Essential Afro-Latino/ Caribbean Current Events

[HiphopRelated]

...

 

[Uchiha God]

this shyt came across my TL

 

[loyola llothta]

 

[loyola llothta]

Black Mexicans finally get respect and recognition from Mexico

March 11, 2019 at 05:00 pm | CULTURE

Support Pan-African Journalism

• You might have seen these photos and videos from the Ethiopian crash, they are FAKE
• Black Mexicans finally get respect and recognition from Mexico
• How Michael Jackson struggled with vitiligo and turned white
• Five black-friendly European countries where you will have no worries

Afro-Mexicans -- Photo: mexiconewsdaily.com
Afro-Mexicans have been in the North American country since the 16th century but are now getting respect from the Mexican government which just created the Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas – National Institute of Indigenous Peoples – to recognize the rights of indigenous groups.

Black Mexicans were only recognised for the first time in 2015 when the Mexican government conducted its national survey and counted about 1.38 million people of African descent (about 1.2% of the country’s population).


The Afro-Mexicans have been invisible in the country for too long but with the new institute created by the Mexican Senate, Black Mexicans and other indigenous groups will be consulted by the government on matters affecting them.

It reflects “respect and autonomy for indigenous groups, and strengthening of their cultures and identities, rather than a mere focus on inequality and social exclusion as had previously taken place,” reports Atlanta Black Star.

In August 2018, the neglect faced by Black Mexicans was the focus of the country’s first-ever all-black film, La Negrada (Black Mexicans), directed by Jorge Pérez Solano, one of Mexico’s biggest filmmakers.

The story follows the lives of two Afro-Mexican women, Juana and Magdalena, who are romantically involved with the same man called Neri.

It starts off with a Mexican immigration officer asking one of the protagonists “You are not Mexican, right?’ just because she is black.

What makes the film refreshing is that it features non-professional actors and is shot in Costa Chica, a region in Oaxaca with one of the biggest populations of black Mexicans.

Although the Afro-Mexicans have been featured in documentaries, this film is a fiction piece that captures the daily lives of Mexicans and the subtle and overt racism they go through. It further gives a glimpse of the music and natural background that adds flavour to their experience.

Before 2015, Mexico and Chile were the only Latin American countries that did not officially count the people of African descent in their surveys. Many lauded the move by Mexico at the time while others felt that it had been long overdue.

Afro-Mexicans are the descendants of enslaved African people brought into the country in the 16th and 17th century. The indigenous communities in Mexico reduced drastically at this time because of diseases.

The shortage of labour saw slaves from Africa brought in: estimates indicate 200,000 slaves arrived in the country. They were forced to work in plantations in the South and underground mines in the North. Mexico had a larger African slave population in the early 1600s than any other country in the Americas.

Most of them tried to escape the horrendous experience and ended up in the mountainous region of Mexico where they hid in caves and jungles. One such community was established in the state of Veracruz in 1570 by former slave Gaspar Yanga, who dared to revolt against the Spaniards.

The statue of Gaspar Yanga…Wikipedia
The Afro-Mexicans of that time were quite instrumental in the development of Mexico. From music to the arts, they formed the fabric of Mexican culture.

Politically, Mexico’s second president was a black man called Vicente Guerrero, who abolished slavery in the country in 1829.

Vicente Guerrero
Most of the freed slaves then intermarried with the indigenous community, raising children known as “mulattos,” “pardos,” or “zambos.

In 1781, Mexicans of African descent helped established Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Pobladores, or “townspeople,” were a group of 44 settlers and four soldiers from Mexico who came from various Spanish castes, with over half of the group being of African descent.

Governor of Las Californias, a Spanish-owned region, Felipe de Neve called on 11 families to help build the new city in the region by recruiting them from Sonora and Sinaloa, Mexico. According to a census record taken at the time, there were two persons of African ancestry, eight Spanish and Black persons, and nine American Indians. There was also one Spanish and Indian person, with the rest being Spaniards.

