por los servicios de noticias de El Reportero

Alvaro Colom

Yesterday saw the conclusion of the international conference on the role of trade unions in the fight against impunity, held in Guatemala City by the ITUC, its regional organisations ORIT and CLAT, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the ITUC’s Guatemalan affiliates, the CGTG and CUSG. The event was inaugurated by the President of Guatemala, Alvaro Colom. At the close of the event, the Conference Declaration was handed over to the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Edgar.

The aim of the Conference was to devise and apply political and trade union strategies to promote respect for core labour standards, to build trade union capacity to fight impunity, and to secure full investigations into the murders of trade unionists, so that those responsible are brought to justice and sentenced as soon as possible.

Guatemala is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for trade unionists; a fact confirmed just one day prior to the Conference when two armed men attacked the head office of the CGTC. The two individuals forced staff at gunpoint to open one of the offices, from which they took two computers containing valuable information.

Killing in southern Mexico sparks new fears

The state government in Oaxaca said on 31 January that the Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca had hired gangsters to kill a local police chief. The federal government’s nightmare is that its war on organised crime will become politicised and this is what may be happening in Oaxaca, one of the poorest and most politically polarised states in the country.

U.S. responds to Alba challenge with soft diplomacy

Food and war. These were the main topics of discussion during the Alternativa Bolivariana para las Américas (Alba) summit in Caracas. Unsurprisingly, the world’s media preferred to focus on the latter. President Hugo Chávez accused Colombia of plotting with the US against Venezuela and discussed with his Nicaraguan peer, Daniel Ortega, creating a joint defence force in readiness for an attack on any Alba member. The U.S. did not take the bait. The State Department rejected what it described as “wild conspiracy theories”, focusing instead on a charm offensive in the region.

Conservatives form new bench in Nicaragua

On 30 January the Partido Conservador (PC) in Nicaragua decided to end its alliance with the Alianza Liberal Nicaragüense (ALN) and form its own bench in congress.

Nicaraguan dairy firms eying Venezuela

Managua, Jan 30 (Prensa Latina) Nicaraguan dairy producers are setting their sights on Venezuela, a market with 30 million consumers, where they aspire to market their excess production.

Businessman Alfredo Lacayo considers that the country must use its great exporting potential of these products, as only 20 percent of it is currently used.

Nicaragua went from exporting dairy products worth $300,000 in 1996 to $100 million in 2007, which shows its potential, according to official statistics.

He considered that if transportation conditions improve, a flourishing business in the sector may emerge, favoring both countries.

by Anne Wakefield

¡Hoy marchamos!, the cry that held together the massive Hispanic rallies in 2006, has reached mañana votamos, its first big deadline on Super Tuesday. Among the 24 states conducting primaries and caucuses Feb 5 are Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, New Jersey and New Mexico, all with vast Hispanic populations that will likely vote against those candidates they perceive as anti-immigrant.

During the 2004 elections, George W. Bush won 40 percent of the Latino vote. But, as a nationwide survey by the Pew Hispanic Center revealed, Republicans have lost most of that support due to their hard stance on immigration. Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson has suggested that this could ruin the party’s chances to retain the presidency in 2008 and beyond.

The Pew study shows some 57 percent of Hispanic registered voters now call themselves Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party, while just 23 porciento align with the Republican Party.

Of the GOP candidates, only U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona has been supportive of immigration reform with a path to legalization for some 12 million undocumented immigrants, although following a barrage of criticism from his party’s extreme right, he flip-flopped. He leads in most polls. McCain won back-to-back victories in the South Carolina and: Florida primaries.

