NewsTaco

Por Maria Lourdes Pallais, IDL-Reporteros

Delgada, de corta estatura, entra sonriente, discreta, casi desapercibida. En minutos, la intensidad del tono de su voz, el brillo que despiden sus ojos inteligentes y su presencia pequeña pero dinámica domina la entrevista. Habla rápido, enfatizando con los ojos y las manos. Solo a veces pausa y se toma más tiempo para reflexionar. Dispara dardos verbales con decisión, especialmente cuando se refiere a las autoridades mexicanas, que incluyen la Procuraduría General de la República (fiscalía federal), la Secretaría de Gobernación (Interior) y la Policía Federal, dependencias que para ella han destacado por su ineficiencia y “cinismo” en lo relativo a la protección de los derechos humanos e integridad física de los periodistas.

Es Anabel Hernández, reconocida periodista de investigación y autora de “Los Señores del Narco” (2010), donde expone los nexos de la clase política, policiaca y empresarial mexicana con el narcotráfico, particularmente con el Cartel de Sinaloa y su líder Joaquín Guzmán Loera “El Chapo”, a quien la DEA considera el narcotraficante más poderoso de todos los tiempos; y “México en llamas” (2013), que narra quiénes fueron los cómplices del ex presidente Felipe Calderón; la farsa de su guerra contra las drogas; las cartas de los secuestradores que cortaban orejas, manos, dedos, y los sobornos a Genaro García Luna cuando era jefe de la Policía Federal en 1998 y 1999. Hasta 2011, Hernández (Premio Pluma de Oro de la Libertad) fue la reportera estrella del diario digital Reporte Índigo, donde destacaban sus polémicas portadas sobre los atropellos e ilícitos de García Luna; sobre el “Palacio de los Excesos” del gobierno federal; sobre la asesoría del ex presidente Vicente Fox a la campaña de Enrique Peña Nieto, entonces aspirante del PRI a la presidencia, entre otras.

Hoy, la periodista “más valiente” de México, “chiquitita de estatura pero de gran corazón”, como dice el corrido que lleva su nombre, está enojada y no lo esconde.

Le quitan los escoltas

“Son absolutamente cómplices de los homicidios de los periodistas porque son igual de responsables el que tira el gatillo y el que, siendo autoridad, permite que eso suceda”, afirma, contundente, a IDL-Reporteros.

Habla de quienes tienen el deber de proteger su vida, luego de que una fuente le revelara un plan de García Luna para matarla haciéndolo pasar por accidente, robo o secuestro.

El “odio” de quien fuera el funcionario engreído de Calderón hacia ella, dice, nació cuando se enfocó en documentar actos de corrupción y de complicidad con la delincuencia organizada de él y otros altos funcionarios.

Tras denunciar al ahora ex ministro ante la Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos (CNDH), el entonces fiscal de la Ciudad de México y ahora alcalde Miguel Ángel Mancera, le ofreció escoltas 24 horas al día.

Todo así hasta hace unas semanas, cuando le anunciaron que la “medida cautelar” concluiría en junio. La razón: al gobierno de la Ciudad de México no le “competía” esa responsabilidad.

Fue entonces que la Junta de Gobierno del llamado “Mecanismo para la Protección de Personas Defensoras de Derechos Humanos y Periodistas”, que incluye a Gobernación, fiscalía federal, CNDH, legisladores y otras autoridades, decidió estudiar su caso. En una primera reunión el pasado dos de mayo, la Junta decidió reevaluar el plan de protección “previo a la conclusión de dicho periodo” en junio. Analizará ofrecerle protección de una agencia federal, en la que Hernández no confía porque sospecha que está coludida con García Luna. Aunque en el escrito, la Junta asegura que también revisará la propuesta del Gobierno de la Ciudad de México de “prestar una escolta permanente”, Anabel desconfía:

“Ésta es una clara muestra de porqué siguen matando impunemente periodistas en México. Y entiendo que puede ser una respuesta a mis fuertes críticas planteadas a la Junta el 26 de abril pasado en la audiencia que tuve ante ustedes para plantear mi caso”, les escribe por email. Se refiere a su ponencia ante esa Junta donde “fui a reclamarles su incompetencia por todos los periodistas asesinados, como los compañeros torturados y descuartizados en Veracruz; como el [caso] de Regina Martínez, asfixiada por estrangulamiento hace un año en Veracruz”.

Desconfianza no gratuita

México ocupa un infame octavo lugar en el mundo en casos de impunidad en crímenes y agresiones contra periodistas, según el Comité para la Protección de los Periodistas (CPJ).

Entre diciembre de 2006 y diciembre de 2012, al menos 14 periodistas fueron asesinados en represalia directa por su labor, dice el CPJ. Hace unas semanas, la oficina en México de Artículo 19, una organización internacional que defiende y promueve la libertad de expresión, también recibió una carta con amenazas. Y son las mujeres periodistas las más vulnerables, según Orfe Castillo, coordinadora de Solidaridad y Acción Urgente en Mesoamérica.

No sorprende entonces la desconfianza de Hernández. “No les estoy pidiendo lo que no me pueden dar. Solo pido que el gobierno del DF no me retire los escoltas que me concedió (la fiscalía capitalina) hace cinco años”.

“Si fracaso y me convierto en una víctima más, no va a ser mi fracaso. Va a ser el fracaso de todos los que están aquí sentados”, les dijo.

Una vida fragmentada

Hablar del efecto que ha tenido todo esto en su vida personal no es tema fácil para Anabel, madre soltera de dos hijos, de 16 y de tres. Pero lo enfrenta. Confiesa haberse quedado encerrada en su casa por temor. Confiesa también haber perdido productividad. “Ha sido un desgaste emocional, anímico, de productividad muy alto…”.

¿Has tenido miedo?

Si yo no hubiera tenido que perder tanto tiempo quedándome encerrada en mi casa, en tener miedo, en no buscar más fuentes de información para no ponerlas en peligro, hubiera sido más prolífica.

¿Cómo ha afectado todo esto a tus hijos?

La enfermera me decía ‘si no te concentras en tu bebé, lo vas a perder’, y mi hijo nació bien pero prematuro. Ahora de tres años, me queda claro que está profundamente afectado y me preocupa cómo se va a reflejar más tarde. Mi hija parecía que podía aguantar la presión pero está en plena adolescencia, quiere ir a fiestas, al cine y no puede… ¿Quién me devuelve eso? ¿Cuántos años tendrían que pagar estos corruptos para repararlo?

¿Cómo vive esto tu madre, tu familia?