In Los Angeles, the El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Historic Park honoured the pobladores in the 1950s with a plaque, but it was mysteriously removed. In a Los Angeles Times report, it was suggested that the removal of the plaque was racially motivated. However, in 1981 during the city’s bicentennial, the plaque was replaced.

While a lot of modern people are inclined to believe that the Afro-Mexican population declined over the years, statistics indicate that the population ranges between two per cent and eight per cent of the Mexican population. However, these blacks still suffer from discrimination in their home country.

Not only are they deported to other Latin American countries because the police believe there are no black people in Mexico, they are also living in abject poverty.

It is such incidents and lack of recognition by the Mexican government that forced a number of Afro-Mexican activists to rally behind such recognition.

México Negro, a rights group formed in 1997, is seeking for the constitutional recognition of Afro-Mexicans and the increased visibility of Afro-Mexican culture.

Such recognition has taken too long for various reasons including the feeling that mestizo identity (the mix between indigenous people and Europeans) is a better term than breaking down groups into ethnicity.

The lack of recognition of the community has limited them from advancing their own agenda including socio-political and economic survival.

Some Afro-Mexicans have turned to music and dance to express themselves and stay true to their African roots. One of such groups is the dance troupe in the southern state of Oaxaca, known as Obatala. They have been touring different parts of the state of Oaxaca creating awareness around their ancestral African heritage with their energetic and unique African dances.

The Afro-Mexican dance group identifies itself with a popular Yoruba deity called Obatala, which is believed to be the oldest of gods generally referred to as Orisas in Nigeria.

Obatala, which is always adorned in white, is also said to be the father of many other Orisas. While this god is synonymous with the Yoruba community in Nigeria, he is also very popular in Latin America.

Black Mexicans finally get respect and recognition from Mexico - Face2Face Africa

 

[loyola llothta]

Amid Surge in Neoliberalism, Oil Giants Prey on Latin America

Latin American region is becoming a major investment place for oil and gas companies thanks to a favorable neoliberal environment.

Oil companies see Latin America as a major investment destination. The British Petroleum Company (BP) and the Norwegian multinational energy company, Equinor, announced this week that Latin America was going to be a significant source of the new hydrocarbon production over the coming decade.

Equinor expects that 30 percent of its oil output will come from the region by 2030. The two companies are seeking to develop their position in diverse areas such as mining, oil and gas exploitation, and renewable energy.

“If you have strategic clarity, you have to hibernate sometimes in these (Latin American) countries to wait for the right time to grow,” said Luis Gustavo Baquero, Equinor’s technology vice president. “We can’t put in the same bag all Latin American countries regarding institutionally,” he added.

Recently, in Colombia, the energy and petrochemical company Shell signed two exploration and production contracts with President Ivan Duque’s right-wing government. Contracts are aimed at enabling the group to explore offshore areas of the Caribbean Sea and will require the company to make initial investments of US$100 million.

BP’s Latin America regional president, Felipe Arbelaez, said that Argentina had a great potential to become an oil exporter as a result of the giant Vaca Muerta formation, one of the largest non-conventional oil and gas formations in the world found of the last several years.

“I sense that companies are redirecting more money into liquids from gas with promising results,” Arbelaez said. “The greater challenges for Argentina are macroeconomic stability.”

Within five years, Argentina is planning to double production, courting private investment as it aims to pump 260 million cubic metres of gas daily, Reuters press agency reported.

In order to facilitate the exploitation of giant Vaca Muerta formation, the President of the Argentine's neliberal government, Mauricio Macri, reviewed in 2017 the Collective Labor Agreement about unconventional gas extraction in order to boost the "efficiency and productivity", he said.

