WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE ON THE AMERICAS
ISSUE #574, JANUARY 28, 2001
NICARAGUA SOLIDARITY NETWORK OF GREATER NEW YORK
339 LAFAYETTE ST., NEW YORK, NY 10012
(212) 674-9499 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*4. COLOMBIA: STUDENTS SEIZE SCIENCE OFFICES
On Jan. 23, a group of 30 students from the Francisco Jose de
Caldas District University in Bogota peacefully occupied the
offices of the Colombian Institute for the Development of
Science, known as Colciencias. The students, wearing clown masks,
staged the occupation to protest a court-ordered assets embargo
which has halted the work of the Immunology Institute, run by
world-renowned Colombian scientist Manuel Elkin Patarroyo. [El
Espectador (Bogota) 1/24/01; El Tiempo (Bogota) 1/24/01; Caracol
Noticias 1/23/01; Email message posted via A-INFOS News Service
http://www.ainfos.ca/ 1/24/01]
A Bogota court ordered the embargo on Jan. 9 to pay back the
Banco Ganadero for a $5 million debt owed by the San Juan de Dios
Foundation, which runs the 437-year old state-owned San Juan de
Dios hospital, where the Immunology Institute is housed. Even
though the Institute is independent from the hospital and has no
legal responsibility for the debt, the court confiscated all the
Institute's equipment and scientific results for the bank to
auction off. [El Colombiano (Medellin) 1/13/01, 1/24/01; El Nuevo
Herald (Miami) 1/13/01]
The students demanded that Banco Ganadero accept as collateral
one of the Black Hawk helicopters provided by the US in its
military aid package for "Plan Colombia," and that it release the
Institute's equipment. "We know our proposal is absurd, just as
we also know it is absurd to confiscate the Institute's
equipment," said the protesters. Pointing out that each Black
Hawk helicopter costs about $8 million, and the Colombian
government is spending $20 million on its military forces, the
students insisted it is absurd to spend more money on military
intelligence than on scientific intelligence. "Instead of putting
an embargo on items that are helping to carry out the war in this
country, they are putting an embargo on items that help save
lives and the sciences in this country," said one of the masked
students. The main goal of the protest was to open up debate over
budget cuts affecting education and research, the students
explained. [EE 1/24/01, ET 1/24/01; Caracol Noticias 1/23/01;
Email message posted via A-INFOS News Service 1/24/01]
When police arrived to eject the students, Colciencias director
Margarita Garrido turned them away, saying they were not needed.
Instead she met with the protesters for two hours. Patarroyo,
consulted on the student action, said he would oppose any violent
action on his behalf, but said it was "fantastic" that young
people were conscious of the importance that should be given to
knowledge. [EE 1/24/01]
Banco Ganadero is an affiliate of the Spanish company Banco
Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA). As of September 2000, BBVA
owned 85.12% of the shares in Banco Ganadero; on Jan. 23, the
Spanish company announced it intends to buy the remaining shares
to reach 100% control of the bank. BBVA is Spain's largest
financial institution and a major player in Latin America,
boasting some 10% of bank clientele and nearly 30% of private
pension funds in the region. [EC 1/13/01, 1/24/01; ENH 1/13/01]
The non-profit Immunology Institute is Latin America's largest
molecular biology laboratory. It was founded by Patarroyo, who
developed the world's first synthetic malaria vaccine in 1993 and
donated the rights to the World Health Organization (WHO) [see
Updates #172, 278]. Patarroyo and his staff of over 160
researchers are working to improve the malaria vaccine and
develop two more synthetic vaccines, against tuberculosis and
hepatitis B. The Institute is also cooperating with researchers
in Brazil to develop antigens against AIDS. Patarroyo warned that
the embargo could cause the Institute to shut down, and that
relocating his research to another country could take 2-5 years.
"This is the murder of the vaccines," Patarroyo told the Medellin
daily El Colombiano. [ENH 1/13/01; EC 1/11/01]
*5. COLOMBIA: BEER WORKERS STRIKE
Some 6,000 workers at Colombia's biggest brewing company,
Bavaria, have been on strike since Dec. 20. Their union,
Sinaltrabavaria, is demanding job security guarantees and 25%
wage increases. The union fears Bavaria will cut jobs and wages
following the company's acquisition last year of a 45% share of
brewing competitor Leona, which pays its workers far less. The
strike has shut down 18 factories around the country, suspending
Bavaria's beer, malt and juice production. It has also halted
work for 20,000 people who depend on the brewing industry, mostly
vendors and truckers, according to union leader Angelo Molina.
[Miami Herald 1/26/01 from AP, 12/21/00 from Bloomberg News]
Strikers have blocked off the entrance to the company's main
brewery in Bogota, and have set up an open-air food kitchen to
feed picketers. "These monopolies like Bavaria want to cut our
salaries to get in good graces with the International Monetary
Fund, which is trying to get Colombia to pay off its foreign
debt," complained striker Orlando Puentes.
Associated Press reports that nobody at Bavaria has answered
telephones or commented publicly since before Christmas. But a
source within Bavaria who asked not to be identified told Dow
Jones Newswires that the company will not back down from clauses
allowing job cuts. The union's previous two-year collective labor
agreement with Bavaria expired on Dec. 31. [MH 1/26/01 from AP]
The executive committee of the Unitary Workers Confederation
(CUT) has asked for messages of solidarity for the striking
Bavaria workers. Messages can be sent to Sinaltrabavaria at fax #
+571-269-9959 or 334-4371, with a copy to Rosa Cecilia Lemus at
the CUT at +571-288 8577. [Colombian Labor Monitor 1/26/01]
=======================================================================
Weekly News Update on the Americas * Nicaragua Solidarity Network of NY
339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012 * 212-674-9499 fax: 212-674-9139
http://home.earthlink.net/~dbwilson/wnuhome.html * [EMAIL PROTECTED]
=======================================================================
