News in Argentina

I've been watching the news, which I am finding easier to understand, and a good source of real speech, because it involves lots of interviews. There seems to be news on all the time here. I guess it is kind of like CNN because the same stories are repeated over and over again, and they go through the headlines before going in depth into the stories. But there are also lots of news analysis programs where they have interviews with people, as well as some stupid shows where the focus is more on things like Big Brother and who is sleeping with who. Anyway, I am enjoying the news. With news like this, who really needs fiction?

One of the big stories yesterday was that the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo (the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo) found two more grandchildren. I'm kind of obsessed with the last dictatorship, because I see so many parallels between what happened here from 1976-83, and what has been happening in the US from Septemner 11, 2001 until now. Today seems like a good day to think about some of the similarities.

After Peron died and his 3rd wife Isabelita took over (she was VP...hmmm... Sarah Palin?) there was total chaos in Argentina. Isabelita allowed some reactionary forces in the government to pass certain decrees which led to arrests and disappearances, particularly of trade unionist, students,and those on the left. People were going crazy it seems with bombings, military groups, paramilitary groups, protests, all kinds of things going on...there was a total breakdown and democracy was canned. Isabelita allowed a paramilitary group to begin making arrests.

Those who supported these arrests felt that they were doing so to protect their country from these terrorists (perhaps they didn't use those words, but they appropriately sum up their intention). People were arrested, often secretly, without warrants, and taken to undisclosed locations, tortured and often killed, bodies disposed of in unmarked graves or thrown in the Rio de la Plata or the ocean.

Eventually Isabelita was overthrown by a coup.

Things got progressively worse.

The grandchildren of the Abuelas of Plaza de Mayo are children who were either arrested with their parents, or who were born in captivity and then given to military families after they were born (their parents were then killed). The Abeulas have been successful in finding 95 of these grandchildren. They estimate that there are around 500.

What is striking to me is that Sarah Palin at the Republican National Convention last week chided Barack Obama because he believes people who are arrested on terrorism charges should be given the same rights as anyone arrested for any crime, either under International Law, or if the are US citizens, under our Constitution. When she mocked him, her audience cheered. The belief being, if you are "suspected" of being a terrorist, you have no rights.

Outside of the convention center in St. Paul, peaceful protesters were being arrested. They were protesting against policies of the Bush Administration, the illegal war in Iraq, the platform of the Republican Convention, whatever... they were exercising a constitutional right. They were arrested, and some of them were accused of terrorism. A terrorism enhancement adds years to a prison sentence. The similarities are chilling for me. A country feeling itself under attack, feeling the need to defend, people living in fear and not knowing what is going on. Many Argentines believed that those who were arrested deserved to be arrested. They saw news of the bombings and "terrorist" attacks on the news. Perhaps there were some among the 30,000 disappeared who were guilty. The problem is there were never any trials, no charges were brought against anyone, there was no evidence of any wrongdoing produced, people were reduced to their lowest levels. It is almost like the torture and killing became addictive and they couldn't stop. People were tortured and forced to name names. Those named were next on the list. Torture does not induce people to tell the truth, it induces them to say whatever they believe will stop the torture. We Americans have so much we can learn from Argentina.

And while consitutionally protected protesters were being arrested and charged with terrorism in St. Paul, the streets of Buenos Aires see daily protests. Yesterday there were 12 different protests that closed the streets in different parts of the city. Students were protesting the Mayor's decision to cut aid for education, taxi and truck drivers were protesting rising fuel prices, teachers went on strike, I can't even keep track of the different reasons why people are protesting here. What is striking though is that you do not see riot police and as far as I know, there have been no arrests. Drivers get upset when they have to make detours, but drivers get upset when a bus stops in front of them to pick up passengers. The street closings seem to just be part of daily life here.

Argentina is not known as the world's greatest democracy. It certainly has a long past filled with brutal dictatorships and horrible crimes. But the number of protests on the streets of Buenos Aires is a testament to movement in the right direction. In the United States, on the other hand, protest is suspect. Protesters are called unpatriotic. Arresting protesters and charging them with terrorism is setting a dangerous precedent. We have a secret government that is operating beyond the rule of law and outside of the constitution. And when Sarah Palin suggests that laws do not apply equally to all people, and her supporters cheer her, I think of the thousands of innocent people who were brought to clandestine locations in Argentina and tortured until they died. God, please bless America.