Voices of Mexico no. 72
Our Voice
Two years after the invasion of Iraq, the horizons of the international order continue to be somber, and the preventive security defense policy imposed by Washington does not seem to have a successful future. Last July 7 the world was once again shaken by evidence that the terrorist threat has not abated. The London bombings demonstrate that the prolonged military action in Asia and the Middle East and the insistence on fighting the terrorist threat mainly militarily have only brought more death and destruction. The situation demands a comprehensive analysis of terrorism and the fight against it with the aim not of resolving it on the military front, but mainly in the sphere of policy and diplomacy, of development and international cooperation. Also, the gravity of the terror imposed by the bombings demands a true comprehension of the phenomenon on the part of the states involved, not from irreducible or fundamentalist positions, but by getting at the origin of the problems that have caused such profound polarization. For example, if there is no rapid, effective solution to the bloody differences between Israel, Palestine and a large part of the Arab world, there will be no way out, and bombs, occupying troops and blood-letting will continue to be international frontpage news. The military might and aggressive, unilateral foreign policy imposed by the U.S. government —to which the governments of Tony Blair in Great Britain and José María Aznar in Spain added their support, albeit with only minimal backing from their citizenries— have constituted the main obstacle facing those who have come out for the discussion of peaceful, multilateral alternatives. Perhaps the first premise that should be examined is if we are really witnessing a total war, as President Bush says, or it is a grave international conflict that must certainly be attacked from a totally different strategic perspective. In that sense, this conflict should be dealt with from the standpoint of the action of rational state actors and that of non-state actors who, precisely because they are anonymous, threaten to strike at the most sensitive part of democratic countries, that is, social consensus.
Editorial
Our Voice
José Luis Valdés-Ugalde
Politics
Reforming the United Nations
Adolfo Aguilar Zinser
Mexico’s Voted Transition Part 1
Mauricio Merino
Society
On the Pathways of Indigenous Chiapas
Mario Humberto Ruz
Water and Mexico’s National Security
José Luis Piñeyro
Understanding Mexico’s Water Crisis
Gabriela Angeles Serrano
Economy
NAFTA and the Mexican Economy 1994-2005
Juan Carlos Moreno Brid
Pablo Ruiz Nápoles
North American Issues
Immigration Consensus Needed For Guest Worker-Amnesty Bills
Mónica Verea
Frankness and Cooperation In Mexico-U.S. Relations
Leonardo Curzio
Museums
The Museum of Mayan Medicine
Rafael Alarcón
Ecology
The Lacandon Jungle Bulwark of Biodiversity
Osiris Gaona
Rodrigo A. Medellín
In Memoriam
Adolfo Aguilar Zinser And Mexican Politics
Sergio Aguayo Quezada
Adolfo Aguilar Zinser A Man Faithful To His Causes
Alejandro Hope Pinson
Experiences With Adolfo Aguilar Zinser
Cassio Luiselli Fernández
Adolfo Aguilar Zinser Generous Intelligence
José Luis Valdés-Ugalde
Reviews
One Wound for Another -Una herida por otra Testimonios de Latin@s in the U.S. Through Cyberspace (11 de septiembre de 2001-11 de marzo de 2002)
So They Won’t Just Be Blown by the Wind
Elaine Levine
The Outlines of a Complex World
Marisa Belausteguigoitia
The Splendor of Mexico
The Ancient Cities of the Usumacinta Notes from an Old Field Diary
Daniel Juárez Cossío
ZooMAT, Much More than a Zoo
Becky Álvarez
Art and Culture
The World of Textiles in the Chiapas Highlands
José Rubén Orantes García
The Myth of Creation and Health In San Juan Chamula
Jaime Tomás Page Pliego
Amber from Chiapas. A Gem with History
Lynneth S. Lowe