500 years in 50 minutes (well, almost)

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500 years in 50 minutes(well, almost)

• Human Rights in Latin America
• October 3, 2006

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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 men
• Of the expected prophecy.
• The voice of the monarch was heard
• Saying the God had arrived
• And we opened the door to them
• Because we were afraid of the unknown.
• They were riding on beasts
• Like devils of evil
• They had fire in their hands
• Covered with metal.

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• Sólo el valor de unos cuántos
• les opuso resistencia
• y al mirar correr la sangre
• se llenaron de vergüenza.
•  
• Porque los dioses ni comen,
• ni gozan con lo robado
• y cuando nos dimos cuenta
• ya todo estaba acabado.
•  
• En ese error entregamos
• la grandeza del pasado
• y en ese error nos quedamos
• trescientos años esclavos.
• Se nos quedó el maleficio
• de brindar al extranjero
• nuestra fe, nuestra cultura
• nuestro pan, nuestro dinero.

• Only the bravery of a few
• Put up resistance
• And when they saw their blood run
• They were filled with shame.
• Because the gods dont even eat,
• They dont enjoy what they steal
• And by the time we realized
• Everything was already finished.
• In that mistake we handed over
• The greatness of our past
• And in that mistake we became
• Slaves for three hundred years.
• We were stuck with the task
• Of surrendering to foreigners
• Our faith, our culture
• Our bread, our money.

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•  
• 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 exchanging
• Gold for bits of glass
• And we continue giving our riches
• For their shiny mirrors.
• Today, in the 20th century
• Blond people continue to arrive
• And we open our homes to them
• And we call them our friends.
• But if an Indian arrives,
• Tired from walking in the mountains
• We humiliate him and we treat him
• Like a stranger in his own land.

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• 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 that 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?

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La Maldición de Malinche

• places 2 inequalities at center of Latin
  Americas problems
• between Latin America and the global North
• between Latin American mestizos and indigenous
  people

• Latin America not the poorest region of world,
  but the most unequal

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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

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Inequality in Latin America

• LatAm regional average richest 10 receives
  36.1 of all income
• (Average for OECD countries is 25)
• (In Brazil, its 45)

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Bottom line inequality increased over time in
every country
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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 needs
• Whats the economy for, anyway?
• Per capita figures conceal inequality

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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 colonizers)
• 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

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1800s 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

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Liberal period

• late 1800s/early 1900s 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 govts revenues, many
  used to build roads, presidential palaces,
  hospitals, schools, etc. golden age because
  economies grew, govts had money to spend on
  public works

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Pressures for reform

• Depression ? 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

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3 Responses to reformist pressures

• limited reforms granted to defuse pressures
• (Mexico, Costa Rica)
• structures of exclusion so strong that any
  attempts at reform were made illegal/squashed/kill
  ed, forcing reformers to become guerrillas ?
  civil war and beginning of authoritarian period
• (Colombia)
• reformers elected to office but US intervened to
  provoke coups detat to kick them out of office,
  provoking civil war, beginning of authoritarian
  period
• (Guatemala, Chile)

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Authoritarian period (1960s-1980s)

• Often called military dictatorships but this
  can be misleading
• What is a dictatorship?
• 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

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Birth of Human Rights Movement

• AI founded 1961 in London idea that world
  pressure could force govts to respect citizens.
  the world is watching
• Keck and Sikkink have called this boomerang
  effect
• HR movement began to identify certain types of
  human rights violations
• Extrajudicial executions
• Disappearances
• Torture
• State terrorism

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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?