Cocalero

Being an ally of other socialist leaders such as Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales has high criticism of United States policy. His biggest policy has been land reforms. Nevertheless, in the month of October 2009, he was awarded the title of World Hero of the Mother Earth by the United Nations. Evo Morales was the first of his kind. He ran for presidency of Bolivia in 2002 but lost to Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada by a single point. Then in 2005, Evo Morales once again ran for presidency. The film Cocalero is a 2007 documentary on the race for presidency of Bolivia as the first president of an indigenous background. Evo Morales promoted the cocalero movement. The cocalero movement represents a union formed by Bolivian coca farmers in opposition to the US-influenced eradication of coca crops. Movements to eradicate coca crops stem from U.S. policies during the decline of the Cold War (Lehman 132). Lehman states that Bolivia’s current problems cannot all be blamed on the United States; however, American influence has been problematic factor in Bolivian issues. Because of this, Morales stands in opposition to an American presence in Bolivia.

In the 1980s, Bolivia switched from a military regime to civilian rule due to their corruption from drugs (139). The declining Cold War allowed American focus to shift.  The US congress agreed to terminate aid to any country out of line with US anti-drug policies. Bolivian leader Victor Paz then decided to eradicate coca beyond traditional use (133). However, the policy would soon evolve into “heavy state intervention” for coca farmers (133).  The coca leaf has been essential to the Bolivian economy “since pre-colonial times” (132). For farmers, it was ideal to grow these leaves on the eastern foothills. Consequently by the 1980s, Bolivia’s economy revolved around the coca leaf. This industry provided jobs to a multitude of farmers, farmers from Chapare and Yungas receiving a decent living because of it. By the 1990s, Bolivia is a showdown between the poor indigenous farmers and the US- influenced government.

The drug policies were the primary campaign issue during the 1993 Bolivian election (134). Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada won the presidency. He was more concerned with putting Bolivia in Washington’s “good graces” (134). However, research proved that coca was still dominating half of Bolivia’s export revenues. In 1998, Goni’s successor, Hugo Banzer put into act “Plan Dignidad,” which sought to completely eradicate coca plants (136). The towns hit hardest were Chapare and Yungas. Banzer sent troops, funded by the US, into these already poor towns, to destroy coca plants, devastating the farmers. In 1978, future presidential candidate Evo Morales was ordered, as a member of the Bolivian army to shoot against coca growers during a march. He refused on the grounds that they were “the biggest defenders of democracy.” In the 2005 election, Evo Morales took presidency by a landslide. From Aymara descent, President Evo Morales became the leader of the cocalero movement in Bolivia.

Our Brand is Crisis: Neoliberalism and the Global Empire

The film, Our Brand is Crisis is a documentary on the 2002 Bolivian election, a showdown between Gonzalo “Goni “Sanchez de Lozada and Evo Morales. Candidate Goni beat Evo Morales by receiving 22 percent of votes. However, due to his solution to import gas through Chile to the US, along with his increasing unpopularity, was forced to resign his presidency. In the larger picture, the deal would seem to benefit the United States more than Bolivia. Goni ignored negative Bolivian sentiment toward Chile, who took land from Bolivia after the War of the Pacific.

This follows the trend of neoliberalism that had recently engulfed Latin American countries. In the 1990s, Chile’s economy was able to benefit the majority of all Chileans; however, the poor were left poor (Chasteen 317). Neoliberalism is an ideology that has replaced Marxist revolutions in Latin America and promotes an “emphasis on free trade, export production, and the doctrine of comparative advantage” (311).  Most of the leaders in the region conformed to this ideology. They are credited with fixing the economic crisis that once posed as problems in the 1980s (312). These policies helped countries such as Mexico and Brazil who were millions of dollars in debt. Mostly the middle class reaped the benefits of neoliberalism. It seemed as if neoliberalism was a positive policy. Unfortunately, what it really caused was the wealth of the rich to increase and the already unfortunate to suffer more, due to the income of foreign capital and foreign products (317).

