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Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 19:46:48 -0800
From: Mexico Solidarity Network <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Mexico Solidarity Network Email List
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: MSN News &Analysis, March 6-12, 2006
MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK
MEXICO NEWS AND ANALYSIS
MARCH 6-12, 2006
1. OTHER CAMPAIGN CALLS FOR MARCH 15 ACTIONS AGAINST
POLICE BRUTALITY
2. HISTORIC DEMONSTRATION IN CHICAGO
3. MOST HUMAN TRAFFICKERS BASED IN US
4. EXIT POLL SHOWS GAINS FOR PRD IN MEXICO STATE
5. CRIMINAL CHARGES PART OF LABOR STRUGGLE
6. BANKS POST RECORD PROFITS
7. THE DEPTH OF CYNICISM IN PUEBLA
8. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS, Contact
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
1. OTHER CAMPAIGN CALLS FOR MARCH 15 ACTIONS AGAINST
POLICE BRUTALITY
The Other Campaign called for nationwide actions on March
15, the International Day Against Police Brutality.
Adherents to the Other Campaign are encouraged to
organize local actions and to send descriptions of police
brutality to www.enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx. Marcos
continued to speak before large crowds and meet with
dozens of supporting organizations in Hidalgo, Guanajuato
and Queretaro. On March 8, International Women's Day,
Marcos hosted a two-hour live broadcast from the
university radio station in Queretaro.
2. HISTORIC DEMONSTRATION IN CHICAGO
Upwards of 150,000 - some claim as many as 250,000 -
gathered in downtown Chicago on Friday for a massive
peaceful demonstration supporting immigrant rights,
marking the largest demonstration in the history of
Chicago. Subway trains were delayed up to two hours by
the massive turnout, which included Mexican, Polish and
Asian immigrants. Sensing the groundswell of support for
immigrant rights, most major Illinois politicians turned
out, including Mayor Daley, Governor Blagojevich, Sen.
Durkin and Rep. Gutierrez. Marchers called for defeat of
the Sensenbrenner Bill (HR4437), which would make
undocumented status a felony and impose stiff penalties on
immigrants and employers. The bill will be debated in the
Senate this month.
3. MOST HUMAN TRAFFICKERS BASED IN US
Seventy percent of "polleros" (human traffickers who
smuggle undocumented immigrants across the US border) are
US citizens, according to evidence collected during an
eight month bi-national enforcement program dubbed
Operation Oasis. The latest suspects are two US Border
Patrol supervisors who reportedly received US$300,000 in
bribes to release smugglers and undocumented migrants from
custody. Polleros typically charge about US$2,000 to
smuggle undocumented Mexicans, and much more - up to
US$25,000 - for migrants from Central and South America.
4. EXIT POLL SHOWS GAINS FOR PRD IN MEXICO STATE
An exit poll at voting booths throughout Mexico State by
the Covarrubias firm on Sunday showed the PRI winning by a
small margin with 34.5%, with the PRD following closely at
33.5% and the PAN trailing with 26.4%. If the results
stand up, it may offer the first evidence of long
coattails for leading PRD presidential candidate Andres
Manuel Lopez Obrador. Mexico State, with a population of
13 million, is a traditional PRI stronghold and the
biggest prize in July's presidential elections. In recent
elections for Governor, the PRI won handily with 34.24%
compared to 28.55% for the PAN and 24.07% for the PRD.
Sunday's vote included mayoralities and local legislative
seats.
5. CRIMINAL CHARGES PART OF LABOR STRUGGLE
More than 20,000 union workers, including miners,
electrical workers and telephone workers, marched on
Tuesday, calling for the Secretary of Labor to resign. A
coalition of labor groups, organized under the Solidarity
Front in Defense of National Unions, called on the Fox
administration to stop meddling in the internal affairs of
unions. Labor leaders are upset that the Secretary of
Labor Francisco Salazar Saenz recently stepped into a
closely contested election and approved a new president
for the mineworkers union. Then the Fox administration
began prosecuting the former head of the union for misuse
of US$55 million in union funds, apparently an effort to
draw attention away from the administration's own
mishandling of a recent mine explosion that resulted in 65
deaths. Private industry groups are strongly supporting
the Fox initiatives in hopes that organized labor will be
weakened. The federal Attorney General turned up evidence
of a US$3 million mansion owned by Napoleon Gomez Urrutia,
the deposed head of the mineworkers union, and bank
accounts apparently demonstrate misuse of millions of
dollars in union funds. Even AFL-CIO president John
Sweeney weighed in with a letter to Fox, expressing
"concern over the direct intervention of the Mexican
government in the internal affairs" of the mineworkers
union. No one appears to have clean hands in this sordid
affair that pits an anti-labor PAN administration against
a corrupt union leader. Millions of workers are likely to
suffer the political fallout.
6. BANKS POST RECORD PROFITS
Three foreign owned banks posted record profits in 2005
after receiving huge payouts from the Fox administration,
part of the controversial Fobaproa bank rescue program.
Banamex, owned by Citigroup, posted profits of US$1.5
billion, an increase of 462% over 2004. The Spanish-owned
Bancomer, which closed Zapatista bank accounts last year
without explanation, posted record earnings of US$1.3
billion, an increase of 165% over the previous year.
7. THE DEPTH OF CYNICISM IN PUEBLA
On Wednesday, Puebla Governor Mario Marin announced the
creation of a special prosecutor to investigate child
abuse and child sex crimes. The "Gober Preciosa" is
infamous for recent taped telephone calls with Kamel
Nacif, a Puebla businessman, in which he agreed to have
author Lydia Cacho arrested in exchange for two bottles of
cognac. Cacho had recently published a book accusing
Nacif of participation in a child sex ring. She was
arrested in Cancun, then driven more than 24 hours to a
prison cell in Puebla. During the taped phone calls,
which were released to the press, Marin and Nacif joked
about subjecting Cacho to rape while in prison.
8. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS, Contact
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
March 12-24, 2006: Women Confronting Globalization Tour:
Militarization, Human Rights and Fair Trade Tour in PA,
NY, NJ and Canada.
March 26 - April 8, 2006: Women Confronting Globalization:
Militarization, Human Rights and Fair Trade Tour in MN,
IA, NE, KS, and OK.
April 2 - 14, 2006: Women Confronting Globalization:
Militarization, Human Rights and Fair Trade Tour in the
Southeast.
April 17 - May 1, 2006: The Politics of Immigration:
Addressing Root Causes and Preventing Further
Criminalization in MN, WI, IL, IN, MI and MO.
April 24 - May 3, 2006: Immigrant Rights: Ex-Bracero Tour
in DC, MD, VA, NC, and SC.
May 28 - July 8, 2006: Summer Study Abroad Program: Earn 8
credits studying Mexican social movements in the context
of the upcoming Mexican presidential election.
Alternative Economy Internships - Develop markets for
artisanry produced by women's cooperatives in Chiapas and
make public presentations on the struggle for justice and
dignity in Zapatista communities. Interns are currently
active in Fort Collins, OR; Spokane, WA; Alexandria, VA;
Grand Haven, MI; Chico, CA; Sacramento, CA; Stonington,
ME; Lancaster, PA; St Paul, MN; Louisville, KY; San
Francisco, CA; Turner, OR; Athens, GA; Chicago, IL;
Philadelphia, PA; Guelph, Canada; Davis, CA; Tempe, AZ;
and Madison, WI.
#############################################################
Mexico Solidarity Network http://www.mexicosolidarity.org
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