Occupy OC encampment peaceful: No raid, arrests like other places

*This article was originally published by the Viễn Đông on 2 December 2011. It was reported by Vanessa White.

http://www.viendongdaily.com/leu-trai-nhom-chiem-dong-quan-cam-van-binh-yen-IQObAikY.html

IRVINE, California—Unlike the reported violence in other highly publicized Occupy encampments nationwide, a local Occupy encampment has remained relatively calm.

That is, aside from nearby residents complaining about cars honking and the condition of the grass near Occupy Orange County (OC) Irvine tents.

Occupy OC Irvine is protesting in solidarity with cities involved in the Occupy Movement that started in New York City and San Francisco in September 2011, inspired by pro-democracy protests that spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa during the Spring 2011.

Although mainstream media criticizes the movement for lacking organization and a clear set of demands, the Occupy protesters, or Occupiers’ messages tend to focus on economic, political, and social inequalities.

The movement has incorporated cities nationwide as well as internationally, being welcomed in some places yet met with violence and arrests in others.

Protests in New York City and Oakland, for example, have been highly publicized as resulting in clashes between Occupiers and riot police, sending people to the hospital with serious injuries.

Nationwide, over 5,000 arrests have reportedly been made due to the protests.

No arrests have been made at Occupy OC Irvine, though the time is coming near for its encampment to possibly be removed from the front of Irvine City Hall.

At the 22 November 2011 Irvine City Council meeting, the council granted the Occupiers 24 hour access to an area of grass in front of City Hall as their encampment’s designated area until at least 6 December 2011.

President of the Tustin Unified School District Board of Education Mr. Lynn Davis told the council at the meeting that mutual respect has been shown among government officials, people, law enforcement, demonstrators, and neighbors affected by and influencing the Occupy OC Irvine encampment. 

“The City of Irvine, the Irvine City Council, the Irvine Police Department and Occupy Orange County all deserve our thanks and congratulations,” he said. “You all have once again shown why so many people speak so highly of the Irvine community.”

However, Occupy encampments have experienced crackdowns and dismantling in larger cities nationwide, recently, for example, in nearby Los Angeles (LA).

Occupy LA arrests, raid

On 28 November 2011, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) arrested four people after thousands of Occupiers faced police officers armed with batons and riot cuffs.

The LAPD was responding to LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s 28 November 2011 midnight eviction deadline for Occupiers to move their encampment from the LA City Hall.

Yet, the Occupiers did not leave and the police did not force them to until 30 November 2011 when the LAPD held an early morning, massive sweep of the encampment, arresting more than 200 Occupiers.

Although the Viễn Đông and mainstream news media initially reported that there were no injuries during the sweep, Irvine Occupiers who were at the raid have since told the Viễn Đông that there were people injured.

The Occupiers continued, saying that the police were more forceful than the mainstream media has reported, as they were pushing, striking, and even shooting Occupiers with rubber bullets.

News crews were set up behind police lines on W. 1^st St. and the police first moved in on the encampment from inside of City Hall, blocked from the cameras.

As the encampment was cleared, it is uncertain where the LA Occupiers will reconvene as a long term community, though Irvine Occupiers have welcomed the group to their encampment.

More Occupiers at Irvine City Hall would mean they would need to seek more appropriate accommodations, like a building possibly, an Irvine Occupier, Mr. Steve, told the Viễn Đông.

It could also increase the possibility of a police raid at the Irvine encampment.

Reasons for peace, no raid

“We’re really organized,” Irvine Occupier Ms.Anastasia told the Viễn Đông, adding that Occupiers take turns cleaning up trash in and around the encampment. “We’ve been a very peaceful movement.”

She continued, saying that the Occupiers had adhered to every request the city has made, including moving their tents every Tuesday and Friday so the grass underneath them can be watered.

Upon noise complaints from nearby residents citing excessive car honking, the Occupiers even created signs urging cars to refrain from honking.

“This Occupy has been very fortunate,” Ms. Anastasia said. “Our mayor’s on our side.”

The Irvine City Council is expected to decide at its 6 December 2011 meeting whether or not to allow the encampment to remain.

