Survival economy:
A valid, yet inefficient response

Maybe what economists are currently searching for is to create a survival economy, however they are not committing themselves to the quest, and are forgetting about the realities of the world.

Every economy model proposed by the universities of the world have the seal of failure printed on them. It is as though the economist just sat down at his desk and forgot what his brain was really meant to work for; home economy. These university proposals seem to be focused towards profits only, and not in the world the human race are currently living in.

In this analysis we will not take into consideration the Economy degree offered at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH). Their statements do not fit the current situation; indeed, we know very little about their orientation. The fact that they cancelled the mathematics studies in their curriculum only emphasizes how distant they are from the real world.

As we have mentioned before, the statements framed within the globalization theory are deprived of humanism; they are clearly oriented to benefit only transnational companies. Let us remember that when these theories are discussed with enthusiasm at Harvard, they are immediately presented to powerful shareholders and managers and once they get here, they become laws.

Economic structures in developing countries were born without an answer. We are not allowed to propose anything, and seem to take whatever comes to us, however always with dignity and honesty. Any wind passing by our country affects us all: every one tries to sell their products in a terribly underhand way. No one openly has total control: when we get the flu, it is the consequence of messages containing sophisticated flu viruses that we were sent a few months ago.

This leads us to talk about the bacteriological war: it is part of the social component that creates the richness, which needs to be efficiently distributed. One example is the matter of AIDS treatments, a business that while benefiting a few makes the poor even poorer. There are no donations, it is all pure income, there is also no sociology, and it is all about market economy.

What we mean is that despite many valid formulas, the chains of globalization are becoming tighter every day, and if these fail then there are other ways to deal with the problem. Every single Latin American country has something worthwhile to offer, and those who say otherwise, are just speculating or following orders.

Where are we heading too? In our understanding, following the month of that fatal year when the economic reorganization was initiated, it would have been only fair to stop and start looking for less heavy handed alternatives.

After all, the stoic way the Latin American countries suffer is worth admiring. They never complain, they always pick themselves up, they are never disheartened, and they always walk with their heads high in spite of their misery. We are barbarians to console ourselves with the fact that we are “only” the 105th poorest country in the world, and not the 107th.
And to think that those who have generated these tough conditions are just youngsters who aren’t even married yet. The world seems to be programmed to make daddy, his Internet company and other convenient operating companies even richer...

If yuppies really knew about these country projects, they would be ashamed to condemn us in such a way. I refuse to believe we are part of the cold stock market.

A kid from Harvard wrote to us a few months ago. He was upset because we used the name of his beloved university for an exercise on domestic economy. We still believe that the economic structure of his school lacks sufficient sociological content, and that it would be healthy for students to come and live with the same amount of money that a worker earns in this country: a hundred dollars a month.

The magic of economics must reflect our government’s intentions in regards to putting health and education first. As usual, financial institutions know that compromising on social areas not only reduces the life expectancy of the people, but that it also devalues them.

Economists seem to forget that their main benefit is for those in the real world. We are obliged to offer a satisfactory response to the economic situation in Honduras and it is imperative that we make it clear.

ISLAM IS NOT AT FAULT

Dear HTW:

I was surprised and a little saddened by W.E. Gutman’s recent letter about Islam in Latin America. Its almost hysterical tone is only likely to inflame passions, and encourage prejudice and bigotry rather than the tolerance and understanding which we so desperately need. Of course, there are many unpleasant aspects of Islam as there are no doubt many unpleasant Muslims. The same goes for Christianity and Christians.

Fundamentalists of any religion, I think, tend to be rather unpleasant people, fanatics who pervert the basic message of love into one of intolerance, terror and fear. You could hardly call the Christian right pacifist and what Catholics and Protestants do in Northern Ireland in the name of religion in keeping with peaceful tradition. Likewise extremist Hindus in India and extremist Jews in Israel only continue to give religion a bad name. There is nothing new about any of this.

Throughout the centuries Christians have fought ferocious wars of religion against Muslims and amongst themselves and were/are responsible for the greatest genocide the world has ever seen, namely the enslavement and exploitation of the American continent.