Mi madre tiene 74 años y padece de diabetes. Me ha pedido que ya no (investigue) más… Mis hermanos me reclaman porque estoy involucrando a mi familia. Yo me tomo largos tiempos, dos o tres meses, con mi familia sola, para tener algo de cordura, algo de paz; caminar en las calles de algún país del mundo, tranquilamente, vivir libre…

¿Cómo te ha cambiado esta experiencia?

Me volví más incisiva. Entre más me presionaban, más aguerrida. Esta cacería que emprendieron contra mí lo que me arrojó es que estaba en la ruta correcta, que debía seguir investigando. Y no voy a parar…

¿Considerarías vivir fuera de México?

El nunca no existe pero si algún día (sucede) es porque a mí se me dio la gana, no porque nadie me quiera correr de mi país; ni los delincuentes ni el gobierno… Si algún día me voy es porque a mí me conviene…

¿Tienes momentos de desencanto, de basta ya?

Eso me lo reservo pero algún día espero escribir al respecto -hace un pausa, reflexiona y contesta- No es que seamos fuertes sino que tenemos tanto miedo de perderlo todo que no nos queda más que luchar.

¿Ser mujer ha influido en tu caso?

Siempre pensé que la persecución de García Luna y de sus policías corruptos tenía que ver con lo que estaba publicando pero ahora sé que no solo me odia por mis reportajes sino también por ser mujer.

¿Cómo lo sabes?

Por la manera en que se expresaba sobre mí por ser mujer; sus comentarios soeces, lo que iba a hacerme por ser mujer.

García Luna será el más visible, sobre quien ella tiene evidencias de que se quiere vengar de su trabajo, pero no es el único. El objetivo de su pluma es la corrupción, ese fenómeno tan común no solo en México, sino también en América Latina, que pocos periodistas enfrentan con tanta valentía. Su trabajo en la adversidad, que busca una cultura de honestidad y transparencia, estorba a los poderosos. Y cuando se tiene éxito (“Los Señores del Narco” fue uno de los títulos más vendidos en México en 2010), peor aún.

Ya lo dijo Roberto Saviano, el periodista italiano que vive bajo protección policial tras haber investigado a la Camorra napolitana en “Gomorra”, “puedes investigar, pero cuando te haces demasiado popular arriesgas tu vida“♦

[Foto por Maria Lourdes Pallais]

La autora y periodista Maria Lourdes Pallas radica en la Ciudad de Mexico.

By Stratfor

When U.S. President Barack Obama travels to Mexico on May 2, he will arrive amid a period of sweeping transformation in the country. Embroiled in myriad political battles and seeking to implement an extensive slate of national reforms, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s administration has been focused almost solely on internal affairs. Meanwhile, after years of delay, the U.S. Congress has been debating gun control and immigration reform — two issues of serious interest to the Mexican government.

U.S.-Mexican relations are strategically important to both countries, and Mexico’s period of transition has created opportunities for each to reshape the partnership. And although U.S. media attention has focused primarily on bilateral security issues ahead of Obama’s visit — namely cooperation in Mexico’s drug war – the Pena Nieto administration is working with Washington to re-orient the cross-border conversation to one centered primarily on mutual economic possibility.

Analysis

As the first member of Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party to win the presidency this century, Pena Nieto has set about reconsolidating the party’s control over the government while attempting to turn attention away from the country’s entrenched security issues and toward its economic opportunities. The pace of reform and political cooperation since the new government was elected July 1 has been unusually high for Mexico.

Labor and education overhauls passed through the legislature relatively easily, and banking reforms intended to broadly increase access to credit are set to be proposed once the legislature reconvenes in September. The administration still has an aggressive to-do list remaining, with planned overhauls ranging from the telecommunications and energy sectors to issues such as taxation. The majority of the reforms has been structural in nature and driven by economic imperatives, representing a notable shift in tempo and character from the previous government, which saw its legislative efforts largely stall for years prior to the 2012 election.

Domestic political factors will determine the success of the pending overhauls. But the labor reform could improve bilateral commerce and investment with the United States, as would a successful liberalization of the country’s energy sector in the coming years. Mexico is already the United States’ third-largest trading partner, and economic coordination between the two countries has become a routine matter at the ministerial level, but there is still a need to ease bureaucratic trade and investment barriers.

Security Cooperation and Centralization

Pena Nieto’s predecessor, the National Action Party’s Felipe Calderon, focused heavily on Mexico’s security challenges and oversaw the sustained military offensive against criminal organizations throughout the country. Pena Nieto has yet to elaborate much on his plans to address the security issues, but he has emphasized the need to combat street violence and kidnappings, while playing down the importance of combating drug trafficking — a U.S. priority.

But ahead of Obama’s visit, certain details have emerged indicating that the Pena Nieto administration intends to change the nature of intelligence cooperation between the United States and Mexico. Until now, the two countries’ various law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been able to interact directly, but Mexico’s interior ministry will begin overseeing all intelligence collaboration.

This centralization effort has not been isolated to cooperation with the United States. The Mexican Interior Ministry has also taken charge of the federal police, and Pena Nieto intends to eventually create a national gendarmarie under the interior secretariat in order to fill the role in the drug wars currently played by the Mexican military with a security body better equipped with law enforcement training.

Thus, the extent and manner to which this centralization will affect security cooperation with the United States is unclear. But the changes are primarily designed to give Mexico greater control over the intelligence process involved in combating the country’s violent gangs. The intention is not to block U.S. collaboration and assistance, but rather to reform existing structures.

Domestic Issues, Bilateral Implications

While Mexico reorients its internal focus to structural changes that its leaders hope will lay foundations for economic development, the country could also be affected by domestic issues under debate in the United States. For years, Mexico has been pressing the United States to enact stricter gun laws. Though a prominent gun control bill failed in the U.S. Senate on April 17, the issue will likely re-emerge later in 2013, and at least some gun control measures currently enjoy broad popular support. Meanwhile, demographic changes in the United States are driving a debate about immigration reform that, if implemented, would require collaboration with Mexico, many of whose citizens would seek to legalize their residential status in the United States.

Though the passage of these reforms will similarly be determined solely by U.S. domestic political factors, their success would be a significant boon for bilateral relations with Mexico. Indeed, for Obama and Pena Nieto, the effects each feel of the other’s policy decisions will be magnified by the unique demographic, geographic and economic ties binding their countries. Yet, the domestic environment and political calculations in each country will ultimately shape the effects of this period of political change.

