Mexico’s Critical Moment

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

by Laura Carlsen

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0804-20.htm

<snip>

They could be in for a long haul. The Federal Court has until the end of the month of August to decide on a legal course of action to resolve the controversy.

But those calling for a “ballot by ballot, polling place by polling place” recount demonstrated their determination and endurance on July 31 when some two million people waited for hours packed in the plaza to hear López Obrador speak at the third “informative assembly.” When people visibly affected by the heat of the midday sun began to leave the plaza before López Obrador arrived, others urged them “not to cave in” and offered water. For many it's a matter of pride—both to defend the candidate they believe really won the elections and to resist what they view as another attempt by the rich and powerful to cheat them out of their just dues.

Meanwhile, pressures from the conservative wing to declare Felipe Calderón president-elect have also intensified, but through very different tactics. Calderón's National Action Party (PAN) has been meeting with editorial boards of major foreign media and mobilizing groups of some of the nation's most powerful businessmen. Calderón told a group of foreign correspondents that he will not go head-to-head with López Obrador in the streets since his opponent has a distinct advantage in mobilizing masses, but instead will defend his election through other means. The PAN plans to publicly present tally sheets and Calderón continues to announce policy decisions among specific sectors as if he were already the president-elect.

It's no coincidence that the López Obrador supporters are in the streets and the effort to declare Calderón president is being orchestrated in corporate boardrooms and editorial meetings with Mexico's media monopolies and foreign press...

[Vincardog]

1. excuse me. Shouldn't the winner have a distinct advantage in

mobilizing masses of voters?

I'm just saying

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

2. Makes it pretty obvious who won in my opinion.

[Union Thug]

3. I wish americans showed the same passion. The Reign of BushCo never

would have happened, and we would be enjoying Gore's second term right now, instead waiting for Armageddon.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

4. We seem to be following the example set by...

...the compliant/self-deluding German citizenry of 1933-45, and I worry that we may well end up paying a similar price.

[Vincardog]

5. I am giving this country 1 last chance. November is it

Progressive Democrats must win TOO BIG TO CHEAT or I am looking for another country.

BTW David Van OS could use your support A progressive PEOPLES LAWER as TX AG will be a husg kick in the NeoConvicts teeth <http://www.cafepress.com/vanosfortexasag/1169776 >

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

6. I would expect BushCo will be looking to close...

...the window of opportunity for legitimate expatriation before too much longer. I'm guessing forfeiture of the bulk of your personal assets as well as a nightmarish maze of bureaucratic red tape to discourage would be expats. Most people waited too long in Nazi Germany and were left with no practical way of escaping.

The final transition phase from whatever the hell our nation is now, to a purely fascist totalitarian state, will be shockingly rapid. The masses will be numbed by it.

[cenacle]

7. I'm sometimes not sure

what to do with comments like the above. Is it a fascist state now? No, I don't think so. We are not totally shut out of the airwaves, we are not shuttled to deathcamps. Nobody is wearing a yellow star. I don't know that is the path here. Would a Hitler work now? I don't think so, I think much subtler would have to happen, a figure not so obviously monstrous and terrifying. Is that Bush? I don't know. He doesn't scare me per se, even his criminal cabal don't. I think where fascism happens is in the daily singular actions of ordinary people. Are we more estranged from each other? Do we see each other with fear? Is there reason to wonder about a stranger's intent if you fell on your city's street?

Leaders come and go. The live, they rise, they die. They matter, sometimes more, sometimes little. I think fascism when it really takes root is what you see in the mirror, and what you don't see anymore. What goes little by little, day by day.

Maybe not political enough an assessment, but I see too much policy debate, too much dipping into Orwellian metaphor instead of honest talk. Fascism, now? No. Not yet. Maybe never.

Maybe worse. Maybe the institution of the mediocre. How dreams go vanilla not just for a person but for a culture, for a world. What waits down that road far enough.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

8. Not a fascist state now?...

...I suppose it depends on what one accepts as evidence of the fascist state. I think a fairly compelling case can be constructed maintaining that, if we're not there yet, we have clearly been accelerated in that direction under BushCo:

http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

Was Hitler regarded as "obviously monstrous and terrifying" by the German citizenry during and/or after his rise to power? Maybe, I don't know. I'm inclined to think not.

