In Brief
Bolivia: Coca Conflict Escalates A spiral of violence that began in mid-January in Bolivia's cocagrowing Chapare region and spread across the country leaving at least nine dead, was at least...
...Domestically, "Chavez is facing a complex situation of high political tension," according to political analyst Manuel Felipe Sierra...
...The FARB is an unknown group, and many doubt that it was actually responsible for the murder of Mayor da Costa Santos of Campinas, as it claimed in November...
...Pedro Flores of the National Guard later joined him, publicly calling on Chivez to resign...
...According to estimates by the congressional economic advisory office, this year's budget deficit could exceed $4 billion, despite Chdvez's most recent efforts, because of increased public spending over the past three years and because international petroleum prices have been falling since the third quarter of last year...
...On Feb...
...dollar, measures applauded by the International Monetary Fund...
...CUNY's previous stance was that since the federal government had not issued regulations on this 1996 law, it could not be out of compliance with it...
...The court rejected these arguments, though it also seemed to acknowledge their social worth...
...InterPress Service Brazil: Workers' Party Targeted RIO DE JANEIRO-The January 20 murder of Celso Daniel, one of the most prominent leaders of Brazil's Workers Party (PT), is seen as further evidence of a campaign of terror against the leftist party, which is given a real chance of winning the presidency in October...
...Mid-January confrontations between armed forces members and coca growers trying to "retake" the Sacaba market led to the deaths of two growers and four soldiers...
...Professors and affected students sued the city in court, alleging that the policy change was both unconstitutional and contrary to CUNY's own policies...
...citizens in New Jersey who did not have New York residency...
...On January 19, a special government security unit known as "Dalmatas" forcefully entered the coca growers federation's offices in Cochabamba, indiscriminately attacking those present, including children and representatives of the press and human rights groups...
...Carlos Molina Tamayo also called for Chivez's resignation...
...For political reasons, the government had long refused to impose economic adjustment measures...
...However, the Ernesto Zedillo administration refused to push the agreed-upon law, which included constitutional changes presented by Cocopa, a congressional negotiating committee, through Congress...
...In La Paz, national peasant union leader Felipe Quispe, known as "Mallku," tried to forcefully take over the country's land reform offices and declared an escalating national strike over a broad set of issues, including utility rates, pensions, small debtor relief and political corruption...
...The previous policy was a legacy of the executive order that thenMayor Koch signed in 1989, forbidding the sharing of information about one's immigration status except in the context of a criminal investigation...
...Roberto Aim, Director PO...
...But Luis Inacio "Lula" da Silva, honorary president of the PT and one of the leading candidates for the October presidential elections, with nearly 30% ratings in the polls, said that the murder of Daniel was politically motivated and premeditated...
...According to CUNY, the problem with its policy, as with other such state residence-based benefits, was that it did not give the same benefit to, for example, U.S...
...The state of Sdo Paulo, the richest and most industrialized in this country of 170 million, is a traditional center of the radical right...
...The country's delicate economic situation could become Chav6z's Achilles' heel...
...The growers dropped their demand for Morales' return to Congress...
...Of the 385 Deputies who originally voted in favor of the watereddown version of the law, over 100 have changed their minds...
...http://www.globalinfo.org Robert Smith teaches sociology at Barnard College and is the author of many works on migration and transnational communities...
...The Bolivian government initially refused to negotiate with Morales or other union leadersmost of whom were in prison after being arrested during the protests-until those guilty of killing the four armed forces members in Sacaba had been identified...
...Government officials accused coca grower leader and Congress member Evo Morales of being the "intellectual author" of the soldiers' killings and backed Morales' ouster from his congressional seat, which came after a quick and dramatic congressional vote on January 24...
...Foreign-owned hotels like Club Med have pulled out...
...InterPress Service Undocumented Students Protest Against CUNY NEW YORK CITY -City University of New York (CUNY) students picketed university headquarters and staged a three-day hunger strike on January 15-17 to protest CUNY's abrupt change in policy on undocumented students...
...In response, separate bills by New York State Assemblymembers Peter Rivera and Adrian Espaillat have proposed offering in-state tuition to anyone who had attended a New York City high school or who had earned a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) in the state...
...Pedro Soto called on Chavez to resign and criticized the government's use of the armed forces for political ends...
...After three years of hegemonic leadership, a group of very heterogeneous opposition forces and players, more social than political, is emerging," Sierra said...
...The main pillars of democracy in Haiti are very weak, the police, the judiciary and the system of governance, and there is a climate of insecurity on the island," says St...
...In Cochabamba city-previously the center of so-called "Water War" protests over the privatization of the regional water system-solidarity marches which had begun peacefully on January 14 subsequently turned violent...
...Meanwhile, a group calling itself the Brazilian Revolutionary Action Front (FARB) has sent death threats by mail and e-mail to dozens of PT mayors and parliamentarians in the past two months...
...Daniel was the mayor of Santo Andr6, an industrial suburb of 650,000 near Sdo Paulo, Brazil's biggest city...
...The steep tuition increase, from $1600 to $3400 per semester, will make it difficult or impossible for many students to continue their studies...