Occupy LA encampment raided: Protesters’ preparation, arrests

*This article was originally published by the Viễn Đông on 1 December 2011. It was reported by Vanessa White.

LOS ANGELES, California—There was a human circle formed around a tent as protesters sat with their arms linked.

“We need more volunteers!” an organizer shouted, his call repeated by protesters and supporters in the circle as well as people in the surrounding crowd. “We need more people to get arrested!”

And just after midnight on 30 November 2011, approximately 1,400 Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers in full riot gear began arresting more than 200 Occupy LA protesters in front of LA City Hall.

The protesters had been told to evict the City Hall by 28 November 2011, yet hundreds remained.

Celebrating their 60^th day “occupying” the City Hall and developing a community encampment, the protesters were participating in civil disobedience, defending what they believed was their right to occupy public property.

They acted in solidarity with the Occupy Movement that began in New York City’s Wall Street financial district as well as in San Francisco in September 2011.

Inspired by pro-democracy protests that spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa during spring 2011, the Occupy Movement has become international, largely reported as “leaderless” and “lacking demands,” though themes surrounding economic, political and social issues appear to be its focus.

“We are not a leaderless movement!” a protester shouted awaiting the LAPD’s arrival. “We are a movement of leaders!”

Leadership, preparation

They knew it was coming and were prepared.

Throughout the evening, Occupy LA protesters and their supporters held small break-out groups and a general assembly where a larger group received updates on a possible police raid and preparation for it, voiced concerns and questions, encouraged each other, as well as agreed on future action through consensus following votes.

Speakers, in the larger group as well as the break-out groups, spoke in three to five word intervals and had their words repeated by listeners in the groups. Anyone wishing to be heard yelled, “Mic check!”

“This is what democracy looks like!” the protesters shouted throughout the night.

There was an emphasis on peace and nonviolence as people in smaller groups chanted, sang, played guitars, drums, rapped, danced, smoked, talked among themselves, or just sat quietly watching others.

A couple of fights broke out between individuals, though they were quickly tempered as handfuls of protesters and supporters rushed to break them up.

Organizers asked the protesters and supporters to respect the community and remove any drugs, alcohol, or weapons from the encampment if they had any.

They were expecting a raid, as news of a massive LAPD gathering at nearby Dodger Stadium traveled to the encampment.

One woman told the Viễn Đông that she lives near the stadium and had seen helicopters above the field, as well as busses followed by news crews heading in the direction of the stadium.

This was where they would do their booking of arrestees she said.

Prepared for the raid and arrest, organizers informed protesters and supporters that the LAPD would arrest anyone still in front of City Hall after warnings to leave.

Everyone was given two choices. Anyone unwilling to be arrested did not have to stay but was asked to record and document as much of the raid and arrests as possible via video or photograph.

Anyone willing to get arrested, however, was instructed to refrain from resisting arrest.

Instead, they were to act peacefully and were encouraged to write the numbers to the National Lawyers Guild on their arms so they could receive legal help while in jail and possibly procure bail money.

While awaiting the raid, the protesters who planned on being arrested equipped themselves with gas masks or bandanas soaked in vinegar to protect as best they could against the possible tear gas or pepper spray the LAPD might use to disperse them.

Just before midnight, the LAPD arrived, blocking off the perimeter of City Hall.

Though there were protesters who angrily shouted at the police, there were other protesters who reminded them that the police officers were also part of the Occupy themed 99 percent, or the majority population economically, politically, and socially oppressed by the 1 percent, or wealthy individuals.

There were no injuries resulting from the arrests, nor did the initial sweep of the encampment result in any findings of illegal substances or weapons.

The encampment is being cleared of its tents, trash, art and protesters.

Though, perhaps not their message, not their history.

What next?

Although the mainstream media criticizes the Occupy Movement for lacking clear, concrete demands for change, the Occupy LA protesters generally believe they need to gather as much global support as possible before making any specific demands.

It is unclear exactly where the protesters will reconvene as a long-term community, though Occupy Orange County (OC) Irvine has reportedly welcomed them to join the Irvine encampment outside Irvine City Hall.

There were also protesters who said they will just return to LA City Hall, establishing consistent presence.

Congressional maps suit, new Little Saigon districts violate VRA?

