Cocalero

Cocalero follows Evo Moralez during his 2005 campaign for president of Bolivia.  This movie highlights the evolving political situation in the Andean nations.  Coupling a young democratic government with oppression and depravity gives a proportionally large group a great chance for success.  In Cocalero, the coca farmers of the Andes region are in the face of US eradication support, but rally together in coca unions.  This movie has a sense of retaliation, perhaps revolution albeit tame, by the coca growers in an effort to gain rights and representation in government.  Coming from a cocalero background, Evo Moralez aims to improve coca farmers’ rights in Bolivia. 

The 1990 and 1992 Ecuadorian Indian movements are similar to the 2005 movement in Bolivia.  In the 1990 movement, as in the film, the Indians employed simple measures to halt all transportation and logistics within the country.  Les Field comments that this action “[revealed] the country’s dependence on native farmers” due to “certain spot shortages of certain products” (39).  This kind of tactic emphasizes the unexpected intelligence of Latin America, which recognizes its logistical dependence on agricultural production.  Just as the other large trends in Latin America have followed, Ecuador followed a different venue for the issue of workers’ rights.  In Ecuador in 1992, concern over land, particularly the forests, stemmed from a belief that all of the contested lands belong to the Indians. 

The cause of the uproar among Indians in Ecuador, as in Bolivia, revolves around the land, partially related to oil.  Beginning with seismic petroleum exploration in a region of the rain forest and n indigenous blockade of the single airstrip in the area, which prevented the explorers from leaving, indigenous people feared colonization and petroleum development on their land (Sawyer 69).  The indigenous sought political means to their communal ownership of land.  They argued that their agricultural production, on their ancestral lands, was in the best interest of preserving the rain forest (Sawyer 71).  Sawyer’s article quotes unidentified indigenous people saying, “We manage…the lungs of the world and the patrimony of all living species on the planet” (71).  This kind of mentality is used by Evo in the film to justify his background as a coca farmer.  He says the coca leaf is, according to a Harvard University study, one of the healthiest substances on the earth.  Using an American college’s study to promote his political agenda to end American imperialism and capitalism is odd, to say the least.

            The political urgency seen in the farmers in Cocalero is one of fear, fear of losing that which supports their livelihood.  In order to avoid the same oppression in other Andean countries, such as the events outlined in Les Field’s article.  Indigenous farmers sought to prevent the influx of mestizo farmers and stop the attempts of American missionaries, who sought to “civilize” the indigenous (43).  It makes sense that Evo Morales and his campaign “team” chose to wear traditional indigenous clothing and listen to the wishes and needs of the people.  

La virgen de los sicaros

La virgen de los sicaros takes places in what is presumably the 1990s in Colombia, a country reeling from the drug cartels’ influence.  The film occurs after the cartels have left; this absence has an unexpected inverse consequence.  Whereas the reduction of criminal organizations should reduce crime significantly, armed conflict persisted.  The 1990s mark a distinct transition in Colombia.  In general, the conflict changes from drug trafficking, and the search for greater profit, to political killing aimed to influence voting results as well as maintain order.  The two articles by Ricardo Vargas and Forrest Hynton relate these ideas. 

            While the film provides a posthumous view of the conflict, Ricardo Vargas’s article highlights the cultural phenomena of life among drugs cartels.  He writes, “…there is the strongest development of private armed groups that act parallel to those of the state” in areas of agricultural production (110).  Their actions primarily involved killing or displacing individuals.  One instance, which took place in the Santa Marta area, involved the displacement of 4,000 peasants and the disappearance of 20 others (115).  These kinds of large scale crimes send a message to all of Colombia quickly; violence is not a bad thing, but a means to achieve success.  There is also a shift in norms among citizens of Colombia.  “When a trafficker attempts to ‘legalize’ his situation but buying land and acquire legitimacy by supporting those who promote ‘order’ in the community” as Vargas states his illicit activity is overlooked and accepted (123).  Ricardo Vargas even proclaims one drug trafficker, Jose Cuesta, “as someone willing to resolve disputes, filling the void left by an absent state” (113).  The results of years of economic benefit from drug trafficking are evident in the apartment left to Fernando by his relative who used to do drugs.  It is also evident in the number of out of work hired guns remaining in the streets of Medellin.

