Mexican ruling party proposes banning drug ballads

By Catherine E. Shoichet / Associated Press Writer

http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=11877561

MEXICO CITY (AP) - A new proposal from Mexico's ruling party could send musicians to prison for performing songs that glorify drug trafficking.

The law would bring prison sentences of up to three years for people who perform or produce songs or movies glamorizing criminals.

"Society sees drug ballads as nice, pleasant, inconsequential and harmless, but they are the opposite," National Action Party lawmaker Oscar Martin Arce told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The ballads, known as "narcocorridos," often describe drug trafficking and violence, and are popular among some norteno bands.

After some killings, gangs pipe narcocorridos into police radio scanners, along with threatening messages.

Martin said his party's proposal, presented before Congress on Wednesday, also takes aim at low-budget movies praising drug lords.

It was unclear when lawmakers would vote on it.

"We cannot accept it as normal. We cannot exalt these people because they themselves are distributing these materials among youths to lead them into a lifestyle where the bad guy wins," he said.

Martin said the proposal's intention is not to limit free expression, but to stop such performances from inciting crimes.

But Elijah Wald, author of the book, "Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas," said politicians are attempting to censor artists rather than attacking Mexico's real problems.

On his Web site, Wald has posted descriptions of dozens of past efforts to stop the songs, including radio broadcast bans and politicians' proposals.

"It is very hard to stop the drug trafficking," he said. "It is very easy to get your name in the papers by attacking famous musicians."

The norteno band Los Tigres del Norte canceled their planned appearance at an awards ceremony at a government-owned auditorium in October after organizers allegedly asked the group not to perform their latest drug ballad.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched a nationwide crackdown on drug cartels in late 2006, deploying tens of thousands of soldiers and federal police across Mexico.

Even performers who don't sing drug ballads have been caught up in recent raids.

In December Mexican authorities arrested Latin Grammy winner Ramon Ayala at a drug cartel's party in a gated community of mansions outside the central mountain town of Tepoztlan.

Ayala's attorney has said the accordionist and his band, Los Bravos del Norte, did not know their clients were suspected members of the Beltran Leyva cartel.

Greg Etter, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Central Missouri, said he agrees that narcocorridos promote violence.

"It affects their view of social normality, and that's what makes it dangerous," he said.

Martin said an alleged murderer recently told police he first got involved in organized crime because he liked the songs and wanted one to be composed about him one day.

But Etter said bands have been singing narcocorridos for more than 30 years, and legislators can't stop such a strong musical tradition.

"I don't see how you could put a lid on it," he said. "Yes, these are dangerous. Music affects emotion and emotion affects actions. But if they suppress it, won't it make it even more popular?"

----

Associated Press Writer Carlos Rodriguez contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

**Posted by Alex Sobieski**

Narco Mexico

Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Mexico Crime Compendium: January 18-20
COMMENT
When a radiographic map of DTO influence is examined (e.g.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/22/us/BORDER.html), it’s
obvious that the Sinaloa DTO remains the number 1 player among
Mexico's drug enterprises. The Sinaloa DTO has become the primary
enemy and target for other DTO’s, but remains suprisingly immune and
relatively untouched by any government initiatives or interventions.
Edgardo Buscaglia’s comments in La Jornada make this argument (http://
www.jornada.unam.mx/2010/01/14/index.php?section=politica&article=012n1pol&partner=rss).
He made similar observations in a detailed interview reported in The
Economist (http://www.economist.com/world/americas/displaystory.cfm?
story_id=15213785) and the same article includes his calculated
estimates that there have been 53, 174 drug related arrests during the
previous 6 years — with only a miniscule 941 (1.7% of the total)
affecting the Sinaloa DTO directly.
Similar argument about the “intocable” Sinaloa DTO are found and
documented throughout Ricardo Ravelo’s book Herencia Maldita
(DeBosillo, 2009).
The fact that El Chapo Guzman has been free for 9 years after his
prison escape (http://www.noroeste.com.mx/publicaciones.php?
id=549284&id_seccion=145&fecha=2010-01-19) and that Ismael “El Mayo”
Zambada and Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel Villareal remain untouched and
mysteriously anonymous also supports Edgardo Buscaglia’s
interpretation.

