emerge officially in 1992.
Contents contributed and discussions participated by Shannon Coco
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MWR : Guatemala church school counters the effects of poverty, violence - 0 views
www.mennoweekly.org/...ool-counters-effects-poverty-v
violence guatemala city education poverty religion
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Education is less of a priority than life. In order to protect their family and lives, the children who are on the dangerous side of the city simply do not attend for fear of violence.
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Take Action: Just Associates (JASS): Feminist Action in Guatemala: All Women United Aga... - 0 views
www.awid.org/...-Women-United-Against-Violence
feminism women's rights guatemala politics government corruption
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The organized crime and narco-trafficking of the government has brought a continued decline in the wellbeing of the people of Guatemala. They are unjustly targeted and their human rights are violated as the government continues to destroy their own people.
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The Tupamaro Gang of Venezuela - 0 views
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But in 1992, Chavez was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Venezuelan Army and he tried, unsuccessfully, to take over the government in a failed coup d’ etat. When the coup failed, Chavez went to prison for two years. While doing time, he met the Tupas. Chavez needed the protection that the Tupa gang could offer, and the Tupas needed the resources and opportunities that Chavez could offer. They have worked well together ever since then in a quid pro quo relationship. Chavez was released from prison on March 26, 1994 and went on to be elected as president four years later (1998).
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It is a curious identity that we find in the Tupamaro street gang. On the one hand it identifies most specifically with being a guerilla warfare organization, dedicated to fighting the powers that be and seeking to implement its own type of revolution. On the other hand, it functions as a kind of armed paramilitary group that fervently defends and supports the controversial president of Venezuela — Hugo Chavez.
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this is important to note! while the Tupas are a gang, they also have an important role to play with the government.
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The contradiction here is that the identity of freedom fighter or urban guerilla organization is typically “at odds with” or antagonistic to the status quo. Here, in the case of the Tupamaros street gang of Venezuela, we find they have laid claim to the cloak of freedom fighter, but apparently with a new twist: they do not want a new revolution, they like who they have now — Chavez.
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The portion of their identity that is “guerilla fighter” is reserved for fighting against police, judges, and others who they need to intimidate. And, as will be shown, this is a gang totally capable of some well-organized, military scale violence.
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One of the long standing “identifiers” of the Tupa gang is that they have historically worn a “hood” to hide their face and conceal their identity. These “hoods” are nothing more than dark, black or brown or blue in color, knit face masks that also roll up as a “hat”. They were a part of the Tupa uniform though from their beginning all the way up until recently. A Tupa will today have one in their possessions, they just may not use it as much.
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While traffic stood at a standstill, the Tupamaros on motorcycles began their assault — couching it as a “democratic protest”. Highly trained in such urban protest-assault tactics, typically one member acts as a news media representative, videotaping the scene in case they are able to provoke American drivers into over-reacting. In unison, some of the others begin shouting pre-arranged “chants” and protest slogans, some wield banners, but almost all begin launching stones, bricks, eggs, tomatoes, whatever they can muster at the Ambassador’s car. Although alarming, such actions are typical of a low intensity conflict designed to send a message to the U.S. officials. The Tupas could have just as easily opened fire with armor piecing ammunition using fully automatic weapons. But they did not. Rather, they repeatedly, over time, waged these kind of street protest attacks against the embassy officials.
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staged reaction to the U.S. Ambassador shows that they know how to create a riot in a way that helps them the most. they ensure the right conditions and are able to use the event in their favor
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The Tupamaros street gang regularly gets away with murder and more.
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Some people join the gang for the financial or econonic benefits: they are almost guaranteed a job of some kind, today often a government subsidized job. If they personally or have a family member that resides in the “el 23" barrio, then they can live “rent free”. Everyone in “el 23" is a squatter, but the Tupas gang will extort rent payments for anyone living there who is not in alliance to their gang.
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They feel a need to stand out, to escalate, to take things to extremes, they are fanatical in certain regards. A common method of execution used by the Tupas is to simply hang the victim. The Tupas are known to be armed, have access to military grade weapons, and they make firearms available free to youthful members of the gang.
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a militaristic sense of entitlement.
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if a local program was offering assistance to the needy and poor, Tupa members would be first in line seeking any additional handout they can get.
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The Carapaica gang exists separately and apart from the Tupas. It also identifies itself as an armed leftist guerrilla organization. It functions similarly outside of the law, as a vigilante organization.
