Felipe Calderón, the right-wing presidential candidate of Mexico’s conservative National Action Party (PAN), a leader fraudulently “selected” by Mexico’s Federal Electoral Tribunal, has now been officially sworn in as President in the halls of the Mexican Congress building - but not without fist fights and shouts of protest by opposition Congressmen and women.

In a midnight ceremony held on December 1st, Calderón took over as Mexico’s president, but a huge brawl erupted at the ceremony in Congress when scores of opposition congressional representatives attempted to stop him from taking the formal oath of office. Opposition lawmakers hung a huge banner in the congressional chambers that read, “Mexico doesn’t deserve a traitor to democracy as president.” Rival lawmakers engaged in fist fights while water bottles, soft drink cans, and chairs were thrown. Opposition lawmakers built a barricade of tables and chairs at the front entrance of Congress in an attempt to lock Calderón out. Congressional deputy Adriana Diaz said, “He is not coming in the front entrance - thieves come in through the back door.” And eventually, with the assistance of riot police and body guards, the thief did enter through the rear entrance. Calderón took the oath of office to a cacophony of catcalls and boos.

Opposition lawmakers held up a banner that read, “Ulises Ruiz, Assassin!” - referring to the Oaxaca Governor of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and his brutal assaults on the people of Oaxaca. PAN-PRI cooperation is vital to president select Calderón, whose party has backed Ruiz’s military crackdown by supplying Ruiz with federal troops. Ruiz’s repression has killed an estimated 15 protestors in Oaxaca, including an American reporter for the New York chapter of the Independent Media Center.

On November 20th, the official anniversary of the 1910 Mexican Revolution, over 300-000 people held their own inauguration ceremony in Mexico City’s main square. The popular candidate of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, was sworn in as president by the masses as they chanted, “¡Sí, Se Puede!” (Yes, We Can!) Deafening roars of approval met Obrador’s remarks, “A government divorced from the people is nothing more than a facade, an egg shell, a bureaucratic apparatus, the legitimate government is the organized people” and “When there is no justice, there can be no peace.” Obrador announced his support for the rebellion in Oaxaca and demanded the resignation of Ulises Ruiz. He has also promised to run a parallel government in opposition to the reactionary Calderón, who is a key ally of the White House. In fact, U.S. president George W. Bush appointed his father, former president George Bush, to lead the U.S. delegation that attended the Dec. 1 inauguration of Calderón. Yes, birds of a feather do flock together, especially those who steal elections.

The government of Mexican President Vicente Fox quietly released a jaw-dropping report on how former administrations used violence, torture, massacres, and murder to silence political opponents from the 1960s to the 1980s. Five years ago the Fox administration opened an investigation into political crimes carried out by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, the authoritarian party that had ruled Mexico for 71 years before being ousted by Fox and his conservative pro-business National Action Party (PAN) in elections that took place in 2000.

The report released by the Fox government makes clear that the political violence was not an aberration, but official government policy set in motion and condoned by Presidents Díaz Ordaz (1964-1970), Echeverría (1970-1976) and López Portillo (1976-1982). However, human rights activists in Mexico are worried that the report was released without fanfare just before a three-day weekend, and that the 859 page report was posted to the internet rather than being released at a major press conference. Critics of the Fox regime point out that the report, titled “Historical Report to the Mexican Society“, makes no recommendations about bringing human rights violators to justice.

Included in the report is an admission that the massacre of students and their supporters at Tlatelolco Plaza in Mexico City during a 1968 protest against government corruption, was planned and carried out by the highest levels of government. The mass student protests took place ten days before the International ‘68 Olympics were held in Mexico City, and over the years activists have insisted Mexican army troops and police shot dead thousands of unarmed dissidents - carting off their bodies to be unceremoniously buried in secret. The authorities have always maintained that only rogue forces opened fired at the students in Tlatelolco Plaza, and that 4 were killed.

The report contains a whole chapter on the Tlatelolco massacre, as well as chapters on other massive human rights violations where populations of entire villages considered “subversive” were rounded up, and the communities burned to the ground. The report cites the names and circumstances of 645 people “disappeared” by the government, 99 outright extrajudicial executions, and more than 2000 cases of civilians being tortured at the hands of the army and police [ Read more about the report. ]

Vicente Fox has ordered up to 4,000 or more heavily armed Mexican Federal Preventative Police (PFP) into Oaxaca. Dressed in riot gear and carrying heavy automatic weapons, the police are using armored cars with water canons, bulldozers, and brut force to push their way to the city center, where protestors vow to put up a massive resistance. With helicopters roaring overhead, PFP units wearing masks to hide their identities, are invading private residences and arresting protest leaders.