            Much of this drug trade killing was preceded by political killings.  Liberal/Conservative conflict escalated into violence, especially during La Violencia.  After the assassination of Jorge Gaitan, a president from the Liberal Party, the face of the police changed greatly.  Forrest Hylton’s writing states “that Conservative ‘civil police’ replaced Liberal police in 1947-48, and were then organized into a professional force of political assassins in 1949-1950” (43).  It is amazing that Colombia’s democracy survived for so long.  They elected presidents for years amongst assassinations and revolutions.  The election process stemmed from the electoral division of Colombian land.  The “conquest of territory – the accumulation of land, livestock, and coffee – was the goal, and killing obeyed a sinister calculus of pain and cruelty” (44).  This land-war translate into the 1980s and 90s as cocaine exporters take a informal control of Colombia.  To be blunt, the complete absence of any social power in La virgin de los sicaros is astonishing.  One would expect some police to intervene at some point; therefore this element is hard to believe.  

A Clear and Present Danger...to my grades.

Cocaine Cowboys, the story of cocaine trafficking from Latin America to Florida, details the techniques, reasons, and effects of the influx of drugs to Miami.  Now, this film only popularizes the drug dealing/trafficking lifestyle sought after by audiences.  Scarface falls into the category of this movie, but it offers a grounded, on-the-streets view of these criminal organizations.  The movie only mentions briefly action taking place in Latin America.  There lies the root of the issue of drug trafficking. 

During the early 1960s, the cocaine trade “consolidated itself into more systematic growing processing, and smuggling circuits” (Gootenberg 135).  The United States saw a shift from marijuana importing to cocaine.  In response, Washington began a “war on drugs” with the assistance of local armies.  The United States falls under criticism of “collateral damage” in Coletta A. Youngers’ article.  She says, “the counternarcotics mission provides the military with a task that is likely to lead to human rights abuses, and the “confidential” nature of counterdrug programs further exacerbates patterns of impunity” (127).  The United States’ method to combating the drug trade was to train and equip military groups.  Youngers highlights the issue of American-trained soldiers enacting tactical maneuvers, but the greater need was for human-rights training, as well as maintaining criminal rights and following proper investigative procedures. 

Delving further into the drug trade, we find heavy involvement by United States’ agencies.  The Department of Defense and Southern Command were creating stronger military control in these Andean countries; the same countries which were once under oppressive regimes.  These countries also relied heavily on the economic success of the cocaine trade.  This national view extended towards the drug cartel and counternarcotics.  In the film, we see reports of Colombian social order, specifically in regards to the Medellin cartel.  The narrator says towns in Colombia are filled with drug traders and facilitators.  Delegating the “war on drugs” is like leaving a child to babysit infants.  Combining the view of corrupt policemen from Cidade de Deus and the under-funded police from Bus 174, there seems to be a negative view of police in Latin America.  It seems causal that the U.S. was forced to enlist the assistance of Latin American militaries, as well as other gray line methods. 

The article “The Contras, Cocaine, and Covert Operations” addresses instances of CIA involvement in the counter-revolution in Nicaragua, including funding through drug money.  These seemingly “guerilla” tactics are reminiscent of the Cold War era analyses.  There is an instance that a National Security Council aide wanted to use money from a cartel to fund the contras but failed to gain permission.  It is possible that the boom in drug traffic was allowed to progress for some time.  A tipping point, just as in the movie at the Dadeland Mall shooting, caused it to attract violence and further, more publicized control.

Bus 174

            Bus 174 is a documentary about a hostage taker in Rio de Janeiro and his life up to his death.  While the film seems a straight forward storytelling of a street kid and the horrors of his youth, adding historical context provides a glimpse into the reasons and social situations of Latin American cities in general.  The readings complementing Bus 174 are The Heart That Bleeds, which provides a cultural view of the arts in Mexico City during the late 1900s, I Saw a City Invincible, which steps back and views social change in major Latin American urban centers, and The Drive-by Victim, which tells the story of a theft in the streets of Bogota.

            The Heart That Bleeds is written by a traveler in Mexico who provides commentary on social issues.  Some of the essay may be utilized to explain the situation Sandro faces as a street kid in Latin America.  While there is little direct relation between the events of the film and Bus 174, the two timelines are contemporary and serve to generalize a social environment.  The Heart That Bleeds depicts living conditions of the, distinction here, renting people, who stay in “old-fashioned, high-ceilinged rooms…crowded with bunk beds stacked as many as five high” (241).  These cramped spaces are exponentially worsened in government funded spaces, such as the jail in which Sandro lived.  In addition to living quarters, the author’s study of mariachi and the impact of a modern subway line in Mexico City attributes itself to the life of a street kid.  Shown in Bus 174, a major source of income for these kids is performing on the streets of Rio de Janeiro for commuters.  This impact of modernization further restricts avenues for success just as the mass urbanization of the early 1900s did.

