On Assignment: Amanda Cataneo Reports from Baltimore, Maryland

Hello all!

How exciting to be writing my first blog entry for the Institute! My name is Amanda Cataneo. I am a senior at Loyola College in Maryland and an intern at the Institute on Migration, Culture, and Ministry. On Saturday, November 10th I attended a dinner and discussion on immigration issues out in Ellicott City. I went on behalf of the Institute and to do some research for my senior thesis: Latino Migration in Baltimore.

The dinner was sponsored by Howard County Friends of Latin America. Speakers came representing Witness for Peace, the Ecumenical Program on Central America & the Caribbean, Mexicanos sin Fronteras, and Casa de Maryland. The speakers were, respectively, Miguel Ángel Vázquez de la Rosa, Rev Philip Wheaton, Arnoldo Borja, and Hector Pop Chun.

First up was Miguel Ángel Vázquez de la Rosa. He is a leader and founding member of EDUCA (popular education organization in Oaxaca, Mexico) and was on a Witness for Peace-sponsored US education tour. Mr. Vázquez spoke primarily about the conditions in Oaxaca and the roots of migration. He started off with some basic facts: The United States and Mexico share a border that is 3,200 km long, the US is the destination of millions of Mexican migrants that come here to live and work, a modest statistic is that 12 million Mexicans live and work in the US, and the relationship between the United States and Mexico has been uncomfortable and distant. In the words of Porfirio Diaz, a Mexican president a century ago, “Poor Mexico, so far from God, so close to the United States.” The government of Mexico has tried to change the relationship from distant to strategic partners, with bad results for Mexico. Following the criteria put forth by the IMF, Mexican began a policy of structural change 25 years ago, and reduced many social programs like combating poverty. Because of these changes, of Mexico’s 106 million strong population 46 million of them are poor. Then, 13 years ago, the North American Free Trade Agreement passed, and the situation became even more serious. NAFTA was implemented in 1994. According to Mr. Vázquez, it was signed under false pretenses. The Mexican president stated at the time that Mexico had entered the First World. NAFTA was going to reduce problems of unemployment, increase exports, and reduce poverty. However, the results are opposite. NAFTA failed to resolve unemployment. Instead, 60 out of 100 young people that enter the job market cannot find employment. There has also been a horrible outcome in agriculture as the country has turned to proletarization: turning the small farmer into an industrial worker.

Mr. Vázquez then began talking in more detail about his home state, Oaxaca. According to a UN Study, Oaxaca is the second poorest state in Mexico, after Chiapas. Additionally, a World Bank study revealed that 76 out of every 100 Oaxacans live in poverty or extreme poverty. The average worker earns $5 after an 8 hour shift, compared to migrant workers in the U.S. that earn $6, 8, 10 per HOUR. For this reason among others, small farmers and people migrate to the U.S. According to the Oaxacan state government, 150,000 Oaxacan citizens migrate to the North of Mexico or to the U.S. There has also been a crisis in Oaxaca, pertaining to the production of corn. Corn production is a source of Mexican pride, and Oaxaca dominates in that particular area of agriculture. However, the state cannot produce enough to meet local demand (due to the aforementioned proletarization). They have resorted to importing corn from the United States, which is also 30% cheaper.

Oaxacan society is one of the most politicized societies in Mexico. There is no real state policy to resolve conflicts with dialogue, resulting in many unfortunate agrarian conflicts regarding land limits.

At the end of his monologue, Mr. Vázquez highly emphasized that it is important to recognize that migration is FORCED due to political and economic crises and social instability. We must look at it with a sense of solidarity.

After Mr. Vazquez spoke, the Reverend Philip Wheaton of the Episcopal Church took the microphone and described how the United States has historically exploited Latin America. He began by talking about U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s policy to use cheap labor and go into Third World countries and exploit cheap resources. Then, he discussed the Tri-Lateral Comission, which existed before the World Trade Organization, and the thought process that drove this commission, which is an ideology that has lasted to today. The thought process was defined as Power, Purpose (to safeguard capital interests in the highly industrialized countries), and Choice.

He then discussed the 30 years of war during the decades of the 60s, 70s, and 80s and how the U.S. bombed Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The Pentagon was directing massacres and genocidal wars, forcing people to flee. For example, during the Sandinista-Contra war in Nicaragua, after the Sandinistas had re-claimed power, the Contras reinvaded. They lost, but they targeted Christian-based communities. Because the Contras were backed by the United States, the U.S. was essentially killing Christians and U.S. citizens in order to make the operation successful.

