4th Hour - "25 Not Quite Random Things About Latin America"

Frida was a Mexican based painter. She used surrealism, Symbolism and Realism as her styles. She was known for her vibrant colors and that she used Mexican and European cultured influences in her painting. She married another well known painter, named Diego Rivera. Frida also suffered from Polio, and later in her career had to paint from her bed. This caused her to paint many self portraits, as she could only look at herself. She was a very influential character, and remains to be one of the most well-known painters of all time.

NAFTA is the North American Free Trade Agreement. It is a agreement signed by the powers of the united states, Canada and Mexico. The U.S. government subsidies to corn sector totaled 10 Billion Dollars. which is ten times greater than the total Mexican agricultural budget. NAFTA is responsible for cause many Mexican corn farmers to loose a lot of money. NAFTA actually went into effect in 1994.

President Andres Pastrana Arango first revealed Plan Colombia in 1999. He thought the plan could have potential as a “Marshall Plan for Colombia.” The idea of the plan was for U.S. legislation to aid in curbing drug smuggling. The plan included U.S. military and counter-narcotics aid to create an anti-cocaine strategy in Colombia. President Pastrana’s intentions were to create a plan for Colombia’s peace, which emphasized the manual eradication of drug crops. President Pastrana and U.S. President Bill Clinton discussed a possible increase of U.S. aid for counternarcotics projects, sustainable economic development and protection of human rights. It became necessary in President Pastrana’s view to make an official document securing these promises and convening important U.S. aid, so Plan Colombia was created.

Argentina's Dirty War was a period in which the government of Argentina sponsored mass violence and abduction towards anyone who was against, or appeared to be against, the government. It started with a military coup, which installed a military dictatorship. Many thousands of people were killed or tortured, and many more simply disappeared. Groups that were targeted included leftist guerrillas and Marxist revolutionaries, but also included trade unionists and open followers of the Perons, the previous leadership. Amnesty International states that they believe up to 15,000 people were killed, tortured, or abducted during this period of time, which from around 1976 to 1983, when democracy returned to the country.

18 Things about Isabel Allende:

1. Writer (City of the Beasts)
2. Born in Peru
3. Father was an ambassador
4. Cousin of Salvador Allende (President)
5. Traveled a lot as a kid (because of stepfather's job)
6. Married twice
7. Worked with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
8. Also worked translating novels from English to Spanish, was fired for changing the books to a more feministic view
9. After the military coup her life was in danger, she received death threats and fled to Venezuela.
10. First woman to recieve the Gabriela Mistral Order of Merit.
11. In 2003 became a legal US citizen and lives in San Rafael, CA
12. Founder of the Isabel Allende Foundation which supports programs that "promote and preserve the fundamental rights of women and children to be empowered and protected."
13. Can only write fiction in Spanish
14. Gets her inspiration in other people's story
15. Was a journalist
16. Shook President Clinton's hand in 1997
17. Chose hugging a koala in Australia over Tom Cruise
18. Went to Chile on March 5 to see what happened because of the earthquake

Evo Morales has been the President of Bolivia since 2006; more than 2/3 of voters in 2008 voted to keep him in office, and he’s won a second term (as of December 2009). He leads the political party called the Movement for Socialism (aka MAS), which aims to give more power to the poor and underprivileged in the country. Evo plays a large part in Bolivia’s unions, and is generally quite well liked, especially by the working class. He’s very laid-back for a political figure, wears an infamous striped sweater to many elections and campaign meetings, and has his sister standing in as First Lady (he has no wife, but several children by various women). In Bolivia, there is a large crop of coca plants (which, true, go on to be refined into cocaine) grown, and Evo is firmly in support of this production. Of course, there have been scandals and questions, but he has stated that he is “…not a drug trafficker. I am a coca grower. I cultivate coca leaf, which is a natural product. I do not refine (it into) cocaine, and neither cocaine nor drugs have ever been part of the Andean culture.”

~Hannah

The Zapatista Army of National Liberation, abbreviated as EZLN, is a peaceful revolutionary group based in Chiapas, one of the poorest states in Mexico. In 1994, they declared war on the Mexican government. They have been primarily nonviolent but do defend themselves against the military and other groups that attack them. They are made up mostly of indigenous people, primarily the Mayans. They took their name from Emiliano Zapata, a reformer in the Mexican Revolution who we read about in 1st Quarter! They use the internet to spread their ideas and to enlist the support of non-governmental organizations and other groups. They also have huge support from many bands, including Rage Against the Machine. Rage Against the Machine uses their red star symbol as a backdrop to many of their live shows and many of their songs mention the EZLN. There are about 3,000 active participants and militia currently and tens of thousands civilian supporters.

Chiapas was a rich state (Mexico), but the population was poor. The region was full of natural resources, but 60% of the people lived on minimum wage, and less than half the population had access to safe waters. The indigenous Chiapanecos made up about 30% of the population, but there was a lot of discrimination against them. In 1994, there was violence between the Mexican government and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), because the Chiapanecos felt left behind after NAFTA, because the guarantee of communally owned land for rural communities was revoked. The Chiapanecos took four cities, 600 ranches, and 25% of the state. Chiapas became a bother to the Mexican government as time went on. In 1996, they signed a peace accord, but things did not end. There was still repression and claiming of land.

Salvador Allende was a medical student who became involved in radical politics and was arrested several times. He founded the Chilean Socialist Party and became the president of Chile in 1970. He was the first democratically elected Marxist ot become president of a country in the Americas. Nationalizing industries was one of the policies he instituted. During his rule, the inflation rate increased drastically along with the unemployment rate. Half of children under 15 suffered from malnutrition. There were a number of protests against Allende’s rule and Nixon and the CIA plotted to overthrow Allende. Eventually Allende is overthrown by the military and commits suicide.

FARC, or Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - Ejercito del Pueblo, or the revolutionary armed forces of Colombia, the army of the neighborhood, is a large guerrilla movement of Marxist-Leninist revolutionaries. They control about 40% of the territory in Colombia. In order to earn money, they kidnap officials and family members of the wealthy and hold them for ransom. They have an estimated 8,00 members which is .017 percent of the population, yet they have almost as munch control as the Colombian Government.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is the current President of Brazil. He was first elected to a position in Congress for the Workers' Party in 1986. He ran for president twice between 1990 and 2000 before he was elected in 2002 and again in 2006. Lula was originally quite radical in his policies and ideas, but changed his stance to a more moderate position, causing wings of his party to break off and form other parties. He is wildly popular in Brazil, perhaps due to his dedication of time to social projects. Under his administration, the Brazilian economy has improved, as well as foreign trade.