Cuba https://wri-irg.org/en en Going beyond protest politics: the opportunity within the pandemic and our political crisis https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2020/going-beyond-protest-politics-opportunity-within-pandemic-and-our-political-crisis <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_entity_view' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_1col' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * ds-1col--node--42168.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story.html.twig * ds-1col--node-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <div data-history-node-id="42168" class="node node--type-story node--view-mode-rss ds-1col clearfix"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-image--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-image--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-image.html.twig * field--expert--field-image--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-image.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-image--story.html.twig * field--node--field-image.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --> <picture> <source srcset="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/single_page_desktop/public/2020-08/mst_sem_terra_brasilia_2009.jpg?itok=Hyd_vfz2 1x" media="screen and (min-width: 992px)" type="image/jpeg"/> <source srcset="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/single_page_mobiles_and_tablets/public/2020-08/mst_sem_terra_brasilia_2009.jpg?itok=Zq0UHBRs 1x" type="image/jpeg"/> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --> <img src="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/single_page_mobiles_and_tablets/public/2020-08/mst_sem_terra_brasilia_2009.jpg?itok=Zq0UHBRs" alt="A man wears a mask while stood next beyind a red, green and white MST flag" title=" This photograph was produced by A man attends an MST demonstration. Source: wikimedia/Agência Brasil, used under CC3.0 license." typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --> </picture> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --> <div class="caption"> This photograph was produced by A man attends an MST demonstration. Source: wikimedia/Agência Brasil, used under CC3.0 license.</div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node-post-date---custom.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--node-post-date.html.twig * field--ds.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <time > 21 Aug 2020</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--dynamic-twig-field:node-author-name-twig---custom.html.twig * field--default--node--dynamic-twig-field--node-author-name-twig--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--dynamic-twig-field--node-author-name-twig.html.twig * field--default--dynamic-twig-field--node-author-name-twig--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--dynamic-twig-field--node-author-name-twig.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--dynamic-twig-field--node-author-name-twig--story.html.twig * field--node--dynamic-twig-field--node-author-name-twig.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--dynamic-twig-field--node-author-name-twig.html.twig * field--ds.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-dynamic-twig-fieldnode-author-name-twig field--type-ds field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Author(s)</div> <div class="field--item"> <span>Stellan Vinthagen</span> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--body--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--body--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--body.html.twig * field--default--body--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--body.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--body--story.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><em>The pandemic is a crisis that entails both a threat to marginalized communities and an opportunity for radical social change. To take that opportunity we need to rethink how we work in social movements, and carefully craft a strategy forward through broad alliances, mass mobilizations of direct action, and an understanding of "constructive resistance", Stellan Vinthagen argues, a professor of resistance studies at University of Massachusetts, and an activist in War Resisters' International.</em></p> <p>During this pandemic crisis, when we are bound to our homes, I hope we will deepen our relations online with fellow activists and citizens living far away. That we socialize over tea or wine, a movie or a mutual topic, that we develop visionary plans for the future, and reflect on how we live our lives; asking ourselves if we really are living according to our values and principles. I hope we educate ourselves and build our networks, that we focus on building broad alliances for the future.</p> <p>In this break from our normal way of living, I also hope we will take the opportunity to break with the ritualized forms of protests, like 1 May demonstrations or other small protest marches against all the things we dislike. In those parts of the world where "Liberal Democracy" is the ideology of the state, it does not challenge anything. In Sweden, the prime minister from the Labor party walks and shouts slogans together with workers on the 1st of May, every year, since the Labor formed the first government in the 1932 ... There is a mythology, inherited from movements 200 years ago; that we can change society by walking from point A to B in urban areas, especially in the capital. Still, people do it all the time: Marches to Washington, to London, to Berlin, etc. again, and again.</p> <p>Yet such action is empty, an opium for the (liberal progressive) opposition! As Arundhati Roy said after the biggest protests in world history against the Iraq war in 2003: You do not stop a war with a weekend protest … You need to literally stop the companies that profit from war.</p> <p>As we reeducate ourselves, I hope we will instead see the value of focusing on another equally old but forgotten tradition, from the anarchists, of direct action. When you see a problem, you mobilize a movement that deals with it, be that through creating alternatives (like Fair Trade), or by resisting our opponents through blockades, occupations of land and factories. Ideally, we resist by enacting our alternatives. But, of course, in an authoritarian society that makes protest marches illegal, it makes sense, as a direct action, to march. Then, in that situation, the protest is a form of civil disobedience.</p> <p>The power of civil disobedience, strikes and interventions is so much bigger than protests and appeals. As long as we as citizens obey their laws and consume their products and services, and continue to produce what they demand as workers within factories, companies and universities, all the key problems will remain.</p> <p>We need to come back after this lockdown with the radical imaginations for a new society and the necessary broad, popular alliances to make them possible.</p> <p>But what are the strategies that will ultimately matter for the new broad alliances of movements we are building for the future? I will give three examples: one protest-oriented movement, one resistance oriented, and one that for me represents the most hopeful sign of social change, built on Indigenous traditions of what can be called "constructive resistance" - resistance through the enacting of alternatives.</p> <p>The most obvious example of a protest-oriented movement is currently the extraordinary mobilization of the Movement for Black Lives (or BLM), which already after some months is clearly one of the largest protest movements in US history. It is having ripple effects across the different states, in small towns and big cities. Political results are already visible, with defunding of the police, new laws increasing the possibilities for charging racist police violence, and to stop police militarization. Since 2013 this movement has been building a strong infrastructure of local leadership, social media presence, alliances and cooperation with professional groups (such as civil rights lawyers), as well as having its star-spangled leaders in the form of NFL players, thus laying the groundwork for the wave we see now. In this way, BLM is an example of when protests CAN have some effect, although how much remains unclear, and will depend on how this created opening will be handled. However, the usual trend is that protests are smaller and less impactful.</p> <p>Another example of the future is also percolating in the US, the People's Strike [<a href="https://peoplesstrike.org/">https://peoplesstrike.org/</a>], one which is more focused on resistance and direct-action obstructions of the existing system, therefore trying to force elites towards social change. The beginning was marked with a new kind of 1 May action, followed up with a series of actions on 1 June, 1 July 1 August, and onwards, initiated by the Black liberation community of anti-imperialists in Jackson, Mississippi. Here people are coordinating online in arguably the broadest left and progressive alliance in US history, combining worker strikes at such corporations as Walmart, Amazon and Wholefoods. Meanwhile, work slow-downs are occurring at other places, as well as rent-strikes by tenants, motorcades honk-ins and other activities. They are united under the slogan that Capitalism is the virus. If many people and organizations join in, and if their strikes are impacting economic elites, this might be powerful.</p> <p>However hopeful this example is, I consider the main example of a strategic way forward to be those movements that through experimentation are developing a form of "constructive resistance". This includes the Black empowerment work of Cooperation Jackson, in Jackson, Mississippi, the Native Americans at the WhiteEarth Reservation in Minnesota, the Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico, the Kurds in Rojava, Northern Syria, and the Landless workers movement MST in Brazil.</p> <p>The movement of landless workers in Brazil, with its foremost organization MST (Movimento dos trabalhadores rurais Sem Terra— the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement) is one of the largest social movement in South America. MST was formed during the 1980s and mobilizes about 1.5 million small-scale farmers and landless rural workers, who have no land with which they can sustain themselves. The participants are often underemployed rural workers or urban poor favela-dwellers. They have united in a struggle for a socialist and democratic land reform, which they encourage through means of occupations of unproductive land. So far, they have completed over 2,000 occupations, managing to distribute land to over 350,000 landless persons, which is more than what the government has done. While waiting to occupy land, the activists live in temporary encampments (acampamentos). After the land occupation, temporary housing is constructed. If the government expropriates and redistributes the land, they are then able to finally build permanent settlements (assentamentos).</p> <p>MST has created an ambitious program of alternative agrarian development as part of their vision of a “New Brazil,” consisting of organic farming cooperatives, gender equal, democratic governance of their own encampments on land occupations, self-organized villages, cooperative businesses, health clinics, primary and adult schooling, as well as their autonomous, open and tuition-free activist university.