Oaxacans are calling on people around the world to protest the government violence in front of Mexican Embassies and Consulates at 6:00 pm on Monday, October 30th. Mexico’s Zapatistas have also issued a call for unity with the people of Oaxaca. Zapatista Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos called “to compañeros and compañeras in other countries to unite and to demand justice for this dead compañero.” Masked thugs working for the Mexican government murdered American William Bradley Roland and three Mexican nationals in an armed attack against the Oaxacan people’s movement - now the government of Vicente Fox is using that violence as an excuse to unleash even more violence against the people.

The family of Brad Will has released the following statement: “We are grieving over the tragic and senseless loss of Brad’s life. Brad’s friends and family admired his brave support for the downtrodden and willingness to act tirelessly upon his convictions. We believe he died doing what he loved. We will all miss Brad’s compassionate, loving and adventurous spirit, and it is our hope that his life’s work reporting on the human struggle will never be forgotten.”

In Los Angeles a Press Conference denouncing the murders of Will and his fellow activists will be held on Monday, October 30, 2006, 12:00 pm, in front of the Mexican Consulate (Park View & 6th Street, Los Angeles). A demonstration will also be held at the Consulate on, Thursday, November 2 from 10:00 AM to 9:00 pm. Stay up to date - don’t believe lies told by the corporate media.

Striking teachers, workers and indigenous activists in the historic Mexican city of Oaxaca have for months been involved in a campaign to oust the corrupt Governor of the state, Ulises Ruiz. (Oaxaca is the name of one of Mexico’s 32 states, and also that state’s capital city.) In Oaxaca Friday Oct. 27th, 2006, armed goons attacked a barricade erected by demonstrators across a road in the old city - they fired shots that took the lives of three men - one of which was an American journalist from New York’s Independent Media Center, William Bradley Roland (36). Another victim killed during the incident has been identified as a schoolteacher named Emililio Alofonzo Fabian. Videotape was shot of the attack and broadcast on Televisa, a large Mexican television network. The paramilitary gunmen who killed Will have since been identified by name, each having connections to Oaxaca’s ruling political party, the PRI.

The U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Tony Garza, made the following statement: “It appears that Mr. Will was killed during a shoot out between what may have been local police, and protesters.” However, Will was an unarmed journalist whose only weapon was a camera. Fellow activists maintain they were also unarmed, and had only sticks and rocks to defend themselves. It is obvious looking at the video of the incident, that the so-called “police” the U.S. Ambassador refers to are nothing more than thugs.

Mexican President Vicente Fox has ordered troops into the area, a provocative move that is sure to bring more violence. The question is, now that an American citizen has been murdered by a death squad known to be made up of individuals connected to Mexican government forces, what will the U.S. State Department do?

Activists in the U.S. will be pressing the State Department to investigate Will’s murder, and to demand that his killers be brought to justice. Calls will also be made for solidarity with the Mexican movement for social justice, a cause that Will gave his life to while documenting events in Oaxaca. Read the full story about what’s going on in Oaxaca, at New York’s Independent Media Center.

By Roberto Rodriguez

By now, many people are familiar with various analyses that describe the common characteristics of fascism. One that has received much attention is Lawrence Britt’s 2004 article that lists fourteen defining characteristics of fascism. All the analyses are based primarily on examinations of 20th century fascist regimes and are meant as a warning regarding the Bush-Cheney administration.

Most of the analyses were written before the recent NY Times expose on warrantless spying and before the president acknowledged the existence of a secret CIA prison system abroad and before his recent signing of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, also known as the “torture bill.” With its signing, however, critics now agree that the president’s grab for unchecked power – beyond his assertion of his right to permanent worldwide war – has plunged the nation onto this path, faster than “anyone could have ever anticipated.” Of course, his supporters think that broaching the topic is ridiculous, if not treasonous.

That said, there’s an applicable 15th characteristic: the demonization and criminalization of so-called illegal aliens. Before expounding upon this, a little bit about the other 14.

