Mexico Solidarity Network Update-5 May 2002 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - mexicosolidaritynetwork-report@mexicosolidarity.org MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK WEEKLY NEWS SUMMARY, APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2002 1. CASTANEDA AND ABASCAL MAY LOSE JOBS 2. MEXICO EXPELS US STUDENTS 3. BUSH CALLS FOX A "GREAT PATRIOT" 4. ASSASSINATION OF DIGNA OCHOA 5. CAMPESINOS BLOCK US AGRICULTURAL IMPORTS 6. PARAMILITARY AGGRESSION INCREASES IN CHIAPAS 7. MEXICAN DEPOSITS IN US TOTAL US$41 BILLION 8. FOUNDATION CALLS FOR EDUCATION IN FUNDRAISING 1. CASTANEDA AND ABASCAL MAY LOSE JOBS Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda and Labor Minister Carlos Abascal appeared to be competing this week for the dubious distinction of being the first minister in the Fox administration to lose their job. Union members and labor activists were betting heavily on Abascal. Previously president of Mexico's largest business association, Abascal has come under fire recently for promoting reform of the federal labor law that would weaken workers' ability to strike, increase the workday from eight to ten hours, and abolish daily pay in favor of hourly pay. (Currently Mexican workers are paid per day rather than by the hour, with the minimum wage equivalent to between US$4.50 and US$5.20 per day, depending on the region.) Last year the Fox administration initiated a commission of experts from labor and business to review labor laws and make recommendations. Initially the commission committed to consensus decision-making. With conservatives outnumbering progressives by nine to two, they spent the first few months discussing the meaning of consensus, with conservatives arguing that nine votes was a "consensus." When this strategy produced nothing concrete, the commission switched to a discussion of principles, and recently released a ten-point agreement that was general enough for all sides to make their own interpretations. For example, the commission agreed to "establish new contract methods, with limits to assure the protection of workers." Other agreements were equally vague, yet Abascal used these principles to begin a "national consulta," conducted mainly by internet, in which nearly 3% of the population overwhelmingly approved of the labor reforms - not a surprising result since the vast majority of workers do not enjoy access to the internet and the consulta was promoted widely in PAN circles. This year's May Day march featured well over 100,000 workers, with the "charro" unions (undemocratic unions affiliated with the PRI) and the democratic union sector unified in their opposition to the reforms. For the first time since large sectors of labor broke with charro unions six years ago, the democratic unions united in a single impressive march. Among the most important organizations in the democratic sector are the Electrical Workers Union (SME), the National Union of Workers (UNT, a coalition of progressive unions opposed to the charro Congress of Workers - CT), and the Authentic Labor Front (FAT). The UNT refused to participate in the annual meeting between labor officials and the Fox administration at Los Pinos (Mexico's White House), and burned effigies of Fox and Abascal at the end of their march. Even members of Fox's National Action Party (PAN) and the business sector have been critical of Abascal, who rarely appears in public and seems to dedicate most of his energy to rightwing pet projects within the Labor Department. Abascal began his reign on a sour note, encouraging women to stay at home and take care of the children. At last year's May Day meeting at Los Pinos, normally a formal and respectful affair, union leaders greeted Abascal with chants of "Mujeres a la oficina, Abascal a la cocina" and "Mujeres al trabajo, Abascal al carajo" (Women to the office, Abascal to the kitchen and Women to work, Abascal to hell.) This year Abascal didn't even merit the attention of most union leaders at the annual foray, as he becomes a figure increasingly isolated from the reality of Mexican politics and without support from any significant sector. According to many experts, Abascal's days are numbered. However, Jorge Castaneda may beat Abascal to the unemployment line. Castaneda has been a controversial figure from the beginning. A former Marxist, former leftist and former centrist, he joined the Fox campaign as a means to power, and he is widely seen as a blatant opportunist. Castaneda has an abrasive and vindictive personality that has won him few friends, with the notable exception of the US State Department, where he is viewed as a hero for bringing Mexico's foreign affairs in line with US interests. Most recently Castaneda became a lightening rod when, at the behest of President Bush, President Fox dis-invited Fidel Castro from a United Nations meeting in Monterrey, Mexico. Castaneda was widely seen as organizing the snub, but both he and Fox denied it until Castro released an 18-minute tape of a phone conversation between himself and Fox (see last