The U.S. political decision-making process is largely isolated from international influence, and the Pena Nieto administration likewise appears to be consolidating key policy areas under Mexican control at the expense of U.S. influence. Still, Mexico’s steady emergence as an economic power in North America sets the stage for a bilateral relationship much more heavily focused on opportunities for economic cooperation.

Evolving U.S.-Mexico Relations and Obama Visit is republished with permission of Stratfor.

[photo by nirvfan81]

By Fox News Latino

Just days before President Barack Obama’s visit south of the border, the Mexican government announced it will end the widespread access it has given U.S. security agencies to combat the drug war.

It could signal a potential dramatic shift in relations between the neighboring countries.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto is seeking to change his administration’s focus from violence to the country’s emerging economy, which is due to take over Brazil as the strongest in Latin America.

Click on the picture to read the full story.

[Photo courtesy Fox News Latino]

By Mary Jo McConahay, New America Media

GUATEMALA CITY – When the judge called his name, 70-year-old Tiburcio Utuy, wearing a yellow nylon jacket and looking determined, entered through tall wooden doors to face former Guatemala strongman Gen. José Efraín Rios Montt, charged with genocide. On a global scale the process is historic, the first time a former head of state stands trial for the flagrant crime in the national courts where events took place, not an international tribunal. On the scale of the life of Tiburcio Utuy, Maya corn farmer, the day was a reckoning so long in coming he talked non-stop for an hour.

“Who says there was no genocide?” asked Utuy of the tribunal. He was referring to the often cited assessment of the Rios Montt years by Pres. Otto Perez, who served as a base commander at the time in the mountainous area known as the Ixil Triangle, home to indigenous Maya where prosecutors say the genocide took place. Still hours by road from the capital, the region was considered home of an “internal enemy” according to one military planning paper, Maya supporting leftist guerrillas.

“The shoes, the belts were piled two meters high and wide, you could see the traces of people who had been killed there,” Utuy said, describing a room alongside the Catholic church in the town of Sacapulas, appropriated by soldiers for a torture chamber and body dump, where Utuy said he was held in 1982. “They tied me up and left me sitting in blood.”

After four weeks of testimony, on April 18 a judge in a separate court granted the request of the defense to annul the trial in a judgement based on a technicality. An appeal is expected. “You are mocking the witnesses,” said a prosecution attorney in a small, crowded meeting room amid a crush of press and the under the eyes of silent Maya, some elderly.

“The victims are the accused,” said the defense.

The decision muddies the immediate prosecution of the genocide crime, but there is no taking back the information that has flooded the country.  A dozen forensic anthropologists have reported on exhumations indicating violent deaths of children, mass beheadings. A geographer testified to the unraveling of Maya Ixil culture among thousands who fled from the army into wildlands, who ate grass and watched their elderly starve, or straggled into refugee camps in Mexico. Expert witnesses testified on military plans, the history of racism in Guatemala, the statistical analysis used to arrive at numbers of dead.

It has been the testimony of witnesses like Tiburcio Utuy, however, that has reverberated through every other hour of the trial. Prosecutors must prove Rios intended to eliminate people because of their membership in a particular group, Ixil Maya, in order to bring in a guilty verdict. However, refrain of suffering and brutality created by more than a hundred voices is likely to resound in the public memory no matter what the decision on the genocide charge against the general and his co-defendant, intelligence chief Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez.

“They caught up to the woman and they struck her in the head with a machete and dragged her like a dog,” said Utuy of a scene he said he saw while hiding from soldiers. Experts have testified that racism toward the majority indigenous was key to slaughter in Maya villages, which occurred in the context of counterinsurgency against leftist rebels relatively small in number. Many recalled experience in terms referring to animals. “”Just as chicks run from hawks, that’s what they did to us. Why? If we are human beings?” said witness Maria Cedillo.

Ten women who testified to sexual violence were allowed to drape their heads, partially obscuring their identity. They used traditional woven stoles to hide faces, recalling biblical images of lepers.
Some two hundred thousand persons died in Guatemala’s thirty-six years of conflict that ended in 1996, mostly civilians at government hands according to a U.N.-sponsored Truth Commission. The United States government supported Rios Montt with military aid and the personal approbation of Pres. Ronald Reagan, who publicly admired Rios’ declared anti-Communism and visited Guatemala City to declare the general was getting “a bum rap.”

“I tell you judges, I’m not lying,” Utuy said. “What guilt did the baby have still in the womb of the mother?” Witnesses testified that soldiers attacked pregnant women. “I saw this,” Utuy said. Soldiers regularly burned houses, an apparent attempt to erase standing patterns of settlement. When a clay house in his village resisted destruction by fire, Utuy said, soldiers killed those inside, piling clothes, bags and blankets on the dead and set the heap alight.

At one moment in the generally somber proceedings, Utuy surprised onlookers by rising to his feet. ‘I’m not lying, look, here are my scars,” he said, lifting his shirt and lowering his belt.

Judges, two women and a man, stared down from the dias. Soldiers had tied Utuy’s feet and head together to expose his stomach, he said, during torture.

“’Ay, what pain!’ I said. What suffering I felt at that moment when my intestines fell to the floor,” he said. He replaced them with his hands, he said.

Some witnesses have been unable to relate their experience without faltering voices, others respond briefly. Tiburcio Utuy was not exuberant, but he would not let his day in court slip by with less than fulsome expression.

“What I experienced, the suffering I felt, what the military did to me, I am telling this to the whole world,” he said.

This article was first published in New America Media.

Mary Jo McConahay has reported from Central America for numerous publications. She is the author of “Maya Roads, One Woman’s Journey Among the People of the Rainforest.”

[Photo courtesy New America Media]

Pope Francis “Unblocks” Romero’s Beatification

By Latino Rebels

The National Catholic Reporter published a story saying that “a Vatican official responsible for the sainthood cause of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador announced Sunday that the cause has been ‘unblocked’ by Pope Francis,” which suggests “that beatification of the assassinated prelate could come swiftly.”

According to the article, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia said in a homily on Sunday in Italy that “the cause of the beatification of Monsignor Romero has been unblocked.” The story also said that Paglia had seen Pope Francis over the weekend, and that such news would not have been publicly shared if the Pope had not authorized it.

The article continues:

Romero was shot to death while saying Mass in El Salvador on March 24, 1980. While he is seen as a hero to many because of his solidarity with the poor and his opposition to human rights abuses, his cause has also been viewed with suspicion in some quarters, partly because of Romero’s links to the controversial liberation theology movement.

Although both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have said publicly that Romero was a martyr for the faith, there’s also been some question as to whether his death meets the classic test for martyrdom of being killed in odium fidei, meaning “in hatred of the faith,” or whether the motives were more social and political.