</p> <p>When MST carries out land occupations, they transgress private property laws and build their temporary villages out of black plastic-tents, create schools, and cultivate the land. They are regularly violently evicted, but they return and rebuild. With steadfast persistence they claim their land rights and defend their emerging society with unarmed collective force, mass media attention and urban alliances (with lawyers, politicians, journalists, etc.). The key is that they are not just protesting, demanding or lobbying authorities to act on their behalf or for legal recognition from the state. They do what is needed by themselves, here and now.</p> <p>With time, they develop cooperatives, ecological farming techniques, local democracy institutions, schools with Freire pedagogics that teach not only literacy and theoretical knowledge but also political awareness. They create a new society. Thus, in the process of resisting one of the most unjust land distributions in the world, they also start creating the alternative institutions they envision. Therefore, they embody the politico-ethical future through their resistance practice, i.e. they do constructive resistance. When such a mobilization reaches a certain level or size that seeks to replace the existing unjust society, we might rightfully speak of a “revolutionary” process.</p> <p>MST's de-facto revolutionary process consists of local revolutions that spread and scale-up. If we take all the land that MST collectives have liberated since the 1980s, the total size of that territory amounts almost to the size of Cuba.<a href="#sdfootnote1sym" name="sdfootnote1anc" id="sdfootnote1anc">1</a> That means that MST is conducting a new “Cuban revolution” in South America, however this time it is a localized and distributed revolution that is unarmed. Local revolutionary processes are set in motion, without MST trying to capture the power of the state, but by collaborating with the state when possible and resisting it when necessary.</p> <p>Thus, "constructive resistance", resistance by enacting alternatives, is a form of resistance that combines the "Yes" and the "No" in the struggle for social change, and as such it is a very different strategy which we can learn from. It avoids the co-option trap that hunts the construction of alternatives—which risks them becoming just another alternative in the capitalist market—while simultaneously avoiding the repression and marginalization trap that hunts radical resistance movements. The construction work builds dignity, resources, empowerment and hopeful alternatives to existing problems, while mass mobilizations of resistance tear down and obstruct the power systems of dominant elites to exploit, repress and destroy people, nature and the planet we live on.</p> <p>Constructive resistance might therefore be a way forward. If so, we have a lot to do during the pandemic in terms of educating ourselves, reorienting and developing strategies and creative tactics, building relationships and forming alliances, and rethinking how we organize. If we do this, we might come out of the current COVID-19 crisis far more prepared to deal with the fundamental system crisis that is threatening us all, and the future of this planet.</p> <hr /><div id="sdfootnote1"> <p><a href="#sdfootnote1anc" name="sdfootnote1sym" id="sdfootnote1sym">1</a> MST has gained in total 7,5 million hectares (see <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Landless-Workers-Movement">https://www.britannica.com/event/Landless-Workers-Movement</a>), which is 75, 000 square km out of Cuba’s 110, 000 square km.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-author-information--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--field-author-information--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--field-author-information.html.twig * field--default--field-author-information--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--field-author-information.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--field-author-information--story.html.twig * field--node--field-author-information.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-author-information.html.twig * field--entity-reference-revisions.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author-information field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Author information</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'paragraph' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * paragraph--authors-and-bios--bio-only.html.twig * paragraph--authors-and-bios.html.twig * paragraph--bio-only.html.twig x paragraph.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/paragraphs/paragraph.html.twig' --> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--authors-and-bios paragraph--id--_52 paragraph--view-mode--bio-only"> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/paragraphs/paragraph.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-programmes-projects--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--expert--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--node--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Programmes &amp; Projects</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/465" hreflang="en">Front Page</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-countries--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-countries.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Countries</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/99" hreflang="en">Brazil</a></span> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/220" hreflang="en">Cuba</a></span> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/216" hreflang="en">United States of America</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-theme--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-theme.html.twig * field--expert--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-theme.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--node--field-theme.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-theme.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Theme</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/702" hreflang="en">Covid-19</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--comment--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--comment.html.twig * field--default--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--comment.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig x field--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--node--comment.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--comment.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> <section class="comments"> <h2>Add new comment</h2> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderForm" arguments="0=node&amp;1=42168&amp;2=comment&amp;3=comment" token="OUtx4wigQ_7EPNUr4EAEvyxqWm8yDubGQhAwod62reg"></drupal-render-placeholder> </section> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> Fri, 21 Aug 2020 14:52:27 +0000 Andrew 42168 at https://wri-irg.org https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2020/going-beyond-protest-politics-opportunity-within-pandemic-and-our-political-crisis#comments Armies, internal security and militarised borders: militarisation in Latin America and the Caribbean https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2019/armies-internal-security-and-militarised-borders-militarisation-latin-america-and <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_entity_view' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_1col' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * ds-1col--node--41970.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story.html.twig * ds-1col--node-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <div data-history-node-id="41970" class="node node--type-story node--view-mode-rss ds-1col clearfix"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-image--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-image--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-image.html.twig * field--expert--field-image--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-image.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-image--story.html.twig * field--node--field-image.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --> <picture> <source srcset="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/single_page_desktop/public/2019-12/16507411527_b06e92b64a_o.jpg?itok=II5eNo4g 1x" media="screen and (min-width: 992px)" type="image/jpeg"/> <source srcset="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/single_page_mobiles_and_tablets/public/2019-12/16507411527_b06e92b64a_o.jpg?itok=4Z9Ekw7l 1x" type="image/jpeg"/> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --> <img src="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/single_page_mobiles_and_tablets/public/2019-12/16507411527_b06e92b64a_o.jpg?itok=4Z9Ekw7l" alt="Two masked, armoured police officers holding rifles, crouch behind a tree" title="The Honduran TIGRES police training with a US Special Forces group. Credit: USASOC News Service, used under a CC2.0 license" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --> </picture> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --> <div class="caption">The Honduran TIGRES police training with a US Special Forces group. Credit: USASOC News Service, used under a CC2.0 license</div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node-post-date---custom.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--node-post-date.html.twig * field--ds.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <time > 29 Nov 2019</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--dynamic-twig-field:node-author-name-twig---custom.html.twig * field--default--node--dynamic-twig-field--node-author-name-twig--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--dynamic-twig-field--node-author-name-twig.html.twig * field--default--dynamic-twig-field--node-author-name-twig--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--dynamic-twig-field--node-author-name-twig.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--dynamic-twig-field--node-author-name-twig--story.html.twig * field--node--dynamic-twig-field--node-author-name-twig.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--dynamic-twig-field--node-author-name-twig.html.twig * field--ds.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-dynamic-twig-fieldnode-author-name-twig field--type-ds field--label-inline"> <div class="field--label">Author(s)</div> <div class="field--item"> <span>Julián Ovalle - Red Antimilitarista de América Latina y el Caribe</span> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--body--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--body--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--body.html.twig * field--default--body--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--body.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--body--story.