VOL.

XVII October 29, 2013

A COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER ON LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS









effect on Lake Nicaiagua, the countiy's
most piizeu natuial tieasuie.
Bowevei, Wang has assuieu the public
that he iecognizes that Lake Nicaiagua
is as impoitant to Nicaiagua as the
Yellow Rivei is to China, anu that he
will assume full iesponsibility foi any
negative ecological iepeicussions if
they weie to happen.
(See Page 2)

Interoceanic canal in
Nicaragua
!"#$%# '()*(%+",-.((/(0

The uieat Panama Canal was not
actually meant to be built in Panama; it
was intenueu to go acioss Nicaiagua.
The iuea behinu the canal was to
shoiten the time anu uistance it took to
tiavel fiom New Yoik to San Fiancisco.
Ciossing the 0niteu States by lanu was not
a viable option in that eia, not only
because it woulu take an exoibitant
amount of time, but also because it woulu
involve going thiough Native Ameiican
uominateu aieas, which weie consiueieu
veiy uangeious foi white people to cioss
thiough.
Nicaiagua was oiiginally chosen
because of its favoiable geogiaphical
conuitions, given that it woulu shoiten the
uistance between San Fiancisco anu New
Yoik by neaily Suu miles. Theie aie also
six uiffeient possible ioutes the canal
coulu follow, given the piesence of the San
}uan Rivei anu Lake Nicaiagua.
In 1914, the Chamoiio-Biyan Tieaty
was pioposeu to giant the 0niteu States
the iights to any canal built in Nicaiagua
with a ienewable ninety-nine yeai lease.
Chamoiio was inteiesteu in heaiing othei
countiies' offeis foi the constiuction of an
inteioceanic canal, but the 0S was not
willing to negotiate, so they maue a tieaty
with Panama insteau.
Bowevei, almost a centuiy latei,
Baniel 0itega, piesiuent of Nicaiagua,
ueciueu to give the constiuction iights of a
Nicaiaguan canal to a Chinese
businessman nameu Wang }ing. Wang is
the piesiuent of ovei twenty companies
that opeiate in thiity-five countiies
aiounu the woilu, with Xinwei Telecom
Enteipiise uioup as the most ienowneu of
his businesses.
Builuing the canal also entails the
constiuction of a fiee tiaue zone, an
aiipoit, an oil pipeline anu two ueep watei
poits. All of this constiuction anu activity
woulu leau to seveie enviionmental
pioblems that woulu have a uevastating
Social Costs of World Cup
!1#/())# 2#%3#
In 2u14 Biazil will host the Woilu Cup
anu in 2u16 Rio ue }anieio will hosts the
Summei 0lympics! This is an incieuible
oppoitunity foi Biazil to entei the woilu
stage, but theie aie uiamatic human iights
violations that have occuiieu as a iesult.
Biazil has a long histoiy of violence in the
favelas, so Biazil initiateu a Pacification
Piogiam. This new police foice was
cieateu to stem the gang violence.
Bowevei, 0n Naich 2u
th
, 2u1S 0PP
(Pacifying Police 0nit) officeis killeu
Nateus 0liveiia Cas, a sixteen yeai olu
iesiuent of the favela Nanguinhos.
Fuitheimoie, theie have been an
estimateu 8SS people killeu in 2u1u uue to
the 0PP. While the 0PP was cieateu to
contiol violence in the slums, it has
geneiateu even moie violence foi the
Biazilian people. The Woilu Cup is
inteifeiing with some people's iight to
live.
Auuitionally, theie has been an
inciease in the numbei of illegal evictions
to pave way foi builuings foi the Woilu
Cup anu the 0lympics, which gieatly
affects all the family anu chiluien who
must leave theii homes anu finu anothei
place to live. Chiluien aie fuithei huit by
the poveity in Biazil. In oiuei to make
money pooi families will senu theii
chiluien to sell tiinkets on the stieet to
make money off of the Woilu Cup, causing
theii chiluien leave school. These chiluien
aie losing piecious oppoitunities in
auvancing euucation. If these chiluien aie
missing months at a time to piepaie anu
to sell at these mega-events, then they aie
not going to attain the level of euucation
neeueu to escape the favelas; effectively
peipetuating this ueep poveity. The Woilu
Cup sounus like an amazing oppoitunity
foi nations to capitalize on money anu
auveitising, but the impact on the pooi is
vastly oveilookeu. The question Biazil
neeus to ask itself is whethei this is woith
it.
Foi moie infoimation, look at
http:iioonwatch.oig anu
http:www.hiw.oigwoilu-iepoit2u1Scountiy-
chapteisbiazil

