Secret History: Reflections on Latin America

Historia Mexicana - ala Facebook.

2012-01-03T10:56:00.000-08:00

Mexican History / Historia Mexicana is now on Facebook. Richard Grabman of Editorial Mazatlan and Jason Dormady (yo) have gotten together to create a Facebook page to post information on history in Mexico. You can find it here. Please sign up or come participate.

2011-12-06T12:44:00.000-08:00

In the last years of the Porfirio Diaz dictatorship, Bishop Banegas y Galvan of Querétaro made the following observation, inteded to chasten the wealthy in Mexico: “You rich men, there is no other way open: either you must open your hearts to charity and reduce the hours of work and increase wages, or you are accumulating hatred and resentment . . . and your riches and yourselves will be buried.”

Freedom University - F.U.[,] Georgia.

2011-12-01T13:17:00.000-08:00

Lorgia Garcia Pena, Pamela Voekel, Bethany Moreton, and Betina Kaplan are four professors at the University of Georgia in Athens that have decided to take on the the not-so-peachy state and the UGA Board of Regents' decision to ban undocumented students from the state's top three campuses. Freedom University is a clandestine (at least the classroom is Bat-Cave secret to protect the alumnos)

The Evergreen(card) State

2011-11-15T14:36:00.001-08:00

Washington's famously conservative East Side (the area east of the Cascades) is reaping the fruit of campaigns to remove undocumented workers from the state. Recent ICE raids have had a chilling effect on the number of workers in the state for apple picking, and at the end of October signs abounded from Wenatchee to Yakima begging for workers - at $10 an hour. When few were forthcoming, pickers

Force, Manda Bala, and Chile

2011-11-15T10:17:00.000-08:00

Aside from the upheaval of moving and changing jobs, I've also been distracted from blogging by some long exchanges on Face Book with "friends" in that medium. In one recent exchange a computer programmer from Iowa informed me that all taxation is forced, but that force is justified for security, like police, jails, and the army, but not for "forced" charity. Enter the protests in Chile.As

Collective Memory

2011-11-14T14:55:00.000-08:00

Historians are guardians of our collective memory - something like keepers of the flame of identity. Why, then, are academic historians so frowned on by society in general? I suppose that our contrarian projects (and nature, at times) makes it look less like we are keeping flames and more like we are peeing on the fire.

(Un)employed In Mexico

2011-09-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

It looks like the unemployment rate in Mexico has fallen to just under 5%. Back in July when the numbers started to show the number of Mexicans returning to Mexico was hitting agriculture and construction, the U.S. news media began to take notice. Now the numbers look like they've dipped below 5% - something that could have consequences for both the U.S. and Mexico. Not only might the U.S. begin

Same Sex With A Different Demographic

2011-09-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

It looks like living in the PacNW will provide a lot of fodder for the blog as we gear up once more. This from Oregon and KUOW:Gay marriage supporters in Oregon are trying to win over support from theLatino community. They're targeting Spanish speakers in a new radio ad campaign.The ads mark the first concentrated effort to build support for gay marriageamong the Hispanic community in

Phew - I'm Back!

2011-06-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't dropped out of the blogosphere - I've just been out and about with students for the last few weeks. I'll also be starting a new job in Washington state in a few weeks ... but I should be back in the saddle full-time shortly.

Back in the USSAr - izona: No Papers For You!

2011-06-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

Gestapo-zona, um, Arizona has passed a new law that stops the state from accepting identity cards from foreign consulates. No longer can you use consular IDs to get a drivers license, or even a library card. The Matricula Consular is attacked by supporters of the new law as a sham because the consulate is often not meticulous in verifying the identity of the person that applies for the card.

No Mas Sangre in an Upside Down World

2011-05-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

Upside Down World does it again.

Go Away, Says Georgia (to its economy)

2011-05-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

Georgia has passed a "tough" new immigration law that allows state and local law enforcement to get involved with the immigration status of people they are questioning as well as fines and jail time for those associated with migrants. While it might hurt the agricultural, construction, and general service economy of Georgia, it seems that there is one segment of the population that will profit:

Agricultural Crisis for US?

2011-05-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

How did I miss this? The House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement met in mid April and decided that unless reforms happen quickly to increase the flow of agricultural labor from Latin America that agriculture in the US is facing a crisis. From Washington State to Florida, from NY State to Central Valley in Cali, a shortage in pickers, diggers, pluckers, and plowers could lead to

Paying Workers: Bad For Buisness in Honduras

2011-04-25T07:27:00.001-07:00

A year after minimum wage hikes in Honduras, owners of maquiladoras are making their case for "more incentives" to bring back the nearly 16,000 jobs they say they have lost to El Salvador and Nicaragua where wages are lower. Says La Prensa, business leaders are appealing to the state for various mechanisms to help them weather salary adjustments. Minister of Labor, Felicito Avila, said the most

From the Mouths of Babes (or Ants)

2011-04-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

I am pretty convinced that Roberto Blancarte's prediction of the demise of Catholicism in Mexico is a bit on the "jumping the gun" side, considering the incredibly strong youth movement in the country. As David Espinosa demonstrated with his work on Jesuit education and Mexico's youth, the construction of powerful networks are built that later reinforce Catholic power. Add that to Roderic

Tazed by ICE - And Now In A Coma

2011-04-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

The LA Weekly carries the story of long-time LA resident, sound engineer, father, and band singer Jose Gutierrez who was recently deported to Mexico (where he has no family). Upon trying to return to the US through a checkpoint he was tazed and "hit his head," placing him in a coma in a Phoenix hospital. And, ICE says his family in LA - the one that they claim was not enough reason for him to

Dear Gringos: Declutter the Other

2011-04-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned before the idea that Latin America can serve as something of a model neighbor for the United States. The region has much to teach the northern neighbors, from community cohesion and family values to an amazing entrepreneurial spirit and ingenious creativity. The folks over at the 2backpackers.com (blog?) might mention another reason to pay attention to Latin America (of course,

Protections on Private Property

2011-04-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

During the Carlos Salinas de Gortari administration the technocrats and the president rushed to amend the 1917 Constitution to "protect" private property ownership from the threat of expropriation of land. Communal property - ejidos - were out of control according to the technocrats and their US counterparts in business, and that stripping the state of the power to seize private property was a

Mary and Her Disgusting Blogging

2011-04-12T18:31:00.001-07:00

Mary Scriver over at the Prairie Mary blog has a great essay this week about the complexity of race and indigenous identity in relation to ideas of "disgust" and "disgusting." Well connected to the Piegan of the Rocky Mountain front of Montana in towns like Heart Butte and Browning, Mary is a great observer of how Indians are portrayed and "dealt with" by the local white population. You can't

Mennonite Move Blasts Chihuahua Economy

2011-04-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

As if the tough times in Ciudad Juarez weren't enough of a strain on the economy of the state of Chihuahua, MX, over a thousand ultra-conservative Altkolonier Mennonites near Cuauhtémoc have announced they are headed to Quintana Roo. The group repersents about 40,000 kilograms of daily cheese production as well as livestock, equipment, and cash valued at, according to the Heraldo de Chihuahua,

Nature, Huevos, and Wealth

2011-04-11T08:00:00.000-07:00