...Retired or active-duty military personnel hold a significant number of positions of trust in the executive branch of government...
...Negotiations between the Fox administration and the Zapastistas have been on hold since Congress approved the earlier law...
...He was also the coordinator of the group which is drawing up the PT program to be presented during the presidential campaign...
...On February 12, however, officials announced that they would cut spending, raise taxes and let the currency float against the U.S...
...In the wake of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, CUNY will now require that they pay out-of-state tuition...
...Blocks Aid Release PORT-AU-PRINCE-U.S...
...The Mexico Solidarity Network is a coalition of over 80 organizations in the United States and Mexico...
...Daniel's body was found with 18 bullet holes in the back and the face...
...Up to 60% of Haiti's population is believed to be illiterate and about 65% is listed by the UN as livng below the poverty line...
...The policy change was a belated reaction to a 1996 federal immigration law, which went into effect in 1998, that forbids extending benefits to undocumented immigrants that any U.S...
...18, Rear Adm...
...The conflict threatens to flare again, however, as protests continue over an ever-broadening set of social and economic issues...
...More than an expression of widespread military discontent, Soto's protest appeared to be a spark that lit a new series of protests against ChAvez, especially among middleand upper-class Venezuelans...
...Robert Smith Mexico: Indigenous Rights Law Revived MEXICO CITY-In February, 168 members of Congress reintroduced the original version of an indigenous rights law that had been part of the San Andr6s Peace Accords...
...InterPress Service is an alternative source of news and analysis from a Third World perspective...
...But unions and campesino organizations rallied behind Morales and the Chapare growers, staging roadblocks, transport strikes and protests in various parts of the country...
...In reintroducing the "Cocopa law," members from every political party except Fox's PAN have said it was an error to approve a law that was nearly universally rejected by indigenous organizations...
...Since late last year, Chavez supporters have turned out in force for street protests, but have found themselves on the defensive...
...The opposition, which has publicly criticized Chdvez, is also a heterogeneous mass-including community organizations, political parties and business associations-without clear leadership...
...Military support is crucial for Chdvez, a retired military officer who lacks a solid political organization...
...officials, including the Secretary of State and the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, expressed irritation at Chivez's style and criticized Venezuela's position on the fight against terrorism declared by President George W. Bush...
...The epicenter of the strife was Sacaba, a town outside the city of Cochabamba, where soldiers closed the main coca-leaf market on January 14 in accord with two December 27 presidential decrees outlawing the sale and transport of coca leaves in the Chapare...
...A CARICOM mission to Haiti followed just weeks after the Organization of American States (OAS) had censured Haiti and called for an independent international investigation of the December 17 burning of buildings owned by opposition parties and government critics...
...The right to produce and sell coca for "traditional" (non-cocaine) uses is backed by the Bolivian constitution and legal code, and regulated coca sales were previously permitted in the Chapare...
...The Hunte delegation concluded that Haiti, with its history of dictatorships and repressive regimes, is slowly becoming a basket case...
...Another campesino was killed and six more injured February 6 in clashes with police in Chapallata, between the cities of Oruro and Potosf...
...In the February 9 agreement, campesino groups agreed to suspend blockades in Cochabamba in exchange for the government's reopening of the Sacaba coca market and Radio Soberanfa, a review of the decrees which led to the coca market closing, the release of 69 people arrested during the protests, suspension of coca eradication in the Yungas region, and indemnization for those killed or hurt in the conflict...
...Last year 307 kidnappings were reported, 125% up from the previous year...
...Last year the Vincente Fox administration pushed through a mutilated version of the reform law that was rejected by the Zapatistas and other indigenous groups...
...Mexico Solidarity Network Sources Latinamerica Press is a biweekly publication of information and analysis about Latin America and the Caribbean...
...AJ Cuernavaca ' Language Dr School i MEXICO Main Campus: Tel: +52-7 317 5151 Fax: +52-7 316 3546 cls@infosel.net.mx www.speakspanish.com.mx International Office: Dr...
...citizen would not also be eligible for...
...Latinamerica Press -George Ann Potter Venezuela: Ch6vez Under Pressure A combination of domestic and international factors have left Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez facing the most difficult test of his presidency, with pressure building from all sides...
...Bolivia: Coca Conflict Escalates A spiral of violence that began in mid-January in Bolivia's cocagrowing Chapare region and spread across the country leaving at least nine dead, was at least temporarily braked on February 9 when the government agreed to reverse several actions which had sparked the initial Chapare confrontation...
...On January 29, a Chapare coca grower was shot to death, allegedly by soldiers, during a peaceful protest over Morales' ouster...
...Afterward, when police attempted to detain Soto on a crowded Caracas street, spontaneous protests by passers-by prevented the arrest...
...On the international front, the United States is causing the greatest concern...
...Catholic Church groups which had previously acted as facilitators for talks between the coca growers and the government at one point dropped out of the process, expressing concerns about past manipulation and a desire to "speak openly and denounce what happens day by day...
...On February 7, during a Caracas conference on freedom of expression, Air Force Col...