*This article was originally published by the Viễn Đông on 30 November 2011. It was reported by Vanessa White.

WESTMINSTER, California—Another lawsuit against newly drawn electoral districts could change realities for underrepresented voters, as well as inspire future suits.

On 23 November 2011, former Mariposa Republican Congress member George Radanovich and other Republicans filed a lawsuit with the California Supreme Court against the California Citizens Redistricting Commission’s (CRC) newly drawn congressional district (CD) maps.

Before the CRC was created in 2008 by the voter initiative known as Proposition 11, State lawmakers created their own districts, giving them the power to shape the borders that would keep them elected.

The CRC was given the task of considering public comments throughout the spring and summer of 2011 while drawing congressional, Assembly, Senate, and Board of Equalization maps to be used in elections during the next ten years.

Along with reflecting 2010 census data, the new maps were to adhere to strict guidelines including the Voting Rights Act (VRA) which in its basic meaning is meant to keep minority votes from being diluted.

Former Congress member Radanovich’s suit claims that the CRC violated the VRA. However, rather than diluting minority votes, he believes it protects Democrat minority incumbents.

The suit alleges that the CRC drew CD maps that spread an African American population in Los Angeles (LA) county into three separate districts, rather than pack them into one or two.

As the suit claims that the LA African American voting age population (VAP) is decreasing, rather than growing, splitting the community is considered unmerited because minority communities that are not growing do not need to be split, as they will probably not expand into surrounding areas.

Former Congress member Radanovich wants the State Supreme Court to throw out the CRC’s maps and have court appointed “special masters” draw new ones.

However, in October the State Supreme Court denied former Congress member Radanovich’s earlier lawsuit, which was also against the CRC’s CD maps.

Throwing out the CRC maps could affect Westminster’s Little Saigon community as the maps remove a portion of CD 47’s Vietnamese American voters from the district and put some into coastal CD 48 and some in CD 46, which includes Santa Ana and Orange.

Unlike the LA African American communities mentioned in the lawsuit, the Orange County (OC) Vietnamese American community’s VAP is growing. Such growth is considered to allow for splits as they encourage minority communities to expand.

Although the Coalition of Asian and Pacific Americans for Fair Redistricting (CAPAFR) has reported that Little Saigon’s new CDs will diminish the Vietnamese American vote, there have been no lawsuits filed on behalf of the Vietnamese American community specifically.

Over the 2011 summer, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) was reportedly considering a lawsuit against the CD maps; however the Viễn Đông has not received comment back on whether such plans could still go forward.

Because redistricting lawsuits are costly, can take years for decisions, and the filer/s must prove that certain criteria were disregarded in the drawing of districts, it is risky to file redistricting suits alleging VRA violations.

Also, the general public is not usually aware of the rights they have under the VRA, which could make filing even less probable, regardless of possible redistricting injustices.

VRA, Section 2

The federal VRA was the CRC’s number two priority, after making sure all district maps contained as equal VAP populations as possible.

Section 2 of the VRA reads that no citizen should be disallowed a vote based on race, color, or membership in a language minority group.

Minority groups who feel their VRA rights have been violated do not need to prove that maps were intentionally drawn to discriminate against them; rather, they need to prove that the maps offer them less opportunity to participate in the voting process than other groups.

For example, a minority group can claim it is a victim of “cracking,” or having its group split, though it is large enough to form a single majority-minority district, which is a district where minorities make up 50 percent or more VAP.

Or, a minority group can claim it is a victim of “packing,” which is concentrating minority voters within a single district, limiting their influence on surrounding districts.

To prove it has had its VRA rights violated, a minority group must first show that it is large enough and geographically compact enough to form a single majority-minority district.

A minority group must then show that its members tend to vote along the same political lines, as well as show that the White voters within its district tend to vote against the minority group’s preferred candidate.

As Little Saigon, currently shares CD 47 with a larger Latino population, in what is called a minority-coalition district, or a type of majority-minority district where two or more minority groups are combined within a single district, it is large enough to form a single majority-minority district.

The trickier part is showing the tendency for members to vote along the same political lines, as pertaining to party Latinos tend to vote Democrat and Vietnamese Americans tend to vote Republican.