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><h1 class="western"><span lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB">About Latin America</span></h1> <p class="western"><span lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB">Because of</span><span lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB"> the confusion of the English-speaking world when it says “America”, and so that there is no doubt over what we will talk about in this article, the Latin American people </span><span lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB">dwells</span><span lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB"> in the vast territory between the southern United States and the Chilean southern Patagonia, which amounts to almost half of the Americas. </span></p> <p class="western"><span lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB">Latin Americans are a </span><span lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB"><i>mestizo</i></span><span lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB"> ["mixed"] people that continues to mix, and represents to the world something that is unfinished and beautiful. Varied forms of Spanish and Portuguese fragment this unity. A </span><span lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB"><i>mestizo</i></span><span lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB"> people that has experienced and recounted the story of the existential tearing apart caused by colonial genocide and which, despite the passing of the centuries and modern discourse about multiculturalism, is still dealing with the derision and dispossession experienced by the original inhabitants. </span></p> <p class="western"><span lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB">In line with the Latin American thinker Jesús Martín-Barbero, we </span><span lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB">c</span><span lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB" xml:lang="en-GB">an think of Latin America as a landscape fragmented by mountain ranges, jungles, plains, artificial canals, native languages, national borders, different kinds of Spanish, accents, phenotypes and cuisine. My starting point is to acknowledge the history of Latin American culture as a continuous process, subject to the colonial legacy, and which is experiencing a modernity that is more heterogeneous than universal. The modernity of Latin America resides in the particularity of the plural, in a constant crisis of national identity(s) motivated and facilitated by mobility across borders and recently by the transnational issue. It is a fragmented territory where difference coexists closely and inevitably.</span></p> <hr /><p>Acknowledging Latin America as a region means looking at a fragmented landscape. Before outlining a general context of the militarisation of the region, it is important to point out that addressing the region as a whole means accepting the profound differences between each of the countries that constitute it. However, a common denominator among all the countries of the region is the stamp of violence, an extremely complex phenomenon that does not allow for simple or absolute explanations, but which undoubtedly has a close genealogical relationship with the colonial legacy that was imprinted on those peoples and territories as a result of the bloody homogenising enterprise that sought to make the "American world" disappear and reduced it to the pre-Hispanic.</p> <p>The history of Latin America is the experience of a deep and permanent social conflict that has been related to what Martín-Barbero calls “national identity crisis rhetoric” and which Rosanna Reguillo in turn relates, among other factors, to the “intense migratory flow in Latin America, which was motivated by the horror of dictatorships and the systematic destruction of peoples and dreams” (2005).</p> <p>As a starting point I want to highlight the fact that the history of Latin America in the twentieth century describes a chronic and permanent situation of cultural conflict traceable to its colonial legacy, a socio-political dispute between governments and peoples that collide in the framework of democracies. Our democracies are always subject to inter-, multi-, and trans- national policies, that value the strategy of militarisation as a “legitimate” and effective strategy not just for conflict management, but also as a form of axiological foundation of culture: the ascendancy of violent, patriarchal values. However, Latin America is a land of resistance of indomitable people, men and women who embody resistance: indigenous peoples, peasants, Afro-descendants, empowered women, urban youth, professionals, boys and girls and academics.</p> <p> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'entity_embed_container' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/entity_embed/templates/entity-embed-container.html.twig' --> </p><div alt="A still taken from the television, showing a young child wearing khaki uniform and carrying a toy gun on a a parade" data-embed-button="image_embed" data-entity-embed-display="image:responsive_image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{&quot;responsive_image_style&quot;:&quot;body_inline_full&quot;,&quot;image_link&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ab609f1a-a474-48e5-974f-fd7622c20140" data-langcode="en" class="align-center embedded-entity"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --> <img srcset="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/latam_militarizacion_fusil_roto_oct_2019_relectura_y_ajustes_observaciones.png?itok=cgcxbw-R 1x" src="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/latam_militarizacion_fusil_roto_oct_2019_relectura_y_ajustes_observaciones.png?itok=cgcxbw-R" alt="A still taken from the television, showing a young child wearing khaki uniform and carrying a toy gun on a a parade" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /><!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --><!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --><!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/entity_embed/templates/entity-embed-container.html.twig' --> <p>This still was taken from the broadcast of one of the most popular news programmes on Colombian television. The phrase "COLOMBIANOS ACOMPAÑARON EL DESFILE (COLOMBIANS JOINED IN THE PARADE)" refers to the military parade that takes place on the 20th July in Colombia every year, to commemorate independence from the Spanish crown. This image helps us to highlight and perhaps to distinguish conceptually between <strong>militarisation</strong> and <strong>militarism</strong>: <strong>militarisation</strong> is expressed through the presence of soldiers and military devices in a military parade in urban territory, which in this case are implicit in the image. <strong>Militarism</strong> is expressed in this image in the uniformed and armed person of a child, militarism is inferred through the cultural context that resulted in the decision of his parents to dress him up as a little soldier and expose him to the public. Without the intention of making a rigorous conceptualisation, but with the intention of making a distinction, it is enough to say that while militarisation is the visible disposition of military devices (laws, soldiers, technology) militarism is the cultural basis that underlies and sustains it.</p> <p>This article is concerned with presenting a context of militarisation in the Latin American region, of what is visible and quantifiable in some, not all, countries in the region.</p> <h1>United States Backyard</h1> <p>More and more civil institutions and territories are being militarised in the region. Since the twentieth century, the United States has justified its intervention in Latin American countries by arguing that they face challenges of governance, corruption and high levels of violence that smooth the path towards illegal activities (drug trafficking), migration to the USA and instability throughout America. In the current context the security perspective is the axis that shapes government policies. The global process of securitisation (the prioritisation of security policies in the face of threats over welfare policies) in Latin America is seen as a state response to the breakdown of state hegemony in the territorial and symbolic sphere, represented by the entry into the regional scene (and the strengthening) of “non-equivalent forces” such as terrorism, drug trafficking and organised crime. This commitment to securitisation is the contemporary scenario where it is the expansion of the United States military intervention in the region that drives the militarisation of organisations and territories.</p> <p>The fact that the Latin American homicide rate represents 33% of the global rate is a painfully clear indicator of how social conflict escalates to brutal violence, but in turn constitutes a fact that has been useful in justifying the military intervention of the United States. Rebecca Bill Chávez, who was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs of the United States Government and who publicises issues through her column in the New York Times, is a journalistic spokeswoman who reports that Latin America represents 8% of the world's population and 33% of the world's homicides take place in the region; that is, a rate of 21.5 homicides per 100,000 citizens, which is equivalent to three times the world average of 8. The homicide rate in Brazil reached a record in 2018 of 31 per 100,000 inhabitants; for its part Colombia has a rate of 27 per 100,000 inhabitants. Although Argentina has a much lower homicide rate, less than seven per 100,000, 27% of Argentinians claim to have been victims of a crime in the last year. These kinds of incidents and the difficulties of governance in the countries of the region are what have justified the political and military intervention of the United States in the region.</p> <p>Political and military intervention has been a constant in the second half of the twentieth century. From the "Alliance for Progress" - a programme of economic, political and social assistance by the US in Latin America in the 60s, to the "Plan Colombia" between 2001 and 2016, in which the United States invested $10bn in Colombia in military aid, to the “Mérida Initiative” (2008-2014), an international security treaty established by the United States in agreement with Mexico and the countries of Central America to combat drug trafficking and organised crime , these plans and other bilateral agreements with various governments have left a history of a formal presence with US military bases throughout the region. The official US military presence in the region is decreasing; currently the official presence of US military forces is concentrated in strategic points of the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, in El Salvador (Comalpa), Cuba (Guantanamo), Aruba, Curação and Puerto Rico, while a negotiation is taking place with the Bolsonaro Government on the establishment of military bases in Brazil. However, according to Colombian researcher Sebastián Bitar (2017) there is currently evidence of a growing network of informal facilities that supports US operations in the region. The host countries allow, and in some cases seek, participation in a network of “quasi-bases”; installations that, without an official agreement with the national institutions in the host countries, permit the US military presence and operations. They exist in almost all the countries of the Pacific coast of America: Peru, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador and Colombia.</p> <h1>Militarisation of the region</h1> <p>The context of securitisation, as previously mentioned, in Latin America is a response to the perceived threat that the rhetoric of governments bases on the fight against crime and drug trafficking. In the case of the countries of Central America, US intervention and securitisationhas, according to a regional report produced by the Ombudsman's Office of Costa Rica, "opened the door to militarisation for the sake of citizen security.".</p> <p>In general terms, Central American countries have seen an increase in military budgets without this having an impact on an improvement in the state of internal security: El Salvador increased its budget from $191 million in 2008 to $271 million in 2016, while homicides increased from 2,594 cases in 2012 to 6,656 in 2015 to 5,280 in 2016. In Honduras, despite a growing military presence on the streets, murders were not significantly reduced; according to the Violence Observatory of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, the budget of the armed forces in that country went from $2.2 billion in 2008, to 342 million dollars in 2016; In spite of that, murders only dropped from 5,265 in 2009 and 6,239 in 2010, to 5,148 in 2015 and 5,150 in 2016.