 Edición Semanaria de Noticiero Latino |
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August 2006
August 4th | Listen to the program
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LACKS LATINO PRESENCE - The federal government is hiring less Latinos than in the past and this is translating in a high price tag for the community. This is what leaders of a nation-wide coalition of Latino organizations is saying in a report evaluating hiring practices of Latinos within the federal government. The results, they said, are not encouraging. This is why they announced efforts to pressure Congress into correcting the situation. Patricia Guadalupe files the report from Washington, D.C.
WITHOUT AN ELECTED PRESIDENT - Andrés Manuel López Obrador fulfilled his promise of gathering more than two million people in support of the presidential election vote-by- vote recount, at México City’s main plaza. In the middle of a pro democracy fiesta, the opposition candidate announced more drastic measures of civil resistance, including the blockage of main vehicular venues and an indefinite protest camp at the capital’s downtown. On the other hand, Felipe Calderón, the ruling party’s candidate, criticized the adopted measures, and the electoral tribunal, Tribunal Federal Electoral, continues analyzing whether to allow or not the recount vote-by-vote to certified the elected president on July 2nd. Citlali Saenz reports from Mexico City.
COLON CANCER: FAMILY SUPPORT - When suffering a terminal illness, both family support and certainty on the stage of the disease are of extreme importance. This is what our collaborator Eleazar Salinas shares in the following report, part of an occasional series. Salinas has been suffering from colon cancer for almost a year.
August 11th | Listen to the program
TOXIC CHEMICALS BANNING: NEW CRITERIA - The U.S. House of Representatives considers new legislation to eliminate the ability of states to ban toxic pesticides and other dangerous chemicals to the health of human beings. The initiative also pretends to change the criteria for banning the chemicals from a health-risk oriented one to cost-benefit standards. Patricia Guadalupe shares details from Washington, D.C.
MEXICO: PRESSIDENTIAL ELECTION RECOUNT - This Wednesday the federal election tribunal, TRIFE, started the presidential election recount of 9 percent of the votes cast on July 2nd. The opposition candidate, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, had asked for a total recount and has protested this new process. However, the new tally of the votes has found some of the irregularities mentioned on the legal complaints of the opposition and it could give the electoral tribunal the necessary elements to authorize a full recount. The partial recount ends this Sunday, as our correspondent in Mexico City, Citlali Sáenz reports.
MEXICAN POTTERY GAINS RECOGNITION - The ceramics from Mata Ortiz, a small northern Mexican town in the state of Chihuahua, have been shown around the world, especially in Japan and the United States. This little town has given the world one of most recognized ceramic masters: Juan Quezada. But thru the years the benefits of Quezada’s art and fame have reach all of the town’s residents. Magdaleno Manzanárez visited the ceramic masters of Mata Ortiz and shares this report.
August 18th | Listen to the program
THEY MARCH AGAIN - More that 400 Latino leaders from several states met last weekend in Chicago in order to form a national network and call for massive pro-immigrant demonstrations on Labor Day. Those attending the conference rejected the pending immigration reform initiatives proposed by both houses of Congress and declared themselves in favor of a moratorium on immigration raids. Ruben Tapia attended the Chicago gathering and shares details.
POLLUTED UNDERGROUND WATER - Tired of paying water that they are unable to drink, a group of farm workers from California’s Central Valley demand that authorities put a halt to the pollution of the valuable liquid by the region’s main industries: agriculture and dairy. The farm workers, backed by environmental groups and some legislators, demand that regional water authorities speak out against the contaminants being deposited in the area’s aquifers. Marco Vinico Gonzalez reports.
PARTIAL VOTE RECOUNT CONCLUDES - Nearly 2 months after the conclusion of Mexico’s presidential race, an official president-elect has not been named. The country’s electoral tribunal concluded the partial vote recount and political tensions are at an all time high as the date for the naming of the official winner looms. The opposition has called on a series of protest demonstrations in addition to a national convention; this while the official party’s candidate embarks on a tour announcing himself as the president-elect. Our correspondent, Citlali Saenz shares how these moments are being played out in Mexico City.
August 25th | Listen to the program
MILLION IMMIGRANTS MARCH - Two weeks shy of the restart of congressional sessions, immigrant groups are planning to receive legislators with a massive march. Organizers have selected September 7th to host what has been called as the Million People March for fair immigration reform. Patricia Guadalupe spoke with Michelle Waslin, immigration policy analyst at the National Council of La Raza on the march and possibility of achieving an immigration reform in the upcoming legislative session
FROM HOUSEWIVES TO DRIFT CATCHERS - A group of farm worker mothers from California’s Central Valley fields are adding a new task to their everyday chores. They are now dedicating part of their time to capture pesticides. This is happening in Huron, a farm worker town located in the midst of extensive cotton fields. Fed up with pesticide chemical odors and the deafening sound generated by helicopters that fly spraying pesticides at dusk, the mothers have recently been trained in the use of a small instrument that traps toxic fumigants. Alma Martinez visited Huron and files the following report.
OAXACA: TURMOIL AND VIOLENCE -Since last weekend armed gunmen and police agents have stirred fear on the streets of the City of Oaxaca, Mexico. Several gunmen have fired rounds against camps housing protesting teachers, activists and students calling themselves Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca, which demands Governor Ulises Ruiz’s resignation. At the closing of this edition, the confrontations had left one dead, several injured, burned vehicles and the city semi paralyzed. The political conflict has reached the three-month mark, and country’s Ministry of the Interior has finally called for a dialogue between state government and civil group representatives. Vladimir Flores shares the latest news.