Reflexiones internacionalistas

I was quite doubtful about writing something about the current situation in Mexico but, due to the fact that we are now in the eye of the hurricane, and that the biggest nonsense I have read about my country regarding this issue has been coming from foreing opinions and pens, I decided to give my opinion, and some key elements that might help the world to understand why things are the way therey are. I would like to say that I am not willing to impose my view or to say that my truth goes above all, because I would be committing the same mistake that other 'opinion icons' have made with me, by discrediting whatever I say eventhough I am Mexican. It is obvious that what happened in Guerrero caused national outrage and a lot of condemnation from the internacional community, as well as certain actions such as trade agreement cancellations and even foreign investment withdrawals. These 'sanctions' came from the European Union, where most countries take the issue of h...

I have not written in English lately, and since it is important to keep languages fresh in my mind,  I decided to write somehting about my country, something positive and that makes us proud to be Mexicans and, proud to be of Mexico. My country currently needs a lot of positive vibes from the rest of the world due to the beyond difficult situation we are facing to the inside of the country. I know that Mexico has many economic, social and moreover, political problems however, we have something that many countries do not: We try to stand up against problems and in general, be positive while we are in (seriously) desperate situations. Mexico will be changing soon, that is for  sure. My entry is not to overwhelm my readers with the problems we have here. I would like to use this space to talk about a tradition that has been with us for many years, and that is considered as part of Human Heritage for UNESCO. I will present you the Day of the Dead, and precisely today beca...

Lately, I have not written anything about  economy or politics in China, but due to the recent events being held in Hong Kong, I believe that it is important to say something about it. Since there are many aspects involved in this matter, I will limit myself to what I know about Hong Kong, what I saw while I was there, and obviously, my arguments related to the matter of why Hong Kong, in my opinion, should remain independent in most of its affairs. I will first talk about what is Hong Kong to me, and how it is regarded by the international community in general. Second, I will explain why Hong Kong is unique, particularly in economic and political aspects. Third, I will focus on the part of the possible implications if Hong Kong is put under stricter controls by the Chinese Communist Party. Lastly, I will conclude by relating the situation given in Hong Kong to others seen in China regarding protests, (like the one held in Tibet on 2008) in the sense of Hong Kong as another po...

I was a bit reluctant towards writing something in detail about a country of the Middle East. Outside from Syria, I have not really spent much time in reading in detail about the countries, or their history, except for the part of religion and how Islam affects people's lives in the region. This time, my surruonding circumstances and people have brought me to put the issue of Lebanon into the attention of my readers, because I believe that what is happening there should be put onto the world's attention. Lebanon is of the smallest countries in the Middle East, and by far, of the most complex ones. The country has a long history of wars ranging from being 'created' by the agreement between the European powers, to the fact of suffering a civil war in the last decades of the twentieth century. Lebanon  has a unique feature in regard to diversity: it is the only country in the region where people with different religious backgrounds have had a reasonably peaceful cohab...

Actualmente se sigue hablando mucho del tema del calentamiento global y de su consecuencia, el cambio climático. No es un tema de tanta afluencia en la agenda internacional como lo era en los años anteriores a la culminación del Protocolo de Kioto, cuyos resultados se analizarían en el 2012. Es un proyecto que data de los noventa, gracias a que la comunidad internacional comenzó a preocuparse por la detección de exceso de O3, dióxido de carbono y clorofluorocarbonos en la atmósfera, los cuales estaban (y siguen) deteriorando la capa de ozono que protege a la tierra de los rayos agresivos del sol (como los ultravioleta C).  En este artículo, primero explicaré de qué se trata en términos generales el fenómeno del calentamiento global y su consecuencia, el cambio climático. En segundo lugar explicaré cómo y de qué manera afecta esto al Tíbet y qué consecuencias puede traer, y en tercer lugar porqué los mecanismos de cooperación en este tema del medio ambiente han sido muy poco...

Apologies to all of my readers for being this absent. A conference about Syria has taken most of my time as well as my everyday job. I decided to write about a regional topic: Mexican immigrants in the United States. I hope it is enjoyable to read and that it also gives some ideas of why Mexicans are different in the good way, and why we decide to flee, as well as what distinguishes us as immigrants.  There has been going a lot in the United States regarding immigration reforms. It is obvious that at least 70% of those are directed towards the issue of illegal immigration coming from Latin America, and most specifically, from Mexico. It is reasonable and absolutely logical that the United States wants to put some restrictions in order to establish clear limits regarding immigration rules. Nevertheless, there are different ways and obviously, there are different people.  Democrats have been, up to some extent, quite flexible regarding the new measures they seek to impl...

Tsering Woeser, la escritora, poeta y activista tibetana fue puesta bajo arresto domiciliario el día de ayer por las autoridades chinas en el marco de la visita a China de John Kerry, Secretario de Estado de Estados Unidos. Es obvio que no solamente a los activistas del Tíbet les parece esta acción como algo 'predecible' o 'de esperarse', sino que a otros analistas les puede parece como una medida desesperada por parte del Partido Comunista para silenciar a la escritora (de nuevo) o màs bien, de cortar todo contacto posible con Estados Unidos en este tema tan delicado de la situación en Tíbet. Los estudiosos sobre China saben que en términos generales, cualquiera que atente contra el orden público en cualquiera de sus formas (denunciando abusos, corrupción, violación de derechos humanos o cualquier tipo de queja) cae en la càrcel, o en el arresto domiciliario, en el exilio forzado o en los casos ya bastante críticos y en el perfil más bajo posible, sí es de esperar...

First of all, I am sorry for taking so long to write again. Working as a full time researcher and trying to get into a university for studying my PhD, has been keeping me quite busy. I barely have time to listen to my thoughts now. Now, let's go to the substantial part of this entry.  In the frame of the 25th Anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre, the elections in Egypt, the crisis in Ukraine and  the ongoing problems in my homeland and elsewhere, I decided to write about an issue that is important to all nations and peoples on this world: historical memory. Up to this point, and after meeting many people from nations and regions that I never imagined I would ever come across with, I have seen certain patterns in some of them that have either conducted them to development and progress or, on the opposite, that have led them to disaster and, condemned them to an under developed status for a long time.  The main idea in the whole concept of historical memory, in my vie...

Muchos me han preguntado el porqué me llama la atención el tema de Tíbet y todo aquello alrededor de él, así como porqué me involucré con la causa. La realidad es que sé del Tíbet desde hace muchísimos años, casi desde mi niñez gracias a que una de mis tías me regaló un libro de la UNESCO en el que había fotos de los lugares en Asia que se consideran Patrimonios de la Humanidad, y ahí me topé con Lhasa y con otros lugares que me hicieron soñar con conocerlos algún día. En algún momento recuerdo también haber escuchado de Tíbet en los noticieros y desde luego de los levantamientos en 2008. En este lado del mundo, y más específicamente en México, muchos aún relacionan el Tíbet, su estilo de vida y su gente con el tema del budismo, y en realidad es producto tanto de la distancia como del tema de la información. El día que fui al evento de Su Santidad el Dalai Lama también me di cuenta que hay bastantes personas que aún ignoran o no saben mucho en términos generales sobre la situación...