</p> <p>Throughout 2018, the Government of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua carried out a military crackdown in urban centres with the aim of exercising territorial control through the repression of a population that protested in the streets because of the increase in the cost of living, acts of corruption in government and actions against freedom of expression. In its analysis of the Central American region, the report of the Ombudsman's Office of Costa Rica<a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/mundo/centroamerica-y-su-fallida-militarizacion"> </a><a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/mundo/centroamerica-y-su-fallida-militarizacion">points out</a> that the “revitalisation of the armed forces and their increasing participation in civil activities, coupled with the chronic weakness of the system of administration of justice and the detection of new and serious cases of corruption in several countries, pose risks for the democratic exercise of power”. The report pointed out that the increase in the size and capacity of armies "may affect the effective protection of human rights."</p> <p>Continuing this path through Latin America to the south, however, may be the opportunity to point out emphatically that in Central America there is a war against the people that is invisible. The phenomenon of militarisation is widespread in Latin America. At present, a trend has been identified in the region in which governments are increasingly handing over police functions to the army. The Governments of Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Colombia have resorted, to a greater or lesser extent, to their armed forces in search of internal security.</p> <p><a name="story-continues-3" id="story-continues-3"></a>In Brazil, President Michel Temer signed a decree in February 2018 that put the army in charge of the security of Rio de Janeiro, stating "you know that organised crime has nearly taken over in the state of Rio Janeiro. This is a metastasis that is spreading in our country and threatens our people." In the media this action has been recorded as an extraordinary measure that seeks to restore order in the second largest city in the country and, in general, in the state of Rio in the midst of an epidemic of violence. It is the first time, since the return to democratic rule, that a government in Brazil has ordered a military intervention in a State. With the advent of Bolsonaro militarisation is continuing. Although the total number of violent deaths in the State has increased, surveys indicate that a large majority of the inhabitants of Rio support military intervention.</p> <p><a href="">For his part, Mauricio Macri, as President of the Government in Argentina has made a regulatory change to the functions of the military: he has said</a> that it is important that they “can co-operate with internal security, mainly providing logistical support in border areas and participating in activities of a strategic nature.” The regulatory change he proposes is due to an absence of a strong political consensus in Argentina since democracy returned after more than thirty years of dictatorship: he announced a reform to the Argentine Armed Forces aimed at the army addressing "current challenges" and referring to the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking, but this reform will also allow military intervention in internal security.</p> <p>In the case of Colombia, the strengthening of the military establishment does not seem to be stopping despite the peace agreements drawn up with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The continuation of the conflict is in the midst of a breach in the agreements and in the midst of a resumption of arms by dissident sectors of the FARC guerrillas, a rearmament that is taking place in the context of a resurgence of selective paramilitary violence against community leaders and where there is not a glimpse of a negotiated solution with armed actors such as the National Liberation Army (ELN), People’s Liberation Army (EPL) and FARC members who have refused to move forward with the mobilisation process motivated by the lack of guarantees for their safety and compliance with the implementation of the agreements.</p> <p>The Law of Internal Security was passed in Mexico in 2017. This has created the conditions for an increased dependency on the armed forces for internal security, at the same time as bringing about an integration of the armed forces into a National Guard. Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission notes that "When the Army has been deployed on operations in a municipality homicides increase by 9%", this clearly shows that militarisation endangers the protection of human rights and can actually exacerbate citizen insecurity... In the book In the Fog of War (2015) Andreas Schedler notes that "the annual murder rate in the country has again exceeded the threshold for endemic violence as defined by the World Health Organization by more than double." In this context, the legislative branch has approved the Law of Internal Security that regulates the presence of the Army and Navy on the streets, as if they were police forces. Since the presentation and before the approval of the Law, more than 750,000 members of the Army and Navy <a href="https://elpais.com/internacional/2017/12/15/mexico/1513305281_940878.html">have replaced the police in hundreds of municipalities throughout the country</a>. Based on this new regulatory framework, the National Guard has begun operations in 2019 on the southern border of the country where it has been intensifying efforts to curb the flow of migration to the United States, and has specifically deployed more than 20,000 troops to work together with the National Institute of Migration, in line with a demand by Donald Trump.</p> <p>The new neo-liberal right-wing government in Chile has strengthened the militarisation of its police, the Carabineros, essentially a military police force. The commitment, in this case is technological and judicial: new weapons and armoured transport, investment in programmes of virtual espionage and carte blanche repression of any kind of social protest throughout the country, particularly the Mapuche people and the environmental disputes caused by large-scale toxic pollution in the coastal areas of the country.</p> <p>In Venezuela, despite the economic embargo and a diplomatic blockade by the right-wing governments of the region, the militarisation of the state has intensified since Hugo Chavez was in power, of the last 15 Interior Ministers, twelve (80%) have been military officials. The current government of Nicolás Maduro is based essentially on the power that the military provides for him and that counters the coup attempts of the opposition.</p> <h1>Border militarisation</h1> <p>The cross-border transit areas of peoples in continuous migration through ancestral territories, which existed before the Nation States, remain militarised. In the Amazon, the largest planetary reserve of fresh water, in November 2017, the <a href="">Initiative, Amazon Log 2017,</a> took place. This was an exercise in military coordination in the tri-border region between Colombia, Peru and Brazil involving the participation of the armies of the countries of the area.</p> <p>In Central America, borders are migratory filters to stop migration to the United States. Those who manage to reach the Mexico/United States border meet heavily armed soldiers playing the role of the wall they have yet to build but have already constructed militarily. After the announcement of the controversial wall on the border with Mexico, in 2018 the Donald Trump government signed a proclamation announcing the mobilisation of troops from the National Guard to the border with Mexico to combat illegal immigration. In this regard, Trump<a href=""> pointed out</a> that “the lawlessness that continues at our southern border is fundamentally incompatible with the safety, security and sovereignty of the American people,” therefore 600,000 troops from the National Guard were mobilised as an initial measure in compliance with the government order.</p> <p>Venezuela is becoming more and more militarised every year, ceding participation to its armed forces in the economy, security, intelligence and generally in all areas of decision and administratio. This militarisation eliminates the possibility of a civil, negotiated solution to the permanent state of crisis that the country has been experiencing for five years now. One of the regional consequences of this crisis is the significant increase in Venezuelan economic and political migration, which has been responded to by the region from a position of poverty and solidarity, although local right wing movements have taken the opportunity to popularise xenophobic, racist and discriminatory responses, both social and administrative.</p> <p>In Venezuela, obtaining a passport presents serious obstacles. The cost has increased by 124%, and applicants face delay and corruption in the processing system. These complications are increased by restrictions that other Andean countries are<a href=""> introducing</a>: “A restriction by Peru for Venezuelan immigrants came into force hours after the Court of Justice in Ecuador suspended the same measure in the neighbouring country and gave the Ecuadorian Government a 45-day deadline to present a contingency plan if it wanted to continue applying the measure." In Colombia sectors of the extreme right are putting forward <a href="https://www.efe.com/efe/espana/sociedad/peru-comienza-a-exigir-pasaporte-los-venezolanos-que-llegan-su-frontera/10004-3729527">arguments </a>about why an intervention should be made in Venezuela. This, while they are making their debut as an extraordinary partner of NATO.</p> <p>Furthermore, the historic and permanent strengthening of the military apparatus and the approach of preparing armies to be responsible for, or at least active in, internal security, and the ongoing militarisation of borders creates an apparent tension with the perspectives posed by the strengthening and financing of the police. The deployment of troops by Brazil to the border with Venezuela after the xenophobic outbreaks is an example of this.</p> <hr /><p>The Latin American region is experiencing a period of an intensification of regional militarisation.The effects - including the normalisation of violence, arms trafficking, armed gangs disputing and dividing territories with the police, who are militarised in turn by the formation of armed special police groups (such as the "Lynx" in Paraguay) are being felt by local communities across the region. The region lives in an endless spiral of lethal violence, and the military and the police are a constituent element and not the solution.</p> <p>  </p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-author-information--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--field-author-information--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--field-author-information.html.twig * field--default--field-author-information--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--field-author-information.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--field-author-information--story.html.twig * field--node--field-author-information.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-author-information.html.twig * field--entity-reference-revisions.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author-information field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Author information</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'paragraph' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * paragraph--authors-and-bios--bio-only.html.twig * paragraph--authors-and-bios.html.twig * paragraph--bio-only.html.twig x paragraph.