            I Saw a City Invincible’s greatest complement to Bus 174 is the social impact of the arts on inner city kids.  Capoeira, a form of martial arts similar to dancing, is mentioned in the film alongside the epidemic of huffing.  These two activities are far different in their purpose.   The author writes that dancing, in general, is “also one of the most inclusive activities in societies that for so long and in subtle ways have segregated the rich from the poor” (23).  Sandro’s participation is explained by a school teacher, who plays a drum in the instrumental portion of capoeira.  Accompanying this urban form of dancing is the practice of huffing glue.  These street kids are included in capoeira, yet they distance themselves from the wealthy involved through their addiction. 

            The Drive-by Victim is an alternate story of criminals which manages to pull at one’s heart strings.  Sympathizing with the criminals is a leap most are unwilling to take.  Bus 174 on the surface is a theft gone wrong and a lunatic seeking an audience.  Only through a deep history of the life of Sandra do Nascimento is insight gained to the horrors he has experienced.  The life as a street kid, including the Candelaria Massacre, his time in juvenile detention, as well as the cramped corners of prison, and the murder of his mother lend reasoning and justification to his actions, especially in Latin American, where the social structure does not provide as much assistance to the poor.

Industrialization and Urbanization in Cidade de Deus

Cidade de Deus reflects enormous sociopolitical change in Rio de Janeiro.  During the Cold War, as U.S. attention focused internally, Latin American countries began to produce formerly imported goods.  Industrialization, and more pertinently urbanization resulted, causing many former slaves to migrate into Rio de Janeiro.  Although, as Oliviera writes, “the concentration of blacks in Rio de Janeiro preceded industrialization,” urbanization was already occurring (75).  As richer white Brazilians migrated outwards to the suburbs, rapid black urbanization filled the residential areas in Rio (Oliviera 75).  The film’s creators casted all African-Brazilians; some were straight from the acting programs of urban Brazil, for its cast of favelados (Hart 205). 

After centuries of conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, the former established low-income housing in an area proximal to a new industrial center, rapidly increasing population density in the favelas.  Cidade de Deus’ plot is told on two timelines, the 1960’s and the 1970’s, and the backgrounds of the two times are remarkably different.  Urban areas have gotten larger and denser, and criminal, as well as drug, activity has increased greatly.  Unfortunately, not all migrating blacks gained employment in the city.  Julio Cesar Pino’s work indicates the amount of available labor producing economic input declined as urbanization increased (20).    Leaving many immigrants unemployed, similar to Chicago and New York at the turn of the 20^th century, creates a dominant subculture insistent on financial success by criminal means.  Now, Cidade de Deus’ depiction of life in the favela in Rio de Janeiro is contrary to Pino’s opening argument that the “notions of the favelado as street urchin, hustler, scavenger, and criminal have persisted for at least a half century.  The truth is more complicated but no less dramatic” (18).  Pino’s final argument is a matter of honest employment among three major favelas in Brazil.  This notion of honest employment is de-emphasized in Cidade de Deus.  Only a handful of individuals work honest jobs, and the movie’s creators position these few to become victims to the street crime in the favelas. 

Knockout Ned’s conversion from his (only spoken of) life in the favela of the 1960’s to working the bus fares in the 70’s and then his life of crime in Carrot’s gang represents the effect of gang activity.  It is possible to draw a causal pattern  beginning with the urbanization of the 20^th century, to widespread unemployment (or lack of), and finally to a criminal culture in the favelas, like Cidade de Deus.  Stephen Hart’s analysis of the film addresses the societal structure of the favelas and the gangs’ impact on Rio.  Hart writes that the “other side of the tracks” viewpoint of the city signifies the alternate governing body within the favela (205).  Li’l Ze’s rules, compared to those of Knockout Ned, portray him as the ruler of the shanty town.  Ned’s rule for no innocents to be killed is an ill-fated one; his best laid plans are ruined and result in his death.  Li’l Ze’s choice to accept the life of a criminal prolongs his existence, and only upon overthrow from those he abused does he fall from power. 

“Fight and you’ll never survive. Run and you’ll never escape,” said the narrating Rocket.  It rings true for all except a small minority.  A government decision to relocate all those seeking low income housing coupled with boundaries against advancement, such as unemployment and economic inequality, created the environment for Cidade de Deus, an environment where an honest dollar was harder to gain than a dirty one and a gun was easier to get than a camera.