If Romero is judged a martyr, he could be beatified without having a miracle attributed to his intercession.

The report include a March 26 quote from Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez, Auxiliary Bishop of San Salvador, who said the following: “…I know [Pope Francis] is absolutely convinced that Romero is a saint and a martyr. Everything points to his beatification being on the cards, although we follow God’s time frame which is not the same as ours.”

This article was first published in Latino Rebels.

The Latino Rebels are a collective of social media influentials, bloggers, marketers, journalists, poets, writers, producers, photographers, and marketers. We use humor, commentary, opinions, independent stories, cross-links to others blogs, and our social media platforms to share our universe. 

[Photo courtesy Latino Rebels]

By John Benson, Saludify

Solving healthcare issues on both sides of the border is the theme of the recently released report Strengthening Health Systems in North and Central America: What role for migration?

Migration Policy Institute Policy Analyst Eleanor Sohnen tells Saludify the study, which is co-authored by New York University College of Nursing’s Allison Squires, PhD, RN and Hiram Beltrán-Sánchez of the Population Studies Center at Harvard University, reveals two main findings.

“Although current registered nurse production in the U.S. is seen as sufficient to fulfill needs in the short- to medium-term, there are needs for under-served populations, specifically Spanish-speaking populations,” Sohnen said. “A very small percentage of these nurses speak Spanish, even those with Hispanic heritage. Another lesson is for Mexico and Central America, some of these countries have a critical lack of health services professionals, specifically nurses.”

The latter point stems from a difference of nursing school curricula. Not only are Central and Latin American nurses not utilized in the same fashion as their counterparts in the United States, but they often are viewed as being in a subservient position. This is compared to nurses in the U.S., who have more autonomy. The report concludes that improving the training of Latin American nurses is a necessity.

“That’s not a surprise. There are a number of challenges facing people in the profession [in Latin America],” Sohnen said. “So increasingly aligning curricula to U.S. standards cannot only serve the people in the region and their healthcare needs but also provide opportunities for highly-skilled health professionals to come to the U.S. where their skills are also needed.”

Sohnen stressed that the goal isn’t to have Latin American nurses trained solely for the purpose of immigrating to the United States, which would cause a brain-drain in their respective countries. Instead, the idea is Latin American nurses already coming to the States can bring their skills with them.

“Also, health professionals in Mexico will be able to receive higher salaries,” Sohnen said. “Presumably also there would be snowball effect throughout this sort of healthcare workforce production system as a result of those improved standards. Also the report lists a company involved in an initiative to train Mexican nurses to U.S. standards and provide them with career-specific language training. There are lessons to be learned from that kind of a program.”

One lesson that unfortunately has been somewhat negative regarding the issue has to do with the North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA]. Sohnen said under the agreement there’s no limit on the number of Mexican nurses that can come to the U.S.

“The problem is the way the agreement is structured it requires nurses to have bachelor’s degrees,” Sohnen said. “Now most nurses in Mexico don’t have bachelor’s degrees. So despite the fact that there is this opportunity for Mexican nurses to come here and serve critical populations that need Spanish-speaking nurses, they can’t.”

There is indeed a growing need for Spanish-speaking and culturally knowledgeable nurses. Sohnen said a recent Migration Policy Institute Policy study revealed only 3 percent of U.S. registered nurses speak Spanish.

“What we want people to take away from the study is that there are a significant number of trained healthcare professionals here in the U.S. that are not able to use their education and there are ways to address that challenge,” Sohnen said. “At the same time, there is an opportunity for countries like Mexico to build up their healthcare training systems in order to both meet needs at home and potentially the needs abroad.

“It’s a challenging situation but there are a number of opportunities it could lead to that would be good for both healthcare professionals and for potential patients.”

This article was first published in Saludify.

John Benson is employed as a fulltime freelance writer writing for local/national outlets. When he’s not covering news, music or entertainment, he can be found coaching his boys (basketball, football and baseball) or spending time with his wife, Maria.

[Photo by Dave Q]

By Amanda Maxwell, La Onda Verde de NRDC

Chile

Thousands of dead shrimp and small fish have emerged from a duct of the Bocamina II plant, an Endesa-owned thermoelectric power generation plant located near Coronel in southern Chile. This incident comes just days after a mass die-off of shrimp, crabs, and other marine life was discovered along a beach in the same area. Several fisherman and international environmentalists have blamed pollution from local power plants for the incidents. Endesa and Colbún, two of the country’s electricity generators and owners of three area power plants, have countered these claims, stating that the die-off likely had natural causes. The Environmental Crime Investigation Unit expects to release a full report on the incident within a month. (BioBioChile 3/26/2013; The Santiago Times 3/22/2013) 

Chile’s National Forest Corporation (Conaf) is pursuing strategies to protect Darwin’s fox—a critically endangered fox species found in Nahuelbuta National Park and Chiloé Island. Facing threats such as habitat loss and diseases transmitted by area dogs, the fox population has dwindled to approximately 500 animals. Aiming to address these issues, Conaf has initiated a vaccination campaign for local canines and installed 15 cameras to help scientists investigate the state of the current fox population and its habitat. (La Tercera 3/24/2013)

Persistent air pollution in Chillán and Chillán Viejo has earned the municipalities a “saturated zone” declaration, a label given to areas that exceed ambient standards for air pollutants such as particulates, ozone, and carbon monoxide. The designation will allow the cities to develop a formal Decontamination Plan, focusing on areas such as transportation, firewood use, building energy efficiency and industrial emissions. (Nación 3/25/2013)

Costa Rica

Residents of Puerto Jimenez, Golfito have filed an appeal in Costa Rica’s Constitutional Court against the region’s regulatory plan, which paved the way for the approval of a new marina development in the Golfo Dulce. The plan is being challenged on the grounds that it was never fully publicized, lacks a technical analysis of the area’s biodiversity, and was elaborated and paid for by a private company that would personally benefit from new development projects. (El País 3/28/2013)

Costa Rica’s CRUSA Foundation has granted over 1.4 million dollars to help protect the country’s vulnerable watersheds. The grant will help finance seven projects, including a “water fund”, which aims to create an investment portfolio for water and watershed-related projects. Other initiatives include the strengthening of 60 rural aqueducts in Costa Rica’s northern and central regions and integrated management of the Purires River micro-watershed in Cartago. (El Financiero 3/22/2013)

Costa Rica will aim to become carbon-neutral by 2021, claimed René Castro, the country’s Minister of Energy and the Environment during a recent trip to China. Castro indicated that part of his trip was geared toward learning about China’s strategy to increase production while decreasing its energy consumption. Costa Rica, which is currently projected to increase its energy consumption by 7% by 2016, will need to invest at least 1% of GDP to help neutralize emissions. (El Financiero 3/26/2013)

Mexico

Helping to mark World Water Day, the Mexican government has declared water to be an issue of national priority and security, paving the way for the elaboration of new and improved policies to govern water use. The government will seek to guarantee supply, reduce waste, and prohibit the drilling of wells without prior authorization from the National Water Commission. Currently, 35 million Mexicans live without adequate water access. (AméricaEconomía 3/23/2013)

This article was first published in NRDC Switchboard.