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/paragraphs/paragraph.html.twig' --> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--authors-and-bios paragraph--id--_31 paragraph--view-mode--bio-only"> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/paragraphs/paragraph.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-countries--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-countries.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Countries</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/270" hreflang="en">Colombia</a></span> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/224" hreflang="en">Venezuela</a></span> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/242" hreflang="en">Honduras</a></span> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/144" hreflang="en">Mexico</a></span> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/191" hreflang="en">Argentina</a></span> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/204" hreflang="en">El Salvador</a></span> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/220" hreflang="en">Cuba</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-theme--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-theme.html.twig * field--expert--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-theme.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--node--field-theme.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-theme.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Theme</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/507" hreflang="en">Police militarisation</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-police-militarisation-them--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-police-militarisation-them--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-police-militarisation-them.html.twig * field--expert--field-police-militarisation-them--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-police-militarisation-them.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-police-militarisation-them--story.html.twig * field--node--field-police-militarisation-them.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-police-militarisation-them.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Police militarisation theme</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/pm-themes/what-militarisation-policing" hreflang="en">What is the militarisation of policing?</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--comment--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--comment.html.twig * field--default--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--comment.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig x field--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--node--comment.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--comment.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> <section class="comments"> <h2>Add new comment</h2> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderForm" arguments="0=node&amp;1=41970&amp;2=comment&amp;3=comment" token="1MMPy3NxHi6q56ssDEGBYH-joW91uKukPkW5uUNNfT0"></drupal-render-placeholder> </section> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> Fri, 29 Nov 2019 10:47:28 +0000 Andrew 41970 at https://wri-irg.org https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2019/armies-internal-security-and-militarised-borders-militarisation-latin-america-and#comments Cuba https://wri-irg.org/en/programmes/world_survey/reports/Cuba <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_entity_view' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_1col' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * ds-1col--node--3808.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story.html.twig * ds-1col--node-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <div data-history-node-id="3808" class="node node--type-story node--view-mode-rss ds-1col clearfix"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node-post-date---custom.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--node-post-date.html.twig * field--ds.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <time > 14 Dec 2017</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--body--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--body--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--body.html.twig * field--default--body--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--body.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--body--story.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><h4><em>Updated October 2017; researcher </em>Jimmy Roque Martínez. Translation: Catherine Gregory.</h4> <p> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'entity_embed_container' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/entity_embed/templates/entity-embed-container.html.twig' --> </p><div data-embed-button="image_embed" data-entity-embed-display="image:responsive_image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{&quot;responsive_image_style&quot;:&quot;body_inline_1_3&quot;,&quot;image_link&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="e0af15e5-3766-4a09-835a-33a6501ae246" class="align-right embedded-entity" data-langcode="en"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'responsive_image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --> <img srcset="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/max_325x325/public/cuba.gif?itok=tpEj9pJ2 1x" src="/sites/default/files/public_files/styles/medium/public/cuba.gif?itok=W_l-3LLT" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive" /><!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/image.html.twig' --><!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image.html.twig' --><!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/responsive_image/templates/responsive-image-formatter.html.twig' --></div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/entity_embed/templates/entity-embed-container.html.twig' --> <br /><h3>1 Conscription</h3> <p><em>conscription exists</em></p> <p>Conscription or military service in Cuba is supported in the constitution by article 65, which establishes that:</p> <p>“The defence of the socialist motherland is the greatest honour and the supreme duty of every Cubano. The law regulates the military service required by every Cubano. Treason of the motherland is the most serious crime; he who commits said crime is subject to the most severe sanctions.”</p> <p>The national defence law 75 regulates general military service (SMG) in Cuba<a href="#sdfootnote1sym">1</a>.</p> <p>From 17 years old, Cubano nationals, both males and females, can voluntarily enlist into military service, the militias of territorial troops, or the brigades of production and defence. The men who enlist in either of the two last organisations are not excused from military service.</p> <p>Military service is divided into two sectors: active military service and the reserves, and inscription is obligatory between the ages of 16 and 28<a href="#sdfootnote2sym">2</a>.</p> <p>Active service may or may not be renumerated. The recruitment process begins in secondary school, however military training forms part of all levels of the Cubano education system.</p> <p>From school, the teenagers are inscribed in the military committee, municipal units of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR). The ministry of education along with the ministry of FAR are responsible for carrying out this work in the very same educational facilities. These teenagers register in the municipalities of their residence and receive a document which certifies their inscription. This act, according to decree law number 224, makes them pre-recruits and they will remain as such as long as they are not providing military service, have not been passed to the reserves and have not been excluded from military service.</p> <p>After the recruitment process, they are called by the health department for a medical check.</p> <p>Once declared fit for service, the young people are put through 45 days of intense military preparation known as ‘the preview’, in which they are shaved, given uniforms, armed and trained in personal defence, weaponry among other forms of combat. They are taught the ethical military code, all this mixed with a process of indoctrination call ‘political-ideological preparation’.</p> <p>Since the year 1983 females have been able to voluntarily enter into military service, with a minimum commitment of 14 months. However, these women must be ‘revolutionary’ which, according to government standards means supporting the power dominant political system.</p> <p>Young women who wish to enter military service can neither be pregnant in the moment of inscription nor become pregnant during their service. The armed forces offers these women easier access to university courses as incentive for their voluntary inscription. They must only pass the exams necessary to enter the university and do not compete with other young people in the country.</p> <p>Currently, the duration of the SMG is 2 years, although there exists the possibility to only serve 1 years for those who have already been accepted to university courses before being recruited. People in this category are known as ‘deferred’.</p> <p>There also exists the so-called order 18 of the FAR, which allows one to enter the university even if they were not accepted before being recruited. They are able to use this order 18 if they show goof behaviour and discipline during their time serving in the military. As well as providing the possibility to access university courses, the FAR offers part of the service time to prepare for the university entrance exams. Recently, this form of incentive has been diminishing and in occasions those obtaining the order 18 have been promised the rewards at the end of their service.</p> <p>The military service is fundamentally developed in military units of the army, but not exclusively. The Ministry of Interior (police) also welcomes recruits from their various departments (fire brigade, ranger corps, board guards, amongst others). Another sector is the Youth Army of Work, subordinated to the FAR. In this case the time served is two and a half years, the recruits do not carry out military activities but rather are used as cheap labour, generally for agricultural work, as labours in the Anti-vector Campaign (to control the mosquitoes), or any other productive activity deemed necessary but the government.</p> <p>The designation of any of these sectors is not optional for the conscripts, and are decided exclusively at the discretion and needs of the military bodies.</p> <p>There also exists some paramilitary forces, most notably the Militia of Territorial Troops, founded in 1980. However, this force has shown a considerable decline in its recruiting capacity in recent decades, now it is merely a formal structure not considered to be effective. Other organisations are brought into effect when needed and they generally confront the political opposition in the country. Among them, the ‘contingent workers’ and the ‘Fast Response Brigade’ were particularly effective in the 1990s. The Union of Young Communists, the Communist Party of Cuba and the workers unions continue to function today. In reality, any systemic social organisation must respond to the calls of the army for political repression.</p> <p>After fulfilling the SMG period, men become part of the Reserve in times of peace, until reaching the age of 45. These men, as part of the reserves, can be called upon to carry out any activity that the army has. These tasks can be combative preparation or of a productive nature. These reservists can also be called upon to prepare and participate as "civil and revolutionary people" in the acts of repudiation organized by the Government towards the internal political opposition.