Whites are actually the minorities in the district, giving Latinos and Vietnamese Americans more power to elect their preferred candidate, respectively.

More information

For more information on the VRA, visit online at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/intro/intro.php.

Artist views: Religion, spirituality revealed through artwork

*This article was originally published by the Viễn Đông on 29 November 2011. It was reported by Vanessa White.

LONDON, England—Ms. Padmayogini becomes in touch with her environment before capturing an image.

She wishes to see and reveal life for what it is. No filters, no mediation.

“We seem to spend so much of our days surrounded by visual imagery, that it can seem hard to really see the world around us at all,” she wrote in her personal blog, adding that people often allow their friends, family, the media, and the corporate elite to conceive the world for them rather than seeing it through their own perspectives.

Ordained as a Buddhist in 2002, Ms. Padmayogini aims to reflect her spirituality through her painting and photography.

Working with both the urban environment in London as well as the “natural world,” Ms. Padmayogini is drawn to the spirit and interconnectedness within the planet.

“I have rather an eclectic approach to my work, responding to the world around me with what seems like the right medium,” she wrote, again emphasizing her “dialogue” with the environment she is painting or photographing.

Practicing breathing exercises for a few minutes during the day, focusing solely on her presence and awareness, help her to see the world more clearly.

“If we can come back to ourselves, through mindful means and then re-look at the world around us, we will see a richer and more detailed world and our experience will be much more satisfying,” she wrote. “Just looking without adding to what we see.”

Changing what is seen

Brother Mickey O’Neill McGrath, age 54, is trying to use his artwork and religion to transform the environment around him.

“It's a rough place,” he was quoted in the Toledo Blade, speaking about his home in Camden, New Jersey. “It's the second-most dangerous city and the second-poorest, but there's so much good happening through the churches. It's very exciting as an artist.”

A member of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales religious order, Brother McGrath also travels throughout the United States, presenting his illustrations and hoping to inspire audiences through storytelling.

“I used to sit under my Mom's ironing board and watch As the World Turns every afternoon, drawing on paper my Dad brought home from work,” he was quoted. “I was a very shy and self-conscious kid and drawing was kind of a safe place for me.”

Upon graduating from college, Brother McGrath entered the seminary. Initially, he wanted to become a priest but decided to become a brother so he could keep his artwork first.

Focusing on creating Romanesque and Gothic art, the kind featured on stain-glass cathedral windows, Brother McGrath was able to combine his art with religion and has been asked to create art for Catholic parishes and universities nationwide.

He usually paints with acrylics; however he has discovered that the Apple iPad proves to be a productive way of creating digital sketches for his Christmas cards.

Along with using new mediums for creating artwork, Brother McGrath is opening his mind to new ways of seeing aspects of Catholicism, creating a non-traditional graphic displaying Baby Jesus in the arms of Joseph.

“Mary gets enough attention, he was quoted. “I have a particular devotion to Joseph and fatherhood.”

Though, Brother McGraw’s devotion runs much deeper. He is ultimately interested in creating beauty through painting and storytelling; something he believes will save the world.

Choosing which world to live in

Mr. Damien Marley, age 33, is a Jamaican musical recording and performing artist who uses his reggae/dance hall style music to convey his message of brotherhood to his listeners.

Son of the late singer and songwriter, Bob Marley, and a practicing Rasta, Mr. Damien rejects the oppression of Western society, particularly the oppression of African slave descendants.

Rastas are members of the Rastafari Movement which arose in Jamaica during the 1930s. Not an organized religion, the Rastafari Movement encourages Rastas to find faith and inspiration within themselves, treating themselves as royalty, countering the inferiority they feel that dominant culture places on them.

“Don’t you ever give up, don’t you ever give in,” Mr. Damien sings in his song “We’re Gonna Make It” off his 2005 Welcome to Jamrock album. “Speak of love Jah [God’s] children and be proud of who you are.”

He continues, urging his listeners to concentrate on the brighter sides of life.

“It’s not too late,” he sings. “I know we’re gonna make it.”

Info on artists

To listen to Mr. Damien’s music, visit online at http://www.myspace.com/damianmarley.

