Firearms used against the Poor who defend themselves against the Rich

On Friday evening, December 4, Adelaida Plasencia Sierra was gravely wounded by a firearm during what seemed at first just a common robbery. But things aren’t always what they seem in her poor neighborhood just outside of Juárez: Lomas del Poleo.

At 6:00 PM two men arrived at her house, claiming they had run out of gasoline. Oddly, they then tried to sell her a cellular phone, and she replied that she had no money. But the mood quickly turned ominous when the two strangers abruptly asked if “Vicente” (her husband) or “Aurelio” were around.

Lomas del Poleo is no ordinary slum neighborhood. Aurelio, Adelaida’s neighbor, is the Plascencias’ companion in a civil struggle for the land they live on and believe they own.

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Years ago some poor, formerly landless citizens had squatted—a time-honored and lawful method of acquiring land in Mexico—on the worthless desert wasteland of Lomas del Poleo. It was a remote mesa top that nobody wanted. Gradually these poorest of the poor constructed dwellings of their own, huts that were often built of warehouse pallets covered with cardboard.

Now, however, in the wake of NAFTA, Lomas del Poleo property lies directly in the path of proposed international economic development interests. The real estate value of the land has risen exponentially.
And now their ownership of the land is in dispute.

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Adelaida then noticed that the men had their faces covered and were carrying a pistol. The supposed thieves grabbed her by the arms, pulling off her jacket. However, she managed to free herself and retreated into her house. As she was standing in the doorway, the assailants fired nine shots at both her and the house and then fled in the car.

Earlier that day, a white car without license plates parked in front of Adelaida’s house for over three hours. Now, this same vehicle was silently circling Adelaida and Vicente’s property.

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After NAFTA passed, Pedro and Jorge Zaragoza Fuentes of the Mexican billionaire family claimed ownership of the land that comprises Lomas del Poleo. Two years ago, a group of Lomas residents initiated a legal process against the Zaragozas, disputing Zaragozas’ rights to the land and asserting their own ownership. In 2008 and 2009 this group suffered various acts of aggression perpetrated, they say, by paid guards employed by Pedro Zaragoza.

Amnesty International issued this statement in January 2009:

“People living in an area northwest of Ciudad Juarez called Lomas del Poleo, are being harassed and attacked by private security guards hired by landowners who dispute their ownership of the land. The incidents appear to have intensified since the end of last year, and the safety of the inhabitants is at particular risk as the Agrarian Tribunal in charge of deciding who the lands belongs to, started a series of hearings.”

In the last few months the Mexican Agrarian Tribunal has issuing rulings in favor of the residents of Lomas in their legal case. The case is in its ultimate stage and the Zaragoza Fuentes family as of yet has not successfully demonstrated their ownership of the land to the Tribunal.

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Adelaida is in the hospital, still, recovering from the bullet wound to her chest, according to Rev. Bill Morton, the Catholic priest who has been accompanying the Lomas community.

Father Morton framed the incident optimistically:

“The doctor said if it had been just a couple centimeters lower she would have been dead. That she is alive is a miracle, then, and a sign of hope that violence and aggression will not always win the day.”

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This video, taken in April 2008, is of the landscape seen while driving through Lomas del Poleo. Shortly after the video was filmed the property was closed to any but those who occupy homes in the area. Gatekeepers employed by the Zaragosas screen any would-be entrants. Non-residents are prohibited from entering the area:

Virtual Tour Glimpse of Lomas del Poleo

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Mexican Crime Wave (or maybe Crime Tsunami?)

A recent kidnapping and murder of the 14 year old son of a Mexican industrialist threw Mexico’s crime problems into a national spotlight. President Calderon hopped on the bandwagon calling for tougher penalties for criminals and helping organize an August 30 march against crime in Mexico City. But, the Mexico Solidarity Network (MSN) wonders, just exactly who is this march against? In the wake of the massacre at a church service in Juarez this month, the MSN analysis helps me grapple with the question “Why?”

Kidnapping’s on the rise, they say. Calderon’s war on drugs forces organized crime into new ventures. And the economy is tanking, so more Mexicans turn to crime. Corrupt police get their slice, so victims have to cough up the ransom. Kidnappings aren’t the worst problem Mexico has, but since the victims are rich and well connected politically, it gets the attention.