Mr. Gutman claims the Koran is not the message of peace and love that moderate Muslims claim it to be. I would not know as I have not read it, I have read The Bible however, a marvelous book, all human life is there, passion and poetry, love certainly, occasionally peace and a lot of war. Indeed, the Bible is remarkable for its violence. The Old Testament is full of it and the New Testament, supposedly a softer, gentler affair has its fair share. To take just a few examples from the Gospel according to St. Matthew: “how can you escape me damnation of hell?” “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment” “Woe unto the world because of offenses!”

All spoken by Jesus Christ who condemned a fig tree to infertility because it did not give him a bite to eat, and then threatened those who refused to forgive trespasses with the torment of the heavenly father. He cursed the scribes and Pharisees uphill and down dale. No doubt, they deserved it as did the business folk in the temple whose tables he overturned, but the treatment is rough. What would a Muslim Mr. Gutman reading the Bible for the first time make of all this? That Christianity is not quite the religion of peace, love and forgiveness that it claims to be.

Fortunately Mr. Gutman’s usual perception does not completely desert him. He never fails to sniff out the stanch of social injustice. Of Course, the wretched of the earth, the poor of Latin America, are desperate and looking for solutions. Politicians nearly always fail them, the Catholic church with its so-called Liberation Theology, the Option for the Poor seems to be let them down with a big bump. Of course, the desperate look for the next quick-fix solution which today is Islam and which will also betray them. Of course, few would welcome Taliban-type regimes but would that be any worse than many Latin America regimes?

Desperation sometimes makes strange people allies. People don’t care so much what Bin Laden stands for but what he is against. Here, in town, the t-shirts showing him wanted “dead or alive” have quickly been replaced by those showing him alongside “Che” Guevara. He has taken on the United States and the allies of the First World who oppress and exploit the Third.

Of course there is nothing new in fighters allying with those whom they have nothing in common with or with whom, under different circumstances they could even have been at war with. One only has to think of the Ribbentrop Pact between Russia and Germany and then the alliance between the USA, the U.K. and Russia against Nazi Germany. The Latin American Catholic and evangelical poor of Latin America may have no love for Islam or interest in Bin Laden but they recognize a force when they see it which will maybe help defeat the oppressor.

Why is Mr. Gutman suddenly so afraid of terrorism? Just because it may be Muslim? It’s surely just the same old game by another name. The resistance may have good motives (social justice) or bad (power) but they don’t want the same old shit going down and aim, one way or another, to change it.

Yours sincerely,
Brian Hopper
Santa Maria, Siguatepeque.

The Nicaraguan case
Nourish a viper in your bosom and it will eat the ... petroleum out of you

We are having a hard time getting along in Central America, we talk about brotherhood, but what we really want is to tie up each other’s shoes.

Our illiteracy is indeed of deep proportions, and it makes no difference whether it’s national congresses or international ministers who talk about it. If we talk about public officials, things get even worse; the issue of territorial problems must be treated in a formal manner.

This situation deserves nothing less than our disdain within the Central American game: Costa Rica, probably the most privileged nation in the region, believes that sucking the blood of the rest of the region gives it the right to call itself the “Central American Switzerland”.

Meanwhile Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica keep insisting on the unification of Central American. After taking office, President Portillo of Guatemala made a good point when he observed that the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) is an irrelevant institution, and he is right. A refuge for many, PARLACEN condemned Nicaragua over its famous 35 percent tax, and ordered for Central American agreements to be reestablished. However, Nicaragua, with the help of certain friends in the region, has openly refused to do so.

“The wolf is coming!” has been the threat of Honduras during three long years. During this time, the country has lost more than 400 million dollars and by being accused, has been discredited. As a result, relations with our Central American neighbors have deteriorated.

In our opinion, these relations must be evaluated within a general context, so that the reciprocity measures in Nicaragua will apply to the rest of the region. Only then, will those who think they have bought the yard of Central America finally stop causing damage.

Things have become so serious, that Nicaragua takes as fact the agreement oriented at using Costa Rican Puerto Limon instead of our Puerto Cortes. This is no joke, it is actually the introduction of something big, ignoring this is equivalent to becoming an accomplice in order to favor international interests.
Honduras still has not responded, even though its position is fully legal. It seems that we will live like Israel, condemned to isolation. The peace of Central America goes far beyond its constitutions, its armies, its ambitious politicians and business mobs.