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The Tupamaro gang leaders are accumulating significant wealth and they function like a local ghetto group who collects “tribute” for King Chavez. Extorting goods, service, and street taxes or protection money is a main ongoing source of income for the Tupamaro gang
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it illustrates a type of gang organization that has made a transition into state-sponsorship. For gang specialist police officers it is the ultimate example of a gang gone wild: a gang that specializes in extra-legal vigilante-style violence develops over time into a gang subsidized and directed by the government — indeed, major leaders in the Tupa gang today hold positions of enormous “police power” in Venezuela. And as stated, the primary sponsor of the Tupas is Hugo Chavez, the controversial president of Venezuela.
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Coca conflict: Brazil's impending war on drugs. | Crime, Law Enforcement & Corrections... - 0 views
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While they are seeing an improved quality of life for the majority of Brazilians, those living in Sao Paulo's slums are still combating poverty while remaining vulnerable to gang warfare, drug trafficking, and crime.
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Conservative Christianity in Latin America - 0 views
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I am not surprised to see that only 19.5% of the populations of Latin American countries said they identified as a "conservative Christian." While that number seems low, I would assume it doesnt include a lot of people who do identify as Catholics. With technology and liberalism being popular, the number of people who abide by all of the catholic church's rules and teachings are greatly dwindling.
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Geography: The incidence is lowest in Mexico, where the influence of the Church had been significantly reduced and restricted constitutionally after the Revolution in the early 1900's. Surprisingly, in the three countries (Argentina, Brazil and Chile) in which brutal military dictatorships were actively supported by conservative church leaders in the 1980's, the incidences are just slightly higher than in Mexico. Conservative Christians have the highest incidences in the other three countries (Colombia, Peru and Venezuela) which have been under nominally democratic, but unstable, governments.
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Age/Sex: Within men, conservative Christians are more likely to be found in the older people (age 45 and over). Within women, the youngest ones (12 to 19 years old) are conservative, but there is a big drop once they become independent adults (20 to 24 years old). The highest incidences of conservative Christians are found in women 45 years or older. These older skews for conservative Christians does not augur well for the future as there are fewer successors within sight.
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higher education is more pragmatic and secular in nature
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The incidence of conservative Christians is an inverse function of socio-economic leve
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Christians
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Population Council | Americas | Latin America and the Caribbean - 0 views
www.popcouncil.org/...lac.html
reproduction health care economic dimensions contraception abortion women's rights
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By giving women the tools and knowledge about their reproductive rights and options for contraception, abortions, and knowledge about diseases, this Council attempts to empower them through increased safety and awareness of women's health services.
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Dissident Voice : The Struggle for Women's Equality in Latin America - 0 views
dissidentvoice.org/...mens-equality-in-latin-america
abortion discrimination gender roles government policy machismo patriarchy poverty women's rights religion
shared by Shannon Coco on 15 Sep 09
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A radical newsletter in the struggle for peace and justice. Due to religious influences and beliefs, women do not have the rights to their bodies by law, so they seek alternative methods to have abortions, with a large number resulting in death. Similar to our discussion of sexual education in schools, the 'reality' does not match up with what is taught in schools (especially Catholic ones). Instead of being proactive and preventative, abstinence is taught. iolence against women is coming to the forefront as a major concern in Latin America. Termed "femicide," violence against women by men because they are women is a poor result of the hierarchy of the cultural society in Latin America. Machismo and masculinity influence men to feel that they must act this way from a young way in order to exert their power and strength, but it is unacceptable. This article also discusses women's movements and their fight for equal rights as well as rights to maternity leave and other aspects that women who work must take into account.
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Evaluation of a school-based intervention for HIV/AIDS prevention among Belizean adoles... - 0 views
her.oxfordjournals.org/...730
AIDS_HIV condom gender roles machismo poverty religion sexual education
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Continuing our discussion of sexual education in the US and Latin America, this research study is the start to continued knowledge and use of contraception methods and the role of HIV AIDS in Latin America. With this knowledge integrated into the school curriculum, there is greater awareness of AIDS and prevention methods will increase. If more schools were to create a dialogue with students about sexual awareness and AIDS in particular since it is affecting so much of the young population, than attitudes and efforts to prevent the disease would certainly change and increase. Catholic schools refused to partake in the study. Similar to our discussion in which Catholic schools only preached abstinence while others focused on being safe, the Catholic schools continued to disregard preventative measures in order to follow their beliefs. They also mention that gender roles and machismo may also be precursors to risky sexual behavior because of hierarchies that are established in Belize.