An endorsement by Cuban-American Melquiades (Mel) Martínez of Florida, the GOP’s lone Hispanic in the U.S. Senate, was sought by all of the party’s candidates. After several clashes with Rudolph Giuliani and Mitt Romney over their hard-line stances on immigration, Martinez finally announced his support for Mc Cain Jan. 25. AlsolntheMcCaln camp is Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Álvarez, a popular f gure in the Hispanic community. Polls show former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney running slightly ahead of McCain in California. He, like McCain, has a website in Spanish. The site includes a video of his son Craig, speaking for 38 seconds in fluent Spanish, stressing the candidate’s virtues as a father.

Romney’s grandparents were Mormons who fled the United States because of the U.S. government’s opposition to polygamy. Mexico President Porfirio Díaz allowed Mormons to establish a colony in Chihuahua. When the Mexican Revolution broke out in 1910, the Romneys moved to Oakley, Idaho, and eventually ended up in Salt Lake City.

Romney has enlisted a key Latino figure, Al Cárdenas, in his campaign Former president of the Florida Republican Party, Cardenas chairs the “Romney for President” Hispanic steering committee. His voice can be heard on a radio ad that targets Spanish speaking voters.

As for the other two remaining GOP candidates, Mike Huckabee at one point supported the Bush-backed immigration plan that provided a path to residency for many undocumented workers. Huckabee has ex” pressed that massive deportation is “unworkable.” He wants a secure border, not a “closed” one. When asked about his lenient past position as Alabama governor on education for undocumented workers’ children, he said we shouldn’t punish the children for the sins of their fathers.

Ron Paul supported the strict House Sensenbrenner bill on immigration and voted in favor to authorizing a 700-milefence along the border.

During their last televised Republican debate, all candidates favored reinforcing border security. Romney also urged considerable deportation of undocumented immigrants.

Mc Cain said he would not try to revive the bipartisan immigration reform bill he co-authored in 2006 because the American people want to protect the border first.

He spoke in favor of stricter sanctions for employers who hire undocumented workers, but said authorities should wait for the children of undocumented immigrants to finish their school year before deporting them. Only Huckabee flatly rejected a proposal to deny citizenship to the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants.

While the Democratic race might go on beyond Feb. 5, the GOP race is more likely to conclude this week with a definite winner. Hispanic Link.

by Contessa Abono and Rigoberto Hernández

Sharing the spotlight with Super Tuesday, the election day for the 2008 California Presidential Primary Election was full of uncertainty for many.

Residents of the Mission District in San Francisco were voicing their concerns about the candidates, which many felt did not adequately address the issues that mattered to them most.­

Although many were excited by the news that Democratic candidate and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has won in California’s presidential primary and Republican John McCain is the state’s GOP pick, some in the Latino community thought there were issues still not dealt with by the presidential candidates.

Roberto Hernández, a Mission District resident and co-chair of a local voter registration campaign in his neighborhood, said he did not like the way the issues he cares about are addressed by the presidential candidates. “I have not seen one candidate that has a comprehensive immigration plan for Latinos,” said Hernandez.

Luis Aroches is part of the Community Response Network, which is in charge of preventing and responding to youth violence in the Mission District.

Aroches, who voted for Clinton, said the candidates have not focused on the issues that he cares about and that the candidates do not reach out for the Latino vote.

Education is another issue that Hernández would have liked to see addressed by the candidates.

“I have not heard a comprehensive plan now that we are going to get rid of the Bush Administration’s ‘No child left behind,’ a total failure,” said Hernandez. “In terms of this county Latinos are never counted.”

Hernández, who supports Obama, was part of a Latino march last May in San Francisco and remembered the slogan for the march: “Today we march, tomorrow we vote.” The slogan caught everyone in this country by surprise, including Hernández, who realized how the up-rise of Latinos took place.

“They realized it was time to do something about it. It got the Latinos to say we have power. It went beyond illegal or undocumented workers, and it got the Latinos to say they are not going to treat us like this,” said Hernández.

Anhoni Patel is a contractor who took the day off from work to campaign for Obama outside the BART station on 16th Street and Mission Street. Patel said she didn’t have strong feelings about the primaries until Obama became a candidate. “Obama can really bring change, he always mentions we. He represents what we care about,” she said.

