It is amazing to see what money can do to a country. In the film Our Brand Is Crisis, a documentary film directed by Rachel Boynton, money plays a key role in the political issues. The documentary follows Goni, a Latino who was raised in the United States now running for his second presidency in Bolivia. During Goni’s first term he transitioned the country into a capitalist economy. His country needed money and foreign investors were willing to invest in the cheap labor and resources that were made available to them. Unfortunately, the people of Bolivia did not feel like Goni delivered the results he promised. Goni decides that he will run again, and he employs the help of an American marketing team.
James M. Cypher states in his article “The Slow Death of the Washington Consensus in Latin America” that “Increasing poverty, stagnant or falling real wages, and a further and steady widening of the distribution of income in virtually every nation has also become the omnipresent and largely ignored social context of the neoliberal era” (Cypher 47). In the film, during his first term, Goni set up a capitalist economy that encouraged foreign investment which brought more money into the country. The money did not benefit all people and caused some to lose jobs. The foreign investment in labor caused the government to keep labor wages low in order to keep investors interested.John Charles Chasteen states that “low labor costs constitute the maquiladoras’ main reason for being in Latin America. So neoliberal governments try to hold wages down, even as food and transportation subsidies are withdrawn from the poor” (Chasteen 315). It is amazing that government leaders chose to make decisions that were not in the best interest of the people. The leaders assumed that “all capital inflows are equally good,” regardless of the consequences (Cypher 49).The maquiladora type plants were key to the areas success in creating investment, but in some areas there was the threat of companies seeking out Asian options instead. This is similar to Goni’s decision to trade gas with Chile instead of what the Bolivian people wanted.
The marketing agency that was helping Goni in his election seem to have had the best interest of Bolivia in their plan. Unfortunately Goni was a man who did what he had to do to get elected and then decided what was best in his mind. Capitalism works very well in the United States because of the economic stability there is here. In many Latin American economies the government is trying to fund the country by incurring large amounts of debt which leaves the country dependent on investments that are not always in the best interest of the people. This makes the people very bitter towards the foreign investors. In John Perkins “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man,” Perkins states that “Like U.S. citizens in general most MIAN employees believed we were doing countries favors when we built power plants, highways, and ports. … Over the years I have heard comments like, ‘If they are going to burn the U.S. flag and demonstrate against our embassy, why don’t we just get out of their damn country and let them wallow in their own poverty?’” (Perkins 19). This quote ultimately sums up the issues at hand: a government in need of funds and foreign investors willing to invest, unfortunately the people are not happy with the results of the economy. What is a democracy without its people?
Ultimately it seems like the people of Latin America are screwed. Their government cannot help them because their economy is not stable, and there is no monetary solution for the countries who have incurred billions of dollars (well pesos) in debt. The title of the film, and the campaign slogan is rightly named, crisis is the name of the game.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
La Virgen de los Sicarios
La Virgen de los Sicarios, directed by Barbet Schroeder, is a film that portrays a society that is controlled by the success of the gangs involved in the cocaine business. The film takes place in Medellin which is one of the cocaine capitols in South America. The film stars Fernando, a writer, who returns to his hometown of Medellin to die, and Alexis who is a hit man for one of the gangs within Medellin. The story ends in tragedy because of the violence that is caused by the gangs in the film.
Ricardo Vargas wrote in his paper titled State, Espirit Mafioso, and Armed Conflict, that “The mafia is a medieval sentiment that arises from a belief that an individual can be assured the protection and integrity of their person and property through their own worth and influence, independent of the actions of the authorities or the law” (Vargas 108). This quote ties to the characters of Alexis and Wilmar in the film. Both Alexis and Wilmar rely upon themselves to live another day. Both boys will kill anyone that stands in the way of each of them finishing the job at hand. The job at hand, although not necessarily violent, can become violent at any point in time. Vargas also states that “to achieve success in life, one must have the valor to oppose authority and if necessary the law, or at least support those who can do so and not suffer formal legal consequences” (Vargas 108). This rings true in the film. Alexis governs his own life by killing anyone who does not agree with the philosophy that he has been raised upon. From the encounter Fernando has when he sees a man shot for not turning over his keys, to the killings of innocent people like Alexis and Wilmar, there are no authority figures upholding the laws that would protect the average citizen of Medellin. This is an issue because the lack of a presence of law enforcement leads to more violence. “The lack of legitimate institutions to resolve conflicts and the fact that many of those involved in the drug trade came from lower class sectors previously denied access to the regions sources of wealth led to an unprecedented wave of violence” (Vargas 113). Cocaine is a profitable business, and many people jumped at the chance to get a piece of the pie. Alexis is a hired assassin for one of the main gangs in Medellin, and when the audience sees how his family lives, it is easy to see why someone would see a gang as an answer to prayer.
