On June 2, 1998, the New York Times ran a front-page report on U.S. military aid to Colombia. The article—all 71 paragraphs of it—is important less for what it says than what it represents. It is a marker of sorts—a marker that those involved in solidarity movements with Latin America should take close note of. When publications like the New York Times begin dissecting U.S. policy in Latin America in huge, full-page articles, it is a sign that the U.S. government is upping the ante.
Those of us who were involved in the Central American solidarity movement during the 1980s clearly remember the evening in 1986 when then-President Ronald Reagan made a special broadcast, Central America map in tow, to explain to the American people that the "Communist threat" in Nicaragua was spreading to other Central American countries, and that if the United States did not act decisively, it would soon infect Mexico and then Texas and the rest of the country. The language being used in Washington today to discuss U.S. involvement in Colombia is alarmingly similar. Take the Times quote of Representative Benjamin Gilman (R-NY), chairman of the House International Relations Comittee: "The frightening possibilities of a narco-state just three hours by plane from Miami can no longer be dismissed." This is a call to arms, a blatant justifiication for increasing U.S. presence in Colombia under the guise of fighting drugs and guerrillas which, according to the U.S. government, are one and the same.
The other war in the region—in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas—has received less media attention, despite the fact that in the past few weeks the situation has sharply deteriorated. It seems that it is in nobody's interest to report too extensively on this war—after all, this is Mexico, the U.S. partner in free trade and its stellar example of neoliberalism at work. Washington has been silent about the Mexican government's recent offensive in Chiapas and has continued its economic and military support despite clear evidence of the Zedillo Administration's obstructionism in peace negotiations with the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) and the government's ties to paramilitary organizations operating in Chiapas.
Much like it did in the 1980s during the conflicts in Central America, the mainstream U.S. media are once again playing along to the tune of the government. The Times, for example, insists on portraying the conflict in Chiapas as the result of "Indian-on-Indian" infighting—a clear attempt to deflect the responsibility of the Mexican government for the violence in southern Mexico. One of the few articles published by the Times since the Mexican government declared its all-out war against pro-Zapatista communities in Chiapas (see Open Forum, p. 4) cynically attributes the conflict to religious differences between Catholics and non-Catholics.
The solidarity movements of the 1980s were crucial to changing U.S. policy in Central America. Students, labor orga-nizers, church workers and human rights activists banded together to challenge U.S. policy on moral grounds. The movement waned as the wars in Central America died down, but there is clear evidence that solidarity movements are becoming increasingly active in the wake of the counterinsurgency wars in Chiapas and Colombia.
The Colombia Support Network, based in Madison, Wisconsin, has taken the lead in solidarity with Colombia. It publishes Colombia Bulletin: A Human Rights Quarterly, an excellent analytical and informational tool for organizers and solidarity activists. The Network also organizes fact-finding delegations to Colombia and the group's different chapters sponsor sister-city projects, much like those that existed with Nicaragua and El Salvador in the 1980s.
Solidarity with Mexico has been on the rise in the United States since the emergence of the EZLN on New Year's Day, 1994. But only recently, with the intensification of the conflict in Chiapas, has there been an effort to bring the different groups together into a national organization. This was accomplished in Washington, D.C. in late April at an emergency meeting at which organizers formed the Mexico Solidarity Network. The Network is currently comprised of over 50 solidarity groups throughout the country, and coordinator Tom Hansen says its membership is growing weekly.
Today, there is greater awareness among solidarity activists about the broader global processes that are fueling poverty and violence in Latin America. Now more than ever, there is an urgent need for individuals and organizations to once again come together to launch our own call to arms—to speak out against the ongoing carnage in Mexico and Colombia and to tirelessly denounce the cynicism and duplicity of U.S. policy in the region.
Mexico Solidarity Network 4834 N. Springfield Chicago, IL 60625 Tel: (773) 583-9355 E-mail: alex2051@xsite.net
Colombia support Network P.O. Box 1505 Madison WI 53710 Tel: (608) 257-8753 E-mail: mlopez@igc.apc.org www.igc,apc.org/csn/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jo-Marie Burt is the Editor of the NACLA Report on the Americas.