Amanda Maxwell is a born and bred Jersey girl, but has lived for varying amounts of time in Michigan, Vermont, Rhode Island, New York, and the Czech Republic before moving to Washington, DC. Prior to joining NRDC she received my Masters degree in International Politics and Economics with a focus in Renewable Energy policy from Charles University in Prague. While there, she gained an appreciation for night running, train travel (especially of the high speed variety), and the local pivo. She received a Bachelors degree in history and Spanish from Middlebury College, and also studied in Buenos Aires.

[Photo by Wonderlane]

By Amanda Maxwell, La Onda Verde de NRDC

Chile

HidroAysén, the company intending to build a 2,750 megawatt dam project on two rivers in Patagonia, announced that it would not present the environmental impact study for its transmission line until the end of 2014, in the most optimistic of scenarios. The company has not shown clarity about how it would move forward since parent company Colbún announced in May 2012 that it recommended halting work on the project. Among the reasons given for the delayed timeline, HidroAysén cited the need to re-evaluate the baselines and other technical studies needed for the transmission line’s environmental impact assessment. At the same time, Chile’s government announced that the Committee of Ministers, which is supposed to rule on the 58 appeals filed against HidroAysén’s dams’ approval, will likely not make a decision this year. Filed in the middle of 2011 and originally set for 2012, the appeals case is viewed as too politically unpopular for the government to take a stance. (Economía y Negocios 3/19/2013, 3/21/2013)

The first stone was laid in the Pampa Elvira Solar project in Antofagasta, a $26 million investment by the Chilean-Danish consortium Energía Llaima-Sunmark. The complex will produce 51,800 MWht annually, allowing the Gaby Mine to replace 85 percent of its diesel fuel and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 15,000 tons of CO2 each year. Officials expect Pampa Elvira Solar to be operational during the second semester of 2013. (La Segunda 3/15/2013)

Executive Director of the Chilean Renewable Energy Association (ACERA), Carlos Finat, spoke to the Energy and Mining Commission in the Chamber of Deputies of ACERA’s support for the proposed “20-20 law”, which would mandate that 20 percent of Chile’s energy generation come from renewable sources b 2020. He argued against the executive branch’s recent statements that the law would be too difficult to achieve, saying it is both technically feasible and economically beneficial. He further said that the “20 by 2020” goal would allow renewables to compete in upcoming distribution tenders. (Cámara de Diputados de Chile 3/21/2013)

Community members in Puchuncaví and La Greda fear that the opening of the new coal-fired power plant in AES Gener’s Ventanas will create even higher levels of industrial pollution in the already-saturated area. The addition of the new 270 MW plant will make AES Gener’s Ventanas complex the largest coal power plant in Chile, at 885 MW. (El Mercurio de Valparaiso via Terram.cl 3/20/2013)

High energy costs and low water levels are pushing Chilean winemakers to invest in innovative ways to run their wineries. The Morandé winery has installed solar panels at its Añade vineyard, and is assessing the feasibility of using solar energy at other vineyards, too. The De Martino winery says it has already achieved savings by using energy more efficiently, and is looking to optimize insulation and natural light uses. The Montes winery also reports considerable savings after employing various energy efficiency strategies. (Diario Financiero 3/15/2013)

Mexico

The city of Cancun will be host to the 2013 Solar World Congress during November 3-17th this year, making it the first time the congress will be held in a Latin American nation. The 50 year-old Congress will be attended by over 110 countries and organizations, such as the International Agency of Energy and the International Agency of Renewable Energy. At this year’s event, the congress will encourage energy reforms among member countries, pushing governments to make the transition to renewable energies as soon as possible. (Tiempo en Linea 3/20/13)

The Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA), the Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG) as well as international experts have contacted President Enrique Peña Nieto about the already high and growing mortality rate of sea turtles off the coast of Baja California Sur. According to CEMDA, more than 2,000 turtles died in 2012 – a 600 percent increase from the mortality rates in the past few years – placing it among the highest turtle mortality rates in the world. Many of these deaths can be associated with high levels of accidental kills associated with small-scale fishing in the Gulf of Ulloa. (Hispanically Speaking New 3/13/13)

At the Fourth High Level Dialogue between Mexico and the European Union (EU), Marie-Anne Coninsx, the head of the EU’s delegation, recognized President Peña Nieto for the country’s new environmental policies. Among the advances highlighted in the meeting was Mexico’s recent adoption of the Climate Change Law. At the meeting, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources also announced a new forest program which would plant 180 million trees to increase the awareness among Mexicans of the need to manage forest resources sustainably and rationally. (El Economista 3/19/13).

Regional

Mountainous communities in the Andes have been experiencing climate change’s impacts on glaciers first hand, as melting glaciers are increasingly causing dramatic flooding events that can threaten communities. The Risk Management Office in the Peruvian municipality of Huaraz recently warned that water levels in the glacial Palcacocha Lake are again at record highs, indicating that the lake’s walls –formed by loose rocks and debris—could rupture and cause a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF). If it were to happen, the equivalent of 240,000 Olympic swimming pools (approximately 17 million cubic meters of water) would rush down the valley and to the city of Huaraz, home to over 110,000 people. The threat of the GLOF has citizens calling on the government to take preemptive action. (E&E News, Climatewire 3/14/2013)

This article was first published in NRDC Switchboard.

Amanda Maxwell is a born and bred Jersey girl, but has lived for varying amounts of time in Michigan, Vermont, Rhode Island, New York, and the Czech Republic before moving to Washington, DC. Prior to joining NRDC she received my Masters degree in International Politics and Economics with a focus in Renewable Energy policy from Charles University in Prague. While there, she gained an appreciation for night running, train travel (especially of the high speed variety), and the local pivo. She received a Bachelors degree in history and Spanish from Middlebury College, and also studied in Buenos Aires.

