Latin America

In 1973, the murder of elected President Salvador Allende of Chile and many left wing and party supporters became the model of how repression and dictatorship in Latin America would dominate much of the region into the mid 1980s, and for Chile, consume the legal system and keep the nation in traumatic debate well into the new millennium. In a PBS documentary broadcast on August 19th 2008, filmmakers Elizabeth Farnsworth and Patricio LanFranco explore how one of General Pinochet’s conservative judges at the time was now in charge of investigating the “disappeared” under Pinochet’s rule since 1973. With the debate on Pinochet having its international rebirth in 1998 when he was detained in the United Kingdom on a question of whether he could be extradited to Spain for charges against him for conspiracy in the murders of a handful of Spanish nationals in the 1973 coup, the motivation for Chileans to challenge Pinochet’s indefinite power in the Chilean political system and to question the old regime finally was presented to our Judge in charge of rewriting the past of a divided country. In their PBS documentary film The Judge and the General Judge Juan Guzman is interviewed and the past of Chile is examined as we follow his challenge in finding evidence after thirty years and his numerous troubles in charging and bringing justice to many of Chile’s most important historical and current leaders.

The reality in Chile is often a surprise for many outside of the country who may not understand how Pinochet remained in power for so long and how a society could be able to challenge their past with many of the key figures in 1973 still obtaining so much influence and support in the country today. Many Chileans who were targeted by the government often left, if able to leave, or were arrested and murdered in their own country for their political ties and ideals. Many Chilean communities arose as refugees since that time and remain as strong contributors to their new nations. Like Judge Guzman himself, many in Chile at the time did not know of the repression occurring in their country, as much of the discussion was closed at the time and since then until relatively recently, and those who were disappeared often received more attention outside of Chile than inside the country. Much of this came in a lack of discussion by the repressed in the country by way of terror by the government, and by ideals which saw left wing movements as creating the narrative in order to unfairly discredit the leaders of the coup at the time. As many did not see in Chile, Guzman himself admitted to being unable to see beyond the political struggle at the time and closed to the limitations of media and the terror which was set upon political opponents of General Pinochet at the time. In the narrative of the documentary Guzman makes the clear point that evidence of the past criminal actions were sunk under the sea, physically and metaphorically, in an effort to erase the “disappeared” from history. Fortunately the Judge was made aware of this fact in his investigation and took to rediscovering the dead off the Chilean coast and finally succeeded in opening a legal case in Chile against its former dictator.

Like many situations of past repression and genocide, nations often are not able to prosecute past leaders of nations as their regime still remains in power or is able to limit discussion of their past actions due to current fears of reprisals in the country. Like Chile, much support in country which historically had strong institutions and government can turn into repression and violence if enough limits are placed on free debate and media, but also where some governments are supported, either innocently or directly, by a populace that may benefit from a change in power in any country. Chile, as a country which had some of the most vibrant political movements in Latin America was torn apart by infighting between left wing policies and violent reactions by right wing movements which set trauma as one of the main characteristics in Chilean society. While Judge Guzman will never fully succeed in his actions, the dialogue itself creates its own value in rewriting a history which has all but disappeared itself. The documentary film can been seen by clicking here.

I was pleased to watch an interest show on Brazil’s infamous Cidade de Deus/City of God. In an episode of the show 4 Real, American rap artist Mos Def accompanied the 4 Real host Sol and met up with Brazilian rap artist MV Bill, who was holding one of Brazil’s biggest hip hop and rap events in order to raise funds for the recreation centre he created to help the kids of his neighbourhood escape a life of drugs and guns and develop a sense of a future to strive for in their lives. MV Bill, who created a documentary called Falacao: Meninos do Trafico, about the children living in Rio’s slums quickly became the soul of the program, still living in Cidade de Deus despite his success, he was able to bring a great amount of attention to the problems facing Brazil’s favelas. Of the 8 children featured in his film, 7 of them has already been killed. MV’s documentary had such as effect on Brazil that the President took a tour of the shantytown’s with MV Bill and formed a list of 17 requirements with MV Bill for his community and others like them in Brazil.

Brazil is know for having one of the worst crime rates in the world. Despite many countries in civil war and infamous battles in Iraq and Afghanistan, drug wars in places in Brazil, Colombia and recently Mexico often result in many more people being killed in internal drug wars and conflicts than in many civil wars and conflicts worldwide. While poverty no doubt plays a major role, as in South Africa, guns and drugs develop a culture where survival is the only reason for living and death as claimed by one victim in MV’s documentary, that death would be welcomed as it would allow for the young man to rest after a life of despair. While the City of God has gained global attention in recent years through film and local activities in Brazil, the life in many slums of the developing world can only be understood by those such as Mos Def and the team at 4 Real who are willing to speak to those in the favelas and know their communities first hand in order to focus on a future for many in those communities.

4 Real is quite an inspirational program and often takes star from the developed world like Mos Def from the US and M.I.A from the UK and brings them into communities and links them with local heroes in order to create a dialogue between different communities. Often the stars are from desperate communities in the US or UK as well (with the exception of Cameron Diaz!) which gives an entirely new perspective on life in poverty in New York or London, and poverty in Rio De Janeiro or Port-au-Prince. Often race issues, such as those in Brazil or even in developed countries like the underreported riot of Haitian immigrants living in Montreal makes little news in their own countries. I encourage everyone to take a look at Mos Def and MV Bill in Rio in the link below. Obrigado!