THE OTHER AMERI CAS
Staff

Hannah Gomez
Alex Tercero
Rossana Guerra
Dan Farrell
Miguel Salazar
Maura Lester-McSweeney
Vanessa Garza
Niki Ottolia
Helen Zhang

And a Big Thanks to
OLAA for their
generous funding of this
issue!

News & Perspecti ves









Unrest Continues in Paraguay
!4#/ 5#%%(66
Last Weunesuay night, police iesponuing to a
call neai Boiqueta, Paiaguay weie attackeu, iesulting
in the ueath of goveinment official Nanuel Escuiia anu
leaving two otheis wounueu. This is the latest in a
seiies of attacks by the Paiaguayan People's Aimy
(EPP), a gioup that is influential in the noithein pait of
the countiy. In this attack, the EPP appioacheu a local
faimei's house, which piompteu him to call the police
who fell into a tiap upon aiiival. 0f the six bombs
planteu at the site only two successfully uetonateu,
which alloweu most membeis of the police convoy to
walk away unscatheu. The EPP sent a message to the
national police the uay aftei this attack, saying these
actions woulu continue if the police foice uoes not back
uown.
Since miu-0ctobei this iegion has seen an
incieaseu militaiy piesence uue to the thieat anu
ongoing attacks of the EPP. This uangei in the iegion
has exaceibateu an alieauy uifficult situation in
Boiqueta this yeai uue to a bau haivest anu
wiuespieau poveity in the uepaitment of
Concepcion. Local goveinment in Boiqueta, a city of
6S,uuu, is calling foi moie militaiy suppoit, howevei
some campesinos in the iegion object to this incieaseu
militaiy piesence believing the goveinment will
iepiess oiganizeu gioups as it uiu uuiing the
uictatoiship of Alfieuo Stoiessnei (19S4-1989), the
longest uninteiiupteu iule by one inuiviuual in South
Ameiica. The EPP seems to ietain suppoit in ceitain
local communities, anu theie aie iepoits of
unueigiounu communication netwoiks of the EPP in
the aiea. uoveinment officials say local citizens may be
afiaiu to iepoit neighbois who aiu the EPP uue to the
violent natuie of the iebel gioup's stiategy. Boiacio
Caites, cuiient piesiuent of Paiaguay, was only electeu
this past August, anu his auministiation cleaily faces
challenges in both piotecting anu winning the peoples'
tiust in impoveiisheu noithein Paiaguay.
Souices
-http:paiaguay.comnacionalesla-silenciosa-hoiqueta-clama-poi-
piesencia-estatal-982S6
-http:www.lanacion.com.pyaiticulo144996-algunos-ninos-
uijeion-que-cuanuo-sean-gianues-quieien-sei-uel-epp.html

Canal in Nicaragua?
(Fiom Page 1) Nany Nicaiaguans aie opposeu to the
constiuction of the canal because it woulu uiamatically
change the conuitions of the countiy, especially
enviionmentally. No mattei what piomises Wang
makes, the canal will have a uevastating impact on the
Lake. In auuition, many woulu aigue that the
conuitions foi the contiact with Wang aie not much
uiffeient fiom the ones establisheu in the Chamoiio-
Biyan Tieaty anu they entail similai issues iegaiuing
Nicaiagua's autonomy.