To view Ms. Padmayogini’s blog and artwork, visit online at http://padmayogini.blogspot.com/.

To view a blog, video, and some of Brother McGrath’s paintings, visit online at http://www.visitationmonasteryminneapolis.org/2011/11/the-annunciation-advent-reflection-based-on-brother-mickeys-art/.

Occupy OC protest retail stores, employee comments

*This article was originally published by the Viễn Đông on 26 November 2011. It was reported by Bạch Vân.

http://www.viendongdaily.com/nhom-chiem-dong-bieu-tinh-o-cac-cua-hang-ban-le-WA6Om0BH.html

SANTA ANA, California—Making an effort to inform shoppers about corporate greed and political contributions, Occupy protests were held at WalMarts nationwide on 25 November 2011.

The protests even started earlier in the week as Orange County’s chapter of the group, Occupy Orange County (OC), specifically protested the early opening hours WalMart and several other retailers held in order to maximize profit on the busiest shopping day of the year-Black Friday.

Black Friday falls on the day after Thanksgiving, kicking off the Christmas shopping season. It is commonly known as “Black Friday” because it is the day retailers consider themselves “in the black,” or actually making profit.

The Occupy OC protesters believe that WalMart owners, who might have been at home with their families on Thanksgiving, are maximizing profit at the expense of WalMart employees who had to leave their families to go into work as early as 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night.

Occupy OC is part of the larger Occupy Movement that started with protests in New York City and San Francisco in September 2011, influenced by pro-democracy protests earlier this year in the Middle East and North Africa.

Along with the Occupy Movement’s physical stretch, even spreading to cities internationally, its demands are wide ranging. However, it has been reported that the protesters are calling for economic and social change.

“The underlying theme in the Occupation Movement is that large corporations and major banks have become corrupt and greedy, making large profits off the backs of the average American,” according to an Occupy OC issued statement. “The heads of corporations pay themselves huge bonuses while continuing to cut the labor force as well as wages.” 

Occupy OC also took issue with WalMart’s history of political contributions from elections campaigns to lobbyists, funding mostly Republicans.

As WalMart has locations all over the United States, the early hours and Occupy protesters are not exclusive to OC.

In fact, Occupy OC is acting in solidarity with Occupy groups nationwide who called 25 November 2011 “Blackout Black Friday” or “Don’t Occupy WalMart.”

New York WalMart, local WalMart

Ms. Jeanine Mucci, an employee at Plattsburgh, New York’s 24 hour WalMart told the Viễn Đông that she thinks stores should close by 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving to allow people time to enjoy the holiday.

However, she does understand that the shopping attached to Black Friday is “part of American culture.”

Ms. Mucci did not have to go into work on Thanksgiving night, though she is familiar with the process the store goes through to accommodate early shoppers.

“We’re so money hungry, we have to be open,” she said, adding that she spoke with a manager from another 24 hour WalMart in Long Island, New York about their early opening process.

Ms. Mucci said that the store was closed to customers at 9 p.m. It was opened again at 10 p.m., though only allowing 100 customers in at one time.

This process began after the 2008 death of a Long Island, New York WalMart employee who was trampled by shoppers eager to begin their bargain shopping.

As shoppers can outnumber discounted items, such an incident is unfortunate though not unlikely.

Back in Santa Ana, California’s WalMart Superstore, the mood around 10 a.m. was busy, though not chaotic.

One employee, Mr. Eduardo, told a customer that things had died down, but when he ended his shift at 3 p.m. Thanksgiving day, there were people with tents already camped outside.

When Mr. Eduardo started his shift at 3 a.m. on Black Friday, every cash register was open.

He made no mention of the Occupy OC protesters and there were none in sight, though there were many other retail stores open, with profits to maximize and customers to inform.

Artist views: Support for Occupy movement, opposition understood?

*This article was originally published by the Viễn Đông on 15 November 2011. It was reported by Vanessa White.

http://www.viendongdaily.com/quan-diem-nghe-si-ung-ho-thong-cam-phong-trao-chiem-dong-sQxBCLKU.html

LONG BEACH, California—The Occupy Movement has become fuel for artists, some of them seeking support for critiques that have awaited recognition.