...Secretary of State Colin Powell announced on February 7 that the United States would not release aid to Haiti which includes $200 million in loans from the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) approved in 1997 and 1998...
...The president, who was elected by a landslide, has seen his popularity slide in recent months, especially in the capital...
...Caribbeanowned businesses like Capital Life of Barbados are doing likewise, claiming that the climate of fear and insecurity have rendered the country an unsafe place in which to do business...
...The armed forces-through the "Bolfvar Plan," which puts troops to work repairing schools and hospitals, providing vaccinations and coordinating medical campaigns-also carry out much of the social policy that has been a priority for the president...
...The indigenous rights law approved by Congress last year maintains most political controls in the hands of municipalities and state governments, and weakens the economic features of the Cocopa law...
...On January 22, armed forces members shut down the coca growers' Chapare-based Radio Soberania...
...Two of the soldiers were allegedly killed by sharpshooters, the bodies of the other two were found bearing signs of torture...
...The fires followed an attack on the National Palace that the government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide said was a coup attempt...
...Andrds Caiiizdlez Latinamerica Press Haiti Situation Worsens, U.S...
...Questions remained about whether his words expressed the view of a broader segment of the armed forces...
...Meanwhile, protests and blockades continued in many parts of the country, though "Mallku" called for a temporary halt to the actions on February 20 as a response to a freak hail and rain storm that killed 27 people and caused extensive damage in the capital, La Paz...
...Box 4133 Windham, New Hampshire 03087-4133 Tel: (603) 437 9714 Fax: (603) 437 6412 roberto-alm@worldnet.att.net Vol XXXV, No 5 MARCH/APRIL 2002 1IN BRIEF Rights were able to help broker a truce...
...Although the "two Pedros" were not detained, they will face internal disciplinary procedures that could result in their dismissal from the armed forces...
...Morales later announced he would run for president in June's national elections as the candidate of the Movement to Socialism (MAS...
...In addition, four other attempts on the lives of PT mayors and city councilors have ricoh been reported in the past three months in the state of Sao Paulo...
...Another PT leader, Antonio da Costa Santos, the mayor of Campinas, another of Brazil's largest cities, was murdered on September 10...
...http://www.mexicosolidarity.org...
...The opposition, however, said the violence was contrived to provide pretext for a crackdown against them...
...Two days earlier, the 14-member Caribbean Community's (CARICOM) heads of government had urged Haiti's international donors to release more than $600 million in suspended aid, saying this is the only way to keep the nation from sliding into even deeper poverty than now plagues this island of eight million people...
...Analysts say the advance of the PT may have frightened the most conservative sectors...
...The average life expectancy rate for women is 56 and for men, 52-also the lowest in the region...
...After September lth, CUNY felt compelled to comply with the law...
...The Accords were signed six years ago between the government and the Zapatista National Liberation Army as the first step in an anticipated six-part negotiating process that was intended to lead to a comprehensive peace in Chiapas...
...Caribbean leaders say that unless some aid money is released to the government, all the arguments about the need for good governance will be undermined as government institutions break down completely...
...Lucia Foreign Minister Julian Hunte, who headed the Caricom mission...
...Failing that, it is going to be a catastrophe," Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham told reporters at the CARICOM meeting in Belize City...
...http://www.latinamericapress.org George Ann Potter is an economic anthropologist who lives in Cochabamba, Bolivia and works on viable alternative development...
...Last fall, CUNY ended a 12-year policy that allowed undocumented students who had established residency by living in New York State for a year to pay in-state tuition rates...
...Most police investigators say he was kidnapped on January 18 by common criminals who planned to ask for ransom...
...Key pieces of legislation, including annual budgets, are gathering dust in lawmakers' filing cabinets...
...Later, however, Church leaders, the national ombudsperson and the National Permanent Assembly of Human Vol XXXV, No 5 MARcH/APRiL 2002 I SPEAK SPANISH TOTAL IMMERSION PROGRAM If you really want to become fluent in Spanish in the natural environment in which the language is spoken, explore the exciting program that Cuemavaca Language School offers you in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, "The City of Eternal Springtime" * Four students per teacher maximum * Cultural sessions included in program * Weekend field trips to recreational and historical site * Accommodation with Mexican host families...
...Several journalists were beaten, government supporters tried to burn down at least two radio stations, and at least 15 journalists sought political asylum in the United States, Canada, and France...
...Capt...
...The Cocopa law would provide for indigenous autonomy, including respect for original languages and traditional forms of government, and control of natural resources...
...IPS is a non-governmental organization structured as a non-profit International Association of Journalists...
...But crime is also soaring in Sio Paulo, and the increase may become a campaign issue...
...Although Soto claimed to represent 75% of the country's military officers, he appeared alone and refused to provide the names of others who shared his views...
...In early February, high-level U.S...
...His party, the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR), which was created to win his election, is a heterogeneous mix of political figures and retired military officers...
...Per capita yearly income is estimated at between $400 and $450, the worst in the hemisphere...
Vol. 35 • March 2002 • No. 5