The others generally include: enforced patriotism, hyper nationalism, disdain for human rights, control of the mass media, the creation of laws designed to enrich corporations and exempt them from labor, health & environmental standards, rampant sexism, the promotion of religious fundamentalism, the creation of a fear-based society plus a fixation with national security and law & order and attempts at achieving worldwide military supremacy. Fascist regimes typically also have an inordinate disdain for intellectuals and the arts, are completely corrupt, including fraudulent elections and are obsessed with seeking out enemies and scapegoats.

In regards to the 15th characteristic, it is beyond the traditional fear of foreigners. The very category of “illegal aliens” is couched within a hyper legalistic environment of exclusion. Citizens belong, have rights and are protected under the Constitution. Non-citizens – in this case, illegal aliens – are treated as a subhuman population.

As societies become obsessed with national security, the issue of Who is a citizen? and, Who is a citizen in good standing? is debated. Invariably, “legal” aliens also begin to lose rights. In time, movements arise to further limit citizenship – such as the one to overturn the 14th amendment; that which guarantees birthright citizenship. All this translates into the fear and hate of brown people, which in this country also translates into primarily Mexicans and Central Americans. (These limitations already include the disenfranchisement of large sectors of the population, particularly prisoners or ex-prisoners of color).

This 15th characteristic is not particular to the United States as the fear of “brown hordes” is also nowadays a feature of many “democratic” European countries. Neither is it unique for politicians to whip up a frenzy, pitting people of color and/or the poor and even the middle class against the scourge of “illegal aliens.” An analysis of this nation’s periodic movements against Mexicans shows us that this hatred precedes 911. Yet, since that day of infamy, a bizarre conflation has taken place between “terrorism and “illegal aliens.” Since 911, Arabs and adherents of Islam have become America’s latest suspect population, nowadays unrepentantly and routinely subjected to “racial profiling.” In regards to Mexicans, they’re beyond 911 scapegoats; they have historically been viewed as unwanted,
suspect, illegitimate, illegal and nowadays, associated with terrorism, this, despite a zero association between the two. With 911 as a smokescreen, that rabid hatred has once again been unleashed and legitimized in the form of repressive legislation. They have also become political piñatas, particularly in this November’s elections.

Add to this the upsurge in Minutemen vigilantism, draconian immigration raids, further border militarization and all this has created a climate that condones treating brown peoples as enemies of the state.

Hyper-obsessed anti-immigrant scoundrel politicians – aided by the likes of CNN’s Lou Dobbs & comic Jay Leno — claim their motives are not racial, yet their dehumanizing and nightly jabs are directed not at all “illegal aliens,” just the brown ones – the ones purportedly coming in from Mexico. Proof is in the dragnet and discriminatory immigration raids and walls/fences that target Mexicans and the U.S./Mexico border. Ignored is the fact that almost half of all “illegal aliens” don’t sneak into the country, but overstay their visas… and that a workable solution can be arrived at without the vitriol. And then there’s the Official English movement. What precisely does having an official language have to do with “the rule of law” or fighting “terrorism?” Nada. Is it racially motivated? Simon que si. And incidentally, most of these anti-immigrants can be found on the website by the reputable Southern Poverty Law Center.

The irony in all this is the fact that the vast majority of so-called illegal aliens are actually indigenous peoples – part of thousands-of-years old cultures on this very continent. What is also a fact is that being treated as subhuman is how Indigenous peoples have been treated since Columbus arrived here more than 500 years ago.

As calls rise to throw the Republicans out of office let’s hope that we not simply replace them with other scoundrels. The objective should be to also overturn those dehumanizing policies – or those 15 characteristics — that now virtually define this nation.

(c) Column of the Americas

Rodriguez can be reached at XColumn@gmail.com

The LA Times reports that during the first session of Mexico’s new congress September 1, 2006, 150 opposition legislators protesting election fraud against PRD presidential candidate, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, seized the podium and stopped President Vicente Fox from making his state-of-the-nation address.

It was the first time in Mexican history that a president didn’t give an annual address to Congress. Protesting legislators from the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) held signs that read ‘Fox, you are a traitor to democracy, the indigenous people abhor you!’ Others held up posters showing Lopez Obrador (aka: AMLO) or national hero Benito Juarez, Mexico’s two term Zapotec president from the 1800s. Some simply held small Mexican flags.