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AIDS-Related Stigma: Anthropological Theory and Clinical Practice in Haiti - 0 views
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in many countries hardest hit by HIV, the stigma of this disease is at least as powerful, if not more so, than in wealthy nations. Through the discussion of social and gender inequality, this article discusses the stigmas that are associated with AIDS and the anticipated harships that it creates. Also, I could not add a sticky note to this because it was a PDF
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shared by Shannon Coco on 08 Sep 09
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FACTBOX-Illegal immigrants and U.S. healthcare debate| Reuters - 0 views
www.reuters.com/...idUSN17368922
illegal immigrants healthcare emergency President Barack Obama insurance
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Critics also argue that healthcare costs are higher in the United States because illegal immigrants, who often lack insurance and don't pay taxes, drain precious healthcare dollars through trips to emergency rooms and clinics.
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Because they do not have healthcare, illegal immigrants go to the emergency rooms and clinics when they get sick. Since it is an "emergency," the cost of treatment, seeing them, x-rays, etc is at least 3 times more expensive than it would be to have the same things done in a doctor's office. Therefore, illegal immigrants are costing the government more money now than they would if we provided them with healthcare.
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or 15.3 percent of the U.S. population, who lack health insurance
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A total of 9.7 million among the uninsured said they were "not a citizen."
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Illegal immigrants work disproportionately in jobs that do not provide health insurance
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Because they do not have healthcare, illegal immigrants go to the emergency rooms and clinics when they get sick. Since it is an "emergency," the cost of treatment, seeing them, x-rays, etc is at least 3 times more expensive than it would be to have the same things done in a doctor's office. Therefore, illegal immigrants are costing the government more money now than they would if we provided them with healthcare.
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AIDS in Latin America -- A special report;In Deception and Denial, an Epidemic Looms - 0 views
partners.nytimes.com/...012593sci-aids.html
AIDS deception denial sexuality contraceptive condoms prices fidelity marriage
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Flourishing amid sexual promiscuity, hypocrisy and haphazard prevention, Latin America's AIDS epidemic is on its way to surpassing that of the United States
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among
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ising infection rates among Latin American women, a fact that doctors attribute to a propensity for homosexual and heterosexual affairs by men and a traditional reluctance to discuss these with their wives
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This reminded me of when Gutmann discussed how men classified their sexuality on questionnaires. Some claimed to be "heterosexual" despite having sex with other men because they were the ones doing the penetrating. This logic baffled me and I was shocked to hear the reasoning, but yet I believe it to be driven by beliefs that since they were "the man" penetrating, they did nothing against their religion, the norm, etc.
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"Married women always think that they are safe," said Ana Valeria Barbosa, whose husband died of AIDS two years ago. "Then I discovered my husband was not only injecting drugs, he was bisexual."
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Indeed, hidden bisexual activity by Latin America's men has provided a bridge for the epidemic to enter the continent's f
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provide
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a's men has provided a bridge for the epidemic to enter the continent's
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Men here are not considered gay if they also have sexual relations with women, or perform the dominant role in the sex act. This is a main contributor to the rapid spread of AIDS among women."
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This once again states the logic of male-to-male sexual acts. If dominant (the man's role), going along with the perception of the way men should act in bed as the aggressor, than they are not considered gay.
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prevalent in Brazil, and in Latin America
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"Bisexual behavior is more
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in general, than in the U.S.,
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male population.
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In Africa, heterosexual sex is the primary means of transmission and victims are evenly split between men and women. In the United States, primary modes of transmission have been gay sex and injection of drugs with contaminated needles,
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In Rocinha, Rio's largest slum, 77 percent of sexually active male respondents to a survey said they never used condoms.
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The men will not take it upon themselves to use contraception or to prevent AIDS.
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In addition to objections on grounds of pleasure, Brazilian men fault condoms for their high price and their poor quality. Priced out of reach of Brazil's poor majority, a pack of three condoms costs the equivalent of a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of rice or two kilograms of black beans.
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"Many married men get AIDS from homosexual behavior and from prostitutes they don't publicly acknowledge," said Marta Suplicy, a Sao Paulo psychoanalyst who specializes in sexual problems. "One of the big problems of AIDS is that there is still the myth of fidelity in marriage."
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In this article from The New York Times in January 1993, the rise of AIDS in women in Latin America is discussed. Similarly to in Gutmann's findings, the fidelity of husbands is questioned as the reason for the rise in women's infections. With men having sexual affairs, they are contributing to the rise of AIDS in females.
Shannon Coco