[Posted by Professor Montejano]

The Fall of Mexico

Reporting by Philip Caputo; photos by Julian Cardona.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200912/mexico-drugs

Foreign Affairs
December 2009

In the almost three years since President Felipe Calderón launched a
war on drug cartels, border towns in Mexico have turned into halls of
mirrors where no one knows who is on which side or what chance remark
could get you murdered. Some 14,000 people have been killed in that
time—the worst carnage since the Mexican Revolution—and part of the
country is effectively under martial law. Is this evidence of a
creeping coup by the military? A war between drug cartels? Between the
president and his opposition? Or just collateral damage from the (U.S.-
supported) war on drugs? Nobody knows: Mexico is where facts, like
people, simply disappear. The stakes for the U.S. are high, especially
as the prospect of a failed state on our southern border begins to
seem all too real.

by Philip Caputo
The Fall of Mexico

FOR THE FULL TEXT:

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200912/mexico-drugs

[Posted by Professor Montejano]

Analysis: Border security move has political angle

posted by lizette avila

This article by the associated press describes the actions the Obama administration wants to take regarding boarder control. The article gives examples of Obama's objectives regarding boarder control, and also plans for legislation regarding immigration. However, the president does plan on asking for money from congress in order to have tougher boarder security. The article also illustrates that currently there is not immigration bills being looked on making it obvious that immigration reform is a subject that is not on the agenda. 

By SUZANNE GAMBOA 
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama has done what many critics of immigration reform wanted - put border security first.

Obama sent more investigative agents to the border, poured money into upgrading ports of entry and targeted traffickers who smuggle in people and drugs, then smuggle out guns and cash.

Shifting the focus away from those who come to the U.S. illegally in search of work, he planted it squarely on criminals who foment violence in Mexico and kidnap and kill inside the United States.

Obama hopes those moves will gain him leverage in dealing with the thorniest part of immigration reform: creating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. But will his gambit work?

In three tries in three years, Congress has failed to pass an immigration bill, mainly due to opponents' vague insistence on "border security first." No one has said who and what will determine that the border is secure, but the mantra provides clever cover for an unwillingness to deal with the nearly 12 million people living in the U.S. illegally.

Last week, Obama hinted he's aware of that.

"If the American people don't feel like you can secure the borders," he told reporters, "then it's hard to strike a deal that would get people out of the shadows and on a pathway to citizenship who are already here, because the attitude of the average American is going to be, 'Well, you're just going to have hundreds of thousands of more coming in each year.'"

There is no comprehensive immigration bill moving through Congress so far this session, although there are several bills dealing with various aspects of the issue. In his 2010 budget proposal, Obama plans to ask Congress to provide $27 billion to beef up border enforcement and security.

Under Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, nearly 670 miles of fence and barriers went up on the U.S.-Mexico border. The Border Patrol was doubled to about 18,000 agents. The immigration agency's Fugitive Operations Teams saw its budget soar from $9 million in 2003 to $218 million in 2008.

Thousands of people were arrested in crackdowns on employers and in raids of private homes. Nearly 350,000 immigrants, a record, were deported. It took billions of dollars to create jail space to house those awaiting deportation. Thousands of employers began using an immigration database to check whether the people they've hired can legally work in the U.S.

Still, Bush's record doesn't satisfy a main congressional critic, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

"It's not enough," Cornyn said, pointing out that the number of border agents pales in comparison with, say, New York City's police force, which has nearly 40,000 officers.

Obama has been building on Bush's work. He said he wants to take a more thoughtful approach to enforcement than, as he put it, "just raids of a handful of workers." His administration is concentrating on companies that recruit undocumented workers who may be depressing U.S. wages, but won't ignore people working illegally at those businesses.

He hasn't given in to the demands of some of his strongest supporters - immigration advocates and Latinos - for a moratorium on workplace raids. He's also made Mexico's drug violence a high priority for the Homeland Security Department.

"It's been clear since Janet Napolitano became secretary, the border enforcement is not going to weaken one iota," said Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of the book "The Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration and Security Since 9/11. "She has not backed off any of the significant border measures put in place by the previous administration."

Some immigration opponents warn that Obama is shifting enforcement from cracking down on illegal immigration in the U.S. to helping Mexico with a problem it should be solving itself.

Concerns over Mexico's drug violence and its spillover into the U.S. make it tough to criticize Obama's efforts. It's difficult to argue that the U.S. should be spending money arresting hotel maids and day laborers while drug dealers and gun traffickers are on the loose.

After the release of the department's raid guidelines, one of the harshest immigration reform critics, Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith, said he was cautiously optimistic.

So for now, Obama can show he's at least made an attempt to placate the critics.

--

EDITOR'S NOTE - Suzanne Gamboa covers immigration for The Associated Press.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

Obama knows the U.S. and Mexico are mutually dependent on each other

Anabel Arrazola

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22078.html

In this article, there are some more issues disscused about the swine flu and its affects on Immigration. For example it is mentioned how the swine flu has now been labeled as the "Mexican swine flu". Immigrants have been looked down upon for years and this has added more pressure and labeling to mexican immigration in the U.S. In the article the owner of a restaraunt explains how the U.S. should not look down on mexico and should instead work together to solve problems that affect both countries. Mexico is in the bull’s-eye of conservatives who view Hispanic immigrants as a drain on the U.S. economy, national security, culture and, now, welfare. The H1N1 virus, first labeled “swine flu,” is called the “Mexican swine flu” by some conservatives- This quote reminds me of something Huntington would agree with and would probably use to further explain why latinos are a threat to the U.S.

