Inside SchNEWS A Chiapas prison in Mexico felt the full force of inmates'
unrest earlier
this month as 1,000 rioted against appalling conditions, beatings and
corruption. All credit goes to the Prison Warden Fidel Velazquez, a retired
military officer who oversees a brutal regime, he has denied all reporters,
families and human rights groups access to inside the prison. Family
members blockaded an access road in protest, facing around 200 anti-riot
cops armed with shields, clubs and assault rifles. Members of a civil
rights group joined the relatives in blocking access to the prison,
demanding the release of at least 100 inmates who they say are political
prisoners. www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/chiapas95.html * Dave
Blenkinsop has been given 18 months for liberating 600 guinea
pigs from animal abusers. Write to Dave Blenkinsop EM7899, HMP
Birmingham, Winson Green Rd, Birmingham, B18 4AS.
* Prison Abolition or More Prisons? A conference on the abolition of
prison. Saturday 26th January 10.30am - 5pm at Conway Hall, 25 Red
Lion Square, London (nearest tube Holborn) email
[EMAIL PROTECTED] or SAE to Prison Abolition Conference c/o
BM Hurricane, London, WC1N3
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CHOC BLOC A red and black anarchist flag flew briefly from the top of the
Argentinean
embassy in London last week. A group of anarchists calling themselves
"Those Pesky Kids" occupied the Embassy in solidarity with the people of
Argentina, who are protesting against the government and IMF imposed
reforms (SchNEWS 336). They gave the Argentinian Ambassador his very own
personal reception, giving him a box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates in a
parody of the classic advert.... "oooh, with these chocolates you are
really spoiling us." So what logical punishment did the pesky kids receive?
Six protesters
received bail on condition they don't go within 100 metres of any embassy.
Still, at least the magistrate had the sense to drop another condition
imposed by police and allowed the defendants to talk to each other!
Argentina was once heralded as the golden child of economic liberalisation
but has now plummeted into a state of poverty and chaos, saddled with $155
billion debt and unemployment levels of 18%. The economic collapse is due
to the expansion of free-market liberalisation and the imposition of IMF
enforced Structural Adjustment Programs including the relentless
privatisation of public services. These very same policies have caused ruin
elsewhere, from the privatisation of water in Bolivia to the chaos of
Railtrack in Britain. With the economy going down the pan, Argentineans are
taking matters into
their own hands not only be taking to the streets but by creating a
bartering system, handling the equivalent of over $400 million a year, with
well over a million people involved (SchNEWS 319). The system is kept
highly regulated, avoiding the influence of existing power bases in
Argentina. It seems like the people of Argentina don't agree with Tony
Blair's belief that global capitalism is helping the world's poor.
http://argentina.indymedia.org/
