12 - February - 2007 | 0
Issue 1/February-March 2007
By Beatriz Velasco García
How to create an alternative model
The socialist constitution of Cuba needs important reforms to include human rights protection. In that case it could be an alternative model to Western world which some politicians preach as the only possible.
To analyse Cuba we have to pose several questions: Are we in the right way? What do we expect economic or social development?
If we pay attention to Millennium Goals: poverty reduction, famine, universal basic education, sex equality, infant mortality reduction, AIDS reduction… in Cuba some economic indicators demonstrate that Cuba is not in the wrong way. Cuba has one of the highest life expectancy, a low woman unemployment rate, a low illiteracy rate…
I fear for Spain to become a country with important social restrictions in education and health. What is a country without quality of life for? The country is economically growing because of the housing increase but who owns that money?
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11 - February - 2007 | 0
Issue 1/February-March 2007
By Soraya Carvajal Barona
“Para-policy” is the new term coined in Colombia to name “an open secret” which was confirmed in 2006: the direct relation among politicians, businessmen, armed sectors and para-military groups or “self-defence” and their broad interference in politics.
When in June 2006 authorities confiscated the computer of the main para-military leader in the Atlantic Coast – North Colombia-, Rodrigo Tovar Pupo alias “Jorge 40”, Colombians understand the dimension of such conflict that in 20 years of war has left thousands of deaths, a political party almost exterminated and more than 2,5 million farmers moved away from their homes. This conflict is based on a complex military, political, economic and social fabric with huge corrupt power.
In the computer there were recorded murders of 60 social leaders made in the last two years in the city of Barranquilla, the main urban and economic centre in the North of the country. Also it showed the network made by congressman, self-defence groups, governors, majors and councillors working in behalf of the interests of the armed group leaders.
The computer files recorded the strategy to manipulate elections based on vote segmentation, threats to opponents and only one candidature favouring allied politicians. Moreover, it showed how public budget from coal exploitation and health economic resources together with extortion from public contracts were used to finance these criminal groups.
According to para-military this political-military network resulted in 35% of the control of the present Congress.
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