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CounterPunch
October
10, 2002
Chicanos and
Chicanas say:
"No
a la Guerra"
by JORGE MARISCAL
Once thought to be among the most uncritically
patriotic of communities, Mexican Americans created a massive
antiwar movement during the Viet Nam period. Since that time,
corporate and government managers have sought to erase this history
in order to replace it with a passive "Hispanic" identity
that fits well with conservative national agendas. On the threshold
of another unnecessary war, the spirit of Chicano/a progressive
politics has reappeared. In just two days, over two hundred people
of Mexican descent signed an open letter to Congress demanding
that members vote "no" on granting the Bush administration
unlimited war powers. The letter also demanded that the nation's
priorities be shifted from a growing militarism to issues of
health care, education, low-cost housing, and other social needs.
The letter states: "As a community
that has sacrificed many of its young in U.S. wars, we resent
the campaign of fear and prejudice being waged by the Bush administration
to justify militaristic foreign and domestic policies and so
we must speak out. We believe there is a need for disarmament,
especially the elimination of weapons of mass destruction. But
the U.S. is the only country capable of destroying the globe
with its weapons. Let disarmament begin at home." It was
distributed to key members of Congress, read at an antiwar rally
in San Diego, and published in several Latino newspapers. Although
recent antiwar rallies have included few people of color, Latinos
are organizing in their communities and putting pressure on elected
representatives. In Los Angeles, Congresswoman Hilda Solis reported
that over ninety percent of her constitutents were opposed to
Bush's war plans. Included among the signatures on the Chicano
antiwar letter were the mayor of Huntington Park, CA., a councilwoman
from Hanford, CA., dozens of Chicano/a academics, students, and
working people. At an antiwar rally in San Diego last Sunday,
one speaker reminded the crowd that Mexican American soldiers
have won more Congressional Medals of Honor than any other ethnic
group. "We honor that service," he said, "but
we will no longer sacrifice our son and daughters in useless
wars."
On October 8, I was interviewed as co-author
of the letter on Radio Bilingue, a Spanish station broadcasting
in San Francisco but heard throughout live throughout California
and as far south as Guadalajara, Mexico. Callers were almost
unanimously against a first strike in Iraq. Speaking in Spanish,
one elderly lady pointed out that Iraq has biological weapons
because the U.S. supplied them. She then asked "Que mueve
a Bush?," that is, what are Bush's true motives? Another
caller asked "Para que vamos a mandar a nuestro hijos a
morir en tierra ajena?" "Why should we send our children
to die in a foreign land?" Bush may get his war resolution
but support for his policies is weak in grass-roots Latino communities
poised to raise their voices for peace as they did a generation
ago.
Jorge Mariscal
is a Viet Nam veteran who teaches at the University of California,
San Diego, and is a member of Project YANO, an antimilitarism
organization working to demilitarize California's public schools.
He can be reached at: gmariscal@ucsd.edu
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