SOUTH AMERICA-IRELAND: SAME BATTLE FOR A BETTER WORLD
People Power and Revolution in Latin America

On Friday 20th of April, a convention took place in Dublin, about a new voice rising in Latin America.
Two activists : Teresa Zepeda Torres and Marco Llanos, came over to Ireland to discuss their struggle against political fraud and the oppression exercised in south America.


The first speaker was Mexican activist, from Chiapas, Teresa Zepeda Torres. The comment is directly translated in English by a Spanish student.
The short haired socialist partisan opened up the meeting with a brief introduction about her country: Mexico; considered as the most populous Spanish speaking country in the world. Since its colonization around five hundred years ago, the Mexican population has always suffered from its leader’s oppression. Still today, the election of the President in power since last September is contested by most of the parties and Mexican movements. Therefore, Felipe Calderon ( the president's direct opponent) , gathered 500,000 supporters who organized many demonstrations  in order to attract the attention of politicians.
Teresa Torres, is quite concerned about all these ‘embezzlements’, all the more that she comes from a state described as ‘forgotten by the government ‘: The Chiapas.
Indeed,- the ‘agrarian land revolution’ of December 1991, where Carlos Salinas de Gortari, (president at the time) allowed peasants to put up their land as collateral for a loan -which was promised, occurred in all the country except in Chiapas, This was considered unimportant, this certainly because of its geographical location, far from the economic capital, Mexico city. Some ‘Zapatistas’ (a rebellion group created in the beginning of the 19th century) composed of men and women, decided to take action against this ‘unchosen loneliness’ , and to boycott the exportations toward the US. They also claim their right to obtain the earth they work on. This was owned by the Mexican government who taxed the formers as they cultivated the state piece of earth. Doesn't it remind you the of the Middle Ages in Europe?
That's one of the reason why Teresa Zepeda Torres is an active “Zapatistas” fighter. She defends her native states the Chiapas, which is today one of the poorest part in central America, in a country reaching one of the highest GDP in latin America ( 13th in the World with 768 ,438 in 2005 as calculated according to the World Bank)
But also the only way to guarantee to the people of Chiapas a decent life (a substantial part of the small state doesn’t even receive any electricity )is to create a voice within the actual Mexican government.
In 2006, during the disputed election, the ‘Zapatista’s’ party tried out to gain some seats in the parliament. Lopez Obrador, running a social party called « Partido de la Revolución Democrática » -the democate revolution party » promised aid to Chiapas.
But due to the eventual corruption referred above, the southern states is still in a state of distress, and is waiting for international help.

« The only way to struggle against the current governmental oppresion, is to educate our populations, to have more political awareness but also try to change our behaviours: turn a macho and paternalist society into one which puts forward the needs of the population  »

The next voice rising up against the current economic and political injustices is Marco Llanos. This Bolivian militant was here to elaborate on another emergency task. First and foremost, have you heard previously about Bolivia? This small southern American country is situated between Argentina, Paraguay and the giant Brazil. It was also considered as the poorest South American state in 2001.
Do you know that Bolivia, with an area double to Ireland holds the richest and the biggest range of natural ressources in the world: oil, gaz, silver,gold, soya and so on?

So, what could be wrong with a place which sounds like heaven? An atypical nature surrounded by the "Earth lung": Amazonia; incredible ressources, diversified climates?
The answer isn't that easy to explain, it is mostly historical: in summation, the colonization first, indiginous genocide then, and more recently US invasion. As you know, US capitalisation is everywhere! However in this case, let's say that even though Bolivia overflows with numerous treasures, it didn't get the chance to explode and export this by itself. Therefore, US and Brazil took care of setting up big international companies, selling the resources all around the world and keeping the rent for themselves. Selfish and unfair?
As a result of capitalism, the Bolivian government completely kneels down before the Empire.
In other words a ‘Neo liberalism’ policy is growing up. As we have seen before, it favours the upper class and impoverishes the local population (mostly indiginous), already more than in the need.
The hope in all this despair is a small movement found in 2003, composed mainly of local indigines called the Fortaleze. The actual president Evo Morales comes from this rising group, which is a little victory against the global implantation of liberalism.
The main revendication of the population is “to get rid of the multinationals exploiting our resources” said Marco Llano, representing the voice of the Bolivian people.

Then Donal Fhearraigh, an Irish anti-war militant, concluded the debate comparing these two cases with present-day Ireland.
With the recent problems encountered about the water crisis in Galway: In fact, more than 300 hundred listed person became heavily sick, because of human pollution and sewage. but this water contamination and the panic and pain created, could have been avoided. Indeed, the late actions and above all the far too late communication, could have prevent a big scandal.
Then again, the money always comes first leaving the local populations in a lack of understaning. In Galway, where the issue is still "in abeyance", after 5 month of debate, the local manager declares that nothing could be done as it would "damage the local water business, and people would sell it to the other parts of the country". So, the result is revealing that the inhabitants must boil the water before using it or getting a dirty illness.


“The Issues are quite similar even if the Irish case is less 'obvious'. The companies controlling the countries main resources are alike, and to guarantee a future to our children we'd be better to get rid of multinational companies.”

Perhaps the best vision would be the one given by Marco Llavo comparing crudely the problem to a vegetable that everybody in Ireland would know the significance of:

“What we need to do now is to smash the potato, take it off the warms gnawing at its content, and then replanting new seeds with 'pure' bases.”