</p> <p><em><em>postponement and exemption</em></em></p> <p>Postponement can be granted until the age of 27. A man who has not completed military service at this age is given basic training and then assigned to the reserve force. There are a number of causes deferrals are specified. When the pre-recruit is the sole breadwinner of the family and it is not possible to place him in a position for which he could receive sufficient income to provide for his family, or when he has other financial or family problems, he is exceptionally granted a postponement.</p> <p>The National Defence Law declares those who are officially declared as physically or mentally disabled exempt from the fulfillment of military service. This includes those who suffer from permanent or prolonged functional alteration, whether it be physical (motor, sensory, organic, visceral) or mental (intellectual and/or psychic) defects<a href="#sdfootnote3sym">3</a>.</p> <p>The army also offers the category “Not Fit FAR” to those with severe health limitations. However, many with significant pathological restrictions are considered “fit with medical recommendations,” and are merely assigned to posts that require less physical force. Many family members try to get young people discharged for medical reasons during the recruitment process and many times they resort to bribery.</p> <p>Although not reflected in the Civil Defence Law 75, in practice homosexuals and bisexuals are exempt from military service. The young man must give the head of the Medical Commission a written document declaring his homosexuality or bisexuality and, if he as a partner, the specifics of his relationship.</p> <p>The Military Committee, in charge of recruitment, investigates to verify homosexuality or bisexuality. This research is carried out mainly through the Committees for the Defence of the Revolution (CDR). These CDRs are vigilante bodies and government volunteers, there is usually a CDR for each block across the country, although its influence is in steep decline. After this investigation the youth is declared unfit to join the Revolutionary Armed Forces.</p> <p>In 2017 a Cuban parliamentarian during a session of the National Assembly inquired about the procedure related to homosexual or bisexual youth and SMG. Never had an official publicly commented on this matter. The president of the National Defence Commission referred to a "policy" approved "one or two years ago," without giving more details of it, and said that "if he considers that for this reason it will not be possible to fulfil his service in the conditions of a military place, is excluded ". He added that "in case the young man is willing he can perform the military service in an alternative way, he can be as a nurse, as an auxiliary in a hospital, even in a military hospital…”</p> <p>From 1965 until 1968, there existed the Military Support Units for Production (UMAP) in Cuba, which acted as a kind of forced labour camp where to Revolutionary Government sent young recruits from the SMG who assumed ‘improper behaviour and conduct’. In these camps the young men were subjected to forced labour and torture in order to ‘make them men’. These units were sent homosexuals, religious, rock lovers, intellectuals, and every young person who did not enter into the classifications of the "new man" of the Revolution.</p> <p>It is said that around 30,000 young people, including approximately 8000 homosexuals, were sent to the UMAP<a href="#sdfootnote4sym">4</a>. The Union of Young Communists played an important role in the selection of many of the men assigned to these sites. The legal framework for the creation of these concentration camps was Law 1129 formed in November 26, 1963.</p> <p>The Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces at the time of the UMAP, head of these centers for ideological re-education, was Raul Castro, who was placed by his brother Fidel as president of the island since 2006. Neither he nor his brother have apologized for the damages caused by the UMAP.</p> <h3>2 Conscientious objection</h3> <p>Law 75 of the Civil Defence does not recognise the right to conscientious objection. No data exists on conscientious objectors in Cuba. However, there have been many cases of young people who, although they have not openly denied the SMG, have attempted to harm themselves physically in an attempt to be excused from the MGA. These young men have been shot, mutilated or have spilled chemicals on their skin to obtain disability leave. The Military Offences Act sanction such behaviours.</p> <p>According to this same law, "Any person who commits an act or omission that is obviously unseemly or that seriously undermines military honour is punishable by deprivation of liberty from three months to three years".</p> <h3>3 Draft evasion and desertion</h3> <p>Evading the call to the service and desertion are punishable by law. Criminal responsibility is established from the age of 16, failure to comply with the procedures related to the inscription is considered a violation of the duties of Military Service and is punished by deprivation of liberty from three months to one year or a fine of one hundred to three hundred quotas.</p> <p>To be considered a deserter, the absence of a military term or more than 15 days from the military units or place where services are provided is punishable by imprisonment of one to five years, for which the army has its own facilities, famous for the levels of violence, abuse, and discipline imposed by the guards. If the intention to evade military service is evident, the offence is considered to be committed regardless of the elapsed time<a href="#sdfootnote5sym">5</a>.</p> <p>According to the Military Offences Law: "Anyone who flees during war or refuses to fight, or perform acts that may produce dispersion of their own forces, incurs in penalty of deprivation of liberty from ten to twenty years or death ".</p> <p>The Ministry of the Interior has a body called "Prevention" that persecutes and detains any deserters.</p> <p>After the completion of military service, the young men are given an official document accrediting the termination of the military service. Failure to obtain this document may cause future difficulties, for example when changing jobs, or other formal procedures.</p> <h3>4 Statistics</h3> <p>Statistics relating to the Cuban Government, budget, parliamentary minutes, legislation relating to the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Interior are not accessibly to the public because it is considered secret information<a href="#sdfootnote6sym">6</a>. Consequently, the Defence Commission in the National Assembly of People's Power generally does not release public information on the subject.</p> <p>However, it is known that during 2015, the Cuban government allocated 3.1% of its GDP to military spending<a href="#sdfootnote7sym">7</a>.</p> <p>Presently, 12 of the 33 members (36.4%) of the Cuban Council of State, the highest governing body, are military personnel of have close ties to the military. Most notably the president, 4 vice-presidents, the secretary of the state council and the minister of economics.</p> <h3>5 General Evaluation</h3> <p>Cuba is a militarised country, with an authoritarian government that calls itself Revolutionary. Since 1959, this regime has maintained strong political, social and media control, together with a very efficient repressive apparatus. This has succeeded in impeding the development of social movements and critical citizens. It is for this reason that there is no social or academic movement on the island against the SMG.</p> <p>There is a general rejection in Cuba of the Military Service, but this rejection is limited only to the attempt to evade it in a legal way, not to eliminate it.</p> <p>However, in the last ten years, with the departure of Fidel Castro from power, there has been a small resurgence of small critical groups on various issues. This is evident despite the repression by the government of his brother Raul Castro.</p> <p>The political situation, but above all economic along with state control, limits the development of a movement in favor of eliminating the MGA. Those living on the island view greater access to Internet or the possibility of emigrating as solutions to the economic crisis.</p> <p>Freedom of expression, rights for LGBTI people, freedom of movement, the press, militarisation of all sectors, the exploitation of natural resources and the strengthening of capitalism are some of the problems that beset this island under the Revolutionary Government of 1959.</p> <p><a href="#sdfootnote1anc">1</a> Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular. 1994. Ley Nº75 De la Defensa Nacional.</p> <p><a href="#sdfootnote2anc">2 </a>2 Consejo de Estado. 2001. Decreto-Ley Nº224. Del Servicio Militar. Gaceta Oficial No. 75/2001 Ordinaria.1561.Cuba</p> <p><a href="#sdfootnote3anc">3 </a>3 Cuba. Consejo de Derechos Humanos. Examen Periódico Universal. 16º período de sesiones. 2013.Informe nacional presentado con arreglo al párrafo 5 del anexo de la resolución 16/21 del Consejo de Derechos Humanos (A/HRC/WG.6/16/CUB/1). Pág. 22. Disponible en: <a href="http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G13/109/36/PDF/G1310936.pdf">http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G13/109/36/PDF/G1310936.pdf</a></p> <p><a href="#sdfootnote4anc">4</a> Abel Sierra Madero, Abel. 2016. Academias para producir machos en Cuba. En <a href="http://www.letraslibres.com/revista/convivio/academias-para-producir-machos-en-cuba">http://www.letraslibres.com/revista/convivio/academias-para-producir-machos-en-cuba</a></p> <p><a href="#sdfootnote5anc">5</a> Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular. 1979. Ley de los delitos militares. Artículo 18.</p> <p><a href="#sdfootnote6anc">6</a> Consejo de Ministros. 1973. Ley Nº1246. Gaceta Oficial de la República (10), Ordinaria, 33. Cuba. ARTICULO 3.</p> <p><a href="#sdfootnote7anc">7</a><a href="https://datos.bancomundial.org/"> https://datos.bancomundial.org/</a></p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--upload--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--upload--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--upload.html.twig * field--default--upload--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--upload.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--upload--story.html.twig * field--node--upload.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--upload.html.twig * field--file.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-upload field--type-file field--label-above"> <div class="field--label">Attached file</div> <div class="field--items"> <div class="field--item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'file_link' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/file/file-link.html.twig' --> <span class="file file--mime-application-pdf file--application-pdf icon-before"><span class="file-icon"><span class="icon glyphicon glyphicon-file text-primary" aria-hidden="true"></span></span><span class="file-link"><a href="https://wri-irg.org/sites/default/files/public_files/2017-12/rrtk-cuba-report-2017.pdf" type="application/pdf; length=102026" title="Open file in new window" target="_blank" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom">Cuba-report</a></span><span class="file-size">99.63 KB</span></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/file/file-link.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-programmes-projects--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--expert--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--node--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Programmes &amp; Projects</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/1" hreflang="en">Right to Refuse to Kill</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-countries--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-countries.