This was only good news for the United States. Can neoliberalism be a product of the Economic Hit Man? John Perkins, in his memoir about being a EHM, describes the goal of an EHM. It is to create a global empire, based on teachings from history, which “promotes US commercial interests” (Perkins 20).  What his job was to deceive Latin American leaders into large unrepayable American loans, and by not repaying these loans, Latin American countries had to repay America in resources. Because of this deception, the poor are once again left to suffer. In Ecuador, selling its rain forests to the American oil companies minimized their debt (xxiii). Ecuador’s land is ideal for two reasons- the first is because US relations with the Middle East are not known to be the greatest of relationships, oil has to attained from other places such as Ecuador, and second is that the sea of oil beneath the Amazonian regions “is believed to rival the oil fields of the Middle East” (xxiii). The indigenous groups were forced to move off the land and in return they promised education, food, and shelter (167). Like most Americans, Perkins’ employers thought America was doing these countries favors by building modern infrastructures and establishing our form of civilization (19). The consequences are destroyed rainforests and violence from the original habitants of the land.  Then Ecuador had a beacon of hope- a leader named Jamie Roldos. He opposed the further infiltration of American oil companies; consequently in 1981, he happened to die in a fiery plane crash. Perkins states that the general public opinion was a CIA assassination. Thus far, the global empire led by America has not had much opposition, and it seems to be working on our behalf. However, what is the price for one nation’s prosperity?

la virgen de los sicaros

Living in modern day Medellin came as a shock to Fernando, a writer who had left Medellin for many years who however, has returned to die there. He falls in love with a young man, Alexis, whom he later discovers is a sicaro. The time he spends with Alexis changes his morbid outlook, and once he is killed, he continues to live and falls in love once more with Wilmar, a kid identical to Alexis. Unfortunately, the gang violence catches up with Wilmar and he is also killed. The ending of film implies that Fernando, unable to cope with the continuous cycle of violence in Medellin, commits suicide.

The violence in Medellin seemed natural to the inhabitants. By the time, although fictionalized, Fernando returns violence is part of their daily lives. The murderous nature in Colombia dates back to the first half of the century. The central issue was agrarian reform. From 1930 to 46, Colombia had a relative stable, compared to its entire history, time of unity under a one-party system, the Liberal Party (Hylton, 31). Jorge Ellecer Gaitan sought to create a Colombia with the bases of multi-class, multi-ethnic, and anti-elitist (Hylton 31). The door had been open for the Liberals because the economic foundation of the Conservative party had declined, although they still had the blessings of the Catholic Church (32). Since then, these two parties have fought for power. But no matter who was in power, the Catholic Church still remained a force of authority. In the film, religion is an authoritative force in the structure of their lives. Both Fernando and Alexis, even though they live lives contrary to the conventional, they have complete reverence to the church, but most reverence, as seen in any Latin American culture, goes to La Virgen, or the Virgin Mary.

After the murder of Gaitan in 1948, the struggle for power took on a bloody phase in what is called La Violencia from 1946-57 (36). The Liberals resorted to the police, who would join the reputation of most Latin American countries in becoming corrupt. Once Laureano Gomez of the extreme wing of the Conservative party comes to power, he pushed political terror to unthinkable levels. By the mid-twentieth century, Colombians cannot turn to their police or their government to establish peace. Corruption in all levels leads to the rise of guerilla groups such as the FARC, EPL, and M-19 (71).  The unorganized and weak function of the government gave power to the mafia in the 80's (68). Pablo Escobar was made an alternate Liberal deputy in Congress after cocaine had surpassed coffee as the main export (68).  Ricardo Vargas used Escobar’s mafia power in modern Colombia to understand the politics of the time. To Vargas, the mafia was not a formal organization, but a form of behavior and a mode of power. His interpretation was that these mafia groups believed that they, as individual agents, could protect their selves and their assets better than the government could. Not all the violence in the film was directly related to Escobar, but corruption as state and local level produced the violent nature of modern Medellin.