Hunger is tearing Nicaragua apart, and spirits are down. Last January 18, the charges that ex-president Arnoldo Aleman had diverted 57 million dollars was confirmed. Moreover, they say that the best army in terms of men and weapons remains the poorest one. Nicaragua even has SAM 7 rockets, and it is the only country in Latin America with anti-atomic defense equipment, BELIEVE IT OR NOT. This country has been the biggest Latin American weapon exporter in the last 20 years.
Going back to the issue, it is clear then that when Honduras has any kind of difficulty, there are always neighbors that will be eager to adopt antagonistic positions. Central America, what for? We can only refer to a popular saying: “The fleas look for the skinniest dog and by mere coincidence, Honduras is on a permanent diet.”

So we have many fronts to deal with. On one side El Salvador keeps on refusing to obey The Hague resolution and on the other side, Nicaragua keeps pushing for seizing our territorial sea. Behind every one, somebody else stands in the shadow. These differences in terms of years could last up to 50.

On the other hand, there might be bad Hondurans who have engaged themselves in this game and, ever since Nicaragua confirmed there is petroleum in our adjacent seas, they have been frequently traveling to the Intercontinental Hotel in Managua to make “under the table” negotiations, thus increasing the fortune of wise Arnoldo Aleman.

Let’s keep in mind that other interests are behind all this, interests that are silently damaging the relations among the Central America of Francisco Morazan.


Reflections on the dynamics of cause and effect: Why gangs exist

By W. E. GUTMAN

Not long ago, I visited a number of prisons in Honduras, horrible, overcrowded, stench-filled dungeons, in which minors are often incarcerated with hardened adult criminals. Detention, however brief, has a devastating effect on young, impressionable minds. But while they fear for their bodies and lives, youths soon develop a morbid if silent admiration for the macho thugs that rule the roost. When released to the streets where most come from, many opt to join gangs and begin a life of petty larceny at first, more serious crime as time goes by.

It is useful to distinguish between gangs whose members have been emotionally corrupted by the society in which they were born and raised —those who steal and kill to survive their OWN environment — and those committed to nihilistic agendas, such as the skinheads and other racially motivated thugs.

Basking in its diversity, the United States endures both kinds. The first category is composed almost entirely of Latinos. Black gangs are thinning out. The second consists of middle class white youths, brought up in a racist environment or later alienated by some personal misfortune and driven to “take it out” on the most conspicuous groups — minorities. Criminal gangs are largely energized by the atmosphere and attitudes present in their communities. Racist gangs are inspired by feelings of inadequacy, frustration and hatred toward a presumed tormentor.
While both sets of gangs present serious dangers to society, it is the latter that poses a long-term threat.

Hatred is contagious and in a world increasingly teetering on the brink of catastrophe, it is easy, under the right circumstances, to find a scapegoat for one’s misfortunes — real or perceived. Nazi Germany is a perfect example of millions of people enthusiastically dancing to Hitler’s music and fervently applauding, aiding and abetting the objectives of the “Final Solution.”

All it takes for a society to spiral down the slippery road to disintegration is a faltering economy, widespread public discontent — and someone to blame. If Honduras had an honest, responsible, pragmatic and compassionate political leadership — instead of successive dynasties of vampires bent on getting rich — the number of gangs would dramatically diminish. When people work, are well fed and treated with dignity, they rarely engage in antisocial behavior.
While it is easy to blame “scholarship” in the U.S. for their misdeeds at home, gangs in Central America are the products of generations of inept, uncaring, rapacious — in some cases brutal — regimes who put their personal glory and enrichment first, and the welfare of the nation last.

“We are to blame,” says distinguished Diario Tiempo commentator, Billy Pena. “We created a propitious climate for gangs to emerge because we have allowed corrupt, delinquent governments to treat the people shamelessly over the years. Now the mara monster is out of control, or better yet, it is controlling us.”