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Countries</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/220" hreflang="en">Cuba</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-theme--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-theme.html.twig * field--expert--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-theme.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-theme--story.html.twig * field--node--field-theme.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-theme.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Theme</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/57" hreflang="en">Conscientious objection</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--comment--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--comment.html.twig * field--default--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--comment.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig x field--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--node--comment.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--comment.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> <section class="comments"> <h2>Add new comment</h2> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderForm" arguments="0=node&amp;1=3808&amp;2=comment&amp;3=comment" token="_r421yL8mPbg9bW31Zvjw1TWDsU0bR_Gakl0EUASSqE"></drupal-render-placeholder> </section> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000 warresisters 3808 at https://wri-irg.org https://wri-irg.org/en/programmes/world_survey/reports/Cuba#comments Sex Tourism in Cuba https://wri-irg.org/en/story/1995/sex-tourism-cuba <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_entity_view' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'ds_1col' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * ds-1col--node--3783.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node-story.html.twig * ds-1col--node-rss.html.twig * ds-1col--node.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig x ds-1col.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <div data-history-node-id="3783" class="node node--type-story node--view-mode-rss ds-1col clearfix"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node-post-date---custom.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--node-post-date.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date--story.html.twig * field--node--node-post-date.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--node-post-date.html.twig * field--ds.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <time > 01 Oct 1995</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--body--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--body--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--body.html.twig * field--default--body--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--body.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig * field--node--body--story.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p>by Julia O'Connell Davidson</p> <p>Cuba is currently facing grave problems because of the continuing U.S. blockade and the collapse of Soviet economic support. The country is desperate for foreign exchange, and is looking to the tourist industry as a means to secure it. Cuban tourism has rapidly expanded with 1.7 million visitors in 1993. Though successfully generating foreign exchange, the vast majority of Cubans are suffering enormous hardship. Food rations ensure only the most basic minimum to stave off starvation, and many basic commodities such as clothing, soap, cooking oil and pain killers are often unavailable.</p> <p>In the midst of all this, luxurious enclaves exist where goods and services are readily available for tourists. A 'black' market in currency and in many of the goods that are officially intended for tourist has developed. Officially, US $ 1 is equivalent to 1 peso, but on the 'black' market, the value of the US dollar is between 35 and 40 pesos. Cuban wages are generally somewhere between 250 and 400 pesos per month. Many basic necessities can only be obtained for hard currency from tourist shops or 'black' market entrepreneurs. It is not surprising that many women and girls, as well as some men and boys, are prepared to grant tourists (the most accessible source of hard currency) sexual access in exchange for cash, even for drinks or a restaurant meal.</p> <p>This report on the growing sex tourism in Cuba is based on interviews conducted in March 1995 in Havana, Varedero and Santiago de Cuba by myself and Jacqueline Sanchez Taylor.</p> <p> </p> <h3><a name="Heading6" id="Heading6">Prostitution in Cuba</a></h3> <p>Prostitution in Cuba today differs both from prostitution in Western countries and Thailand. The post 1959 Cuban state tried to outlaw prostitution, but also attempted to remedy the conditions which create a supply of sex workers (i.e., poverty, absence of educational and employment opportunities for women, etc.), means that, at present, the sale of sexual services in Cuba does not take place within an established institutional and organisational framework. In other countries (especially those where the links between prostitution and the entertainment, leisure and tourist industries are well developed), most sex workers are forced into one of a variety of indirect employment with pimps, brothel keepers, massage parlour or bar owners - third parties who then exert a powerful influence over the prostitute-client exchange.</p> <p>In Cuba there is no network of brothels, no organised system of bar prostitution, in fact, third party involvement in the organisation of prostitution is rare. Most women and girls are prostituting themselves independently. Since she is usually desperate, and he does not have to satisfy the greed of a third party, he can secure sexual access to her very cheaply. In Cuba, professional prostitutes will open negotiations by asking for $10 for oral sex or short fuck, but can often be beaten down to as little as US $2 to $4. Inexperienced women and girls can be persuaded and/or tricked into spending a whole night with a client for the cost of a meal, a few drinks or small gift.</p> <p>Sex tourists state that it costs them less to spend two weeks indulging themselves in Cuba than it does in other centres of sex tourism, such as the Philippines and Thailand. This is partly because they are not paying a third party and partly because competition between prostitutes lowers prices. Prostitutes will entice tourists away from each other with offers of better deals (for example, cheap accommodation plus sexual access, rather than cheap sexual access alone).</p> <p>Although very few prostitutes are directly controlled and organised by pimps, they are indirectly exploited. Prostitution is only viable in tourist centres, and many women and girls therefore migrate to Havana, Varedero, Santiago de Cuba and Santa Lucia from inland villages. Though official residents of these cities and resorts are entitled to housing, migrants are not. They must find somewhere to stay in order to work and to avoid police harassment. 'Black' market renters have been quick to exploit this. In Varedero, landlords are charging between $2 and $4 a night for substandard accommodation. This pressures the tenant to seek a continuous stream of paying clients, and reduces her net income from them, thus locking her into prostitution as a means of day to day survival.</p> <p>One consequence of this is that the women and girls who sell sex to tourists are not a homogeneous group. Those who are legitimate residents of a tourist centre can often elect to supply their sexual 'labour' on an infrequent basis, and for very specific ends (e.g., some cooking oil and meat, some children's clothes, even simply a night out). Their economic disadvantage is still being exploited by sex tourists, of course, and their freedom limited, but women in this situation have more choices than migrants exploited by landlords and sex tourists alike. This latter group (which includes girls aged 14 and 15) are even more desperate for dollars and therefore more vulnerable.</p> <p>Cubans do not typically refer to the women, girls and men who grant tourists sex in exchange for dollars and/or other benefits as putas (prostitutes or bitches), but as jiniteras. This literally translates as 'jockeys', and is used because of the way in which such people are perceived by some to be ´riding' tourists.</p> <p> </p> <h3><a name="Heading7" id="Heading7">Sex Tourists in Cuba</a></h3> <p>Sex tourism is often a means to satisfy very specific sexual preferences. Many men choose to travel to particular destinations because they know that it is possible to pursue their tastes more cheaply and safely. Paedophiles are an obvious example of this type of sex tourist, but more common are men who have a preference for experiencing multiple, anonymous sexual encounters with teenagers and women in their early 20s. Other men do not travel specifically to buy sexual services, but do enter into sexually exploitative relationships with local women as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Alongside and often overlapping these groups, there are men who have very specific 'racialised'-sexual fantasies. They travel in order to secure cheap, easy sexual access to 'Oriental', Asian, Black or Latino women, men and/or children.</p> <p>Cuba does not, as yet, appear to cater to men who buy sex from very young children. Although we found no evidence of pre-teen prostitution in Cuba, sexual access to girls between the ages of 14 and 16 is not difficult to attain, and girls between the ages of 16 and 18 are very accessible. We met 14 and 15 year old prostitutes working in Varedero who reported that a number of their Italian, Canadian and German clients make between three and five trips to Cuba per year. More disturbing still, such tourists are paying older Cuban women and men, often prostitutes themselves, to procure 14 and 15 year old girls for them. This practice is probably not as widespread as it is in other sites of sex tourism, and as yet it relies on individual 'initiative' rather than being an organised system of recruitment. However, it does mean that young girls from the more economically desperate inland towns are being encouraged to migrate to tourist centres to prostitute themselves. Inexperienced and without either language skills or knowledge about prostitution, these 'new' girls are very vulnerable.</p> <p>The sex tourists who are primarily interested in Cuban girls aged 16 and over can be divided into two main groups: those who acknowledge the instrumental nature of their relationships (Macho men), and sex tourists who tend to deny it (Mr Averages and Right On Backpackers). The hostile sexuality of the former group can be encapsulated in the motto 'Find them, feed them, fuck them, forget them'. The majority of Macho male tourists in Cuba we saw were Italian, Spanish and Canadian, but British package tour operators are beginning to promote Cuba as a 'beach party' holiday destination, and a US-based company that publishes a book and electronic newsletter entitled Travel &amp; the Single Male identifies Cuba as a new 'hot destination for the adventurous single male'. Macho sex tourists are typically happy to enter into fairly explicit transactions with the young women who approach them, generally offering (but not always actually paying) between $20 and $40 plus meals for 12 to 24 hours of access to her person. In exchange, they expect at least one night and one morning fuck. They often prefer to 'pick up' in the late evening, thereby saving the expense of buying the woman dinner, and, depending upon how much they like the particular woman, will 'drop' her after breakfast.