Week 12 – Speaking truth to Power

I just can’t get out of my head the first day of class and how when trying to describe Latin America most of the descriptions were related to either violence or drugs. I know i have mentioned this before but its a matter that truly worries me as it is a reality… Dawson’s chapter tells the truth of Latin America, how violence has always existed and gives a pretty good reason for it; it s the only way development governments can mantain power or oder.

The chapter covers (in my opinion) two major points. The first one; it shows how government deals with manifestations, first in Argentina and then in Mexico, people tend to dissapear. I recall another proffessor in my home university saying how this «dissaperances» are worse than being kidnapped or murdered, the explanaition he gave us as a class was relatively simple; there is no closure. If you are murdered at least your relatives know the truth, when you are kidnapped there is always a possibility to come back but… when you dissapear? There is absolutely nothing, no hope or «easy» way to accept what has happened. Its sad that governments continue to deal with pacific manifestations in this way (a recent case in Mexico was the dissapearance of 43 students).

Another issue covered in the chapter is the drug war, it was about time until we reached one of the biggest stereotypes (reality?) of all Latin America. As Dawson says, the drug bussiness has such high profits that if it stops in one country, another one will take the advantage and replace it. The biggest problems with drug traffic is that it does not only involve… drugs… but corruption of the government and police and military. At the same time, it brings violence within «gangs» and inocent people as they are kidnaped by different groups to get money. I come from a city where the drug war was pretty heavy during the years Dawson describes, yet there are states as Tamaulipas where the drug war is still present and far worse than what I experienced. It takes people’s life away, I got a friend who lived in there and he just told me what he had to experience as a daily basis, you can’t have your own bussiness as drug lords will come for «territory dues», there is a curfew in the streets at 8 pm, etc. Its sad that after almost 10 years there are states and countries that have to deal with this kind of problems.