In response to my own blog from yesterday, I offer an even better video posted by the Sin Maiz No Hay Pais (Without Corn there is no Country) campaign. This video was released just prior to the removal of all tariffs and trade restrictions under NAFTA on January 1, 2008. It speaks to the loss of jobs under NAFTA and provides more insight into the severe hardships caused by NAFTA in Mexico. I believe it is asking a basic question—how can the small scale corn farmers compete against the subsidized farmers of the United States and U.S and Mexican companies that are monopolizing the market? This video is in Spanish.
Yesterday, I attended an event sponsored by Acción Zapatista (a UCSB student organization) that featured three new exciting documentaries. Jill Friedberg, who also worked on the Award Winning film This is What Democracy Looks Like, presented Granito de Arena, which tells the story of the dismantling of the Mexican public education system. This compelling film highlights the power of resistance by educators, families, and students, who demand access to free public education and a living wage. In 2006, a year after Friedberg completed this film, Oaxacan teachers entered a new chapter in their struggle. Her new film, a work in progress, called Un Poquito de Tanto Verdad, traces the story of the recent Oaxacan uprising. I was thrilled to see the brave Oaxacan women who took over Channel Nine powerfully represented in this film. I remember Jill from my time in Oaxaca–she was always at the frontlines, documenting the uprising as it happened. You can learn more about these films and how to order them, from Corrugated Films.
We were also treated by Monica Hernandez’s film, Rights on the Line, which deconstructs the image and reality of the Minutemen Project, in particular their racist and controversial involvement in apprehending immigrants who cross the Mexican/US border. I loved the footage of Minutemen at the Arizona border. The American Friends Service Commission trained ACLU legal observers to document the activities of the Minutemen and other vigilantes. The film and trailer are availble from the American Friends Service Commission.
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