Venezuelan ambassador in Minnesota

Minnesota Lulac List serve

What is happening in Latin America is very important to Latinos in the US and what happens in Venezuela is increasingly important to all of us in the US, not just Latinos.

I share Francisco's passion for improving the living conditions for people in Puerto Rico, where I'm from, and the rest of Latino America. I've traveled in the last few years, to Peru, El Salvador, Mexico, Belice, Argentina and Puerto Rico, and have been very disturbed by US policy towards Latino America. In my traveling I encounter an anti-Americanism and a level of crime and violence that seem to be deteriorating every day. And although many countries in Latin America seem to be improving their macro-economic statistics, the great majority in Latin Americans live in extreme poverty, we still see extreme inequality and most people who live in countries with economic growth are not seeing an improvement in their own standard of living. In my recent trip to El Salvador I saw the average monthly wage at $250 a month, and the average monthly needed household budget closer to $700 a month. I saw the same in Peru.

Chavez is a result of years of neglect by the Venezuelan oligarchy in solving the problems of the poor. It has failed to invest in schools, health care, infrastructure and other programs that could improve the standard of living of most Latin Americans. An incestuous relationship between an elite that control business monopolies and that kept corrupt governments in power, and corrupt governments that keep inefficient business monopolies in business have prevented the poor from starting and growing their own businesses, creating jobs and improving wages for most. This corrupt relationship between business elites and governments in Latin America, have created the horrible inequality we see today since days of the Spanish conquest.

It is this corruption and neglect of the poor that created Chavez. Yet history proves over and over again that Chavez strategy for fighting poverty and improving the conditions for most Venezuelans will fail miserably. Specially for the poor and most vulnerable. Nationalizing industry, the extreme dependency on oil prices that will eventually fall, closing media, intimidating political opposition and following an economy where the government controls and dictates everything, failed in Nicaragua in the eighties and in Cuba in the past fifty years. It will also fail in Bolivia where the Cocaleros and unions keep violently protesting against Morales, just like they did when the oligarchy was in power.

Yes Cubans have a better health care system and educational system than many in Latin America. Yes the US embargo of Cuba is ridiculous and outdated and does a lot to damage Cubas poor. But most Cubans are poor with no chance of ever getting out of poverty because of an outdated and inefficient government controled economy. They lack independent media, elections and human rights the same way Chileans did under Pinochet. Most Cubans that can leave Cuba, leave, just like our Mexican brothers and sisters. Not the rich ones, since the only rich in Cuba are in the government. Poor Cubans leave. The big difference is poor Mexicans are allowed to leave Mexico. Poor Cubans are not. They have no right to start a business, grow it and no incentive to create and innovate.

Of course the right wing governments of Nicaragua after the first Sandinista failure, and in other Latin American countries have failed miserably also. That's why the Sandinistas and Daniel Ortega are in Power again.

Chavez might have the best of intentions. He was democratically elected in clean and fair elections. But lets remember that the first time he tried to get into power was through an attempted bloody military coup. And his obsession with imitating Cuba, befriending Iran, attempting to shut off opposition, nationalize the economy, attempting to get himself elected to a twenty year term, and his lack of concrete results are going to destroy Venezuela. His imperialistic efforts to control other Latin American countries are also disturbing.

I have much more faith in the Social Democrat Presidents Alan Garcia of Peru, Michelle Bachelet of Chile and Lula da Silva of Brazil to make the changes needed in Latin America. Latin America needs low inflation, foreign investment, economic growth, international free and fair trade and fiscal stability to reduce poverty. But that's not enough. It needs and educational system that allows for equal opportunity for everyone, regardless of economic status or race. It needs good health care for all. It needs anti-monopolistic policies. It needs a system that will allow Latin American entrepreneurship to flourish. It needs labor rights and free independent unions that have the ability to organize. It needs governments that will protect the environment.

It needs a United States government that will focus in Latin America as much as it focuses in the middle East. The Us needs to encourage free and fair trade, labor rights and enviromental standards need to be protected. It needs to invest in organizations that will help improve the lives of most Latin Americans. The Us needs to stop an international foreign policy creates more anti-americanism

The ultimate solution to the immigration problem in the US is the improvement of peoples lives in Latin America.

