500 years in 50 minutes

Human Rights in Latin AmericaSpring 2009

Organización del Pueblo Indígena Me’phaa (OPIM), Guerrero, Mexico

Maldición de Malinche (The Curse of Malinche) performed by Amparo Ochoa (written by Gabino Palomares)

Del mar los vieron llegar

mis hermanos emplumados

eran los hombres barbados

de la profecía esperada.

 

Se oyó la voz del monarca

de que el Dios había llegado

y les abrimos la puerta

por temor a lo ignorado.

 

Iban montados en bestias

como demonios del mal

iban con fuego en las manos

y cubiertos de metal.

My brothers,clad in feathers, saw them arrive across the sea

They were the bearded menOf the expected prophecy.

The voice of the monarch was heard

Saying the God had arrivedAnd we opened the door to themBecause we were afraid of the

unknown.

They were riding on beastsLike evil demons They had fire in their handsAnd were covered with metal.

Sólo el valor de unos cuántos

les opuso resistenciay al mirar correr la sangrese llenaron de vergüenza.

Porque los dioses ni comen,

ni gozan con lo robadoy cuando nos dimos cuentaya todo estaba acabado. En ese error entregamosla grandeza del pasadoy en ese error nos

quedamostrescientos años esclavos.

Se nos quedó el maleficiode brindar al extranjeronuestra fe, nuestra culturanuestro pan, nuestro

dinero.

Only the brave fewPut up resistanceAnd when they saw the blood runThey were filled with shame.

Because the gods don’t even eat,They don’t enjoy what they stealAnd by the time we realized itEverything was already finished.

In that mistake we handed overThe greatness of our pastAnd in that mistake we becameSlaves for three hundred years.

We were stuck with the taskOf surrendering to foreignersOur faith, our cultureOur bread, our money.

 

Y les seguimos cambiando

oro por cuentas de vidrio

y damos nuestra riqueza

por sus espejos con brillo. 

Hoy en pleno siglo XX

nos siguen llegando rubios

y les abrimos la casa

y los llamamos amigos.

 

Pero si llega cansado

un indio de andar la sierra

lo humillamos y lo vemos

como extraño por su tierra.

And we continue exchangingGold for bits of glassAnd we continue giving our

richesFor their shiny mirrors.

Today, in the 20th centuryBlond people continue to arriveAnd we open our homes to

themAnd we call them our friends.

But if an Indian arrives,Tired from walking in the

mountainsWe humiliate him and we treat

himLike a stranger in his own land.

Tú, hipócrita que te muestras

humilde ante el extranjero

pero te vuelves soberbio

con tus hermanos del pueblo.

 

¡Oh, Maldición de Malinche!

¡Enfermedad del presente!

¿Cuándo dejarás mi tierra?

¿Cuándo harás libre a mi gente?

You, hypocrite who acts humble before the foreigners,

But you become arrogant

With your own brothers.

Oh, curse of Malinche!Sickness of the present!When will you leave my

land?When will you make my

people free?

“La Maldición de Malinche”

places 2 inequalities at center of Latin America’s problemsbetween Latin America and the global Northbetween Latin American mestizos and indigenous

people

What is the difference between poverty and inequality?

Poverty is usually considered an absolute measure

44% of Latin America lives in poverty, according to ECLAC 2002; 18.8% indigent

In many countries, a majority lives in poverty

On a global scale, most countries of Latin America fall in the lower-middle income groupings

Inequality is a relative measure

Latin America is (and has been since colonial period) the most unequal region of the world

Inequality in Latin America

LatAm regional average: richest 10% receives 36.1% of all income

(Average for OECD countries is 25%)

(In Brazil, it´s 45%)

Why does inequality matter?

Some economists argue that inequality is positively related to economic growth (this is contested) – why would this be?

A human rights emphasis cannot be on growth for its own sake, but on satisfaction of human needsWhat´s the economy for, anyway?Per capita figures conceal inequality

Bottom line: inequality increased over time in every country

Where does Latin American inequality come from?

1500-1800 (roughly) Colonial Period

Violent conquest colonial system predicated on violence

structures of mass exclusion based on race

Land concentrated in few hands (latifundios – large plantations owned by Spaniards)

Indigenous people given small subsistence plots (minifundios)

Laws sanctioned slavery and forced labor

Extractive economy: production for export only – profit reaped from Latin American human and natural resources returned to Spain

1800’s Independence

Caudillo governments (strongmen) often military or with military backing

use state to preserve personal power

highly nationalistic

new status preserved exclusionary structures, made them national law

Liberal periodlate 1800’s/early 1900’s: liberalism

open economies to trade/foreign investment/free trade

let in foreign companies, who invested heavily, bought up in some cases up to 1/3 of national territory – produced bananas and other produce, extracted raw materials like minerals and oil

“banana republics”

Benefited local, international elites

some public benefits: gave gov’ts revenues, many used to build roads, presidential palaces, hospitals, schools, etc. – “golden age” because economies grew, gov’ts had money to spend on public works

Pressures for reformDepression No longer economic boom time

workers out of jobs, people hungry, etc.

At same time, education and communications had spread throughout the countries, making population more aware of rights, able to organize protests, etc.

Led to resistance against foreign companies, elites who had cut deals with the foreigners

3 Responses to reformist pressures

1. limited reforms granted to defuse pressures (Mexico, Costa Rica)

2. structures of exclusion so strong that any attempts at reform were made illegal/squashed/killed, forcing reformers to become guerrillas civil war and beginning of authoritarian period (Colombia)

3. reformers elected to office but US intervened to provoke coups d’etat to kick them out of office, provoking civil war, beginning of authoritarian period (Guatemala, Chile)

Authoritarian period (1960s-1980s)

Often called “military dictatorships” but this can be misleading

How was this different than previous undemocratic regimes?repression was institutionalized: bureaucratic

authoritarianism; structures not only carried out repressive acts but hid them, made them secret

World climate had changed – this kind of repression was no longer seen as OK – so had to keep secret, maximize deniability of abuses

Birth of Human Rights Movement

Amnesty founded 1961 in London; idea that world pressure could force gov’ts to respect citizens. “the world is watching”POC

HR movement began to identify certain types of human rights violations:Extrajudicial executions“Disappearances”TortureState terrorism

Transitions to democracy

“Third wave of democracy” (Huntington) took place during late 20th century

“Democratic gamble” faced by human rights advocates

Today, region overwhelmingly democratic; limited state violence; yet democracy has not led to improved social justice, freedom from violence, citizen well-being. Why not?