Democracy is a very complex, but oversimplified word. Yet there is an element of irony when the word is used by those who are in positions of power to rule the people, namely politicians. If democracy is for the people, then it is a word to be defined by each individual and group. Sadly, “rule by the people” is often “rule by some people over all other people,” as opportunities for those living in the United States are still unequal as many groups continue to remain marginalized.
Artificial categories are used to devalue the life experiences of many and to ignore their contributions to our society. Part of this is because the reality that the current consensus regarding democracy is the “Washington Consensus,” which is promoted from the top down through a vast army of universities, intellectuals, think tanks politicians, militaries, corporations, NGOs and the media. With the conformity of sound coming from the top-down, the vibrations and static tend to stomp out the voices speaking from the bottom up. One such voice will be speaking this Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Graduate Life Center at Donaldson Brown (room F). The speaker, Maria Ramos, will be speaking about her life experiences as an undocumented worker and her political activism with the group Mexicans Without Borders (Mexicanos Sin Fronteras), which is an organization that has done amazing work on behalf of economic justice, promoting human rights and the battle for a more genuine democracy.
Mexicans without Borders has spoken rather strongly by helping to organize the large boycotts and rallies during last summer over immigration reforms, which would provide harsher penalties for undocumented workers. As one headline in the “Washington Post” read, “Boycott Gives Voice to Illegal Workers,” it’s another reminder that in mainstream political discourse, a human being can be considered “illegal” for simply crossing an artificial border. According to a report released in May of 2002 from the D.C. based Migration Policy Institute, every year, an estimated 500,000 undocumented workers enter the United States through the Mexican border. This has occurred despite increased federal spending on border enforcement between the years 1993 to 1998, from 740 million dollars a year to 3.8 billion dollars a year. As money is thrown to deport those already here and prevent others from entering, the sad reality is that capital has more freedom then human beings. While capital is encouraged to cross borders through free trade agreements, human beings are expected to remain stationary. It is too often forgotten that it these same economic policies (Such as NAFTA, CAFTA and FTAA), which have led to the growing social inequalities making immigration necessary for many.
As Macrina Cárdenas from Mexicans Without Borders once claimed in an interview, “The majority of immigrants do not come to the United States attracted by liberty and democracy. Rather, they are fleeing from hunger and misery. As long as the U.S. government implements unequal neoliberal policies that only benefit the big corporations, immigration to the United States will continue to grow, regardless of how many legal reforms are put into place.” With grassroots organizing, those at the top are placed into a position in which they have to listen. During the boycott on May 1, the economic importance of migrant workers was displayed as businesses were shut down. An estimated 12 meat processing plants across the country owned by Tyson Foods Incorporated had to temporarily shut down, and over half of the construction workers involved with projects at the Dulles International Airport chose not to show. Afterwards Bush called for 6,000 National Guard troops to be deployed at the U.S.-Mexican Border and an increase in detention centers. In September a bill was passed to construct a 700-mile fence across the U.S.-Mexican Border. As xenophobia and anti-immigration tendencies increase, it is too often forgotten that the men and women who came across the Mexican border (illegally or legally) are by all means Americans who pay taxes to the United States government, work here and raise families here. During one protest, which helped to repeal a law in Manassas, Virginia, that would make it illegal for extended relatives to live together as a family, Ricardo Juarez who is one of the coordinators of Mexicans Without Borders made a powerful claim. With an attentive community willing to monitor their leaders, Juarez claimed that “any abuse of power can be defeated by the community.” When being built through the grassroots, democracy can be a beautiful thing as men and women continue the ongoing battle for civil rights.
