 Edición Semanaria de Noticiero Latino |
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August 2001
August 3rd | Listen to the program
RESIDENTS OF VIEQUES VOTE FOR IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION OF NAVY BOMBINGS ON THE ISLAND - This week, residents of the Puerto Rican island municipality of Vieques voted on a referendum for the immediate suspension of U.S. Navy bombing exercises there. Recently, President George W. Bush announced he would end these war exercises, though not until 2003. With this, the president seeks to appease the demands of a Puerto Rican majority while at the same time giving the Navy time to find another site for its exercises. But Juan Figueroa, director of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York, questions these arguments and assures it is still possible for President Bush to change his policy on the island.
L.A. RESIDENTS WARN OF ADDICTION TO ASTHMA INHALERS - The use of inhalers to administer medication to asthma sufferers has become very popular. However, some doctors warn that prolonged use of these inhalers without adequate supervision could lead to addiction, harmful not only to the user's health but to the family's economic well-being. From Los Angeles, correspondent Ruben Tapia reports on one such case of addiction.
POLICE REFORMS STILL ELUSIVE IN MEXICAN STATE OF GUERRERO - One of the promises made by Mexican President Vicente Fox during his presidential campaign was to clean up corruption in the justice system and to guarantee the respect of citizens' rights by law enforcement agencies. However, much of Mexico's law enforcement is administered at a state level. The question now is whether individual states have applied this policy successfully. Kent Patterson has this report from the state of Guerrero, voiced by Guadalupe Carrasco.
August 10th | Listen to the program
FORMER PUERTO RICAN ATTORNEY GENERAL COMMENTS ON POWELL-CASTAÑEDA MEETING - High ranking U.S. and Mexican officials met this week in Washington to continue negotiations on a plan that would allow millions of Mexican immigrants to live and work legally in the U.S. The meeting was private and no public statements were given about its progress. But Jose Fuentes, former Attorney General of Puerto Rico and spokesperson for the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, spoke with Noticiero Latino director Samuel Orozco about some of the general lines of negotiation.
LATINOS IN GEORGIA START SIGNATURE DRIVE IN SUPPORT OF GRANTING DRIVERS' LICENSES TO UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS - An immigrant advocacy organization in Georgia launched a campaign this week to collect signatures in support of a proposition that would grant driver's licenses to immigrants who don't yet have social security numbers. This proposal would overturn a law approved in 1995 under which only citizens and legal residents could receive driver's licenses. Patricia Ramos has the details.
LATINO-AFRICAN AMERICAN RELATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA REMAIN GOOD DESPITE CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS - Latino and African American organizations were recently put on guard after a couple of violent incidents involving youths from both communities. Relations between Latinos and African Americans have generally been peaceful. But as the number of Latinos in the city continues to grow, some are beginning to look for ways to preserve this harmony beyond the traditional segregation of neighborhoods. Noticiero Latino contributor Carli Bracuto reports.
August 17th | Listen to the program
COMMISSION PRESENTS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FEDERAL ELECTION REFORM - President George W. Bush recently received the results of a study on possible changes to the current electoral system. Some of the reforms proposed by a commission led by ex-presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford included developing a uniform voting system; creating a federal non-partisan election regulating body; and helping states modernize their vote-counting equipment. Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) commented on these proposals with Noticiero Latino director Samuel Orozco.
SMALL FARMERS DECRY EFFECTS OF NAFTA-HIGHER IMPORTS OF AGRICULTURAL GOODS - This week, hundreds of small farmers from the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Sinaloa, and Sonora blocked the international bridge between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso for three hours, denying entry to trucks from the U.S. This demonstration was part of a series of protests being staged by Mexican small farmers to demand changes in national farming policies that have benefited agricultural imports. The dissenting voices have come from states from all over Mexico, as Kent Patterson explains in this report voiced by Alejandro Glusman.
MEXICAN WORKERS CONTRIBUTING TO CONSTRUCTION GROWTH IN ATLANTA - Recent official statistics show an increase in the number of accidents by Latinos working in construction. Atlanta is one of the cities where thousands of Latinos work in this field. Noticiero Latino correspondent Patricia Ramos reports on the risks faced by these workers and on efforts being undertaken to improve their conditions.
August 24th | Listen to the program
L. A. DAY LABORER TALKS ABOUT THE RECENTLY CREATED NATIONAL LABORERS NETWORK - Day laborers, immigrants who gather on street corners to wait for daily jobs, are often persecuted and even arrested for congregating on a street corner looking for work. Recently, day laborers from ten different states formed a national network to organize their struggle around the country. Correspondent Ruben Tapia spoke with one of the network's organizers in their Los Angeles headquarters.
CALIFORNIA KICKS-OFF PROGRAM TO EXPAND FARMWORKER ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE - California's economy is one of the most productive in the world today. However, the millions of farmworkers who sustain it still have little or no access to health services. In order to help rectify this situation, the California Endowment, one of the mayor health foundations in the state, turned over this week the first portion of a fifty million dollar fund to expand farmworker access to health care. Noticiero Latino correspondent Ana Lilia Barraza was in Sacramento to cover the event and has this report.
MEXICAN-AMERICAN SINGER LILA DOWNS PRESENTS HER LATEST CD IN THE U.S. - Mixtec-American singer Lila Downs dedicates her latest CD to "all the migrants and all who have died crossing the border." For this salute, Downs and her group turn to jazz, cumbia, Cuco Sanchez, the indigenous Mexican son, border music, and other musical genres. Lila Downs spoke about her CD, "La Linea," with correspondent Raul Silva in Mexico, before heading to Pennsylvania to present it at the Philadelphia Folk Music Festival.
August 31st | Listen to the program
REPORT ON IMMIGRANT RIGHTS IN TEXAS BORDER TO BE PRESENTED AT U.N. CONFERENCE - This week, delegates of the United Nations kicked off the World Conference Against Racism. Among the topics on the agenda are abuses against immigrants in the United States. Organizations from various states contributed their own reports to create the one that will be presented by the National Network for Immigrant Rights. One of these regional reports came from the border region of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, as Kent Patterson explains in this report voiced by Alejandro Glusman.
PEASANT LEADERS FROM LATIN AMERICA ORGANIZE AGAINST GROWING IMPORTS - Peasant leaders met recently in Mexico City to look for alternative ways to deal with the increasingly difficult conditions faced by farmworkers throughout the continent. Noticiero Latino correspondent Raul Silva spoke with various peasant leaders who agree with the urgent need to find solutions before farmworker disenfranchisement erupts into violence. A first step, the say, is to control the importation of agricultural goods.
MEXICAN SYMPHONY MUSICIAN SHARES KNOWLEDGE WITH ATLANTA STUDENTS - In Atlanta, a violinist stands out for his talent as well as for his determination to instill in young people a love for classical music. He is Juan Ramirez, the only Mexican in the prestigious Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Ramirez is a music conductor, professor, composer and researcher and, with the magic of his hands, transforms the sounds of the guitar, the marimba, and the violin into music that inspires many young listeners to follow in his path. Noticiero Latino contributor Patricia Ramos has the details.