Oil companies are often accused of violating international human rights law and the human rights of their workers. In February 2019, Shell's systematic practice of violating human rights was denounced in a written statement from the United Nations Human Rights Council.

link:
Amid Surge in Neoliberalism, Oil Giants Prey on Latin America

 

[Nintendough]

Black Mexicans finally get respect and recognition from Mexico

March 11, 2019 at 05:00 pm | CULTURE

Support Pan-African Journalism

• You might have seen these photos and videos from the Ethiopian crash, they are FAKE
• Black Mexicans finally get respect and recognition from Mexico
• How Michael Jackson struggled with vitiligo and turned white
• Five black-friendly European countries where you will have no worries

Afro-Mexicans -- Photo: mexiconewsdaily.com
Afro-Mexicans have been in the North American country since the 16th century but are now getting respect from the Mexican government which just created the Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas – National Institute of Indigenous Peoples – to recognize the rights of indigenous groups.



Black Mexicans finally get respect and recognition from Mexico - Face2Face Africa

Its crazy how many black people are in Mexico and are hidden. Travel down the coast of Mexico and thats where most of the nikkas are. We all up in there.

 

[Bawon Samedi]

Interesting.

 

[Bawon Samedi]

@loyola llothta @CubanVoodooBreh Cuba wants to morph into the China of the Caribbean and that would be GOOD.

 

[loyola llothta]

@loyola llothta @CubanVoodooBreh Cuba wants to morph into the China of the Caribbean and that would be GOOD.

I hope its good for cuba

 

[Bawon Samedi]

I hope its good for cuba

if its GOOD for Cuba its gonna be GOOD for the rest of the Caribbean especially the oil thing. Lets just hope the USA doesnt sabotage shyt. Because I think @ZoeGod said they threatened Cuba last time they wanted to drill for oil.

 

[Cuban Pete]

if its GOOD for Cuba its gonna be GOOD for the rest of the Caribbean especially the oil thing. Lets just hope the USA doesnt sabotage shyt. Because I think @ZoeGod said they threatened Cuba last time they wanted to drill for oil.

They did. New constitution imposes term limits on the president and creates a prime minister too so the US cant use the dictatorship excuse anymore. Not much differencr between a one party system and a two party system imo

 

[loyola llothta]

if its GOOD for Cuba its gonna be GOOD for the rest of the Caribbean especially the oil thing. Lets just hope the USA doesnt sabotage shyt. Because I think @ZoeGod said they threatened Cuba last time they wanted to drill for oil.

i know the US was doing something about Cuba but i forgot the new operation

but here some good news on Cuba

40 new hotels under construction in Cuba, which will give 18,000 more hotel rooms. This country expects 5.1 million tourists and more than 3 billion dollars in tourism turnover in 2019. Cuba has become the great competitor of the Rep. Dominican.

 

[Bawon Samedi]

They did. New constitution imposes term limits on the president and creates a prime minister too so the US cant use the dictatorship excuse anymore. Not much differencr between a one party system and a two party system imo

Good. They should have a political party similar the one in China. However, I know China wants to make Xi Jinping president for life. But yea, this will KILL the dictator talking points. But what I also like is that Cuba will open up its markets which is needed for growing economically. Especially since the USA been waging economic war in you guys.

i know the US was doing something about Cuba but i forgot the new operation

but here some good news on Cuba

NICE!

 

[Bawon Samedi]

And speaking more about Cuba.


Found this interesting. And of course some Dominicans in the comments hating.

No offense to Dominicans on here but Cubans seen to be closer blood brothers to Haitians than the people next door.

 

[loyola llothta]

The US Revisits the Cold War Era in Its Stance on Cuba. Enacting Title III of the Helms-Burton Act
March 16, 2019

A number of recent speeches by US President Donald Trump have featured Cold War Era rhetoric, including the claim that in ‘the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country’. This statement was made in the State of the Union Address, in which Trump also claimed that socialist policies have failed in Venezuela, transforming it from ‘the wealthiest in South America into a state of abject poverty and despair.’In a subsequent speech, delivered in Miami on February 18, 2019, Trump called Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a ‘Cuban puppet’ and stated that ‘the Venezuelan military are risking their lives, and Venezuela’s future, for a man controlled by the Cuban military and protected by a private army of Cuban soldiers.’ He went on to proclaim that ‘The twilight hour of socialism has arrived in our hemisphere, and frankly in many, many places around the world. The days of socialism and communism are numbered not only in Venezuela but in Nicaragua and in Cuba as well.’

