[PCASC] Update: Mexican Election Fraud, Venezuela Invasion Video Game...
author: info@pcasc.net
PCASC/CBLOC Update
1) **Video Game Simulates Invasion of Venezuela**
2) **Take Action to Support Democracy in Mexico**
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1) Bono Financed Video Game Simulates Invasion of
Venezuela, Solidarity
Network Responds
The Venezuela Solidarity Network launched a
public campaign on July 5th
(Venezuelan Independence Day) to ask Bono of U2
and his associates to stop
the production of the game, "Mercenaries 2",
which is designed to be a
virtual invasion of Venezuela. To learn more,
please read on:
Some recent articles:
World News Network
 link to cgi.wn.com
The Independent / Belfast Telegraph
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=697665
Venezuelanalysis also has a useful version of the
press release, pdf file,
and text of the letter to Bono on its site:
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1770
---- PRESS RELEASE----
VENEZUELA SOLIDARITY NETWORK
Washington, DC
For Release on July 8, 2006
For more information contact:
Shirley Pate at 202-277-8252
U2'S BONO BACKS INSIDIOUS PROPAGANDA:
VIDEOGAME WITH VENEZUELA INVASION THEME
WASHINGTON D.C. - U2's Bono, well recognized for
his campaigns to reduce
poverty and treat AIDS in Africa is backing a
videogame which promotes the
invasion and destruction of Venezuela in order to
check "a power hungry
tyrant" who has "seized control of Venezuela and
her oil supply." Bono
has failed to respond to concerns raised by the
Venezuelan Solidarity
Network about his funding of this project.
"Mercenaries 2: World in Flames," created by Los
Angeles based
Pandemic/Bioware Studios, simulates a mercenary
invasion of Venezuela in
the year 2007. Pandemic is a subcontractor for
the US Army and CIA funded
Institute for Creative Technologies, which uses
Hollywood techniques to
mount war simulations in California's high desert
in order to conduct
military training. "Mercenaries 2: World in
Flames" simulates destruction
in downtown Caracas, and promises to leave no
part of Venezuela untouched.
Elevation Partners is an investment firm that
Bono helped create in order
to exploit marketing opportunities between U2 and
its fans, including
projects from Pandemic/Bioware Studios. Pandemic
states that as a partner
in Elevation Partners, Bono "has visibility into
all projects at Pandemic
and Bioware."
Pandemic's target market is young men of military
recruitment age and
indeed this is not Pandemic's first military
adventure. MSNBC reported
that the videogame "'Full Spectrum Warrior' was
created through the
Institute for Creative Technologies in Marina Del
Rey, Calif., a $45
million endeavor formed by the Army five years
ago to connect academics
with local entertainment and video game
industries. The institute
subcontracted work to Los Angeles based Pandemic
Studios."
( http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3131181#storyContinued)
One cannot escape the irony that this week, on
July 5th, Venezuela
celebrated its independence -- just one day after
the US celebrated its
own. The most enduring aspect of an independent
country is assertion of
its sovereignty and demand that the world
recognize international laws
protecting that sovereignty. Yet, amid
relentless US threats against
Venezuela, a US-based company, Pandemic, which
collaborates with the US
Army to promote war, plans to market a videogame
which advocates a most
violent violation of Venezuela's sovereignty.
Although Bono remains silent on the matter and
Pandemic insists that
"Mercenaries 2: World in Flames" is "a work of
fictional entertainment"
and "Venezuela was chosen for the setting of
Mercenaries 2 (because it) is
a fascinating and colorful country full of
wonderful architecture,
geography and culture," members of the Venezuela
Solidarity Network are
appalled by the game's openly racist,
interventionist attitude. Says
Chuck Kaufman, of Alliance for Global Justice,
"if it's 'just a game' and
it's all about selecting fascinating and colorful
locales, why didn't
Pandemic select Dublin or Washington, D.C.?