For Karina García, 21, who works in a Guatemalan restaurant on Mission Street, it is all about showing that Latinos have a voice. “I would like someone who supports Latinos.”

Now more than ever the Latino vote is being sought after “now all of a sudden the candidates are locking into the Latino community,” said Hernández. “We are making a difference in this election. Politicians took us for granted for so long, those days are over.”

City public officials cut the re-opening ribbon (photo courtesy by SFPL)

SF Western Addition Branch Library Reopens: (L-R) Sup. Ross Mirkarimi, State Assemblyman Mark Leno, State Sen. Carole Migden, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library Director Donna Bero, City Librarian Luis Herrera, and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom cut the ribbon Feb. 2 to the newly renovated Western Addition Branch Library.

The branch, located at 1550 Scott St., received a $4.3 million facelift, which included a new entry with automatic front doors, new teen area, improved main reading and children’s areas, a new state-of-the-art program room, and a beautifully landscaped outside courtyard.

­The library is now seismically safe, fully accessible and technologically updated with new computers and free WiFi access to the Internet.

by Marc Heller

Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama

With Super Tuesday jnow happenning, Latinos are increasingly viewed as the voting bloc that could tip the balance in several key Democratic primary states. Hillary Clinton shot into the lead early, building solid double-digit advantages in states such as California (weekend Zogby poll, 64 porciento-29 porciento, with Barack Obama ahead 45 porciento-41  porciento among all groups there) and New York. The Los Angeles daily La Opinión endorsed Obama Feb. 1.

Clinton established a Hispanic outreach effort months ahead of her rivals. With a stretch rush energized by younger voters, Obama continues to chip away at her Hispanic firewall.

A total of 22 states hold primaries Tuesday, Feb. 5. These also include Arizona, New Jersey (Zogby. Clinton leads among Hispanics (by 19 points), whites (10 points) and trails among blacks (58 points), Illinois and Colorado.

Obama has sharpened his focus in recent days, reiterating his early support for undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses—a position Clinton abandoned last year when it became clear the stance was highly unpopular nationwide collecting a respectable portion of endorsements from Hispanic elected leaders. Several shared the stage with him at a town hall campaign meeting at the Los Angeles Trade Technical College in advance of the pair’s Jan. 31 televised debate.

At that meeting, Obama greeted the crowd with the farmworkers’ slogan, “Sí se puede, sí se puede – yes we can!” It’s a mix of his campaign slogan and the rallying cry for the United Farm Workers in the 1970s and pro immigration marches two years ago.

Obama Is counting on the immigration issue to draw Hispanics from Clinton. In their last debate, he said issuing licenses to immigrants is “the right thing to do,” though unpopular among most of the public.

Clinton, who initially backed such a plan in New York, then reversed course, said immigrants should be eligible for licenses only after gaining legal status—paying a fine, learning English and meeting other requirements that were part of a failed immigration reform package in the Senate.

Some pollsters say Hispanics’ positive view of her husband’s presidency provide the incentive to pick her over a newcomer.

Polls show Clinton ahead by more than 20 points among California Latinos and an even bigger m argin in New Yorh City. Obama may have been sparked to pay more attention after the Nevada caucus, where he lost among Hispanics even though he had been endorsed by the culinary workers union.

Both campaigns launched Spanish-ianguage ads at the end of January in Super Tuesday states.

Clinton’s campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, is a Latina, as is Obama’s national campaign chairwoman, union leader Maria Elena Durazo. Clinton has a popular director of Hispanic communications, Fabiola Rodríguez-Ciampoli, and long ago launched a Web site in Spanish. On Feb 1, she announced that Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina would be her national co-chairwoman.

Clinton has Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on her side, as well as most of the Latino Democrats in Congress, including Sen. Robert Menéndez (D-N.J.) Obama’s endorsements include, in California, state senators Gloria Romero and Gil Cedillo, as well as U.S. Reps. Xavier Becerra and Linda Sánchez.