Vargas also details the issues with gang leaders. Often time they would run for political office. Often times winning. Thus placing these leaders in important positions where they are able to bypass normal laws in lieu of their “special circumstances.” Historically there were guerillas and insurgents that were fighting throughout Colombia as well. The guerillas job was to “overthrow Conservative government, not establish a new society” (Hylton 42). This plays a role in how the societies they created interacting with the guerrillas .
La Violencia was a time that created different norms. There were children walking around with “blessed bullets” and religious articles of jewelry when there were killlers around everywhere in the city.
Ultimately, La virgen de los Sicarios, exemplifies the gang life of those living in the city of Medellin.
Ricardo Vargas wrote in his paper titled State, Espirit Mafioso, and Armed Conflict, that “The mafia is a medieval sentiment that arises from a belief that an individual can be assured the protection and integrity of their person and property through their own worth and influence, independent of the actions of the authorities or the law” (Vargas 108). This quote ties to the characters of Alexis and Wilmar in the film. Both Alexis and Wilmar rely upon themselves to live another day. Both boys will kill anyone that stands in the way of each of them finishing the job at hand. The job at hand, although not necessarily violent, can become violent at any point in time. Vargas also states that “to achieve success in life, one must have the valor to oppose authority and if necessary the law, or at least support those who can do so and not suffer formal legal consequences” (Vargas 108). This rings true in the film. Alexis governs his own life by killing anyone who does not agree with the philosophy that he has been raised upon. From the encounter Fernando has when he sees a man shot for not turning over his keys, to the killings of innocent people like Alexis and Wilmar, there are no authority figures upholding the laws that would protect the average citizen of Medellin. This is an issue because the lack of a presence of law enforcement leads to more violence. “The lack of legitimate institutions to resolve conflicts and the fact that many of those involved in the drug trade came from lower class sectors previously denied access to the regions sources of wealth led to an unprecedented wave of violence” (Vargas 113). Cocaine is a profitable business, and many people jumped at the chance to get a piece of the pie. Alexis is a hired assassin for one of the main gangs in Medellin, and when the audience sees how his family lives, it is easy to see why someone would see a gang as an answer to prayer.
Vargas also details the issues with gang leaders. Often time they would run for political office. Often times winning. Thus placing these leaders in important positions where they are able to bypass normal laws in lieu of their “special circumstances.” Historically there were guerillas and insurgents that were fighting throughout Colombia as well. The guerillas job was to “overthrow Conservative government, not establish a new society” (Hylton 42). This plays a role in how the societies they created interacting with the guerrillas .
La Violencia was a time that created different norms. There were children walking around with “blessed bullets” and religious articles of jewelry when there were killlers around everywhere in the city.
Ultimately, La virgen de los Sicarios, exemplifies the gang life of those living in the city of Medellin.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Cocaine Cowboys
Cocaine Cowboys is a 2006 documentary that delves into the issues and aspects of cocaine trafficking from Medellin, Colombia to Miami, Florida. In Cocaine Cowboys, the first hand accounts given by the participants in the documentary seem hard to believe. The many people involved in the cocaine trafficking in America, particularly Florida, were ruthless, and they would stop at nothing to make their money. Money was the ultimate reward, and there was a lot of it to be made. John Roberts and Mickey Munday devised a plan to bring in cocaine themselves from Medellin, and what resulted from this is a very profitable business. The documentary also shows the intricacies involved in the shipping process to the coast of Florida. There are many issues that arise because of the popularity of cocaine in America. Trafficking becomes the biggest.
