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---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 19:46:48 -0800 From: Mexico Solidarity Network <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Mexico Solidarity Network Email List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: MSN News &Analysis, March 6-12, 2006 MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK MEXICO NEWS AND ANALYSIS MARCH 6-12, 2006 1. OTHER CAMPAIGN CALLS FOR MARCH 15 ACTIONS AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY 2. HISTORIC DEMONSTRATION IN CHICAGO 3. MOST HUMAN TRAFFICKERS BASED IN US 4. EXIT POLL SHOWS GAINS FOR PRD IN MEXICO STATE 5. CRIMINAL CHARGES PART OF LABOR STRUGGLE 6. BANKS POST RECORD PROFITS 7. THE DEPTH OF CYNICISM IN PUEBLA 8. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS, Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] 1. OTHER CAMPAIGN CALLS FOR MARCH 15 ACTIONS AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY The Other Campaign called for nationwide actions on March 15, the International Day Against Police Brutality. Adherents to the Other Campaign are encouraged to organize local actions and to send descriptions of police brutality to www.enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx. Marcos continued to speak before large crowds and meet with dozens of supporting organizations in Hidalgo, Guanajuato and Queretaro. On March 8, International Women's Day, Marcos hosted a two-hour live broadcast from the university radio station in Queretaro. 2. HISTORIC DEMONSTRATION IN CHICAGO Upwards of 150,000 - some claim as many as 250,000 - gathered in downtown Chicago on Friday for a massive peaceful demonstration supporting immigrant rights, marking the largest demonstration in the history of Chicago. Subway trains were delayed up to two hours by the massive turnout, which included Mexican, Polish and Asian immigrants. Sensing the groundswell of support for immigrant rights, most major Illinois politicians turned out, including Mayor Daley, Governor Blagojevich, Sen. Durkin and Rep. Gutierrez. Marchers called for defeat of the Sensenbrenner Bill (HR4437), which would make undocumented status a felony and impose stiff penalties on immigrants and employers. The bill will be debated in the Senate this month. 3. MOST HUMAN TRAFFICKERS BASED IN US Seventy percent of "polleros" (human traffickers who smuggle undocumented immigrants across the US border) are US citizens, according to evidence collected during an eight month bi-national enforcement program dubbed Operation Oasis. The latest suspects are two US Border Patrol supervisors who reportedly received US$300,000 in bribes to release smugglers and undocumented migrants from custody. Polleros typically charge about US$2,000 to smuggle undocumented Mexicans, and much more - up to US$25,000 - for migrants from Central and South America. 4. EXIT POLL SHOWS GAINS FOR PRD IN MEXICO STATE An exit poll at voting booths throughout Mexico State by the Covarrubias firm on Sunday showed the PRI winning by a small margin with 34.5%, with the PRD following closely at 33.5% and the PAN trailing with 26.4%. If the results stand up, it may offer the first evidence of long coattails for leading PRD presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Mexico State, with a population of 13 million, is a traditional PRI stronghold and the biggest prize in July's presidential elections. In recent elections for Governor, the PRI won handily with 34.24% compared to 28.55% for the PAN and 24.07% for the PRD. Sunday's vote included mayoralities and local legislative seats. 5. CRIMINAL CHARGES PART OF LABOR STRUGGLE More than 20,000 union workers, including miners, electrical workers and telephone workers, marched on Tuesday, calling for the Secretary of Labor to resign. A coalition of labor groups, organized under the Solidarity Front in Defense of National Unions, called on the Fox administration to stop meddling in the internal affairs of unions. Labor leaders are upset that the Secretary of Labor Francisco Salazar Saenz recently stepped into a closely contested election and approved a new president for the mineworkers union. Then the Fox administration began prosecuting the former head of the union for misuse of US$55 million in union funds, apparently an effort to draw attention away from the administration's own mishandling of a recent mine explosion that resulted in 65 deaths. Private industry groups are strongly supporting the Fox initiatives in hopes that organized labor will be weakened. The federal Attorney General turned up evidence of a US$3 million mansion owned by Napoleon Gomez Urrutia, the deposed head of the mineworkers union, and bank accounts apparently demonstrate misuse of millions of dollars in union funds. Even AFL-CIO president John Sweeney weighed in with a letter to Fox, expressing "concern over the direct intervention of the Mexican government in the internal affairs" of the mineworkers union. No one appears to have clean hands in this sordid affair that pits an anti-labor PAN administration against a corrupt union leader. Millions of workers are likely to suffer the political fallout. 6. BANKS POST RECORD PROFITS Three foreign owned banks posted record profits in 2005 after receiving huge payouts from the Fox administration, part of the controversial Fobaproa bank rescue program. Banamex, owned by Citigroup, posted profits of US$1.5 billion, an increase of 462% over 2004. The Spanish-owned Bancomer, which closed Zapatista bank accounts last year without explanation, posted record earnings of US$1.3 billion, an increase of 165% over the previous year. 7. THE DEPTH OF CYNICISM IN PUEBLA On Wednesday, Puebla Governor Mario Marin announced the creation of a special prosecutor to investigate child abuse and child sex crimes. The "Gober Preciosa" is infamous for recent taped telephone calls with Kamel Nacif, a Puebla businessman, in which he agreed to have author Lydia Cacho arrested in exchange for two bottles of cognac. Cacho had recently published a book accusing Nacif of participation in a child sex ring. She was arrested in Cancun, then driven more than 24 hours to a prison cell in Puebla. During the taped phone calls, which were released to the press, Marin and Nacif joked about subjecting Cacho to rape while in prison. 8. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS, Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] March 12-24, 2006: Women Confronting Globalization Tour: Militarization, Human Rights and Fair Trade Tour in PA, NY, NJ and Canada. March 26 - April 8, 2006: Women Confronting Globalization: Militarization, Human Rights and Fair Trade Tour in MN, IA, NE, KS, and OK. April 2 - 14, 2006: Women Confronting Globalization: Militarization, Human Rights and Fair Trade Tour in the Southeast. April 17 - May 1, 2006: The Politics of Immigration: Addressing Root Causes and Preventing Further Criminalization in MN, WI, IL, IN, MI and MO. April 24 - May 3, 2006: Immigrant Rights: Ex-Bracero Tour in DC, MD, VA, NC, and SC. May 28 - July 8, 2006: Summer Study Abroad Program: Earn 8 credits studying Mexican social movements in the context of the upcoming Mexican presidential election. Alternative Economy Internships - Develop markets for artisanry produced by women's cooperatives in Chiapas and make public presentations on the struggle for justice and dignity in Zapatista communities. Interns are currently active in Fort Collins, OR; Spokane, WA; Alexandria, VA; Grand Haven, MI; Chico, CA; Sacramento, CA; Stonington, ME; Lancaster, PA; St Paul, MN; Louisville, KY; San Francisco, CA; Turner, OR; Athens, GA; Chicago, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Guelph, Canada; Davis, CA; Tempe, AZ; and Madison, WI. ############################################################# Mexico Solidarity Network http://www.mexicosolidarity.org This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to the mailing list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. 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