To keep this long-running topic going.....
Went to listen to a guy talk on Mexico today. Quite interesting. He said that the Mexican economy was collapsing and NAFTA was a disaster. Every year at least 500 Maquiladoras move out of Mexico to China (Globalization is a race to the bottom), and the agricultural sector is doing badly. He said there is little hope for a positive change in Mexico. There are many violent outbursts all over Mexico, and they are increasing. But they do not grow into anything bigger, there is no vision of the future or even communication between these events that help to align these outbursts into anything more coherent--there is no hope. He also noted the collapse of Argentina, the decent into violence in Colombia, the rise of the left in Brazil, and the spliting of Venezualan society. He said the war on Iraq will further devastate Latin American economies.
He noted that the only movements able to make a head way in Mexico in recent years were ones that were based in some sort of human rights discourse--a discourse somewhat aligned with neoliberal ideology. Thus, feminism, gay rights, and anti-racism have made significant changes in Mexican society, but there is no vision of a social transformation that would significantly effect social relations in general and attack neo-liberal reforms and globalized capitalism. He suggested that the Zapatistas were somewhat of a spent force in Mexico, and that they strattled the line between an acceptable human rights discourse on race in which they have made some head way--ie a discourse of inclusion--and a more nationalist, anti-capitalist agenda in which they have made no headway at all.
It certainly looks like there will be a war within a month or so, and Latin America will be one of the places hard hit (we should watch Turkey as well).
Went to listen to a guy talk on Mexico today. Quite interesting. He said that the Mexican economy was collapsing and NAFTA was a disaster. Every year at least 500 Maquiladoras move out of Mexico to China (Globalization is a race to the bottom), and the agricultural sector is doing badly. He said there is little hope for a positive change in Mexico. There are many violent outbursts all over Mexico, and they are increasing. But they do not grow into anything bigger, there is no vision of the future or even communication between these events that help to align these outbursts into anything more coherent--there is no hope. He also noted the collapse of Argentina, the decent into violence in Colombia, the rise of the left in Brazil, and the spliting of Venezualan society. He said the war on Iraq will further devastate Latin American economies.
He noted that the only movements able to make a head way in Mexico in recent years were ones that were based in some sort of human rights discourse--a discourse somewhat aligned with neoliberal ideology. Thus, feminism, gay rights, and anti-racism have made significant changes in Mexican society, but there is no vision of a social transformation that would significantly effect social relations in general and attack neo-liberal reforms and globalized capitalism. He suggested that the Zapatistas were somewhat of a spent force in Mexico, and that they strattled the line between an acceptable human rights discourse on race in which they have made some head way--ie a discourse of inclusion--and a more nationalist, anti-capitalist agenda in which they have made no headway at all.
It certainly looks like there will be a war within a month or so, and Latin America will be one of the places hard hit (we should watch Turkey as well).