J. Mal, a vocalist for the Long Beach based rock/hip-hop band MDMF, told the Viễn Đông his group created a song called, “Money Spent,” prior to the Occupy Movement, hoping to get people to think about what they spend their money on and why.

“I support it,” J. Mal said of the Occupy Movement, adding that he considers himself a part of a lower class, the 99 percent.

The Occupy Movement is an international movement that started in New York City (NYC) and San Francisco in September 2011. 

It was inspired by the “Arab Spring,” protests that started in Middle East and North African countries earlier this year, resulting in the end of decades-long dictatorships in Tunisia and Egypt.

Protesting social and economic inequality, the Occupy protesters consider themselves to be in the 99 percent of society that is oppressed by the 1 percent corporate elite.

“If I was in that position, I would be blind just like them,” J. Mal said, trying to understand the mindset of the 1 percent. “They’re so used to having so much.”

There are some people, like hip-hop mogul and businessman Mr. Russell Simmons, who have openly supported the 99 percent. However, most of the elite class has ignored the protesters calls for perceived equality.

“You’re that rich,” J. Mal said. “You can’t even spread the wealth?”

Journalist, unlikely supporter

In its coverage of the Occupy Movement, specifically the Occupy Wall Street encampment at NYC’s Zuccotti Park, mainstream media discredits the protesters as lacking a clear agenda, journalist, blogger, and author Mr. Robert Schiffman wrote in the Huffington Post.

He wrote that mainstream media reporters have visited the encampment with “preconceived ideas,” about the movement. Rather than listening to what the protesters were really saying, the media has set out to label and stereotype the protesters.

“What really ticks the media-cracy off, one suspects, is not that the Occupiers lack a coherent message, but that it won't fit into an eight second sound bite,” he wrote. “It won't even fit into a political platform, because it is not just about taking positions and articulating agendas. It is bigger than that.”

He continued, writing that the Occupy Movement is about everyone’s long felt economic difficulties, as well as spiritual collapse within the United States. Such a message will not likely come from the mainstream media.

“Unlike earlier protests, which looked to the press to get the word out, the Occupiers depend more on their own social media and networking,” Mr. Schiffman wrote. “They may be the first mass movement in history that has been able to bypass the press and frame their own message in their own terms.”

Plus, by framing their own message without “a list of fixed positions and proposals,” the 99 percent can make sure the 1 percent doesn’t have an easy target, Mr. Schiffman wrote. The movement is more open-minded.

A picture paints a thousand words

One of the most open-minded aspects of the Occupy Movement is the photography capturing the many perspectives attached to the images.

The group Street Art Utopia, whose motto is, “We declare the world as our canvas,” features a collection of photographs from the Occupy Movement protests on its website.

Some of the photographs are taken by independent news groups, while others are taken by individuals who feel the mainstream news media is not accurately reporting the movement’s message.

Many of the photos are images of protesters holding up signs like, “Did you lose your home? Wall Street stole it from you,” and “If only the war on poverty was a real war, then we would actually be putting money into it.”

One photograph, taken at Occupy London, displays an image of the Monopoly character sitting on top of a Monopoly board, his hat slightly extended out as though he is begging for money.

Monopoly is a board game, where the aim is for one person to gain as much in imaginable assets as they can, thus having a “monopoly” or domination over the board and declared the winner.

The image, created by Banksy, a London based graffiti artist and political activist, suggests that the dominating class, represented by banks and corporations, is seeking a handout.

Such a handout appears to be at the expense of the 99 percent.

Artist info

To listen to MDMF’s “Money Spent,” visit online at http://www.reverbnation.com/mdmf.

To view Street Art Utopia’s collection of photos on the Occupy Movement, visit online at http://www.streetartutopia.com/?p=4334.

Mexican drug war, arms deals affect U.S. policies, vice versa

*This article was originally published by the Viễn Đông on 13 November 2011. It was reported by Bạch Vân.

http://www.viendongdaily.com/ma-tuy-vo-khi-mexico-toi-lap-phap-hoa-ky-va-nguoc-lai-jy6HovLt.html

MEXICO CITY, Mexico—On 4 November 2011, the Viễn Đông shared Ms. Sandra Martinez’s story about her cousin becoming a victim of a Mexican drug cartel.