[Photos: Mexican Sea Turtle by Quiltsalad; Palcacocha Lake courtesy University of Oregon; Puchuncavi La Greda Chile courtesy Prensa.cl]

By Amanda Maxwell, La Onda Verde de NRDC

Chile

The Chilean Solar Energy Research Center—a newly formed organization comprising researchers from several of the country’s universities—will begin a multidisciplinary study of the solar energy potential in the Norte Grande. The project will identify key barriers to the development of cost-effective and sustainable solar energy technology, helping to build a scientific evidence base on the topic, inform the public and policymakers, and promote technology transfer programs. (Diario Financiero 3/13/2013; Universidad de Antofagasta 3/13/2013)

Drinking water delivered to several northern cities has exceeded the allowed toxin content limit for the past ten months, according to monthly water quality reports published by the Chilean Superintendence of Sanitation Services. The water, which was found to have elevated levels of sulfates, nitrates, and arsenic, supplies more than 500 thousand people in Copiapó, Caldera, Tierra Amarilla, Chañaral, Alto Hospicio and Arica, among other towns and cities. (Cooperativa 3/11/2013)

Environmental groups in Chile sent a letter to Congress on March 14 –International Day against Large Dams—calling on members of both houses to reject two major energy bills that are currently being debated. The advocates argue that both bills, one proposing a government-built transmission line and one proposing to fast-track electricity concessions, are designed to benefit the HidroAysén mega-dam proposal and other similar projects. (Terram 3/15/2013)

Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s National Bank is planning to offset its 2011-2012 carbon footprint by purchasing $90,000 of carbon credits from small national farmers and ranchers. The compensation received by each producer will equal the CO2 emissions offset through green operational practices such as biodigester technology, use of hedgerows, and greater water efficiency. The 10-month initiative is aiming to benefit 300 small producers. (El Financiero 3/14/2013)

Zoo Ave, a Costa Rican animal rescue center, has reported the first birth in captivity of the King Vulture—an endangered species of the New World family of vultures that inhabits tropical lowland forests between Mexico and northern Argentina. This marks the first captive birth of the bird in Latin America and one of the few reported worldwide. (La Nación 3/13/2013)

Mexico

Gray whales have found a mating refuge off of the coast of Baja California Sur, where ongoing preservation programs are attempting to help increase the population of these endangered cetaceans. The efforts appear to be working—researchers have identified 1,321 whales in the area this calving season (729 adults and 592 calves), up from just 62 adults in 2009 and 20 in 2010. (El País 3/11/2013)

An aquatic robot will begin to measure the effects of climate change on Mexican reefs, reports the Center for Research and Advanced Studies. The robot, named Mexibot, will be deployed off of the Costa Maya and will capture images of the area’s flora and fauna. The initiative aims to shed light on the diversity and predation process of the country’s Caribbean reefs. (El País 3/1//2013)

A change.org petition is calling on Juan José Guerra Abud, head of Mexico’s Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, to halt a mining project launched by the Mexican-Canadian firm Esperanza Silver de México. The gold mining initiative is located approximately half a kilometer from the Xochicalco archeological (and UNESCO World Heritage) site in state of Morelos. The petition, which has close to 800 signatures, is also directed at the state’s governor, given that Morelos has been severely impacted by the destruction of its natural ecosystems. (SDP Noticias 3/12/2013)

This article was first published in NRDC Switchboard.

Amanda Maxwell is a born and bred Jersey girl, but has lived for varying amounts of time in Michigan, Vermont, Rhode Island, New York, and the Czech Republic before moving to Washington, DC. Prior to joining NRDC she received my Masters degree in International Politics and Economics with a focus in Renewable Energy policy from Charles University in Prague. While there, she gained an appreciation for night running, train travel (especially of the high speed variety), and the local pivo. She received a Bachelors degree in history and Spanish from Middlebury College, and also studied in Buenos Aires.

[Photo by belgianchocolate]

By Associated Press/Washington Post

The Mexican government is demanding that Sotheby’s auction house halt the planned sale of 51 pre-Columbian Mexican artifacts, arguing they are protected national historical pieces.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History said Wednesday that Mexico has sent a diplomatic note to the French government seeking assistance in heading off the auction scheduled in Paris for Friday and Saturday.

Click on picture to read full story.

[Photo by Financial Times photos]

By Robert Cyr, ctlatinonews

A new ruling has been issued in an intriguing international human rights case unfolding in Hartford federal court. It involves a former Mexican president and the court has jurisdiction because he is now a professor at Yale University and a resident of Connecticut.

The court must decide on a decision last week  by a Mexican court that may possibly prevent former President Ernesto Zedillo from claiming he has immunity as a former head of state, forcing him to face the charges against him. Matthew D. Gordon, a West Hartford lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said they are still analyzing the Mexican court ruling that states that since the lawsuit against Zedillo is personal and not against Mexico and he is no longer in an official capacity, the Mexican constitution does not provide him with immunity protection. The local federal court had not yet ruled on granting Zedillo’s request for immunity, which was recommended by the U.S. State Department after receiving a request from the U.S. Mexican Ambassador, who the Mexican court decision also says overstepped his authority.

Click on picture to read full story.

[Photo by  World Economic Forum]

By John Rosales, Voxxi

In my 20 years as a resident of Washington, D.C., I have visited a lot of dead white generals sitting on horses. Outdoor monuments dedicated to our war heroes dot the nation’s capital city. You can’t miss them.

They are usually in prime locations near Pennsylvania Avenue around the White House and U.S. Capitol building or in the heart of the city along the famous pedestrian mall that boasts some of the world’s greatest art and history museums as part of the Smithsonian Institution. Prime real estate. A tourist mecca.

Only pigeons might love outdoor monuments more than I do. And none impress me more than the statue of Mexico’s most celebrated president Benito Juarez, sans caballo. He stands near a nest of highways in D.C.’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood. Off the beaten path, in front of the Watergate Hotel and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Not a bad location, but probably overlooked by most tourists and pigeons.

Benito Juarez: Mexico’s George Washington

I wonder how many Watergate residents and Kennedy Center theater-goers who drive past the statue will acknowledge Benito Juarez’s birthday. He was born on March 21, 1806. I usually visit the statue around this time as homage to the full-blooded Zapotec Indian who was born to illiterate parents in an Oaxacan village. Taught to read and write by a Catholic priest, he became a lawyer and a judge who helped draft the Mexican constitution.

The statue was a gift in 1969 from the Mexican government in exchange for a portrait statue of Abraham Lincoln that was presented to Mexico in 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson. Often called the “George Washington of Mexico,” Juarez is positioned so he is pointing to the bust of Washington that sits on the campus of nearby George Washington University.