Linda’s sister, Rep. Loretta Sánchez, has endorsed Clinton.

Obama’s endorsement by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) could help build support in the Hispanic community, especially among oldervoters. Both campaigns sought the endorsement of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who so far has remained neutral, although he did watch the Super Bowl with Hillary Clinton’s husband. Hispanic Link.

by Armando Manzanares

Nevada’s Jan. 19 Democratic caucuses gave Latino activists a rare opportunity to fl ex their expanding political muscle.

Exit polls showed Latin­os made Up 14 percent of the participants and backed Democratic presidential primary winner Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama, 65 percent-20 percent. Clinton won 50.7 percent of the total caucus vote, Obama 45.2 percent.

Some 116,000 people took part in the caucuses, 12 times more than four years ago.

Latinos make up 25 percent of the state’s population, with 12 percent eligible to vote.

The Nevada Democratic Party had engaged in some major Latino voter Initiatives and put the population’s voting power to the test. The date for the Nevada primary was moved up to showcase the Latino vote.

“This is an historic opportunity. We are very proud of the turnout and participation of the Latino community,” Fabiola Rodríguez-Ciampoli, the Clinton campaign’s director of Hispanic communications, told Weekly Report.

She said the effort to mobilize the Latinos in Nevada started last April. “Strong organization on the ground at the very beginning is why we are seeing these results,” she said.

Major marketing campaigns for Spanish-language media were in effect, the Nevada Democratic Party had Spanish-language caller hotlines and outreach programs. Additionally, there was involvement from key Latino politicians both from Nevada and neighboring California.

Nevada is heavily unionized. Its biggest union, the Culinary Workers Union, is 40 percent Hispanic. It endorsed Obama.

One new twist was bilingual caucusing. Large bases of Latinos in Nevada are fi rst generation or foreign born.

Rodriguez-Ciampoli said that those groups of voters were particularly energized because of their sense of civic responsibility to be active the election process.

“This is important to Latinos, to have the freedom to choose. It is the fi rst time some really feel their vote matters and they want to participate,” Rodriguez Ciampoli said.

The next bouts for Democrats come in South Carolina (Jan. 26) and Florida (Jan. 29). Then the Feb. 5 biggie, Super Tuesday, with at least 19 states placing odds on who will be the next Democratic presidential nominee.

As for the pull Latino voters might have in the primaries and caucuses ahead, Rodriguez-Ciampoli said if Nevada is any indication, be prepared. Hispanic Link.­

by Jonathan Higuera

Arizona’s tough new employer sanctions law is leading some residents to leave the state but it may also be forcing some employers to relocate operations to Mexico.

Scattered media reports are finding evidence of both.

The law is designed to discourage hiring of undocumented immigrants by suspending or revoking business licenses of employers caught hiring them.

“It’s certainly not what we need right now,” said Roberto Reveles, past president of Somos América, a coalition of immigrant rights groups. “It’s hurting the state’s economy.”

On Jan. 9, a federal judge said he would make a decision on court challenges to the law by early February.

U.S. District Court Judge Neil Wake also signed on to an agreement by both parties that no employer be prosecuted until after March 1.

So far, the law, which took effect Jan. 1, appears to have generated only a handful of complaints against employers around the state, perhaps because many county attorneys said they would not accept anonymous tips.

One exception is Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas. He has declined to release a figure as to how many complaints his offi­ce has received.

The law requires employers to use a program called E-Verify to check the hiring status of all new workers.

The computer program screens each worker by using his or her Social Security number against a Department of Homeland Security database. Those caught twice “knowingly” hiring unauthorized workers could have their business licenses permanently revoked.

Attorneys challenging the law argue it does not allow employers a chance to challenge “non-confi rmation” letters they may receive from the E-Verify process.