The human rights protection regime for afro-descendants the case of latin America ang the Caribbean
"Some states have been proactive in ratifying laws that protect ethnic minorities in Latin America and the Caribbean, but Afro-descendants do not benefit much from these laws. Self-identification as an 'ethnic minority' for Afro-descendants has been problematic. Some Afro-descendants defend the term Afro-descendant peoples whereas others agree with the use of ethnic minority as the ideal concept to identify them as a group or population. In any case, most Afro-descendants support an effective human rights protection regime as a key tool to help overcome their historical problems. This article studies in depth the crucial importance for Afro-descendants of enhancing this ""still-weak"" regime. The text represents one of the few works of its kind that explores in detail the limitations of the Afro-descendants' human rights struggle in the region"
Discriminación étnico-racial y xenofobia en América Latina y el Caribe
Resumen En America Latina y el Caribe hay entre 33 y 40 millones de indigenas divididos en unos 400 grupos etnicos, cada uno de los cuales tiene su idioma, su organizacion social, su cosmovision, su sistema economico y modelo de produccion adaptado a su ecosistema. Cinco paises agrupan casi el 90% de la poblacion indigena regional: Peru (27%);, Mexico (26%);, Guatemala (15%);, Bolivia (12%); y Ecuador (8%);. La poblacion negra y mestiza afrolatina y afrocaribena en la region alcanza unas 150 millones de personas, lo que significa alrededor de un 30% de la poblacion total de la region. Con relacion a su ubicacion geografica, se ubican especialmente en Brasil (50%);, Colombia (20%); y Venezuela (10%);. Tras siglos de exclusion y dominacion, a principios del nuevo milenio los pueblos indigenas, afrolatinos y afrocaribenos presentan los peores indicadores economicos y sociales y tienen escaso reconocimiento cultural y acceso a instancias decisorias. Ademas, la discriminacion etnica y racial tambien esta en la base de los sentimientos xenofobicos en los paises de la region. Tal discriminacion se transfiere al otro-extranjero, sobre todo si no es blanco y migra desde paises caracterizados por una mayor densidad de poblacion indigena, afrolatina o afrocaribena. La xenofobia se exacerba si aumenta la masa de desplazados entre fronteras, sea por razones economicas o expulsados por conflictos belicos; y sobre todo si las migraciones internacionales presionan sobre mercados laborales ya restringidos en los paises receptores
United States Copper Companies, the State, and Labour Conflict in Mexico, 1900–1910
No topic encapsulates better the fundamental contradiction in capitalist development in Porfirian Mexico than the turbulent history of the copper industry. Within the space of a few years, the industry simultaneously experienced rapid growth, labour conflict and political controversy with international implications. This historical dynamic was unleashed, in part, by the Mexican government's policy of attracting overseas investors to Mexico through generous concessions and tax breaks that facilitated foreign control over key industries. The privileged position that public policy afforded foreign companies resulted in a nationalist backlash and exacerbated tension between native labour and foreign capital. The famous strike at Cananea, Sonora, in 1906 brought to national attention the grievances of Mexican workers over wage scales that favoured foreign workers over natives, falling real wages, and the power and arrogance of United States companies in Mexico. The strike became a scandal when armed North Americans from nearby Arizona crossed the border and assisted local authorities in crushing Mexican workers. This violation of Mexican sovereignty caused a storm of protest from both liberals and conservatives and unsettled the Díaz regime on the eve of the Mexican Revolution.