts of Marcos and the Zapatistas insisting that they are simple a rebel group, and not politicians. However, Marcos is an educated man (he has been identified as a former college professor) and obviously has the charisma to gain the support of the people, as shown by the size and success of the Zapatista movement. The political landscape in Mexico is starting to get interesting, although I wonder if this will divide the left, and leave the conservatives in power yet again.

Yellowman!

This is Yellowman!

So, here is something a little bit different: Earlier tonight I saw one of the all-time reggae greats - Yellowman! - and it was a free show! I first saw him in Trenton, New Jersey at City Gardens in 1989 with the ska band, Bigger Thomas. Back then he had long crazy, yellow dreads, an appearance ravaged by cancer, and, of course, yellow skin. His son was even in the audience - and was also an albino. Jamaican born, Yellowman began his life as a social outcast raised in an orphanage and constantly abused because of his albino skin. He rose to fame on tales of his sexual prowess and his catchy style which is considered the beginning of dancehall reggae. He is considered reggae's first dancehall superstar. Sixteen years after I saw him for the first time, the man has gone through another bought with cancer, and lost his dreads, but his energy was incredible, and the show was great. How amazing to be able to see a legend perform for a packed house in a small venue. Long live King Yellowman!

Zapatistas Speak Out

In a small piece that has been making many of the news services, the leader of the Zapatistas came out of hiding for the first time in 4 years. Donning his trademark black mask, Subcomante Marcos denounced all of Mexico's political parties, claiming, "They'll pay for everything they have done to us. They're a bunch of scoundrels." He included the leftist mayor of Mexico City, Lopez Obrador - the reported front runner for the presidential elections next year, in his diatribe. Marcos, identified as a former university professor announced plans for a Zapatista campaign to oppose the traditional political parties of Mexico.
Mexico appears to be in for some changes in 2006, as a leftist is the front runner for the presidency, and now the Zapatistas, who have a good amount of support from the indigenous population, are entering the race. However, one possible scenario has the Zapatista party, if it runs a candidate, taking support away from Lopez Obrador, and leaving the traditional, conservative parties in power.

Plan Colombia

Continuing the Colombian theme that has run through the last few posts, I offer this article from the International Relations Center that gives a fine explanation of everything that is wrong with the U.S. funding that goes to Colombia to fight the supposed War on Drugs. Here are some of the statistics according to the article:
5 years and $4 billion have gone to Plan Colombia
1.4 million acres of fumigated coca crops in Colombia in 5 years
21,003 acres less of the coca crop 5 years later
1 acre less for every 67 sprayed

Add to these stats the fact that the price of cocaine in the U.S. is at an all time low, and purity is supposedly unaffected. The product being sprayed in Colombia is Monsanto's Roundup, which reportedly has harmful affects on human reproduction, including an increase in premature births and miscarriages. Plus, aerial fumigation not only kills the coca plants, but most other plants that it comes in contact with, affecting not only the coca plants, but the natural and human environments around them as well. It appears that Plan Colombia as a success story, as Uribe and Bush recently claimed, is questionable at best.

As an added note, in the above linked article, Bush says that "America will continue to stand with the people of Colombia." I wonder if he knows there are three different groups warring in Colombia, and they are all composed of Colombians. I wonder which group Bush is referring to? Well, obviously the ones that do exactly as America says, which happen to be the ones that have received the $4 Billion over the last 5 years.

Chavez and Colombia

According to the Associated Press, Venezuela's President Chavez denies that he is aiding Colombia's leftist rebels. He claims the 100,000 rifles and military helicopters that he is buying from Russia is for the strengthening of his own army. Either way, this continues the development of leftist movements militarizing and organizing in an attempt to counter U.S. power in the region.

An interesting Znet article by Constance Viera describes the effects of the Colombian war on the indigenous in the country. The Nasa Indians, who live in the southwestern part of the country and number about 300,000 of the estimated 1 million indigenous of Colombia. The Nasa have recently experienced an influx of violence as the war has moved into their territory. While they have been active in land reforms in the region, the group has continually claimed neutrality in the country's war. Despite this, over 500 Nasa leaders have been killed by the groups involved, including the leftist rebels, the paramilitaries, and even rich landowners of the region. The violence of the war has swept up everyone in its path, including those who want no part of it like the Nasa.

Elsewhere in South America, reporter Ben Dangl describes the alleged construction of a new U.S. military base in Paraguay, although the U.S. denies its existence. Close to the border with Bolivia, where the leftist movement is growing stronger and stronger and a presidential election looms in the near future, many believe the base to be a prelude to U.S. intervention there. You may ask what the issue of dispute in Bolivia is? Natural Gas. The country has huge gas reserves and the U.S. gov't wants to be in a position to protect U.S. interests in the region should a leftist like Evo Morales win the presidency.

The Colombian Paramilitaries

A NY Times article sheds some light on the disarming of the Colombian paramilitaries that I discussed in my previous post. Human Rights Watch claims that the laws governing the disarming are basically a "get-out-of-jail-free card" and will prevent extradition of members of the paramilitary group to the U.S. on drug charges. Incidentally, the paramilitaries control large parts of the country and are heavily involved in the drug trade. It basically boils down to the fact that the U.S. War on Drugs taking place in Colombia is really a war on the socialist/communist group, the FARC. It really has nothing to do with drugs. I guess this should not be all that surprising considering the recent history of warmongering by the U.S. government.

Resistance in Colombia

Colombia has experienced what is essentially a civil war between 3 factions for many years now. These days the picture is this: on one side of the trifecta is the U.S. backed Uribe government, recipient of the largest amount of U.S. military aid in the world; a second prong is composed of the right-wing paramilitary group - ex-military outside of the control of the gov't and sowing terror throughout the countryside (they have been some of the biggest players in the drug trade). According to AP reports, they have reportedly begun to disarm; Finally, completing the group is the FARC, a supposed communist/socialist group of rebels that control parts of the country, and have recently stepped up their pressure on the government.
My story here connects to the previous posts about the swing to the left in much of Latin America. The above linked BBC article notes that the FARC wants to ensure that the Uribe administration meets defeat in the next election. They hope for a more sympathetic group to gain office, which would definitely be a left leaning party. This would fall in line with much of the rest of Latin America, a major blow to the U.S. especially if combined with a leftist victory in Mexico.
The other story here, of course under-reported, is the civil war. The above picture (from a site called ConflictPics) shows members of the military that have been hit by a FARC-planted bomb device. War is ugly. It affects real human beings. Sadly, this war has been made possible by the huge amount of military aid provided by the U.S. government. Things might be very different, although admittedly not necessarily better (but maybe), if the U.S. would step back and let the people of Colombia decide what is best for Colombia, as it is happening non-violently in much of the rest of Latin America.