week's News Summary for details). Castaneda is widely seen as the architect behind Mexico's recent United Nations vote criticizing Cuba's human rights record, a move that broke with seven decades of warm relations with the island. Congress was flabbergasted and tried everything short of impeaching Fox in an attempt to abort the vote. Dozens of government officials, including several members of the PAN, traveled to Cuba in an effort to repair relations. Senator Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, an influential PAN leader, distanced himself from Castaneda: "He is not a militant nor a spokesman for the PAN" and he "has nothing to do with the party." The vice-coordinator of the PAN in Congress, Alejandro Zapata Perogordo, alluded to Castaneda's opportunism in criticizing the vote: "they raised their hands to take advantage of the circumstances." This week relations with Congress deteriorated to the point where four opposition parties filed charges against Castaneda, seeking to remove him from his post. Even Fox's wife is reportedly not on speaking terms with Castaneda. For a man who aspires to be president of Mexico some day, Castaneda's only friends appear to be non-voters in Washington. This reporter is betting on Castaneda as the first casualty of the Fox administration. 2. MEXICO EXPELS US STUDENTS Eighteen students from Evergreen College in Oregon were expelled from Mexico on May 2, ostensibly for participating in the May Day march at the invitation of ejidatarios (communal landowners) from San Salvador Atenco. The students were acting as human rights observers, marching with thousands of ejidatarios who, for over six months, have been protesting the expropriation of their lands by the government to build a $2.5 billion airport. The ejidatarios have been the subject of death threats on numerous occasions, and the student presence offered a small amount of security in the midst of this peril. The students were among hundreds of foreigners who joined the march. It appears that the students were expelled for the "crime" of helping to raise the international visibility of the Atenco protestors. The Secretaria de Gobernacion (SG) expelled the students for "participating in political activities that violate the general laws of the public." The SG claims that participation in the May Day march was in violation of a tourist visa, which the students were using for their travels. The government stated that this is not in conflict with the participation of hundreds of foreigners in the last year's Zapatista march, because in that case foreigners obtained permission to participate as observers. However, interviews with dozens of foreigners, including many US citizens, who participated in the Zapatista march proved the opposite. Without exception, these foreigners traveled on tourist visas. In addition, hundreds of foreigners who participated in the May Day march this year traveled on tourist visas, including many rank and file union members. This is a clear departure from the Fox administration's initial interpretation of immigration laws. Under the previous administration of President Zedillo, hundreds of human rights observers were expelled from Mexico. The Zedillo administration claimed that observers needed special visas, but provisions for these visas were never clearly spelled out, and Mexican consulates regularly advised people wishing to participate in human rights observation that tourist visas were sufficient. The Fox administration overturned most of the expulsions and clarified the visa situation, demanding only tourist visas for human rights observers - a position which is consistent with Mexican law. The Atenco struggle has been a red-hot topic for months. On October 22, 2001, after months of heated debate and behind-the-scenes lobbying, President Fox announced a new US$2.5 billion airport to be built in San Salvador Atenco on a dry lakebed 14 miles east of Mexico City. Environmentalists condemned the selection as a threat to migratory birds and a potential flood hazard for surrounding areas. Ejido members in the area responded by blocking roads in a militant rejection of expropriation of their lands. Thousands of families stand to lose their land through forced expropriation of 11,000 acres, exacerbating urban sprawl. While President Fox characterized the campesinos as "lottery winners," apparently because the new airport will offer expanded business opportunities in the area, most of the campesinos recognize that they will lose their land and be left out of the economic bonanza. The airport is scheduled to be finished by the end of Fox's term in 2006. The struggle in Atenco has become a flash point for the Fox administration. Following the May Day march, a national television news crew followed the students to their hotel in Mexico City and broadcast heavily biased footage in an effort to discredit the group. Given the right leaning bias of the national news, this could prove to be part of a campaign coordinated with the Fox administration to discredit the students and, by extension, the