President Maduro’s “Zero Tolerance” policy is a sonorous but empty, disingenuous slogan. Persecution will engender more crime, not less. The recipe offered by Radio America reporter Ernesto Alonso Rojas — that gang members ought to be summarily executed — is a monument of stupidity and barbarism. His rationale that “muerto el perro se acaba la rabia” should earn him instant dismissal by station owner Miguel Andonie Fernandez.

Surely, Mr. Maduro understands that a nation racked with so many social ills — corruption at all levels, rampant inflation, an astronomical foreign debt, hunger, misery, injustice, crime and violence — is incapable of policing itself. It will take a great leader, surrounded by people of good will who put the nation’s interest ahead of their own to clean up the mess.
Meanwhile, Honduras will continue to sink in a quagmire of its own creation.

 

Anti-Semitism high among Hispanic Americans

By W. E. GUTMAN

LOS ANGELES -- A nationwide survey released at year's end by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) shows an increase in the number of Americans manifesting anti-Semitic attitudes, reversing a 10-year decline and raising concerns that "an undercurrent of Jewish hatred persists in America."

Conducted by an independent polling organization, the nationwide survey reveals that 17% of Americans - or about 35 million adults -- hold views about Jews that are "unquestionably anti-Semitic." Previous surveys commissioned by the ADL over the last decade had indicated that anti-Semitism was in decline.

"We are greatly concerned that many of the gains we had seen in building a more tolerant America have not taken hold as firmly as we had hoped, and have to some degree been reversed," says Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.

"While there are many factors at play, all of the evidence suggests that a strong undercurrent of hared toward Jews persists in America."

One of the most unsettling findings of the ADL poll concerns Hispanic Americans, the fastest growing minority in America. The poll reveals an extraordinary gap between those born in the U.S. and those born abroad. The survey reports that while 20% of Hispanics born in the U.S. express vague feelings of antipathy against the Jews, 44% of foreign-born Hispanics harbor hard-core, fossilized anti-Semitic convictions. This suggests that anti-Semitic views pre-exist entry into the U.S. and that these views continue to flourish in the insular, clannish and xenophobic atmosphere pervasive in Hispanic society in the U.S.

The anti-Semitic propensities of foreign-born Hispanics are not surprising.

Religious background and indoctrination has always played a role in determining one's attitude toward Jews. There is no doubt that this is a reflection of what is being learned about Jews in the schools, churches and communities of Hispanic nations, where Jews are a microscopic minority.

Survey results conclude that:

-- Anti-Semitic attitudes are up; the most widely held stereotype is that "Jews have too much power in the U.S."

-- Anti-Semitism is a function of education. Less educated people are more likely to hold anti-Semitic views.

-- Anti-Israel feelings trigger anti-Semitism. For the first time, negative attitudes toward Israel and concern that American Jews wield influence over U.S. Middle East policy are helping to foster anti-Semitic beliefs.

-- Anti-Israel sentiments are used to fuel, legitimize and rationalize anti-Semitism."

-- Anti-Semitism among foreign-born Hispanics is high. Perceptions of "Jewish control," influence and power as well as more traditional canards about Jews, religion and ethical practices appear to be driving anti-Semitism among foreign-born Hispanics. For example, more than half of foreign-born Hispanics agree with the assertion that "Jews don't care what happens to anyone but their own kind," whereas nearly half were raised to believe that "Jews are responsible for the death of Christ"

Apt to fall into the most anti-Semitic category are:

-- Those who believe that Jews have too much influence over U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

-- Those who view U.S. policy tilting too much toward Israel.

-- Those who predict that the U.S. is more likely to be targeted for terrorist attacks because of America's support of Israel.

The tragic events of September 11 and the crisis in the Middle East have clearly had an impact on the growth of anti-Semitism in America. As these life-altering events have transformed us as a nation, they have also resurrected the anti-Semitism that lay dormant beneath the surface.

The explosive spread of Islam, which runs a formidable worldwide proselytizing machine, the spate of conversions to Islam taking place in Latin America and the unusually high rate of anti-Semitism among Hispanics in the U.S. are part of a trend issued from separate but converging dynamic processes.  This alarming phenomenon, at a time of unease in a world ever closer to the brink of war, adds yet another dimension to the evil that spawned yesteryear's nightmares.

W. E. Gutman is a veteran journalist. He lives and works in southern California.