The last few weeks have shown some interesting stories coming from Mike Coe and Alejandro Quiroz Flores of FPA’s Mexico Blog. I encourage those interested in not only South America, but Mexico as well to read of few of their posts regarding Mexico in the last few weeks.

Alejandro took to task the events unfolding in the Mexican Senate and Congress. In an earlier posting in the Latin America blog we focused on the activities of the government in hiring private investigators to watch senate members, and the response in the Senate when the story became public. For the actions of the government in quelling internal political pressures, please read Alejandro’s posting here. Alejandro in his most recent post focuses on how kidnapping, one of the most active criminal movements in Mexico, is now being considered to carry a penalty of life imprisonment for anyone participating in the activity. The consideration of such a tough penalty came from the kidnapping and death of the son of one of Mexico’s most important business leaders. Mexico was traditionally known for smaller kidnappings, often having the victim beaten and taken to various bank machines to withdraw cash. On occasion, larger cases that often characterized kidnappings in Colombia and Brazil and involved wealthier people and millions of dollars also became more common in Mexican society. With the recent drug war taking hold and more and more kidnappings against Mexico’s elite with tragic outcomes, an official response may be too late to affect and real change in Mexico’s kidnapping industry. Please read Alejandro’s posting here.

Mike Coe of the Mexico blog also has taken to addressing some interesting topics. In a few postings, Mike set to address the international AIDS Conference which took place in Mexico City last week. To highlight the conference, which focuses on the HIV epidemic in the developing world, Mike set two posts on HIV in Tijuana Mexico which is an often unspoken about issue in many communities in Mexico. Posts can be read here and here.

Mike Coe also addressed some economic issues in the last few weeks. In one posting, Mike discusses the desire for oil reform/privatisation in Mexico City, which overwhelmingly rejects any proposals to nationalise Mexico’s oil industry and principal source of national income. In another posting, Mike discusses the effect on Mexico after the failure of the Doha Round on WTO talks. With countries like India rejecting the agreement due to fears of local agricultural and local industries in the developing world being dominated by those in the developed world via the agreement, countries like Mexico who are considered semi-developed must now rest on the merits of their trade agreements to fulfill their goals of open trade with other nations. With Mexico signing the most trade agreements worldwide, eventually a continuation of the policy might allow Mexico to benefit from free trade, albeit with many more treaties and a lot more paperwork. While Doha was a far reaching goal for the neo-liberal economic model, the success of India and China from such policies might be a role model for Mexican economists, but with their new power it also ironically has capped the progression of an international agreement on trade for Mexico and everyone else. In any case, it is a good time to be a Mexican trade lawyer!

Thanks again to the Mexico Blog. Hasta Luego Amigos..

With Olympic fever set to bring the world to China, much interest on the future of China on the world stage is seen as having its debut today, crowned by the lucky number in Chinese culture, 08/08/08, set to being at 8pm. With external writers and leaders and internal government officials set to bring China into its new position of influence, the effect of Chinese foreign policy, timid by Western standards, has become an issue of global public discussion, highlighted by internal struggles from the recent earthquake, housing issues and of course Tibet.

Another external issue has yet to be discussed, that may prove to be the greatest influence on world commerce and culture coming out of China, the people themselves. For generations Chinese communities have crossed to other Asian countries, the West and even parts of the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe. The Americas have been one of the greatest recipients of Chinese culture and communities, having not only come to the US, but with large communities in Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America as well.

In Canada’s largest city alone, Toronto according to many experts has a community of between 200,000-300,000 alone. Many of these immigrants have come after the opening of Canadian immigration in the 1960s, which was closed to many non-white immigrants after the late 1800 to well into the second half of the 20th Century. More recently, ties with the Commonwealth and interest in Canada brought many from Hong Kong to Canada before the return of the small nation to China. Mainland Chinese, as well as Taiwanese and Chinese communities from Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore also have resided in Canada, many mainlanders living in central Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver, know for its diversity and home to many from different parts of Asia.

Latin America and the Caribbean also have received large communities from China as well, albeit more historically than recently in large numbers. In Mexico, the early 20th Century brought more than 5,000 Chinese immigrants to northern Mexico, near Mexicali. This small community which survives today at one point outnumbered traditional Mexicans and formed many cultural organizations to bring in other Chinese people from the East, while developing their community in Mexico and as Mexicans over the last 100 years. Cuba also is known for its connections with China, seen in its prominent Chinatown in central Havana. While being very Cuban with a strong Chinese influence, many Chinese came to Cuba, a US protectorate for the late 19th to mid-20th Century, to work in labour and to build US infrastructure as in the US on the islands on Cuba and Puerto Rico. Jamaica, Nicaragua and Panama also obtained many of their Chinese migrants for similar reasons, making the Caribbean one of the notable destinations for Chinese and other immigrant groups from around the globe.

In South America, while many Japanese immigrated in large numbers to Brazil, Argentina to a lesser degree, many Chinese immigrants also moved to Peru with large numbers coming to Venezuela. Venezuela has one of the largest Chinese immigrant communities to historically settle in Latin America. Recently new immigration from Mainland China and Taiwan has come to Venezuela and Latin America as a whole. While this blog cannot go into great detail on every community, it is worth researching many of these communities worldwide and show how China’s past might create strong ties to China’s future in the world.