You don't see good reason/justification for the "dip into Orwellian metaphor" given all that's taken place under this administration over the last 5 years? It's dishonest to do so?

Some good examples of "honest talk" as opposed to "Orwellian metaphor" would be what?

On edit:

Welcome to DU and your thoughtful post is sincerely appreciated.

[Union Thug]

9. The other part of the equation is that fascism isn't necessarily Hitler's

Nazi jamboree. It is a very specific political ideology that many right wingers in the United States of America supported before Hitler muddied the waters with all those dead Jews. And it has to do with Corporate and Government interests merging. So, yes, I would say we are at LEAST in a transitional period.

[cenacle]

10. Thanks for the welcome...

though I have been reading and posting here for a couple of years. Bush's presidency has been a nightmare, but it has also been a failure to alter things permanently on the domestic and world scale in the way desired by the PNAC. Far from taking over this new century, the US has instead weakened its position in terms of stature and respect. We are laughed at as some kind of dangerous, mentally impaired bully, lumbering around but with no skill or subtlety. Other countries allie against us, and plan ways to keep us at bay. The Iraq occupation is a bloody farce that will be ended this fall or soon by politicians who no longer believe that Bush is good for their long term stays in office. He tried to destroy Social Security and failed. He tried to change the Constition regarding gay marriage and failed. He tried to ruin the UN and failed.

So much damage has been done but I believe the basic legal structure of this country is intact and it can be repaired. These years will pass and life will go on. I'd bet Bush in a few years will be simply laughed at, probably end up selling jewelry on tv, or writing about how he drank his blind fuzzy way though his presidency and he's so sorry.

Orwell's book 1984 was more a parable and a warning than a piece of literal prophecy. He foresaw how power could take over and end the privacy of individuals, even come to own the truth of every day. I don't believe he would look at this world and say his book had somehow come to pass. I do think he'd be in best reportorial style on the front lines in Iraq, reporting outside the Green Zone at peril to his life. He was a man of action, one to try and see things how they are and do something toward telling the story and working toward better days.

One last thought: I was a young adult in the '80s in the last years of the Cold War, when it was still a scary real thing, and I remember hearing that owning a photocopier in the Soviet Union was illegal. One dissenter reaching another was a threat. As long as I can sit here and type these thoughts to you on this powerful personal computer and send them all over the world electronically I believe things are still hopeful. I know the threats lay everywhere as much as the next person knows it, but I also know we have the numbers and the will to save our race and the planet as a whole from awful, passing threats like George W. Bush. This is faith but it keeps me going.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

11. It's important to maintain faith...

...I try to as well, there is no good alternative to fighting the good fight.

Thanks again for your thoughtful posts.

[LUHiWY]

12. Denial?

Economic fascism


As a political reality...it operates wearing a disguise of "democracy" and "capitalism".

Many are active proponents of it....and most at least participate in it...due to the obvious economic and political advantages...not to mention the social pressures involved.

Proponents deny the reality of what they are engaged in...and prefer calling it something else.

It occurs because the majority of the general populace are willing to accept the facade that is presented to them....allowing them to avoid the necessity of acknowledging the real structure behind it.

Often economic facism morphs into or walks hand in hand with the more widely recognized militaristic fascism as seen during the WWII years.


http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=denial


Denial....

3. a) A refusal to accept or believe something, such as a doctrine or belief.

b) Psychology. An unconscious defense mechanism characterized by refusal to acknowledge painful realities, thoughts, or feelings.

4. The act of disowning or disavowing; repudiation.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

13. I believe there is a great deal...

...of denial in the U.S. on many issues, not the least of which are, election fraud, the truth about 9-11, our continuing slide toward the fascist state, the truth about our reasons for invading Iraq, etc.

It's a natural human defense mechanism for coping, none of us are immune.