Because people would be
outraged, that's why. Pandemic is simply
capitalizing on negative and
inaccurate U.S. press stories about Venezuela and
its leader, Hugo Chavez,
in order to make a quick buck. It's another
piece of anti-Venezuelan
propaganda that serves only the U.S. military,
pure and simple."
Gunnar Gundersen of the Oregon Bolivarian Circle
says, "We have family and
friends in Venezuela and many of us have walked
and stayed in the places
featured in the war game. To us, these are not
just clever abstract
pictures. They are scenes of a place we consider
our second home. Please
try to imagine how Venezuelans must feel viewing
a bulky, blonde, military
man laying waste to their country, a country that
is finally rising above
a 500-year history of oppression and exploitation
by foreign powers."
The Venezuelan Solidarity Network calls for Bono,
who has appealed to the
world on many occasions for peace and poverty
reduction, to apply those
same values to block the manufacture and
distribution of this videogame.
For more informration please visit
http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/.
2) The Mexican Presidential Election: Union and
Community Activists Demand
a Full Recount
Here is a good update and action alert form the
United Electrical, Radio
and Machine Workers of America (UE) on the
Mexican election, including
statements from the Mexican labor movement and
other perspectives not
represented in the U.S. media:
Dear Union Brothers and Sisters and other
activists and friends,
I know that many of you have been following the
roller-coaster Mexican
election and are concerned about its outcome.
Although the press in this
country acts as if it is over and that Calderon
has won, that is simply
not the case. We will provide extensive coverage
and analysis in the
next issue of MLNA later this month, which you
may view on-line at
www.ueinternational.org
< http://www.ueinternational.org/>. Meanwhile, I
wanted to provide you with three statements --
from the Mexican Action
Network Against Free Trade (RMALC); from the
National Association of
Democratic Lawyers (ANAD); and from the National
Union of Workers, (UNT)
-- which provide a very different perspective.
Please help circulate
these statements and take the time to send a
letter to the Electoral
Tribunal -- the body that actually declares a
winner distinct from the
Federal Electoral Institute IFE that conducted
the voting -- urging a
recount in an open transparent manner.
In Solidarity,
Robin Alexander
Director of International Affairs
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of
America (UE)
/*Letter Requesting recount
*Many organizations in Mexico have called for a
vote by vote recount.
Tom Loudon of the Alliance for Responsible Trade
has sent out an alert to
US organizations, explaining: "Our colleagues in
the Mexican Action
Network on Free Trade have suggested a
"cyberaction" through which we can
show solidarity with efforts to win a recount of
the Presidential vote.
They suggest we send messages to the Electoral
Tribunal (the body that
actually declares a winner distinct from the
Federal Electoral Institute
IFE that conducted the voting) urging a recount
in an open transparent
manner." * *He has composed a draft letter,
adopted from the message in
Spanish sent by RMALC and designed for Mexican
citizens which I have
modified somewhat. Please send it or draft your
own!
*Draft Message:
*Lic. José Jacinto Díaz Careaga Comunicación
Social < csocial@trife.org.mx>
As a person deeply concerned that elections in
the U.S. and elsewhere are
truly democratic, I am writing to express my
concern that the outcome of
Mexico's Presidential election be certified in a
transparent manner.
Therefore I urge you to order the District
Councils of the federal
election institute to hold a recount of all votes
and all ballot boxes.
The only way to be certainty that the election is
fair and democratic is
to conduct a recount in the presence of
representatives of all the
parties and independent citizen monitors. There
is international
precedent for such measures, as a vote by vote
recount was conducted in
Costa Rica and Italy to ensure credibility and
legitimacy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: *Mexican Action Network Against Free
Trade* (RMALC)
To: all partner and solidarity organizations
Mexico's Election Day is not over and there is
still is no winner in the
Presidential race.