Che and His Big Dreams

Che Part 1 presents the tactics of the guerrilla fighters of the Cuban Revolution appropriately.  This movie depicts the beginning of the revolution in its smaller stages of fighting to the later urban conflicts.  One main notion that Guevara emphasizes in his writings is the existence of the revolution.  He writes in his Guerilla Warfare: A Method that it is not necessary for all conditions to be present for a revolution to succeed.  There is something at work far beyond the capabilities of men or the number of guns.  Che writes that a combination of circumstances in Latin American countries leave them prone to revolution, and he says, “The dictatorship tries to function without resorting to force so we must try to oblige it to do so, thereby unmasking its true nature as the dictatorship of the reactionary social classes.”  Che: Part 1 portrays this idea when the fighters are strategizing an attack plan.  Fidel decides against attacking a supply truck, because the army can, without show of force, deny its existence and the existence of guerrilla presence.  Che of the film goes further with his plan at his UN speech.  He essentially calls out other Latin American countries for their atrocities possibly in an effort to stir feelings around the continent. 

What this film fails to show is Che’s revolutionary ideology in nations outside of Cuba, such as his actions in Bolivia and his thoughts toward other nations.  Che Guevara’s Message to the Tricontinental begins by analyzing the situations of Vietnam, Africa, and other Latin American countries.  Even before the Cuban conflict, as depicted in the film, Che asks Fidel if it is possible for his revolution to be taken to the rest of Latin American.  The distinction between Fidel and Che’s goals and means spells the difference in their ideology.  Fidel, as in the movie, recognizes the importance of the politics in a political-military conflict.  Che, opposed to the Cuban native Fidel, was against affiliation with other nationalist groups, if their views differed from those of the guerrilla group.  The largest disparity between Che’s and Fidel’s ideas is the breadth of their revolution. 

Che, through his travels, is empowered to take the Cuban Revolution to the rest of Latin America.  The movie shows this in the sectioned balcony scene.  His Message to the Tricontinental summarizes his hatred of imperialism and capitalism, labeling the existing social structure of Cuba as feudalism.  Consisting of indebted laborers and few landowners who each own large parcels of land, Che aims to redistribute land to all Cubans.  Che’s Message fulfills his previously written Guerrilla Warfare: A Method.  He, just like the gun-battles in the jungle, attempts to unmask the horrors of the ruling bourgeois, but this cannot be done without the lower class and their ingrained hatred of the upper class.  In Che: Part 1, we see the final evolutionary stage of the lower class.  The Cuban revolution gave each poor Cuban an opportunity to better himself, a situation he or she had never once had. 

Che’s final words before his death, summarized to mean: this revolution is more than a man, and killing me will not end anything, affirm is established tactics.  He required his column in the jungles of Cuba to be educated  This is purposefully done in order to build a fighting force which understands what it is fighting for and does not confuse it for the person in command.  This mindset, which Guevara seeks to instill in his fighters is to be the driving force of their will to fight and die for Cuba.

            Motorcycle Diaries details the onset of Ernesto Guevara’s revolution.  The historical messages to leave this film with are the reasons for Che’s revolution and his overall view of life and equality.  Coupled with the readings for this week, the movie Che, initially portrayed as an middle class medical student, who lies his way across Latin America, witnesses the atrocities of his continent. 

Throughout Diaries, there is a disparity between the wealthy and the poor.  What would a Marxist revolutionary film be without it?  Alas, due to the United States’ influence over Latin America’s production and policy, the Marxist ideals of the growing middle class emphasize opportunity and equality above all.  Diaries displays this in the mining company and the leper colony.  Guevara recognizes an immense problem in Latin American society.  He tries to fix it with whatever is at his disposal, for example the fifteen dollars and his asthma medication.  It is apparent that Che realizes that these issues are larger than him and he does not have access to the required solutions. 

Paulo Drinot criticizes Diaries’ Peruvian oil company scene.  She states that the larger problem in Peru at the time of Guevara’s trip was “the deep racial prejudice that underpins the country’s entrenched inequalities” (118).  Drinot declares the movie Che’s line, that the Peruvians believed the Indians should live and only just, as a “melodramatic device” to show Guevara’s changing social view and the beginning of his anger at the bourgeoisie. 

Eduardo Elena parallels the Peronist era in Argentina and Guevara’s trip.  If memory serves, before Che leaves his home, he mentions something of his father and a revolution, in a mocking manner.  This may allude that Guevara’s father was a Peronist, a political group which favored nationalism (Elena 22).  In contrast to his father, who wished for him to stay and finish his medical schooling, Che leaves on his continental journey.  This presents us a new stage in Latin American history, one from nationalism to revolution.  Eduardo Elena argues that “the guerilla-traveler attempted to lead a revolution among a largely indigenous population about whom he knew almost nothing” (48).  This is entirely possible; Che’s migratory lifestyle may have expanded the reach of his message but it would also reduce the efficacy.