Rev. Wheaton also referred to the NAFTA agreement and stated that the Mexican president at the time of NAFTA had been fraudulently elected and had been a tool of the United States government in order to get NAFTA passed.

In his conclusion, Rev. Wheaton summed up migration as politically forced in the 1980s and economically forced in the 1990s, particularly after NAFTA. He declared that the American people do not understand the power forces behind immigration and therefore quite wrongly blame the victim.

After Rev. Wheaton stepped down, Mr. Arnoldo Borja took the podium. I found Mr. Borja’s story to be the most touching. He delivered a powerful message in a very humble manner. He just told his story.

In Mexico, Mr. Borja was trained as an agricultural engineer. He emigrated to the United States California, Phoenix, Houston, and Florida where he worked odd jobs in the agricultural sphere. When he reached Florida, his supervisor found out that he could drive a tractor. He thought, well, of course I can drive a tractor! After that was established, they started him on the job of applying pesticides to the plants. Because he was trained in this job, he knew what to do, so he asked them for protective equipment. They fired him.

He then moved up to North Carolina, where he picked tobacco for awhile, and then he moved again to the Shenandoah Valley. Again, he shared with us an interesting story from his work experience. He got a job checking chickens for health with a USDA inspector. The USDA inspector was checking for something specific in the chickens, and Mr. Borja, having done this in Mexico, knew what he was looking for. So when the inspector fell asleep, he went right on checking the chickens! His supervisor came over and said, “What are you doing?” And he said, “I’m checking the chickens for tumors.” His supervisor asked, “Why isn’t the USDA inspector doing it?” Mr. Borja replied, “Well he fell asleep!” So, the supervisor fired Mr. Borja. From there, Mr. Borja moved to Washington D.C. and began to work for Mexicanos Sin Fronteras.

At one point, a non-Latina woman asked Mr. Borja, “If you don’t like this country, why don’t you go back to yours?” I’m sure many Latinos, in fact many immigrants, are not unfamiliar with this phrase. Then Mr. Borja remembers why he did come to the United States. A corporation came to his town and poisoned his land, his river, and his people. What else could he do? The implied statement is that if the U.S. doesn’t people to emigrate to the country, then it should stop forcing them out of their home countries.

Memory is important.

Immigration is not a casualty and it’s not a phenomenon.

The U.S. is trying to negotiate with Mexico, but at the same time it’s building a wall. What kind of negotiation is that?

According to Mr. Borja, “A los perros flacos se despegan las pulgas.” Or, the skinny dog gets the flea. He is referring to the immigrants. Already being forced from their homes to a new place in order to better their lives, they must suffer even more. They endure the long, grueling and often dangerous trip over to the U.S., only to be met with contempt, animosity, misunderstanding, and discrimination.

As an immigrant, you cannot put your back to your family.

After Mr. Borja stepped down, Mr. Hector Pop Chun of Casa de Maryland took the stand. He is from Guatemala and works down in Silver Spring. He began by telling us some of the challenges that immigrants face when they come to America.

First, there is the language obstacle (with the exceptions of California and Florida). A worker can be fired for misunderstanding. Plus, they are limited to jobs such as housekeeping and dry cleaning. Also, as an immigrant, sometimes they are the (innocent) target of things that are happening in the U.S.

Casa de Maryland attempts to help with some of these obstacles. It provides assistance in the areas of English as a Second Language, citizenship, workers’ rights, immigrants’ rights, professional training, leadership, and it helps communities and people to discern which issues are winnable and which are not. For example, in 1985 the government passed a Sanctuary Law that said that once an immigrant is here, he/she is safe. The police cannot interact with the immigration. Several weeks ago, in Takoma Park, the local government decided to change that law. Casa de Maryland started to mobilize with the people in the community, it went to election, and the community voted not to change the law. On that day, Casa de Maryland was successful in its campaign to help immigrants.

All of the speakers contributed something special to this discussion. They eloquently shared their history, their experiences, and their current mission in the fight for immigrant rights. Each one of them contributed to the powerful message that immigrants are victims of forces much more powerful than them and they are FORCED to move.