There is an ongoing effort to create the illusion
that the election is
over and that Calderon is the winner. Part of
the strategy being used to
promote this illusion is to have foreign leaders
can to congratulate him
on his 'victory'.
According to electoral law, also known as the
Federal Code of Electoral
Procedures and Institutions, the presidential
election process is over
when, in compliance with Article 174(6), "The
concluding stage of
electoral validation happens when the Superior
Court of the Electoral
Tribunal, renders* *a verdict based on the final
count and a declaration
of validity of the election and the President
elect" (1). This decision
has not yet been issued. The declarations of the
Councilor President of
the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) are being
manipulated. His role is
only to provide the result of his counting of the
votes, not to declare
the winner. As previously stated, this is the
role of the Tribunal
which, declares the winner after a revision and
resolution of all
disputes.
Therefore, it is not only imprecise, but also
openly illegitimate for a
presidential candidate or institution other than
the Electoral Court, and
even worse, for the spokesperson of a foreign
government, to congratulate
a candidate or imply that a particular candidate
has won.
As is well known, the result of the initial count
between the two leading
candidates was extremely close, and questioning
of these results has been
presented to the extent allowed by law. Also,
diverse group of social
organizations have presented the demand for
unrestricted
compliance to the electoral process. *We,
therefore, endorse a
vote-by-vote and box-by-box recount with the wide
participation of civil
society*.
For these legal, ethical, and social reasons, we
ask for your extensive
solidarity regarding the carrying out of
democratic electoral processes
in Mexico. As Mexican civil society, we ask that
you assist with
spreading this information and pressuring your
government to abstain from
making any political statements and to respect
the Mexican
electoral process and law.
With respect and solidarity,
Executive Committee of the Mexican Action Network
against Free Trade
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From ANAD:
*To Public Opinion in Mexico and in all of the
countries of the world:*
The presidential election in México is not yet
over, nor is the IFE the
authority which determines the final results, and
least of all is the
president elect Calderón.
On the 6th of July, the Federal Electoral
Institute (IFE) announced that
Felipe Calderón won the vote count performed by
the IFE by 0.58%.
However, it failed to clarify that such a result
is provisional, not
definitive. This is because the right to give
the definitive result in
the presidential election belongs exclusively,
and in a manner that
excludes all others, to the Superior Court of the
Federal Electoral
Tribunal.
Article 99 of the Constitution provides that:
"The challenges which are
presented regarding the election of the President
of the Republic shall
be finally resolved by the Superior Court." And
only this (entity):
"Will make the _final count_ in the election of
the President of the
Republic, once the challenges which may have been
filed are resolved, and
will proceed to formulate the declaration of
validity of the election and
the declaration of validity of the President
elect, with respect to the
candidate who shall have obtained the greater
number of votes."
The Supreme Law of Mexico specifies that the
Superior Court of the
Federal Electoral Tribunal is the only body which
can give the definitive
result of the presidential election, after
attending to the challenges
which are presented on the 9th and 10th of July,
and making the final and
definitive count of the votes. The same
constitution determines that
until the resolution of the Superior Court
issues, the candidates are
considered to be contenders.
Nobody may proclaim his victory, and even less so
when the difference,
according to the IFE, is only 0.58% of a total of
100%. Therefor, neither
Calderón has won the election, nor may he
proclaim himself president
elect of México, because the challenges can
change the result given by
the IFE.
*Because of this, we demand of the PAN, of
Calderón, of the business
leaders and of those who govern México and the
world: abstain from
recognizing Calderón explicitely or implicitely
as the winner of the
election or as president elect out of respect for
the Constitution of
México and for the free will and sovereignty of
the people of Mexico.
Sincerely, the National Association of Democratic
Lawyers (ANAD)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From the UNT:
*National Union of Workers
MANIFESTO TO THE NATION
*
*TOTAL RESPECT FOR CITIZEN'S VOTES AND A SOLUTION
FOR TO LABOR AND SOCIAL
CONFLICTS
*
By turning out en masse to vote on July 2nd,
Mexican citizens confirmed
their commitment to democracy and their desire
that the problems of our
country should be resolved by peaceful means in
an environment of
plurality and tolerance.