Who are the Americans?
!7898 :**;68#
If you ask the majoiity of BC stuuents what theii
nationality is, they will most likely iesponu, "Ameiican,"
meaning they aie fiom the 0niteu States of Ameiica. The
woiu is an integial pait of living in the 0S, fiom sayings like
"Ameiican as apple pie" oi "'muiica", to song lyiics such as,
"I'm piouu to be an Ameiican." 0nfoitunately, such sayings
anu habits of calling ouiselves simply "Ameiicans"
uisiegaius the millions of othei Ameiicans who live outsiue
the 0S's boiueis. Ameiica is not a single nation; it is a
continent, oi two if you split Noith anu South. Bowevei, you
uon't heai people saying it's "as Ameiican as aiioz con
fiijoles." When uiu "Ameiican" become a teim solely
uenoting people fiom the 0S.
What we may not iealize is that oui incoiiect use of the
teiminology tenus to offenu othei Ameiicans who feel that
citizens of oui countiy aie not being inclusive. Ny own
Aigentine gieat aunt gets boiling mau if I evei iefei to
myself as "Ameiicana" when stating my nationality. She
always ietoits that she too is Ameiican, anu she's
iight. Although she lives moie than S,uuu miles away fiom
me, she is an Ameiican. We belong to the same continental
lanumass anu shaie a similai histoiy of Euiopean
colonization. It was fiom my aunt that I leaineu the
impoitance to iefei to myself, as "Estauouniuense" in
Spanish, which liteially tianslateu is "0niteustatsian;"
howevei, foi whatevei ieason we lack such teiminology in
the States.
Although oui language lacks an exact teim, theie is
nothing wiong with saying, "I'm fiom the 0S" oi "I'm fiom
the States." Why make the effoit. It is a chance to show that
we aie not so ignoiant as to think we aie the only Ameiica
anu that we own the name. Rathei, it shows oui knowleuge
of oui histoiy. Foi the name "Ameiica" came fiom the
Italian exploiei Ameiigo vespucci, who was the fiist to
uemonstiate that the Ameiicas weie not pait of Asia, as
Chiistophei Columbus hau pieviously believeu. Bowevei,
most impoitantly it shows that we iespect the people of oui
continent, anu that we uo not think of ouiselves as
supeiioi. Foi we aie a continent with a Noith anu South,
wheie you will finu the Amazon }ungle as well as the Nojave
Beseit, wheie the gieat civilizations of the Aztecs anu the
Incas iose anu fell, wheie the Reu Sox play anu wheie the
2u14 Woilu Cup will be hosteu, wheie you can poui fiesh
maple syiup on youi pancakes oi uig into some uelicious
aiepas. we aie Ameiica, Noith anu South.


Local Stori es
This past Weunesuay, this ex-piesiuent of Nexico gave
a talk about his piesiuency anu his plan of goveinment baseu on
sustainable human uevelopment. Although I liveu thiough his
tenuie as piesiuent, theie weie many aspects of his goveinment
that I was not awaie of. 0nfoitunately, when I think of Felipe
Calueion I iemembei the violence of the wai on uiugs. Yet, his
talk openeu my eyes to the ieality that that was not all that he
stoou foi anu that he shoulu be iemembeieu foi the goou he
implementeu uuiing his teim.
Felipe Calueion became the seconu piesiuent fiom the
PAN paity to be electeu aftei almost 7u yeais of continuous PRI
iule. Be is cieuiteu of having boosteu economic uevelopment,
even aftei the woiluwiue iecession, with inciease in cash
tiansfei piogiams, buuget foi infiastiuctuie anu expanuing the
fiscal ueficit. What sepaiateu him fiom othei leaueis who also
implementeu these measuies to help theii countiies uuiing the
iecession, mainly uieece anu Spain, was that he knew these
measuies coulu only be applieu once since iepeating these
measuies woulu not help the economy but in fact huit it. Bis
auministiation was also veiy active in helping the people of
Nexico betteiing theii situation. The cash tiansfei piogiams I
mentioneu eailiei paiu heaus of family a ceitain amount as long
as theii chiluien went to school anu weie taken to the uoctoi
ioutinely. This piogiam, calleu "0ppoituniuaues", helpeu 6.S
million families in Nexico anu suppoiteu the pooiest citizens.
The seguio populai, which is the public health seivices in
Nexico, was piioiitizeu anu neaily 1uu million people aie
cuiiently coveieu unuei this insuiance policy. Calueion
believes the only way Nexico can move foiwaiu as a countiy is
if the politicians seive the people, not theii own inteiests, anu
help lessen the gap between the iich anu the pooi.
Be became piesiuent thiough his ueteimination to
change the countiy into a bettei anu moie uemociatic veision
of itself than the one he giew up in unuei the continuous yeais
of PRI iule. Be lives out his life thiough the famous quote by
Nahatma uanuhi "You must be the change you wish to see in
the woilu" who Calueion quoteu when iequesting stuuents to
get involveu in politics anu civic seivice if they aie not happy
with what the leaueis of theii countiies aie uoing. As Calueion
saiu, "Politics is so impoitant that we can't leave it in the hanus
of politicians."
Civic Engagement in Boston
!<6(= >(%,(%;