Many key members of the Trump administration promote the view that ‘Cuba is the true imperialist power in Venezuela.’ Among the leading players in the current anti-communist and neo-imperialist crusade being perpetrated by the US government include: current US vice-president Mike Pence; Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State since April 26, 2018; Florida Senator Marco Rubio[ii]; John Bolton[iii], National Security Advisor since April 9, 2018; Mauricio Claver-Carone[iv], senior director of the National Security Council’s Western Hemisphere affairs division since fall 2018; Elliot Abrams[v], Special Representative for Venezuela since January 25, 2019; and, Mark Andrew Green, Administrator of USAID since August 7, 2017. All of them are well-known for holding strong anti-Castro views, opposing the Obama administration’s engagement with Cuba, and being proponents of aggressive regime change strategies in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

US hostility towards Cuba has been ramped up during the Trump Presidency, as travel and trade restrictions previously lifted by the Obama administration have been reinstated based on the premise that these policies only benefited Cuba’s despotic and oppressive regime while ignoring the needs of ordinary Cubans. Under the Obama agreement, diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba were officially normalized on December 17, 2014. Additionally, a number of trade and travel agreements were signed between the two countries, including contracts for business deals between Havana and 60 American companies. These measures contributed a 60% increase in American tourism to the island between 2014 and 2016. However, actions taken by the Trump administration have reversed much of this progress by making it more difficult for Americans to visit Cuba and prohibiting commerce with Cuban businesses. In November 2017, the US Department of State webpage listed 180 ‘entities’ in Cuba with whom financial business would be immediately forbidden[vi]. Approximately twelve months later, on November 14 2018, 26 new entities in Cuba were added to the list[vii].

On November 1, 2018, National Security Adviser John Bolton[viii]announced Washington’s intention to activate Title III of the Helms-Burton Act[ix](also known as the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act of 1996), which was passed in 1996 with the intent of strengthening the embargo against the Castro government. The Helms-Burton Act consists of four specific titles designed to extend the original commercial, economic, and financial embargo against Cuba in an effort to discourage non-US companies from investing in the country. Title I is a clause permitting the ‘enforcement of the economic embargo of Cuba’ through a variety of means including: ‘prohibition against indirect financing of Cuba’, ‘opposition to Cuban membership in international financial institutions’, and ‘opposition to termination of the suspension of the Cuban Government from participation in the Organization of American States’[x]. Title II calls for the provision of ‘assistance to a free and independent Cuba’, and advocates ‘policy toward a transition government and a democratically elected government in Cuba.’[xi]Meanwhile, Title IV allows for the ‘exclusion from the United States of aliens who have confiscated property of United States nationals or who traffic in such property.’[xii]

The most controversial provision of the Helms-Burton Act is Title III, which allows for the ‘protection of property rights of United States nationals.’ More specifically, it permits American citizens, including naturalized Cuban-Americans, to sue any foreign company conducting business that involves properties that were owned by American citizens before being confiscated by the Cuban socialist government after the 1959 Revolution. Shortly after its passage, the Helms-Burton Act was condemned by several countries with business interests on the island, as well as allies of Cuba, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the UK, and the European Union, which actually fileda complaint against the US with the World Trade Organization in 1996. ‘The WTO complaint against the U.S. raises a list of possible inconsistencies with various parts of the WTO treaty texts.’[xiii]Furthermore, officials from many countries declared that ‘the United States was unlawfully exercising its jurisdiction extraterritorially, in that it was threatening to punish lawful activity – trade, investment, and tourism – carried out by residents of, say, Canada or Great Britain with an independent country, Cuba.’[xiv]


Title III has never been enacted up to this point over concerns that it might alienate US allies with investments in Cuba. President Bill Clinton initially suspended Title III after the Helms-Burton Act was passed in 1996, and this suspension was renewed on a six month basis by every sitting President ever since, including President Trump during his first two years in office. However, it appears that long-standing tradition is about to change as, in November 2018, National Security Adviser John Bolton announced the Trump administration’s intention to activate Title III, stating: ‘This time, we’ll give it a very serious review.’ Subsequently, in mid-January 2019, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated that Washington would only suspend Title III for a period 45 days instead of the usual six months, meaning it could be enacted at the end of February 2019.

