Volume XXVII Number 03 January 17, 2003

FrontPage Stories

Las organizaciones binacionales en California: un nuevo actor de la política entre México y los Estados Unidos

Por Emmanuelle Le Texier

La multiplicación de organizaciones mexicanas en los Estados Unidos, particularmente en Los Angeles y San Diego, demuestra el nacer de nuevas redes de solidaridad transnacional entre las comunidades mexicanas en los Estados Unidos de América y sus lugares de origen. Así, las federaciones regionales mexicanas agrupan un conjunto de “hometown associations“ que forman inmigrantes para sostener el desarrollo de su ciudad de origen. En general, estas federaciones, sin objeto de lucro, construyen redes estrechas con las comunidades de origen, lo que permite el mantenimiento de las culturas, costumbres y lenguas de origen en los EEUU.

Por ejemplo, en Los Angeles, se destacan la Federación de Zacatecanos, los Clubs Michoacanos, los Clubes Sinaloenses, los Nayaritas en California como muestra del desarrollo reciente de organizaciones mexicanas transnacionales en California. Estos grupos recaudan fondos, mantienen viva la cultura regional, y fomentan lazos de solidaridad a través de las fronteras. Es interesante señalar el caso del Frente Indígena Binacional Oaxaqueño (FIOB), con comités en Oceanside, Tijuana y Oaxaca. El FIOB empezó como Frente Cívico Mixteco. Se creó en 1985 en los Estados Unidos para defender los derechos laborales y humanos de los Oaxaqueños del condado norte de San Diego. En 1989 se juntaron otras organizaciones de Zapotecos para formar el Frente Civico Mixteco-Zapoteco en Vista, y luego en Oceanside, donde radican la mayoría de los Oaxaqueños del sur de California (unas 15.000 personas que trabajan en su mayoría en el campo). Finalmente fue en 1990 cuando la organización tomó el nombre de FIOB, con el objetivo de ser una asociación representativa de todos los indígenas de Oaxaca, de modo binacional.

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First Person
Security or an Excuse for Government Sponsored Racism?
 By Isadora Malon
We arrived at the INS at 4:00 a.m., and were directed to the side of the building where the street was lined with people trying to immigrate into the U.S. I was particularly struck by the image of a Mexican woman carrying a baby. The woman wore a skirt with only flip-flops on her feet and a light sweater, and all her attention was focused on keeping the infant sleeping in a carrier, covered with a pale yellow blanket. I wore a thick sweater and a jacket with lined trousers and warm socks, and still felt the chill from the early morning air.

Where are the pro-life activists now?
 By Mariana Martinez
In the year 2000, Paulina, a 13 year old girl, was rapped by a drug addict who broke into her house to steal; she and her parents went to the authorities to report the crime, unfortunately she became pregnant as a result of this assault. Under Mexican law, Paulina had a right to have an abortion before the second trimester of her pregnancy, but Mexican authorities, aided by pro-life activists delayed the procedure and denied the medical attention she had a right to, putting their own belief system over the law.

¿Dónde están ahora los miembros de Pro-Vida?
 Por Mariana Martinez
En el 2000, Paulina una joven de 13 años fue violada por un drogadicto que entró a su casa a robar, desgraciadamente, la niña quedó embarazada a raiz del ataque. Ella y sus padres, acudieron a las autoridades para hacer la denuncia. Bajo la ley vigente en Mexico, Paulina tenía el derecho de realizar un aborto durante el primer trimestre de su embarazo; sin embargo, las autoridades retrasaron el proceso y le negaron ese derecho, poniendo encima de su deber como funcionarios, sus creencias personales respecto al aborto, lo impidieron, con ayuda de pro-vida.

Formerly Conjoined Twins Go Home
 After a landmark 23-hour separation surgery on Aug. 6 and a seven-month stay at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital, formerly conjoined twins Maria de Jesus and Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez returned home to Guatemala on Jan 13 with their parents.

Stories

‘White’ No More — Unlikely Allies Join Under Homeland Security’s Harsh Gaze
 By Mary Jo McConahay
In this seaport city that is home to the Navy and retirees, the “war on terror” is making deeply disparate communities look at each other as if into a new mirror. Three months ago, an elderly Mexican American publisher found himself giving a spontaneous course in Chicano history to rapt Iranian American engineers in the main cafeteria at a major high-tech company.

La Prensa Persa
 Editors Note: On January 3, 2003 we introduced the first biweekly column of La Prensa Persa (The Persian Press), an opportunity for members of the middle-eastern communities to communicate and talk about the many of the issues facing them, immigration law, civil and constitutional rights to name a few, which not only impact that community but also impact the Hispanic community.
Give US Back Our Sun!