Cocaine Cowboys

In the film, Cocaine Cowboys, Miami in the 1950s and 1960s was a place for seniors to roam the beaches. However, in just a couple of years, Miami would be the most dangerous place in the world due to the influx of immigrants participating in the Medellin drug cartel. In the short years that the drug cartel controlled Miami, the drug trade went through three stages. The first was the initial stages of development- distribution and the loose network that ran the distribution. The second was complete rise of the drug cartel in the 1980s. Finally, the intervention of higher authority on the violence of the cartel lead to the final stage of the drug trade in Miami. While the infiltration of the drug trade in the U.S. came and went rather quickly, drug cartels had been undergoing these stages in the Andean region long before it infiltrated the city of Miami.

Fortune magazine, the cocaine trade is “probably the fastest growing and unquestionably most profitable” in the world (Youngers 120).

In Youngers’s article Collateral Damage, the focus is the effect of U.S. intervention of the drug trade. How was it that the U.S. would interfere in a South American problem? The first stage is development.  The presence of cocaine on American soil originates in the Andean region (Youngers 127). In 1947, a new organization of drug traffickers evolved in the Andean region called “narcoraficantes” (Gootenberg 133). It was in the Andean region that the various groups came together and “invented new tools of the trade” beginning in Peru (Gootenberg 133).  The second stage is the rise of a powerful new force. Once it spread to other South American countries, in 1959, the cocaine drug trade became a more “systematic, growing” process (Gootenberg). Larger organizations sprung up in Latin American countries and soon formed into drug mafias. In Colombia, the infamous Medellin cartel was one of the evolutions. In the development of the drug trade in Miami, the Medellin cartel was fundamental. At the height of the drug trade in 1980s Miami, the decadence of violence was excessive, even more threatening than the notorious Italian mafia.

The final stage is the aftermath. Once violence reached an unprecedented level, governments finally took measures to reduce the influence of their pertinent drug cartels. In Bolivia, the government’s efforts to eradicate the trade worked; however, the eradication, simultaneously, destroyed the local economy (Youngers 125). In Colombia, the drug trade sustained the economy. In the U.S the government developed the “Andean Strategy” (Youngers 129). They increased funding of the local law enforcement and military anti-drug activities both domestically and abroad (Youngers 130). However, U.S. intervention in the international drug trade has given rise to "counter insurgency" with groups such as the FARC in Colombia (Youngers 145). The combined efforts led to the dismantling of the Medellin cartel in the 1990s. However, Youngers phrases it as “like a balloon.” Because squeezing it in one area, causes it to pop up in another area (Youngers 127).

batucada in the carnaval de Rio de Janeiro

Cidade de Deus

Favelas in Rio de Janeiro today do not differ than the favelas presented in the film Cidade de Deus, set in 1960 and 70s Brazil. Even today, some favelas still do not have access to electricity and running water. The film follows Buscape, an aspiring young photographer living in the favela called Cidade de Deus. What makes his unique is that he uses journalism as his escape from the danger of living amongst a gang dominated favela. The critically acclaimed film won international acclaim because of its creative cinematic elements.

The acting is notable in that most of the actors endured year-long training (Hart 206). Some of the actors, Alexandre Rodrigues (Buscape) and Leandro Firmino (Ze Pequeno), are actually from the real Cidade de Deus. Hart mentions the reality of the film with the recreation of dangerous shoot out scenes, however; they did not shoot the film in the real Cidade de Deus, because it was too dangerous, consequently, they shot in a nearby favela.

What is real to both the fictitious and the real favela residents is poverty. First, City of God is a story of structure and agency. And secondly, it’s a story about being Brazilian in Cidade de Deus. Buscape rises from his criminal surrounding and becomes a straight-laced journalist. However, nearly all his childhood friends become involved in a criminal life. The structure of City of God perhaps allowed the growth of violence. Favelas are shantytowns composed of people that work and live even below the working class (Pino 21). The bourgeoisie benefitted from the work of the people from the favelas (18). The influx of jobless farmers provided temporary work instead of formal elongated work bound to contracts (18). The favela worker thus becomes a “sub proletariat” (18). Pino defines a sub proletariat as a temporary worker that reduces costs of the reproduction. With such a low standard of living and temporary jobs, what future does a young kid from an opportunity-less environment suppose to do with his time? In the City of God, the Tender Trio stole for the community that lacked basic resources; in return, the community protected them from the police. Crime and lower class neighborhood are often fixed side by side. This favela was predominantly African American; however, people of different ethnic groups were present. Unlike American ghettos, favelas were never intentionally racially segregated (Oliveira 76). Race was not a debilitating factor for social mobility in Buscape’s story. He finds a professional passion after encountering the media photographing Shaggy’s body. Having a brother that was a hoodlum, friends that met their end because of a hoodlum life, and surrounded by the gang wars, Buscape could not bring himself to becoming part of a gang.