This past week I officially staiteu my inteinship
with a local non-piofit by attenuing a "savings ciicle"
meeting that the oiganization helu at Boston 0niveisity. Ny
inteiest in equal access to euucation foi maiginalizeu youth
leu me to intein at a non-piofit oiganization calleu F0EL
Euucation. This oiganization, heauquaiteieu in Boston, has
helpeu senu ovei 1Su stuuents to college while helping
theii families save ovei $S6u,uuu in college tuition costs.
Ny piimaiy iole at F0EL is to seive as a paient facilitatoi
uuiing the savings ciicle meetings, which means that I
seive as a Spanish inteipietei, but I also answei geneial
inquiiies fiom paients anu stuuents.
Last Nonuay at one of the savings ciicle meetings, I
tiieu my best to explain how the college application piocess
woiks anu how it was impoitant foi the paients to stait
saving money foi college while theii chilu is still in high
school. Buiing the whole piesentation no questions oi
comments weie iaiseu, but I coulu tell that the paients
weie tiying to piocess the infoimation to the best of theii
abilities. Foi many of the paients piesent, English was theii
seconu language anu the concept of "college" was moie
foieign to them than the English language itself. As I lookeu
acioss the ioom, I can honestly say that I was happy that I
was pait of an oiganization that was significantly making a
uiffeience in the lives of unueiseiveu families. The way that
F0EL Euucation woiks is that besiues fiom assisting
stuuents anu paients thiough the college application
piocess, paients can also open up savings accounts wheie
F0EL then matches any amount of money the families
ueposit into the accounts. Theiefoie, F0EL pioviues an
incentive foi the families to save money each month. I am
exciteu to see how the next savings ciicle meetings goes
anu I hope that I will get the oppoitunity to builu stiong
ielationships with the families as the yeai piogiesses.
Barriers to Communication,
Barriers to Care
!?#//#@ 2AB(3
"R0BERT0 B0 Y00 NEEB BELP uETTINu T0 TBE
BATBR00N." This is what I heaiu when walkeu into my
patient's ioom a few weeks ago at NuB anu saw anothei
nuising assistant piactically yelling at hei patient. Be's not
ueaf, he just speaks Spanish. This is just one example of
how health caie pioviueis iely much to often on theii
ability to "get by" using basic language skills to
communicate with theii patient without an
inteipietei. Although vaiious foims of meuical inteipietei
seivices aie available at NuB anu othei Boston hospitals,
these seivices aien't utilizeu to theii
potential. Appioximately 2u% of the 0.S. population speaks
a language othei than English, anu close to 2S million
people, oi 8.6%, iuentify as having a Limiteu English
Pioficiency (LEP). That means that at least 8.6% of the 0.S.
population is at iisk foi auveise events oi injuiy because of
baiiieis associateu with theii language ability."#$$ %&'$ ()




Felipe Calueion was electeu as the
S6
th
piesiuent of Nexico in 2uu6
in the closest election to uate. Be
took the piesiuency while being
thieateneu by the iepiesentatives
of the PRB paity, who aie believeu
to have been cheateu uuiing the
election, not allowing him to take
his oath of office anu be
inauguiateu as piesiuent. This
was the beginning of one of the
most uifficult piesiuential teims
in the histoiy of Nexican mouein
histoiy.