Why the US hates Cuba

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/21300

-Xochil

Obama pide a Latinoamérica “hechos, no palabras”

general coverage of Obama's trip to Latin America; mentions the leaders were asking for normalized relations with cuba and lifting the emargo (i didn't see this in american articles); also quoted obama citing his opposition to any attempts of assassinating evo morales

http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2009/abril/19/308937.html

14:48 | 19/04/2009

Puerto España — El presidente de EE. UU., Barack Obama, afirmó hoy que a partir de ahora “lo importante son los hechos, no las palabras” para demostrar una nueva relación en el continente americano.

En una rueda de prensa tras la clausura de la V Cumbre de las Américas de Puerto España, Obama afirmó que en esta reunión se ha lanzado una “nueva era de alianza” y en los últimos días “hemos visto señales potenciales positivas en el cambio de la relación entre EE. UU. y Cuba y Venezuela”.

Pero, subrayó, “la prueba para todos nosotros no serán sólo las palabras, sino también los hechos”, tanto por parte de EE. UU. como de Latinoamérica.

El presidente, que durante la cumbre ha recibido los elogios de sus colegas por su oferta de una nueva “alianza entre iguales”, indicó que durante la reunión “hemos visto palabras grandilocuentes pero tenemos que asegurarnos de que continuamos la tarea para conseguir resultados”.

“Aprovechar esta oportunidad no será siempre fácil. Habrá desacuerdos, pero vamos a trabajar con nuestros respectivos equipos para alentar la puesta en marcha de esta nueva relación y todo lo que conlleva”, explicó el mandatario.

Según recordó, EE. UU. ya ha dado esas primeras señales de cambio en lo que respecta a Cuba, al liberalizar los viajes y los envíos de remesas de los cubano-estadounidenses hacia la isla, y espera ahora que el Gobierno de La Habana muestre señales claras hacia la democratización.

El hecho de que el presidente cubano, Raúl Castro, haya incluido los derechos humanos en los temas que asegura estar dispuesto a debatir con EEUU representa, precisó, “una señal de progreso” , que Estados Unidos va a explorar, pero son necesarios hechos como la puesta en libertad de los presos políticos.

“Creo que no cambiaremos de la noche a la mañana” la política de la relación entre los dos países pero ahora existe esa posibilidad, indicó.

Cuba ha sido uno de los protagonistas del encuentro de Trinidad, donde los líderes latinoamericanos pidieron a Obama una normalización de las relaciones y el levantamiento del embargo que EEUU impone a la isla desde 1962.

Sobre los debates en la V Cumbre de las Américas, señaló que se ha establecido una nueva era de cooperación con Latinoamérica que va más allá de la tradicional colaboración militar o contra el narcotráfico.

En este sentido, resultó significativa su alusión a los millares de médicos cubanos presentes en las zonas más necesitadas del continente.

“Eso representa un recordatorio para nosotros de que si nuestra única interacción es la colaboración militar o contra el narcotráfico no podremos desarrollar las conexiones que con el tiempo ayudarán a alentar el cambio en la región”, declaró.

La Cumbre sirvió también para marcar el posible inicio de un deshielo en las relaciones entre EE. UU. y Venezuela.

El presidente venezolano, Hugo Chávez, que afirmó que quiere ser “amigo” de Obama, anunció ayer el envío de un nuevo embajador, Roy Chaderton, a Washington, después de que el pasado septiembre ambos países expulsaran a sus respectivos representantes diplomáticos.

El Gobierno de EE. UU. ha calificado de “positivo” el paso anunciado por Chávez.

En este sentido, Obama indicó que mantiene aún “grandes diferencias” sobre la política con Chávez, cuya retórica ha sido “en ocasiones inflamatoria” y en otras “hemos visto a Venezuela injerir en otros países vecinos”.

Al mismo tiempo, señaló, el presupuesto de Defensa venezolano es “una fracción del estadounidense” y ambos países comparten intereses petroleros, por lo que es “improbable” que vaya a representar un “peligro para los intereses nacionales de Estados Unidos”.

Obama condenó cualquier intento de golpe de estado o magnicidio en el continente y citó, en concreto, el denunciado esta semana por el presidente de Bolivia, Evo Morales.

“Estoy absolutamente en contra y condeno cualquier intento de deponer a un Gobierno democráticamente elegido. Esa no es la política de mi Gobierno y quiero dejarlo tan claro como sea posible”, aseguró el mandatario, que emprendió regreso a Washington inmediatamente después de concluir la rueda de prensa.

Antes de participar en esta cumbre, Obama visitó México en lo que ha sido su primera gira por América Latina.

bz