Being Brazilian in the Cidade de Deus meant experiencing the wave of industrialization and the consequence of urbanization after World War II (Pino 18). The film shows this through the flashbacks. First, Buscape remembers the Sixties when he was a kid. Cidade de Deus was a small establishment, but then a few years later, Cidade de Deus has expanded exponentially. Being Brazilian, the experience of religion runs deep within the culture, with Brazil being a traditionally Catholic nation. Religion is a silent presence. The city is called City of God; ironically, it is a playground for notorious gangs. It is also ironic that religion would protect Aligate, a member of Tender Trio, as he walks to the church right beside the police. The gang also prays before going into the final war. When Ze Pequeno breaks the rule from the Shaman, his infallibility dissipates.

In sum, being Brazilian means a mix of religions, races, and cultures. All these differences are not divided but have become a part of life in places such favelas. The film does not present race as an issue. The issue at hand was lack of positive opportunities for the children in the favelas.

Che

In the 2008 film Che, historically, Ernesto Guevara and Fidel Castro meet in Mexico, in July of 1955. In a private meeting enjoying the balcony air, Ernesto agrees to aid Fidel overthrow the Batista regime. Even though he agrees to join him, Guevara calls him a little crazy. But Ernesto has conditions, that Fidel helps him bring the revolution to Latin American countries. Fidel equally retorts that Che is a little crazy too. A few months later, Guevara sails on a yacht called the “Granma,” heading toward Cuba from Mexico. Had this meeting not occurred that night in Mexico, Guevara would have perhaps never become a Cuban citizen. But before that, he was one of the revolutionaries that brought the political and economical change that inundated the streets of Cuba.

It all began in Mexico. This time for Che, is similar to the silence before a storm. It is a different Guevara than before as a medical student and what he will become- a martyred revolutionary. His biographer describes Che during this time as “disengaged” (Zolov 9). He left Guatemala after a failed attempt for a Guatemalan revolution. Roots for his hatred of American imperialism were stemmed from his experience there. It is there he discovers the “connection between U. S. imperialism and reactionary politics” (Zolov 5). The Guatemalan president, Arbenz, faced the threat of a U.S. invasion, but American leaders explained his resignation as another victory over Communism (Zolov 6). Subsequently, Nixon toured Mexico to increase Latin American sentiment of the U.S. (Zolov 7).  Mexico was now an American ally and an “outlet for U.S. capital,” contradicting the revolutionary ideology that condemned foreign involvement partly responsible for the Mexican revolution just a few decades ago.

This growing anti-U.S. sentiment along with marital discontent led Che to join the revolutionary effort proposed by Fidel Castro. Part one of the Che film focuses on Che’s life as a guerilla fighter. The audience sees him struggle with asthma attacks yet sneak through the jungle and streets of Cuba. He credits victory to the efforts of everyone, not solely him. He believed guerrilla warfare was a people’s warfare so the revolution came from the people.

By the time Cuba is liberated from Batista, Che had fully developed thoughts on the American imperialism. In his message to the Tricontinental, he expresses the consequences of American imperialism in North and South Korea and Vietnam. His final judgment was that U.S. imperialism was “guilty of aggression” whose “crimes are enormous and cover the whole world.” His solution: a socialist revolution in the countries that the U.S. extracts resources from, and not just any socialist revolution. To Che, the only effective political change could be brought about only through a violent revolution led by people capable of emancipating those who could not emancipate themselves (Drinot 14). El Che died in 1967, bringing revolution to those who could not emancipate themselves.