Hispanics Make Political History
 By Guillermo I. Martínez
They are the bookends of Hispanic politics across the nation; symbols of the success of the Democratic Party in the West and the growing number of Hispanics turning to Republican candidates in the East.

Hating Gangs Not the Answer – Father Boyle Calls for Three-Pronged Approach to Gangs
 By Raul Vasquez
(Editors Note: Gang violence and finding an answer to this complex and multifaceted problem has been the subject of much debate recently in San Diego. The following article about Father Greg Boyle and Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles is a positive and successful model in dealing with this seemingly unsolvable problem and adds his ideas on the battle against gang violence.)

Latino Children Have Been Left Behind On One Year Anniversary of ‘No Child Left Behind Act’
 Washington, D.C. – January 8th was the one-year anniversary of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, touted by the president and Congress as “a landmark in education reform.” Key provisions that would directly help the nation’s most disadvantaged students, including Latino children, however remain unfunded, noted MALDEF, the nation’s premier Latino civil rights organization.

Millions of Children Left Behind in Bush Tax Proposal
 Child Tax Credit Plan Leaves Out Nearly Half of All Black and Latino Children
The Children’s Defense Fund today released an analysis showing that millions of parents working hard to support their children on low wages will not get any help from speeding up the child tax credit proposed by the Bush Administration. The President’s plan to accelerate the child tax credit provides no benefit to more than one in four American children – including nearly half of all Black and Latino children – because their parents earn so little they are not eligible for a tax credit.

MLK Day — America’s Most Shamefully Ignored Holiday
 By Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Twenty years after President Reagan grudgingly signed legislation that made Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday, millions of Americans and most businesses still refuse to celebrate the day.

LA COLUMNA VERTEBRAL
Por Yhamel Catacora
En el país de los sueños
Llega la semana en la que suele resonar la voz de Martín Luther King Jr. Premio Nobel y una de las figuras que más fervientemente defendió los derechos civiles en este país y quien fuera asesinado en 1963; pues esa voz tendrá una resonancia particular este año, tras la renuncia del líder del senado Trent Lott, al haber exclamado lo impronunciable; sus comentarios generaron un silencio mudo entre los comensales que se reunían para celebrar los 100 años de Strom Thurmond. Aunque sabemos demasiado bien que quien calla otorga, ese silencio generó una polémica que fue todo menos silenciosa.

CDC Small Business Finance has been Growing Small Businesses for 25 Years
 CDC Small Business Finance is marking its 25th year of assisting small businesses to grow and create jobs by providing a range of lending programs and services in San Diego, Orange, Riverside and Imperial Counties.

$250,000 Offered to Local High School Seniors
 Two hundred fifty thousand dollars is being offered to San Diego County high school students through the San Diego County Salute to Education scholarship program. Two hundred fifty graduating seniors will each be awarded a $1,000.00 scholarship. In addition, one scholarship recipient will also win a brand new Ford vehicle.

Editorials

Editorial
The Financial Health of The State is in Jeopardy
 Elected politicians once again have failed to address where the real problems lie that undermine the State Budget. The Governor in his recently submitted Budget Plan has trotted out the usual laundry list of where to cut spending, where to raise more money, and how to cover up for the enormous debt accumulated in the past years. Nowhere is there a plan on how to redesign the whole budgetary process. It has been quite evident that letting our elected representatives cobble together a budget is a process doomed to failure. No legitimate enterprise, in the real world, could possibly survive if they allowed everyone from the CEO to the employees, on the plant floor, join in the process of making a budget. No business would survive.

Editorial
National City council members approve pay raise, despite budget woes
 How do you define the National City City Council after they approved themselves an 18% pay raise. This pay raise, in spite of the fact that National City, the State, the Country is faced with a huge budget deficit, services are being slashed and workers are losing their jobs because there is not enough money to go around. The best term we can think of is Greedy!

Commentary
Gimmicks, Tricks and Evasions
 By James Santiago Grisolía, MD
“There are no gimmicks. No tricks. No evasions,” claimed Governor Gray Davis when presenting his state budget proposals.

Comentario
Engaños, Trucos y Evasiones
 Por Dr. James Santiago Grisolía
“No hay engaños. Ni trucos. Ni evasiones”, dijo nuestro gobernador Gray Davis cuando presentó su propuesta del presupuesto estatal.

The Public Forum . . . El Foro Publico
 We Don’t Need Anymore Cafeteria Democrats.
Another Centrist, Democrat Joe Lieberman, has come out claiming “I’m different”! The last time a different kind of Democrat was elected President, we DEMOS had controlled both Houses for nearly a half century. In two years former President Bill Clinton and his wife, now Senator, turned both over to the REPUBS.