Because of the outbreak of drug trafficking in the United States, many presidents have either initiated or continued a war on drugs. These wars include pumping millions of dollars into the economies of Latin American countries in order to gain control of the coca producing and exporting groups. In Colletta A. Youngers’ article, Collateral Damage: The U.S. “War on Drugs” and Its Impact on Democracy in the Andes, Youngers states that “In short, several billion dollars have been allocated to Andean counter drug efforts in recent years. Yet there is hardly a dent in overall coca production, and cocaine… is just as cheap and readily available” (Youngers 131). Tons of taxpayer dollars were pumped into these countries in order to man military bases and to construct and operate attacks on coca distributors. Nothing seemed to work. The cocaine production industry was too profitable for anyone involved to stop their role in its production and transport. It also brings into question whether or not national government agencies were buying cocaine themselves in order to get a piece of the profits.
“Coca-growing regions have become a melting pot of people from all over Colombia: those fleeing right-wing paramilitary or leftist guerilla violence, peasants forced off their land, and young men with no prospects for employment in urban shantytowns” (Younger 144). Coca leaf farming created jobs for those who needed them and did not want to resort to the gangs of the shanty towns to survive. “The primary victims [of violence in Bolivia] are not drug traffickers but poor farmers who eke out a subsistence-level income through coca production” (Youngers 139). The popularity of cocaine only fueled the need for more coca production.
In Paul Gootenberg’s article, The “Pre-Colombian” Era of Drug Trafficking in the Americas: Cocaine 1945-1965, Gootenberg states that “Havana’s notorious gambling and pleasure clubs, and freewheeling prostitution industry, became the era’s pioneer test markets of cocaine” (Gootenberg 150). This was in the 1950’s, and from here the demand for cocaine grew, which again added to the increase and need of supply. The issue was that growing coca was not legal. “Illicit cocaine from overseas was born in Peru in 1947-50 with the suppression of a declining legal cocaine sector, and then pushed on to Bolivia, where the revolution progressively fostered cocaine’s development” (Gootenberg 172).
The documentary Cocaine Cowboys displayed the effects the cocaine had on an American society. Conveniently left out are the underlying issues that have been going on for years with the production and harvest of the product. Mentioned but very little is said about the war on drugs, and how it affected the people of Medellin and other cities heavily invested in the coca crop.
Because of the outbreak of drug trafficking in the United States, many presidents have either initiated or continued a war on drugs. These wars include pumping millions of dollars into the economies of Latin American countries in order to gain control of the coca producing and exporting groups. In Colletta A. Youngers’ article, Collateral Damage: The U.S. “War on Drugs” and Its Impact on Democracy in the Andes, Youngers states that “In short, several billion dollars have been allocated to Andean counter drug efforts in recent years. Yet there is hardly a dent in overall coca production, and cocaine… is just as cheap and readily available” (Youngers 131). Tons of taxpayer dollars were pumped into these countries in order to man military bases and to construct and operate attacks on coca distributors. Nothing seemed to work. The cocaine production industry was too profitable for anyone involved to stop their role in its production and transport. It also brings into question whether or not national government agencies were buying cocaine themselves in order to get a piece of the profits.
“Coca-growing regions have become a melting pot of people from all over Colombia: those fleeing right-wing paramilitary or leftist guerilla violence, peasants forced off their land, and young men with no prospects for employment in urban shantytowns” (Younger 144). Coca leaf farming created jobs for those who needed them and did not want to resort to the gangs of the shanty towns to survive. “The primary victims [of violence in Bolivia] are not drug traffickers but poor farmers who eke out a subsistence-level income through coca production” (Youngers 139). The popularity of cocaine only fueled the need for more coca production.
In Paul Gootenberg’s article, The “Pre-Colombian” Era of Drug Trafficking in the Americas: Cocaine 1945-1965, Gootenberg states that “Havana’s notorious gambling and pleasure clubs, and freewheeling prostitution industry, became the era’s pioneer test markets of cocaine” (Gootenberg 150). This was in the 1950’s, and from here the demand for cocaine grew, which again added to the increase and need of supply. The issue was that growing coca was not legal. “Illicit cocaine from overseas was born in Peru in 1947-50 with the suppression of a declining legal cocaine sector, and then pushed on to Bolivia, where the revolution progressively fostered cocaine’s development” (Gootenberg 172).