The LA Times also reported that “thousands of demonstrators led by Lopez Obrador gathered at the capital’s central square, known as the Zocalo. ‘A revolution has begun in which the people say to hell with their institutions,’ Lopez Obrador told a cheering crowd. ‘They can’t legitimize or legalize a government of usurpers, because they stole the election and the majority of the people know that.’

Lopez Obrador has called on supporters to form a parallel government during a ‘national convention’ Sept. 16, the day when Mexican independence is celebrated.” Read more about the historic blockade of the Mexican Congress and the electoral crisis, at the Houston Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News. Given that many people in the United States think Bush stole the elections, one can only imagine what would happen in the U.S. if Democrats acted like an opposition party akin to the PRD.

In Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Portland, Tucson, New Orleans and over 200 American cities - millions of workers stayed off their jobs to protest against repressive legislation aimed at undocumented immigrant workers. The national May 1st Day without an Immigrant boycott and strike brought sectors of Los Angeles to a standstill. Two enormous mass marches, one in downtown L.A. and the other along Wilshire Boulevard, clogged city streets with up to two million workers. Hundreds of shops and businesses closed their doors in solidarity, tens of thousands of students walked off campuses all across the city, and the ports of L.A. were effectively shut down by truckers who had walked off the job.

These were the largest demonstrations in the entire history of Los Angeles, but they are also indicative of something much greater. Immigrant workers in the United States, with their massive demonstrations and work stoppages, have breathed life into International Workers Day, or May Day. That holiday is celebrated around the world each year on May 1st, as an expression of solidarity with the industrial workers killed by Chicago police in 1886 while demanding the eight hour day. While virtually ignored in the United States, the day is a legal holiday throughout much of Latin America (and indeed the world.) Spanish speaking immigrants have brought to the United States a lived tradition of celebrating May Day, as well as a sophisticated understanding of labor organizing and worker’s rights. When it was proposed months ago that May Day be designated as a national day of protest for Immigrant Rights, mainstream politicians and community leaders discouraged the idea - with some going so far as to plea with workers to stay on their jobs and not participate in May Day. However, the appeals of the timid and the backwards were ignored by the masses, who stopped work and poured into the streets in their millions.

In Los Angeles, wave after wave of demonstrators filled the streets. Most wore white and U.S. flags were displayed everywhere. Spanish was the dominant language on the streets that day, with most protestors being Mexicano - but many other Latinos were involved as well. Large numbers of L.A.’s Asian community turned out, especially for the march down Wilshire Blvd., which runs through L.A.’s huge Korean community. Some of the signs carried in the marches read: Nigun ser humano es ilegal (No human being is illegal) - Our citizenship wasn’t a problem when you sent our children to war - Are our troops in Iraq illegal too? - Jose called in today, Make your own taco, USA. - Hoy marchamos. Manana votamos (Today we march. Tomorrow we vote) and No Somos Crimales, Ustedes nos hacen criminales (We’re not criminals, You make us criminals.) Pictures of the massive L.A. marches taken by photographers Stephen Sakulsky, Rogue Gringo and JLR, can be viewed at the L.A. Indymedia website.

May 1st, 2006 was not the end or the culmination of a people’s struggle, it was the beginning, and in the months to come that fight for the rights of all will grow stronger. The people made history on May Day, but there’s much left to accomplish. Now stronger bonds must be forged between immigrant and U.S. workers - for our interests are one and the same.

A sleeping giant has awoken! On Saturday March 26th, 2006, well over 1 million people marched in downtown Los Angeles in support of immigrant rights. Univision and other Spanish-language media reported 2 million people took part in the demonstration - the largest in the history of California. The demonstration was specifically against the Sensenbrenner Bill that has already passed in the House of Representatives - a bill that will criminalize undocumented workers and those who support them. In the build up to the March 26th demonstration, thousands of high school students walked out of classes across LA. There are now plans for an April 8th national meeting in Dallas, Texas, where Latino immigrant rights leaders and organizations will discuss a national work stoppage set for late May under the banner - A Day Without An Immigrant. Check the amazing photos of the mass march taken by Marcus and posted on LA’s Indymedia website. Visit the Immigrant Solidarity Network website for more information, news, and plans for action: www.immigrantsolidarity.org