Etc. Etc. Etc.
Entertainment, Reviews, Sporting news, and other tid bits

Reseña Crítica
Normal, testigo teatral de la contradicción humana
 Por Claudia Hernández
La pasada velada del jueves nueve del mes en curso, se estrenó la temporada teatral en la Costa Suroeste de este país de la gran obra teatral Normal, la cual ha sido escrita y ejecutada, hasta hoy, por Randall White, quien opina lo siguiente: “Normal es una obra que invita al espectador a examinar tópicos tales como: la esperanza, el prejuicio y la libertad personal”.

MACUILXOCHITL KIVA
Latin Alternative Music 2002: A Perspective
 By Francisco H. Ciriza
Latinos can be proud of their brethren in the music business. Many artists took meaningful chances to prove to the rest of the music business and world of listeners that Xtina (Christina Aguilera), Ricki, Enrique, and Shakira do not represent all that is popular Latin music. While some artists have been content to “crossover” by what many consider questionable means such as singing nonsense lyrics in English or even attempting to “look” more Anglo, others have chosen to explore perhaps more in-depth and meaningful avenues to open ears and minds to the Latino experience.

Se Exhiben Escriños de Rosa Valencia
 Por Paco Zavala
El pasado jueves 9 de enero a las 7:30 pm. se abrió en exhibición permanente hasta fecha próxima, en uno de los amplios salones de exhibición de la Casa de Cultura Playas Cortijo San José, un gran número de figurillas hechas y adornadas artísticamente en cascarones de huevo de distintos animales, que presentan ante el dilecto público la distinguida maestra y artista Rosa Valencia y su apreciada alumna Lilia Arretche de Ruiz.

¡Siga esta Ruta!
 Por: Paco Zavala
Al percibir el título de esta edición de Urano Publishing, ¡Siga esta Ruta! el lector podrá pensar que se trata de un tema, conectado con el comercio, con la economía, con la administración, incluso podrá pensarse que está involucrado con la religión.

Mosaico de Actividades Culturales en Tijuana
 Por Paco Zavala
Ya comenzamos a carcomer el año 2003 y las actividades culturales parece ser que se encuentran estancadas, tanto como la economía del país mexicano, que de acuerdo con lo que dicen los sabiondos en estos menesteres, ya cuenta con veinte años de encontrarse también en crisis, vaya Ud. a saber. Lo que dicen los políticos no está muy de acuerdo con este concepto.

Heavyweight Champion John Ruiz - Under Siege By Roy Jones Jr And Don King
 By Fiona Manning
 WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz is the world’s first Hispanic heavyweight champion - but the Puerto Rican born Ruiz who descended on Los Angeles this week to promote his upcoming March 1 fight with Roy Jones Jr, said he still feels he is fighting for respect.

Diego “Chico” Corrales Returns January 25
 By Fiona Manning
Former IBF 130 pound champion Diego “Chico” Corrales makes his first ring appearance in two years next week when he faces 41 year old Freddy Castro on the January 25 undercard of Sharmba Mitchell vs Carlos Vilches’ IBF jr. welterweight elimination bout for the vacant IBF No. 2 contender position.

South Bay’s Rodriguez Latest to Join Mexico’s National Team
 By John Philip Wyllie
 On Sunday, South Bay resident Erica Rodriguez watched the U.S. battle Japan in women’s soccer from the stands of USD’s Torero Stadium. Later on this year she could be playing against them in China as a member of Mexico’s Women’s World Cup team.

Cultural Diversity to be Celebrated at Fifth Annual Downtown Multicultural Festival
 The Fifth Annual Downtown Multicultural Festival 2003 will be held January 18, 2003 and will feature a variety of food, entertainment, and fun for the entire family. The festival has been officially sanctioned by the Super Bowl XXXVII Host Committee and is being promoted in its calendar of events as an activity preceding the Super Bowl. It will take place from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. coinciding with the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade and will be held on the Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade on the north side of Harbor Drive between Market and Fourth Avenue.

San Diego Black Journalists Host Star-Studded Scholarship Fundraiser Put Spotlight on Southeastern San Diego’s “Flavor”
 The San Diego Association of Black Journalists (SDABJ) will host San Diego Flavor, a unique star-studded celebration to raise money for its scholarship fund and to attract national media attention to Southeastern San Diego’s urban renewal projects. The invitation only event —to be held Thursday, January 23, 2003, from 6 - 9 p.m., at Market Creek Plaza (312 N. Euclid Avenue)— will attract hundreds of national media representatives, event sponsors and other invited guests.

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