Much more widespread are common crimes and pervasive government corruption. This starts at the top: officials turn a blind eye…and then “anything goes.” Organized crime rules much of the country and controls important politicians. Drug sales hauled in at least $22 billion from the U.S. since ‘03. Many politicians get their cut of this cash, depositing that income in banks (obviously), not stashing it in shoeboxes.

Calderon’s failing drug war has focused almost exclusively on interrupting transport routes and production facilities–and NOT the money laundering. That’s why we have not only the massacre in the church, but also murder and mayhem in the newspapers every day. Monday August 11 was in many ways a typical day, with 17 executions reported in the state of Chihuahua [the state directly south of El Paso, TX], including the second most important official in the office of the state Attorney General. Other states of Mexico reported 13 additional victims that day!

Several thousand troops deployed to Chihuahua this April and initially delighted beleaguered civilians. But the

honeymoon was short. The army conducted hundreds of unwarranted home searches, beat homeowners and pedestrians at will, and killed innocent citizens. In Chihuahua, the army got caught up in a war. Most of the local police are aligned with the Juarez cartel. The Juarez and Gulf cartels are involved in open warfare over lucrative territories. The army may be hoping simply to return to the earlier status quo: murders in isolated rural areas rather than during highly public gun battles in city centers.

This would help account for the government’s lack of action on money laundering, which is the heart of drug trafficking and should be its most vulnerable point. But politicians don’t want to interrupt the flow of illegal money. That money greases the political system and provides one of the most important sources of foreign exchange in this country on the verge of an economic crisis. With the Mexican economy suffering its worst performance in the second trimester of this year since the depression of 2003, politicians don’t particularly want to stop the money flow. With a GNP that declined 1.7% during the second trimester, about the only growth industry is illegal drugs and kidnappings.

So if you’re on top in Mexico, you really don’t care about some poor recovering addicts getting creamed in a church in Juarez. You’re watching your own back…and pocketbook.

And if you’re in the United States, sitting on top of the world’s economic pyramid? Well, I wonder, just how do we feel about all this?

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It’s more important now: The world we want for our child

Donatra and PraetorOne had a lovely baby boy this winter. They have named him after BibleBelted, their dearest friend who is also currently undergoing Chemo for inoperable cancer. Love and hugs to all four of them~Dusty

By Donatra and PraetorOne

Having a baby can change one’s perspectives in ways that one never would have suspected. Throughout the summer, fall, and winter we knew that we did not want our child to be raised in the Republican cuckoo land that has become the United States, and now that our child, a healthy baby boy named Jeffrey Michael, has arrived in the world we are more determined than ever to turn this country around while there is still a country left to actually turn around. I don’t know if any of you out there are new or expecting parents, but as far as my husband, PraetorOne, and I are concerned we are even more dedicated to changing this country than we were during the run up to January 13th, the day that our first child was born.

So what do we want? That is a loaded question.

First and foremost we want to see an end to the war in Iraq–as quickly as possible. Thanks to George W. Bush we are now stuck in this quagmire and if John McCain has a say in the matter we’ll be there for at least another decade or two with even more American involvement. That is not a thrilling prospect. I suspect that on some level, McCain, who is well known for his occasional outbursts of temper, is STILL bitter about the time he spent as a POW during the Vietnam War; and far from making him more sympathetic to the horrors of war, I suspect that he believes on some level that since HE had to suffer that OTHER young men and women might as well suffer too. In other words, we need a Democrat in the Whitehouse who will do more than issue half-baked platitudes about how much he or she supports the troops. We need a Democrat in office who will support the troops so much that he or she is willing to stop the open bleeding and bring them home right now.

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Hillary hearts NAFTA.

David Sirota has made a YouTube of Hillary’s response to NAFTA questions at last nights candidate debate on CNN.

Hillary is a DINO for the most part. She is a Rethug in Democratic clothing on many of the important issues. NAFTA expansion is one of THE most important domestic issues facing us today. NAFTA has affected our workforce as no other bill passed by our congress ever has in the last decade or so.. imho.His article about her stance is here. Its short and sweet, so let me give it to ya now:

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