When I stare up at the full-length bronze figure, I half expect it to step off its granite base and talk to me. Artist Enrique Alciati created the realistic rendition in 1891. It was recast in 1968. While the statue’s right arm is raised and pointing, the left hand holds a book titled Reforma. Within the base is an urn containing soil from Oaxaca. Plaques contain both Spanish and English inscriptions of a famous Benito Juarez quote: “Respect for the rights of others is peace.”

Juarez’s right arm is pointing so assuredly I expect a taxi to stop any moment and take us touring. I wonder if he was into magical realism, as were so many great Latin American novelists. He wasn’t one for staying put, statuesque. In 1853, he fled to New Orleans to escape the corrupt military dictatorship of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. The next year he helped draft the Plan of Ayutla, a document calling for Santa Anna’s deposition and a convention to implement a new constitution. It took. People responded.

Juarez modeled Mexico’s government after U.S.

In 1861, Benito Juarez was elected as Mexico’s 27th president. He befriended Abraham Lincoln, who gave him advice on establishing a democracy. Throughout his tenure, Juarez tried to create a modern civil society and capitalist economy based on the U.S. model. He is revered as a reformer dedicated to democracy and equal rights for the nation’s indigenous Indian population, lessening the power of the Roman Catholic Church, and defense of national sovereignty. Juarez was re-elected president in 1867 and 1871.

In addition to D.C., the United States has statues of Juarez along Sixth Avenue in New York City’s Bryant Park, at the Plaza de las Américas on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago and on Basin Street in New Orleans, where he worked at a cigar factory while in exile. He died of a heart attack in 1872 in Mexico City. The date March 21 has become a national holiday in Mexico and a day for some of us to reflect on a hero who does not need a horse to accent his outdoor monument.

You can see Benito Juarez’s Washington D.C. monument in this video on his life.

Benito Juarez’s story

This article was first published in Voxxi.

John Rosales, a native of San Antonio, Texas, lives in Washington, D.C. Contact him at JRosales@nea.org
For more commentaries and news, go to www.HispanicLink.org

[Photo by  Aaron Webb]

By Latino Rebels

Ever since Jorge Mario Bergoglio was named Pope Francis last Wednesday, allegations about his role during Argentina’s Dirty War of the late 70s and 80s have resurfaced, with many stories (and inaccurate images) going viral online. The core issue involves Bergoglio’s alleged role and actions surrounding the kidnapping and torture of two Jesuit priests, Orlando Yorio and Francisco Jalics. The reaction via social media has been noticeable enough that the Vatican officially responded to the criticisms yesterday, saying that the allegations were part of “anti-clerical left-wing elements.”

This newspaper cover features Horacio Verbitsky’s cover story about the role of the Church in Argentina during the time of the Dirty War. This original image went viral on social media, when people thought that the priest giving communion to former military dictator Jorge Rafeal Videla was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis.

This is what The Washington Post reported:

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, departed from his recent good cheer since the pope’s election to excoriate the criticisms in the press. He called the accusations against the former Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who served as a Jesuit provincial superior and then archbishop of Buenos Aires, stale and the work of “anti-clerical left-wing elements to attack the church [that] must be decisively rejected.”

Lombardi framed the criticism as part of a “campaign that’s often slanderous and defamatory.”

The story also adds the following:

…questions about the activities of Bergoglio from 1976 to 1983, when a military dictatorship terrorized much of Argentina and “disappeared” thousands of its own citizens, remain a cloud over his papacy’s otherwise bright early days.

Lombardi dismissed the accusations, mostly centered on Bergoglio’s alleged complicity in the torture of two slum priests, as old and unfounded.

“This was never a concrete or credible accusation in his regard,” Lombardi said. “He was questioned by an Argentinian court as someone aware of the situation but never as a defendant. He has, in documented form, denied any accusations.”

In addition, the story goes on to say that unlike other clerics who publicly spoke out against dictatorships of that time (particularly the one in Chile), it is hard to determine what Bergoglio did or did not do. As the story says, “Bergoglio once told a biographer that he purposely said Mass for the nation’s dictator, Jorge Videla, once in order to advocate for mercy.”

According to Lombardi, Bergoglio has never been formally accused. However, Argentine journalist Horacio Verbitsky produced information three years ago about what Bergoglio told judges at a meeting in his archdiocese’s office and how it contradicted testimony from others, as well as from Bergoglio himself. Verbitsky made an appearance this week on Democracy Now! to discuss this part of Pope Francis’ past.

The Post story also mentions that “that one of the Jesuit slum priests [Jalics] who was kidnapped in the case in question had earlier in the day issued a statement saying the two had reconciled.” It continues:

“The accusations pertain to a use of historical-sociological analysis of the dictatorship period made years ago by anti-clerical elements to attack the Church. They must be firmly rejected,” [Lombardi] said.

[Jalics], who had previously been silent about the incident, said in a statement that he had spoken with Bergoglio years later and that the two Jesuits had celebrated Mass together and embraced “solemnly.”

“I am reconciled to the events and consider the matter to be closed,” he said.

Even though the Vatican defended Pope Francis, questions and memories still linger about one of Argentina’s darkest periods. A report by ABC News adds more details:

[Jalics and Yorio] spent much of their time working with the poor in a Buenos Aires slum, but they were kidnapped in a raid by security forces. In the ensuing months, the two men were reportedly tortured, kept in shackles and even threatened with electrocution. While they were eventually freed after five months, Yorio later said that he faulted [Bergoglio] for the incident.

Bergoglio, according to critics, was accused not only of staying silent about the government’s brutality, but of being partly to blame for the kidnappings by withdrawing church protection for them. Before Yorio died, he told [Verbitsky], “I don’t have any reason to think that [Bergoglio] did anything for our freedom.”

The ABC story also included this:

After Bergoglio emerged victorious from this week’s conclave at the Vatican to pick the successor to the retired Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Yorio’s sister Graciela said in an email to Verbitsky that she was “distressed and full of anger” about the new pope.

“I can’t believe it,” she said.

Some of Francis’ most extreme critics think he should have been more vocal in speaking out against the Argentine dictatorship, yet many are already putting this issue into some perspective, as John Thavis, author of “The Vatican Diaries,” told ABC News:

“People are going to be looking at that period of history pretty closely. On the other hand, people have already looked at that period of history pretty closely and if there was any evidence that as a cardinal or Jesuit provincial he really did work hand in glove with military leaders we would have known it by now,” Thavis said.