Then, on March 4,,2019, the Trump Administration announced that the full application of Title III would be suspended until April 17, but that lawsuits could be brought against approximately 200 Cuban state-owned businesses on Washington’s ‘black list’, beginning on March 19. Many of the entities included on the ‘black list’ have been operating as joint ventures with prominent foreign companies like British tobacco giant Imperial Brands, French beverage-maker Pernod-Ricard, and many Spanish-owned hotel and resort companies like Meliá Hotels International, Memories Resorts & Spa, Ocean by H10 Hotels, and Iberostar Hotels & Resorts.

In addition to activating Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, National Security Adviser Bolton also recently announced that further sanctions would be placed against Cuba, and that the island nation would once again be added to the US list of state sponsors of international terrorism[xv], having been removed in 2015 as part of the deal to re-establish diplomatic relations with the US. These efforts on the part of the Trump administration represent a continuation of the long-standing US foreign policy stance towards Cuba, which aims to destabilize and directly impact the island’s struggling economy and create desperation and hardship among ordinary Cubans to encourage them to overthrow their socialist government.

In response to the aggressive and provocative statements and actions of the Trump administration, Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, stated that Cubans ‘vigorously reject this new provocation, meddling, threatening and bullying, in violation of international law.’ Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez, also characterized the Trump policies towards Cuba as a provocation and describing the US stance as ‘irresponsible hostility aimed at hardening the blockade on Cuba.’

The application of Title III will likely engender tensions between Washington and some of its allies in Canada, Europe, Latin American and the Caribbean. However, while this course of action will reverse the recent progress in Cuba-US relations, harm Cuba’s economy, and exacerbate hardships faced by ordinary Cubans, it will not facilitate the destruction of the socialist government. Washington has been trying to destroy Cuba’s socialist regime for six decades through a variety of tactics including the funding Cuban exiles to organize terrorist attacks and sabotage the island’s economy, and through CIA efforts to assassinate Fidel Castro. However, Cuban socialism has withstood these efforts while achieving a number of impressive accomplishments, including ‘attaining full employment, providing universal health care services and universal access to free education, and achieving higher life expectancy, lower child mortality, lower child malnutrition, and lower poverty rates compared to any other Latin American country… In addition to its success in areas of human development, Cuba has also been active in providing practical foreign aid in the form of sending highly-trained specialists, such as teachers, doctors, and engineers, to developing countries where they are needed.’[xvi]There is no reason to believe that the Trump administration’s newly rediscovered anti-communism and anti-Cuba vision will produce a different result.

Why have American presidents have been so aggressive in targeting Cuba for the last sixty years? According to Fidel Castro (1995), its ‘Because no other country has done more for its people. It’s the hatred of the ideas that Cuba represents.’

Perhaps Washington is threatened by the possibility that the success of socialism in Cuba might lead to the popularization of the idea that workable alternatives to free-market capitalism actually exist. This could explain why the US has been actively sabotaging efforts on the part of countries like Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, among many others, to achieve more egalitarian societies, limit the power of corporations, and prioritize the common good and well-being of their people.

Despite their lofty rhetoric, the neo-imperialist ambitions of American leaders are not concerned with the well-being, freedom, or human rights of Cubans, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, ‘What they want is to exploit the natural resources of…countries and exploit the peoples’ (Castro, Fidel 2007). However, ‘Washington cannot tell the American people that the real purpose of its gargantuan military expenditures and belligerent interventions is to make the world safe for General Motors, General Electric, General Dynamics, and all the other generals’ (Parenti, Michael 1995).

Copyright © Dr. Birsen Filip, Global Research, 2019