Atenco protestors. The strategy may backfire, as the expulsion is likely to raise the international visibility of the Atenco struggle. The day following the expulsions, the ejidatarios blocked a major highway for five hours in protest. International groups appear to be heeding the call of the Atenco protestors, defending their land rights and also their freedom of association with groups of their choosing. A number of international emergency delegations are being planned. For more information, contact the Mexico Solidarity Network at msn@mexicosolidarity.org. 3. BUSH CALLS FOX A "GREAT PATRIOT" In Cinco de Mayo celebrations at the White House, President Bush referred to Vicente Fox as "a great Mexican patriot, a man of honest words and convictions, passionately concerned about the welfare of his people. I know this firsthand, I've heard him speak clearly about the welfare of his people." Some observers interpreted Bush's words as a form of support for the beleagured Mexican president who has suffered a series of domestic political defeats in recent months. "My relation with the president, similar to the relation between our two nations, is built on a solid base of respect, of confidence and of friendship," said Bush. The same day a grand jury in Baytown, Texas, absolved four police officers accused in the suffocation death of a legal Mexican immigrant, even though the forensic doctor in charge classified the death as a "homicide." And the US Border Patrol continues to use lethal weapons, including hollow-tipped bullets, violating an agreement signed between the two nations nine months ago. 4. ASSASSINATION OF DIGNA OCHOA Bernardo Batiz, Mexico City's Attorney General, admitted that there were "irregularities" in the investigation of threats and kidnappings the preceded the assassination of renowned human rights attorney Digna Ochoa. Batiz was responding to a devastating report issued last week by the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City, which outlined serious problems in the investigations. However, Batiz also questioned the veracity of some of the threats, essentially accusing Ochoa of inventing the incidents. The statements appeared to be part of a campaign to discredit Digna Ochoa in preparation for a likely announcement from the Attorney General that she committed suicide. This reporter has been unable to find a single person outside of the Attorney General's office who believes the suicide theory. 5. CAMPESINOS BLOCK US AGRICULTURAL IMPORTS Hundreds of Campesinos from the state of Chihuahua blocked 4,000 trucks trying to enter Mexico with US agricultural imports. The Committee for the Improvement of Agriculture noted that in the past five years Mexico has imported 50 million tons of grain, equivalent to two years of national production: "our dependency on foreign food has reached 95% in oil seeds, 90% in sorghum, 50% in rice, 40% in beef, 25% in corn and 20% in milk." Leaders of the movement inspected trucks and train cars as they entered Mexico. They found some of the goods were imported legally but others were "illegal contraband," which has caused the price of farm products to decline up to 50%. Next year is expected to be worse as 23 additional farm products come under the NAFTA accords for reduced tariffs, including milk, grains and apples. While Mexico has been forced to remove most agricultural subsidies under NAFTA, the US continues to subsidize farm production under "emergency programs." Last year US grains, mainly grown on corporate farms, were subsidized at the rate of 50 cents on the dollar. 6. PARAMILITARY AGGRESSION INCREASES IN CHIAPAS The violent expulsion of 196 indigenous campesinos affiliated with the PRD from the community of El Triunfo marked a dangerous increase in tensions in the region, similar to events leading up to the infamous Acteal massacre of 1997 in which 45 people were killed. PRI-affiliated paramilitary groups were responsible for both the expulsion and the massacre. 7. MEXICAN DEPOSITS IN US TOTAL US$41 BILLION Mexican elites keep deposits totaling over US$41 billion in US financial institutions, according to a report by the Federal Reserve. The amount represents nearly half of the federal budget and would cover one-third of Mexico's foreign debt. However, the president of the Business Coordinating Council, Claudio Gonzalez, found it unlikely that the funds will be repatriated any time soon "because it is surely safer over there." 8. FOUNDATION CALLS FOR EDUCATION IN FUNDRAISING The Vamos Mexico Foundation, headed by Vicente Fox's wife Marta Sahagun, called on two universities to institute "bachelor's programs in fundraising" for "the direct benefit of social organizations." Some Mexicans found a certain black humor in the proposal, coming from someone so close to an administration that has cut federal social spending three times in the past year. ############################################################# Mexico Solidarity Network http://www.mexicosolidarity.org ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytcamer-05.07.02-18:00:18-19313