Bergoglio, Thavis noted, did not have “a highly visible role” at that time and “it was not his job to go around denouncing things.”

Furthermore, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, the Argentine human rights activist who won the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize, said this on Thursday: “There were bishops who were complicit in the dictatorship. But not Bergoglio.”

Even so, another ABC News story shared more details from Argentine families who lost their loved ones during the Dirty War, and why many still think that Bergoglio’s complicity should not be ignored. The Guardian also published a rather detailed report.

One is left to wonder if the Vatican underestimated how quickly information can be shared online, since within days, Bergoglio’s past has become a persistent issue.

This article was first published in Latino Rebels.

The Latino Rebels are a collective of social media influentials, bloggers, marketers, journalists, poets, writers, producers, photographers, and marketers. We use humor, commentary, opinions, independent stories, cross-links to others blogs, and our social media platforms to share our universe. 

[Photo by Catholic Church (England and Wales)]

By Latino Rebels

With the announcement that Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires, is now Pope Francis, very little is being reported in the U.S. mainstream about Bergoglio’s entire history. There is talk about how Bergoglio is the first Latin American pontiff and how he is humble and a champion of the poor. There is talk about how he represents the future of the Church, hailing from a region outside Europe. There is talk about Latin America pride and that he is also the first Jesuit pope. Yet there are only mentions ofBergoglio’s association with Argentina’s Dirty War of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the consequences that the country continues to face even to this day.

A 2010 piece in Spanish called “El almirante y el cardenal” (The Admiral and the Cardinal) provides a detailed look into Bergoglio and his actions during perhaps one of Argentina’s most tragic periods. The focus of the piece, written by journalist Horacio Verbitsky, chronicles a trial of the late Admiral Emilio Massera, one of the dictatorship’s organizers of mass tortures and executions, and how Bergoglio did not have to testify in court, but instead how he talked the judges who visited his archdiocese’s office.

According to Verbitsky, Bergoglio said that he had had a conversation with the journalist about events of the Dirty War. However, Verbitsky claims that Bergolgio was not accurate is his testimony to the judges. Here is a translation of what Verbitsky wrote:

[Bergoglio] acknowledged that in 1999 he spoke to me about the kidnapping of his former Jesuit subordinates, Orlando Yorio and Francisco Jalics. But he said he never heard of the “The Silence” island, in Tigre, part of the Buenos Aires Archbishop’s property, to which prisoners were transferred in 1979 from the ESMA [la Escuela de la Mecánica de la Aramda, the notorious detention center for political prisoners] so that the American Commission on Human Rights could not locate them. That’s not true, because in my interview with Bergolgio, he gave me accurate information that the probate records contained of the Curia’s former employees as a property owner. He gave me a note that is reproduced here.

Verbitsky continues:

He also denied having met at the Colegio Máximo with the Bishop of Morón, Miguel Raspanti. This contradicts the testimony of Morón catechist Marina Rubino, who studied theology at the Máximo. One afternoon, when leaving a class, she came upon Raspanti. Marina knew that her teachers, Jalics and Yorio, and a third Jesuit who worked with her at Castela school, Luis Dourron, had asked to be part of the Morón diocese. She said the the three had an impeccable character, and that he should not hesitate to bring them in. Raspanti explained that the situation was more complicated. He could not get them in the diocese because of the “bad references Bergoglio gave him.”

Then there is this:

Bergoglio told the judges that when the priests were kidnapped, he had a close dialogue with Massera, whom he said he would visit in order to save the priests. The judges also asked him about his visit to the Foreign Ministry to ask for a special procedure for renewing the Jalics’ passport, once he was released. He replied that he had told the attending official that Jalics was arrested with Yorio, and that both were charged as guerrillas but they had “nothing to do with that.”

However, according to Verbitsky, others documents and testimony by Anselmo Orcoyen have Bergoglio saying that the priests were living in a small Jesuit community that was dissolved in February, 1976 and that they were detained at ESMA in May because they were suspected of having contact with guerilla groups.

The Associated Press ran a story today that also discusses Bergoglio’s past. (FYI: The AP calls him “José” instead of “Jorge.”)

Pope Francis is known for his humility, his reluctance to talk about himself. The self-effacement, admirers say, is why he has hardly ever denied one of the harshest allegations against him: That he was among church leaders who actively supported Argentina’s murderous dictatorship.

It’s without dispute that Jose [sic] Mario Bergoglio, like most other Argentines, failed to openly confront the 1976-1983 military junta while it was kidnapping and killing thousands of people in a “dirty war” to eliminate leftist opponents.

But the new pope’s authorized biographer, Sergio Rubin, argues that this was a failure of the Roman Catholic Church in general, and that it’s unfair to label Bergoglio with the collective guilt that many Argentines of his generation still deal with.

“In some way many of us Argentines ended up being accomplices,” at a time when anyone who spoke out could be targeted, Rubin recalled in an interview with The Associated Press just before the papal conclave.

Some leading Argentine human rights activists agree that Bergoglio doesn’t deserve to be lumped together with other church figures who were closely aligned with the dictatorship.

“Perhaps he didn’t have the courage of other priests, but he never collaborated with the dictatorship,” Adolfo Perez Esquivel, who won the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize for documenting the junta’s atrocities, said Thursday. “Bergoglio was no accomplice of the dictatorship. He can’t be accused of that,” Perez Esquivel told Radio de la Red in Buenos Aires.

Other activists are angry over the positions Bergoglio, 76, has taken in recent years, as Argentina pursues investigations aimed at exposing those responsible for killing as many as 30,000 people, and finding traces of their victims. Some say he’s been more concerned about preserving the church’s image than providing evidence for Argentina’s many human rights trials.

“There’s hypocrisy here when it comes to the church’s conduct, and with Bergoglio in particular,” said Estela de la Cuadra, whose mother co-founded the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo activist group during the dictatorship to search for missing family members. “There are trials of all kinds now, and Bergoglio systematically refuses to support them.”

Bergoglio twice invoked his right under Argentine law to refuse to appear in open court in trials involving torture and murder inside the feared Navy Mechanics School and the theft of babies from detainees. When he eventually did testify in 2010, his answers were evasive, human rights attorney Myriam Bregman told the AP.

This article was first published in Latino Rebels.

The Latino Rebels are a collective of social media influentials, bloggers, marketers, journalists, poets, writers, producers, photographers, and marketers. We use humor, commentary, opinions, independent stories, cross-links to others blogs, and our social media platforms to share our universe. 

[Photos courtesy Lastino Rebels]