Democrats, Labor Unions, and the Left Betray the Immigrants they Claim to Support

This editorial was published in La Prensa de Minnesota June 28th, 2007

Democrats, Labor Unions, and the Left Betray the Immigrants they Claim to Support

A month ago I was very optimistic about the prospects of comprehensive immigration reform. Republican and Democratic leaders in the US Senate had reached an agreement that would’ve allowed millions of undocumented immigrants currently in the country to gain legal status to stay in the United States. It would have also increased the number of immigrants that could enter the country legally to work. President Bush supported the bill. It was an imperfect bill. It had many provisions that could have been improved. But it was most likely the only chance we would have in years to give millions the chance to stay legally in the Unites States and get some deserved peace of mind.

Then to my surprise I saw all hope of reform quickly vanish. Suddenly the hopes and dreams of millions of hard working immigrants instantly disappeared. The sad thing was that those hopes were dashed by the people we would have least expected it from: Democrats, Latino organizations, most Labor Unions and many in the political left.

What happened? The bill was killed weeks ago, lacking the necessary votes on a procedural move to end debate on the bill and then vote on it. The US Senate then tried to revive the bill. It was too little too late. What happened was that anti-immigrant forces and right wing Republicans organized like never before, while wimpy democrats, the political left and pro-immigrant forces couldn’t organize effectively and failed to respond with a decisive united voice.

Don’t confuse my comments with praise for Republicans. Although I believe President Bush and the Republican leadership are pro-immigrant, the Republican Party appears to have been hijacked by a racist, xenophobic minority led by right wing radio talk show hosts. The party of Ronald Reagan has been hijacked by Pat Buchanan. The folks that always oppose and never propose. They claim to be for the rule of law, national security and patriotism while in reality they are motivated by fear of the Latinoization of America and the fear of “brown people”.

Even conservative Republican Latina writer Linda Chavez recently accused many of the leaders of the anti-immigrant forces as being motivated by racism and fear of brown people. The right wing talk show hosts quickly united to attack Chavez’s comments. They were happy with her when she opposed affirmative action and bilingual education. But suddenly when she confronted the right wings xenophobic true colors, they turned on her like a wild pack on a pray.

But my biggest disappointment though is with the left, most labor unions and several Latino organizations. They opposed the Senate bill because their comfortable jobs and their US Passports isolated them from an ability to understand the needs and wants of the people they claim to represent. They might’ve had the best of intentions, but they simply didn’t get it.

Undocumented immigrants are rarely polled, rarely interviewed, or don’t appear on anti-immigrant CNN or Fox News “news shows”. They clean our toilets, repair our roofs, take care of our children, prepare our food or program the software we use. They keep the price of our groceries low and help increase the price of our homes. They live with the constant daily fear that the cop in the stop light behind them might be the one that deports them back to the hunger, poverty, drug war violence, and the corruption they escaped from. They work, pay taxes, behave well and add to the success of America. They are the only source of financial support for millions of relatives back home. They wanted legal status now.

Yes, I oppose guest worker programs that would deny US Citizen to immigrants. I oppose proposals that might divide families. I oppose an immigration system that limits entrepreneurship and job creation by immigrants by limiting them to be employees. I oppose proposals by Senator Coleman that would turn local law enforcement officers into federal immigration agents.

But for some reason many in the left seem to be living under the unrealistic fantasy that if the Senate bill was defeated that magically congress would come up with a “good bill”. Yes and I have some land in Iraq I’d like to sell them. Democrats claim that if we give them a Democratic President then they will deliver. But wasn’t legal immigration reduced under the last Democratic President? This was the best bill we were going to get. Now we’re left with increased immigration enforcement. More chaos. More Fear. More broken borders. More dead immigrants in southern desserts. Confused employers who will be fined if they ask Latinos too many questions and raided if they don’t ask enough.

Fortunately some do get it. SEIU The union that represents thousands of Latino Janitors and service employees and is an example of an organization that listens to their members. One of the fastest growing unions in the United States, SEIU risked conflict within the labor movement, listened to their members and supported the Senate bill even if they saw problems with it. The National Council of La Raza pleaded with lawmakers to keep the legislation alive while its lobbyists sought changes. Senator Klobuchar supported immigration reform while Senator Norm Coleman betrayed promises he had made to support reform.

Immigrants didn’t need a perfect bill. They needed peace of mind. Their families need their financial support. The US economy needs their labor and entrepreneurship. They’ll take the jobs nobody else wants. They would’ve paid the fees. They would’ve made the sacrifices. Now they will just continue to live in the shadows, and live in fear.

Alberto Monserrate is co-founder, President and CEO of Latino Communications Network, a Minnesota print and broadcasting Latino Media Company that publishes the bilingual Latino newspaper La Prensa de Minnesota, and operates 24 hour Spanish Radio Station La Invasora AM 1400 KMNV