We are certain that irrespective of who assumes
the Presidency of the
Republic, the underlying problems of the country
will continue to worsen
and the failure to resolve them could generate
serious conflicts.
In order to begin, we demand that the present
government reach an
agreement with regard to the current conflicts
which today raise the
question of respect for union autonomy: the
mineworkers, the townspeople
of San Salvador Atenco, the workers at the
colegio de bachilleres and the
teachers of Oaxaca.
This would be the first signal of détente, the
value of which will
increase if we take into account that in the
background, at least in the
mineworkers' conflict, there is the issue of the
relationship that should
exist between social organizations and the
government.
Consequently, for the UNT, an inviolable
principle is respect for the
popular will expressed in the ballot boxes, and
therefore we demand of
the electoral authorities and of the federal
government a posture which
is impartial and in accordance with the law which
guarantees that all of
the votes cast by the electors shall be respected
and that complaints and
observations of the contending parties shall be
dealt with in a timely
fashion
It is necessary to refocus the electoral process
and leave it free of any
doubts, conducting it under conditions
transparency, certainty and
legitimacy. However, there is a lack of political
will that there should
be certainty that the votes cast and those
counted coincide. This is an
opportunity for the electoral bodies to confirm
their institutional
character and credibility and provide vote counts
which are
unobjectionable to the citizens.
Once the electoral process is concluded, the new
government will be based
only upon 35% of those showing an electoral
preference and with thirty
million Mexicans who did not go to vote.
Democratic governability cannot
be constructed upon such a narrow base.
In order to promote the easing of political
tension and stability, it is
necessary for society to take the political
initiative to avoid a
totalitarian outcome, and to initiate a process
of consensus-building
with all of the political and social forces in
order to tackle a social
agenda for the democratic transformation of the
country.
In order to promote the easing of political
tension and strengthen
stability, it is necessary for society to take
the political initiative in
order to avoid a totalitarian outcome to the
current political crisis.
For us there is no doubt about the urgency in
constructing a different
relationship between the government and society,
starting with a
satisfactory response to the social demands and
the recognition of the
autonomy, the independence and the plurality of
union, farm worker and
community organizations and strict application of
the law.
Autonomy, independence, transparency, democracy
and plurality are, on the
other hand, the foundation for strengthening the
unity we have built in
recent years and which today is expressed in
groupings such as the UNT,
through which we promote actions and proposals in
order to solve the
problems of the Nation.
Because of this, another task of organizations
such as the UNT and other
civil and community organizations is to confront
this situation by
promoting dialogue among all of the political and
social actors in order
to achieve the democratization of the nation and
the world of work
through social and democratic reform of the state
and through a new
accord or social contract which is inclusive and
democratic.
Only in this manner will it be possible to
overcome the risks that
surround the current electoral process and
establish the basis for a
nation which is sustainable and supported by
values such as democracy,
justice and equity.
*"For the Self-Sufficiency of the Working Class"
*The National Union of Workers (UNT)
*********************************
Spread the word about the PCASC/CBLOC list, a
great way to keep up to
date on news and events relating to Latin
America, trade, immigrant and
workers' rights in Oregon.
The more people we have on this list, the more
calls we can generate to
politicians like Ron Wyden and Earl Blumenauer
every time they think that
it's safe to vote for a free trade deal with a
country like Oman or
Colombia.
Encourage your friends, neighbors and co-workers
to sign up at www.pcasc.net
Portland Central America Solidarity Committee
(PCASC)
and Cross Border Labor Organizing Council (CBLOC)
311 N. Ivy St., Portland, Oregon 97227
Tel: 503-236-7916
E-mail: info@pcasc.net www.pcasc.net
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