</p> <p>Not all sex tourists prefer multiple, relatively anonymous encounters. Some can only attain sexual and psychological satisfaction from a woman's body if they tell themselves that they are involved in a reciprocal relationship. Mr Averages and Right On Backpackers tend to spend several days or even weeks with the same woman and are keen to conceal the economic basis of the relationship from themselves. They do not wish to see themselves as clients, and cannot therefore think of the women as prostitutes. They will often turn down women who approach them with direct sexual propositions, preferring less explicit overtures ('Where are you from?', 'Do you like Cuba?') to lead into the same scripts they would use in non-commercial encounters ('Can I get you a drink?', 'Would you like to have dinner with me?'). The whole process can then be interpreted as confirming a mutual attraction, and when the woman later confides her desperate need for dollars, the man can construct the act of giving her money not as payment for services rendered, but as a gesture of solidarity. This accords him the role of a 'good guy', both irresistibly charming and generous.</p> <p>As well as granting sexual license, the woman often helps the tourist to find cheaper accommodation (sometimes putting him up in her own room), she acts his guide, companion and interpreter, she may even do his laundry and cook for him. In return, he is expected to pay for food, drinks and evening entertainment, he may give her soap, shampoo and clothing or leave her some cash when he moves on to the next place or the next girl. The price paid by the sex tourist and the benefits secured by the jinitera are thus highly variable. An experienced and skilled woman with good 'black' market connections might manage to squeeze as much as $50 and $100 a day out of her tourist, though not all of this will be in cash. A more inexperienced woman or girl may secure next to nothing. One British sex tourist proudly boasted ´Some of them have slept with me for just a bar of soap'.</p> <p>The sums of money involved are often negligible to a European or North American man. One British Mr Average explained that his ´girlfriend' (he had traded in another woman for her the previous day) had suggested that he move out of the hotel where he was paying $20 per night, and stay in her flat where she would do all his washing and cook his meals for him. For all this, plus acting as guide and interpreter and granting him sexual access, she asked only $5 a day plus the cost of the food. At home, this man could not even buy a pack of cigarettes for this sum, far less obtain the services of a maid/prostitute. Although he was nearly 40, fat with receding hair, while she was 20 and, in his words, ´like a model', he could tell himself that this sum of money was too small to have anything to do with the invitation she was extending to him. She must find him sexually attractive to be offering so much for so little in return.</p> <p>The relationship between racism and sex tourism in Cuba is too complex to analyse properly in a report of this length, but two points need to be made about the significance of the dynamics of racism within Cuba itself for sex tourists. First, it is sadly the case that Black Cubans face many of the same 'racialised' barriers that oppress Black people elsewhere in the world. Groups that face this kind of structural disadvantage are often over-represented in prostitution. Our initial impression was that there were more Black than ´mixed' or white jiniteras not just in Santiago (where this can be explained by demographics), but also in Varedero and Havana. Second, a number of racist stereotypes still exist amongst Cubans, some of whom (white, ´mixed' and Black) will openly attribute 'characteristics' such as hypersexuality and rhythm to Black people, and in the same breath insist that there is no racism in Cuba.</p> <p>All this is of enormous significance for sex tourists. To begin with, it means that large numbers of Black women are sexually available to them, which is perceived as a benefit by those men who find it difficult to satisfy their 'racialised'-sexual fantasies at home. Meanwhile, Cuba's own racism is frighteningly congruent with variants of European and North American racism, and visiting white racists therefore feel very much at ease in Cuba, often more so than they do in their own countries. As one Canadian said to me 'You can call a nigger a nigger here, and no-one takes it the wrong way'. Some white sex tourists adhere to a classic racist ideology, believing Black sexuality to be more uninhibited and exciting than white sexuality. In most European countries as well as in Canada, this form of racism has been strongly challenged by Black intellectuals and political activists, with some success in reducing the open expression of such attitudes. Many racists therefore feel under attack in their own countries, where their opportunities for satisfying a sexual appetite for the Others they both despise and desire are also generally quite limited. For them, Cuba is ´paradise' in the sense that here, rather than being challenged, their racism is both implicitly and explicitly affirmed.</p> <p>In Cuba, Right On Backpackers and Mr Averages can satisfy their sexual curiosity about Black and 'mixed' women and/or demonstrate their own 'racial liberalism' to themselves easily and without having to address any of the uncomfortable issues about racism which such a relationship would raise in their own country.</p> <p>In Cuba today, exploitative sexual encounters are not only cheap financially, but in other terms. Because he is on holiday, the white sex tourist gets to enjoy sexual access to 'racialised' Others without risking the censure of his racist friends. Because he tells himself that Cuban girls are both hot and care free, he need feel no guilt about abandoning the woman and replacing her with a superior model.</p> <p>Cuba presently has a great deal to offer the sex tourist. Such men can contemptuously command Cuban women and girls with the same ease that they order cocktails. Their power to do so rests not only upon the obscene disparity in wealth between the developed and underdeveloped world, but also upon American foreign policy. Under Batista, the US indirectly organised Cuba as its brothel and gambling house. Today, its punishment of Cuba is helping to recreate the conditions under which Cuban women and girls must become the playthings of economically advantaged, white, male Europeans and North Americans.</p> <p>Julia O'Connell Davidson is a lecturer in sociology at a British university. Her articles on sex tourism in Thailand have appeared in the WRI Women's Newsletter.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-programmes-projects--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--expert--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-programmes-projects--story.html.twig * field--node--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-programmes-projects.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Programmes &amp; Projects</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/programmes/womens-wg" hreflang="en">Women&#039;s WG</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--field-countries--rss.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--story.html.twig * field--expert--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--expert--story.html.twig * field--expert--field-countries.html.twig * field--expert.html.twig * field--ds-field-expert.html.twig * field--node--field-countries--story.html.twig * field--node--field-countries.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--field-countries.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <div class="field--label tags--label field-label-above">Countries</div> <div class="wri-main--tags"> <span class="rel-tag" > <a href="/en/taxonomy/term/220" hreflang="en">Cuba</a></span> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-field-expert.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--comment--rss.html.twig * field--default--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--node--story.html.twig * field--default--node--comment.html.twig * field--default--comment--story.html.twig * field--default--story.html.twig * field--default--comment.html.twig * field--default.html.twig * field--theme-ds-field-default.html.twig x field--node--comment--story.html.twig * field--node--comment.html.twig * field--node--story.html.twig * field--comment.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> <section class="comments"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'comment__comment__story' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * comment--comment--story.html.twig * comment--comment.html.twig x comment.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/comment/comment.html.twig' --> <article data-comment-user-id="0" id="comment-6362" about="/en/comment/6362" typeof="schema:Comment" class="js-comment" data-comment-user-id="0" id="comment-6362" about="/en/comment/6362" typeof="schema:Comment" class="js-comment comments"> <mark class="hidden" data-comment-timestamp="1299472324"></mark> <div> <h3 property="schema:name" datatype=""><a href="/en/comment/6362#comment-6362" class="permalink" rel="bookmark" hreflang="en">things haven&#039;t changed</a></h3> <footer> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'user' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * user--compact.html.twig x user.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/user.html.twig' --> <article typeof="schema:Person" about="/user/0"> </article> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/user.html.twig' --> <p> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'rdf_wrapper' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/rdf/templates/rdf-wrapper.html.twig' --> <span rel="schema:author">Submitted by <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Anonymous (not verified)</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 - 04:32</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/rdf/templates/rdf-wrapper.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'rdf_metadata' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/rdf/templates/rdf-metadata.html.twig' --> <span property="schema:dateCreated" content="2011-03-07T04:32:04+00:00" class="hidden"></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/rdf/templates/rdf-metadata.html.twig' --> </p> <a href="/en/comment/6362#comment-6362" hreflang="en">Permalink</a> </footer> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--comment-body--default.html.twig * field--comment--comment-body--comment.html.twig * field--comment--comment-body.html.twig * field--comment--comment.html.twig * field--comment-body.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div property="schema:text" class="field field--name-comment-body field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field--item"><p>things haven't changed</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="comment.lazy_builders:renderLinks" arguments="0=6362&amp;1=default&amp;2=en&amp;3=" token="j2m_oGpFNwBKBjyxI4s5UNQwyaU1rPRdzAiJZNWlaQ8"></drupal-render-placeholder> </div> </article> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/comment/comment.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'pager' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/pager.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/pager.html.twig' --> </section> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/wri_main/templates/field/field--node--comment--story.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-1col.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/ds/templates/ds-entity-view.html.twig' --> Sat, 30 Sep 1995 23:00:00 +0000 warresisters 3783 at https://wri-irg.org https://wri-irg.org/en/story/1995/sex-tourism-cuba#comments