Ms. Martinez is a Huntington Beach, California resident who used to live in the border town of Nuevo Laredo in the Northern Mexican state, Tamaulipas. Prior to the Mexican military’s heavy presence in the town, the Zetas, a large Mexican drug cartel, were consistently seen in the Nuevo Laredo, using violent force to intimidate the residents and procure youth as personnel.

Original Zeta members were once part of the Mexican military. When they found out how much money they could make in the drug trade, they left the military and used their training to beat their competition and recruit younger members to work as spies and drug dealers.

The money made off the drug trade is the driving force behind it, California’s 34^th Senate District Senator Lou Correa told the Viễn Đông. He is of Mexican descent and still has family living in Central Mexico.

Senator Correa continued, saying that the violence is not contained to border towns and is seen in small villages throughout Mexico.

“People are afraid to walk the streets,” he said. “It’s a shame to see that.”

Senator Correa told the Viễn Đông that the money going into Mexico for drugs is creating major problems for Mexican democracy, yet certain legislation being pushed by U.S. voters could further contribute to violence in Mexico.

For instance, there has been ongoing debate in California on legalizing medical marijuana. If a proposition to legalize such marijuana appears on upcoming ballot measures and voters vote to legalize it, there will be more incentive for Mexican drug lords to sell it, thus making their cartels larger and stronger.

Senator Correa added that former U.S. policy for stopping drugs from entering the United States has contributed to all of Mexico being disrupted.

Ten to fifteen years ago, the U.S. federal government was concerned about drugs coming in through boats or planes to Miami by way of the Caribbean islands. The drugs had originally been sent to the islands from countries in South America, like Venezuela and Columbia.

By intervening in the drugs being sent to the United States from the Caribbean islands, the U.S. government forced drug traffickers to find alternate routes.  They went from flying and shipping drugs in and over waters, to transporting them inland through Mexico.

If the United States is successful in stopping drugs coming in from Mexico, drug traffickers will only seek alternative ways to get the drugs in, Senator Correa told the Viễn Đông.

They could even sneak drugs in directly through California or consider Canada as an option for entrance.

Brief history

Prior to Spanish colonization in 1521, Native American civilizations including the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec inhabited the area of Mexico.

African slaves were also brought to Mexico for labor, contributing to the blend of culture within the country.

In 1821, Mexico gained its independence from Spain, though civil wars and border disputes with the United States weakened the country. Texas, what is today California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma  were lost to the United States in 1848.

French forces invaded Mexico in 1861, staying until mid-1867.

The beginning of 20th century contained revolutions within Mexico, where its citizens revolted against the powers ruling the country. There was a period of economic growth from the middle to late century and then in 1982, the economy plummeted.

Difficult times followed, as people rebelled and foreign interests stepped in to help rescue the country. Some of the countries, like the United States, are still present, represented by their interests.

Mexican arms trade

The United States is still present as a foreign interest in Mexico, reportedly encouraging the sale of military-style weapons to Mexican drug cartels.

A report released in June 2011 by three U.S. Democrat Senators, including U.S. Senator representing California, Ms. Dianne Feinstein, found that 70 percent of the guns seized in Mexico between 2009 and 2010 came from the United States.

Drug cartels use these guns in the violence against Mexican citizens.

“The Americans began to sell arms as a voracious, ambitious industry,” Mexican President Felipe Calderón, who has been outspoken against arms trading between the United States and Mexico, said in 2010. “This [U.S. arms trading] often provokes conflicts in countries that are poor and less developed.”

He continued, saying that arms traffickers view selling guns to criminals as a business and international public opinion needs to unite against the “irresponsibility of the Americans.”

Senator Correa told the Viễn Đông that if the Mexican cartels did not receive guns from the United States, they would get it from countries like Russia, China, or Venezuela and there would still be carnage in Mexico.

Again, he said, the money involved in drug trading keeps the operation going.

“The best way to stop this is to make sure our kids don’t start,” he said, adding that teaching children to refuse drugs at an early age is an effective strategy in not only keeping them drug free and safe, but helping to end the violence inflicted by the Mexican drug war.