The documentary Cocaine Cowboys displayed the effects the cocaine had on an American society. Conveniently left out are the underlying issues that have been going on for years with the production and harvest of the product. Mentioned but very little is said about the war on drugs, and how it affected the people of Medellin and other cities heavily invested in the coca crop.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Bus 174
In Bus 174, the directors, José Padilha and Felipe Lacerda, illustrate the complicated life of Sondro Do Nascimento living in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The movie evokes a sympathy towards the less fortunate inhabitants of the large cities, and what those inhabitants feel forced to do when times get tougher. The readings compliment the movie by offering up more sympathetic situations that show why the crime was committed. Also, the readings express that a city’s want for modernity can lead to more unemployed, and more people forced toward a life of delinquency.
The story, The Drive-by Victim, written by Alberto Salcedo Ramos, is a perfect example of why street kids or gangs in cities, like Rio de Janeiro, commit acts of crime and violence. The driver of the car in The Drive-by Victim asks the passenger, “Do you know why we are doing this, … Because they hurt one of the guys in the gang and we have to get together three million pesos tonight” (Ramos 137). These words the driver speaks show that there was an ulterior motive for the actions of crimes committed by the street kids in the town. Like the thieves in The Drive-by Victim, Sondro is driven to commit the crimes he does because of his circumstances. These circumstance come from a variety of places but focus around the city’s street kids. The street kids seek the street because their families cannot support them. One of the reasons that the families cannot support their children is because of the modernizing of jobs and technology. In Alma Guillermo’s book, The Heart that Bleeds, expresses the troubles the Mariachi bands faced when a new subway was placed in the town. By putting in the subway system, the government steered the tourists away from the plaza that would get the Mariachis lots of money. The placement of the subway station interferes with traffic flowing through the plaza where the Mariachis played. That leads to people not being able to survive in the market place, and leads to people resorting to crime in order to support their families.
The acts of violence will breed more violence. This is how the shanty towns developed. More and more people moved to the city looking for jobs, but the city did not have enough jobs to support them. These people congregated, and created a group. All of this goes to show the sympathy the audience has for Sondro. He was forced to watch his mother be stabbed to death. He grew up in a world of violence that only bred more violence. Violence becomes socially acceptable when a people accept it as a way of life. Like the characters in The Drive-by Victim, Sondro is trying to make a point when he holds up bus 174. Sondro is much like the Mariachi players, his mother was taken from him like the Mariachis’ tourists were taken away. Because their main source of income was gone, both groups of people are forced to make ends meet elsewhere. Had modernity not been a part of the culture that shaped his life, Sondro would not have been in the same predicament.
The story, The Drive-by Victim, written by Alberto Salcedo Ramos, is a perfect example of why street kids or gangs in cities, like Rio de Janeiro, commit acts of crime and violence. The driver of the car in The Drive-by Victim asks the passenger, “Do you know why we are doing this, … Because they hurt one of the guys in the gang and we have to get together three million pesos tonight” (Ramos 137). These words the driver speaks show that there was an ulterior motive for the actions of crimes committed by the street kids in the town. Like the thieves in The Drive-by Victim, Sondro is driven to commit the crimes he does because of his circumstances. These circumstance come from a variety of places but focus around the city’s street kids. The street kids seek the street because their families cannot support them. One of the reasons that the families cannot support their children is because of the modernizing of jobs and technology. In Alma Guillermo’s book, The Heart that Bleeds, expresses the troubles the Mariachi bands faced when a new subway was placed in the town. By putting in the subway system, the government steered the tourists away from the plaza that would get the Mariachis lots of money. The placement of the subway station interferes with traffic flowing through the plaza where the Mariachis played. That leads to people not being able to survive in the market place, and leads to people resorting to crime in order to support their families.
The acts of violence will breed more violence. This is how the shanty towns developed. More and more people moved to the city looking for jobs, but the city did not have enough jobs to support them. These people congregated, and created a group. All of this goes to show the sympathy the audience has for Sondro. He was forced to watch his mother be stabbed to death. He grew up in a world of violence that only bred more violence. Violence becomes socially acceptable when a people accept it as a way of life. Like the characters in The Drive-by Victim, Sondro is trying to make a point when he holds up bus 174. Sondro is much like the Mariachi players, his mother was taken from him like the Mariachis’ tourists were taken away. Because their main source of income was gone, both groups of people are forced to make ends meet elsewhere. Had modernity not been a part of the culture that shaped his life, Sondro would not have been in the same predicament.
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