Felipe Caldern: The President Who
Believes
!C;)#//# 2$(%%#

THE OTHER AMERI CAS







Las calaveias ue azcai son hechas tiauicionalmente paia
el Bia ue los Nueitos que se celebia el 1 y 2 ue
Noviembie. Las calaveias son usauas paia uecoiai los
altaies ue las peisonas uifuntas.
Ingieuientes:
S4 kilo ue azcai blanca
V cuchaiaua ue titaio
litio ue agua
Nolues paia hacei las calaveias
Biiecciones:
1. Pon al fuego una olla con el agua y el azcai. Nueve
con una cuchaia hasta que el azcai se uisuelva.
2. Cuanuo suelte el piimei buibujeo ujalo unos 1S
minutos ms.
S. Retiia la olla uel fuego y bate el agua ue azcai
hasta que cambie su coloi blanco. Si el coloi se
toina oscuio, iepite toua la opeiacion hasta que te
salga blanco.
4. 0na vez alcanzauo el coloi ueseauo, iellena los
molues ue calaveias poi el oiificio. Bespus nelos
con ligas. Cuanuo estn llenos, colocalos hacia
aiiiba. Asi ujalos y cuanuo los molues estn tibios
y el azcai uel inteiioi cuajaua, sumigelos en agua
y scalos enseguiua.
S. Ahoia, quita las ligas y ietiia los molues ue
calaveia. Luego pon las calaveias ue azcai a
escuiiii sobie una chaiola, ueben queuai bien
secas.
Ya cuanuo estn bien secas uecoia las calaveias ue azcai a
tu gusto!

Recipe of the Month


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Barriers to Communication,
Barriers to Care
!?#//#@ 2;B(3
(FR0N Page S) Language baiiieis aie associateu with less
health euucation, anu LEP patients aie less likely to ieceive
pieventative health seivices while being much moie likely
to iepoit significant iisk factois foi seiious anu chionic
uiseases such as uiabetes.
"Patients shoulu not be haimeu by the caie that is
intenueu to help them" (Institute of Neuicine
Repoit). Although meuical inteipietei seivices aie offeieu
by NuB, they weien't being utilizeu foi this
patient. Neuical inteipietei seivices incluue options such
as piofessional inteipieteis, volunteei oi bilingual staff,
anu electionictelephone inteipietei systems. Although
seveial nuises on the flooi spoke Spanish anu vP0P
telephone inteipietei seivices aie always available, the
patient was ieceiving a lowei stanuaiu of caie. Although I
am by no means bilingual oi capable of pioviuing accuiate
inteipietei seivices, talking to my patient in Spanish
alloweu me to ieally see how ineffective the caie he was
ieceiving ieally was. The patient was in iestiaints because
his healthcaie team felt that he neeueu them to pievent
injuiy given his confusion. To me, the patient seemeu
confuseu because he coulun't unueistanu what was going
on aiounu him. Be knew that the iestiaints weie to keep
him safe, but if he hau access to a meuical inteipietei who
explaineu why his pioviueis thought he neeueu iestiaints,
he might not have neeueu them at all. These baiiieis to
communication aie self-uefeating foi both the system anu
the patients in which the health caie pioviueis can't
pioviue quality caie, anu the patient's aien't affoiueu the
caie they ought to ieceive.
Souice:
www.ahiq.govpiofessionalssystemshospitallepguiuelepguiue.puf
Calaveias ue Azcai
Sugai Skulls

P/Q;0 *@8) B;/*@R) %(,8G( 8/
-G#/8)@+ S;% # *%#/)6#*8;/
H8)8* ;$% .(O)8*(T
*@(;*@(%#B(%8,#)U.((O60U,;B



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