'¡¡¡Ehhhh… puuuto!!!' (Cultural Bias?)

Fans, 2002 World Cup Source: Klafubra  (Wikimedia Commons)

This was the second match of the FIFA World Cup, held in  Arena das Dumas in the Brazilian city of Natal. A large portion of the estimated 50,000 Mexicans who traveled to Brazil for the international soccer tournament were on hand to cheer for El Tri in this contest against Cameroon on June 13..

The fans wore the national colors, carried some banners and signs--and brought their cultural bias. Every time Cameroon's goalkeeper Charles Itandje kicked the ball off, a loud taunting cheer of '¡¡¡Ehhhh… puuuto!!!' was heard in the stands. Puto is not a kind word.  It is often used to insult homosexual men.

The European-based anti-discrimination monitoring group Fare complained about the Mexican fans to the international soccer governing body, FIFA. FIFA officials agreed to investigate Fare’s complaint but ultimately declined to take any actions against Mexican soccer fans and the Mexican soccer association.

The macho cultural bias in Mexico and much of Latin America is to reject homosexuality, perhaps as a  sign of weakness.  So fans were not questioning the Itandje's sexuality when they used the common taunting cheer ¡¡¡Ehhhh… puuuto!!!  And Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa was on the receiving  when Brazilian fans taunted him with the same phrase when Mexico played Brazil on June 17.  (Mexican fans might have started something. Japanese soccer fans have started to use the taunting chant in their stadiums).

And while the use of the taunt can be dismissed as "soccer tradition," it is important to realize that cultural biases are behind our acts of discrimination. The word puto remains very much an insult in Mexico.

And culture plays a role in biases against other groups in Mexico, such as indigenous peoples (especially those who reside in the cities) and women in general. Read more about discrimination in Mexico in this week's issue of SourceMex, and in a recent report from the Consejo Nacional para Prevenir la Discriminación (CONAPRED)

Other countries in Latin America have also had to deal with concerns of discrimination against  the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) community. This week, our LADB newsletters examine recent patterns in Peru and Honduras. In July of this year, the Peruvian government approved the Plan Nacional de Derechos Humanos 2014-2016 . But as Elsa Chanduví Jaña points out in this week's edition of NotiSur, this document  has come under criticism for its omissions: it lacks measures to protect vulnerable sectors such as the LGBTI community and domestic workers.

In Honduras, the LGBTI community is among the groups subject to increased attacks in the four years since the coup that toppled President Manuel Zelaya in June 2009. More than 30 hate crimes have been committed against the LGBTI community since the coup. George Rodríguez gives us more details in this week' edition of NotiCen. A report from Human Rights Watch on Honduras expands on this issue.

Also in LADB this week...
Nicaragua Attack: Were the perpetrators of two attack on supporters of the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) former contras? Some groups like the hitherto unknown organization calling itself the Fuerzas Armadas de Salvación Nacional-Ejército del Pueblo (FASN-EP) are certain the attacks came from regrouped contras. President Daniel Ortega's administration says, however, that the perpetrators were simply "common criminals."  Read More

Electrical Self-Sufficiency in Uruguay:At a time when all of the countries of South America, to one degree or another, are suffering the ill effects of inflation, small Uruguay has made a point of lowering consumer costs—at least for one vital service: electricity. The move went into effect July 1 and benefits not only household consumers but also commercial and industrial enterprises. Read More

Mexico Fines Dragon Mart Developers for Environmental Violations: The controversial Dragon Mart project in Quintana Roo state hit another bump in the road when the federal environmental-protection agency (Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente, PROFEPA) levied a stiff fine against the developers of the megacomplex for failing to comply with the federal norms on environmental protection.  Read More

-Carlos Navarro 

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Ecuador to Drill for Oil in Formerly Protected Area; Suspect in El Salvador Jesuit Massacre Jailed in U.S.; Twin Storms Batter Mexico

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Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen and NotiSur for September 25-27

Did the World Fail Ecuador?

The Ecuadoran government has decided to allow oil drilling in Yasuní, a national park in the country’s Amazonian region. The decision follows six years of frustrated efforts to secure financial contributions from the international community in exchange for leaving the oil in the ground The government blames the plan’s failure on a lack of international cooperation. Some social sectors, however, say the government itself is responsible. They plan to defend the intangible area by organizing a popular referendum and by taking legal actions that could force the government to halt oil operations. -Luis Ángel Saavedra   Read More

Rio Protests Disappearance of Poor Favela Resident

The disappearance of Amarildo de Souza, a 43-year-old construction worker, two months ago exemplifies the ongoing political repression Brazilians face daily. Authorities claimed they released De Souza immediately after police mistakenly picked him up as a suspected drug dealer. De Souza, however, never reached work or returned home. After a Unidade de Policia Pacificadora (UPP) patrol detained him as he left his home in the Rio de Janeiro favela of Rocinha on July 14, he has not been heard from or seen again.In the last seven years--between January 2007 and May 2013--34,681 people have disappeared in Rio de Janeiro, according to the Movimento Rio de Paz, a humanitarian organization that cited official statistics from the Instituto de Segurança Pública (ISP). The organization says that 80% of the "disappeared" are from the favelas. -Andrés Gaudín Read More

Salvadoran 'Jesuit-Massacre' Suspect Jailed in U.S. For Immigration Violations

A Salvadoran man implicated in one of his country’s highest-profile human rights atrocities is headed to jail--albeit not in El Salvador, and not, technically speaking, because of numerous extrajudicial killings allegedly committed under his command. In late August, a federal judge in the US state of Massachusetts ordered Inocente Orlando Montano, 71, to spend 21 months in prison for immigration violations. Montano, an Army colonel and later vice minister of public security during El Salvador’s dozen-year civil war (1980-1992), is expected to begin his sentence on Oct. 11. -Benjamin Witte-Lebhar  Read More

Severe Storms Hit Mexico From Both Coasts, Causing Severe Damage in Much of the Country

The effect of climate change and decades of corruption--poor urban planning, shoddy home construction, and a lack of zoning regulations--combined to create a recipe for misery in Mexico in mid-September. Two tropical systems—the remnants of Hurricane Ingrid along the Gulf of Mexico and Tropical Storm Manuel on the West Coast--converged in Mexico during the weekend of Sept. 14-15, causing significant property and agricultural damage and forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. Dozens of people were reported dead or missing, and some entire communities were buried by mudslides. This was the first time in 50 years that major storms hit the Gulf of Mexico and the country’s Pacific coast simultaneously. -Carlos Navarro  Read More

Dominican Republic Hit by Corruption Scandals

On July 30, Dominicans took to the streets bearing placards to protest against corrupt actions purportedly committed by members of the administration of President Danilo Medina, some of whom also served under the administration of his predecessor ex-President Leonel Fernández (1996-2000, 2004-2012). This has not been the only public demonstration against corruption. In August, Dominicans again took part in a series of anti-corruption activities. The Paren Eso (Stop That) campaign was launched by the Red Nacional de Acción Juvenil (RNAJ) and has been backed by the following organizations: Justicia Fiscal, Participación Ciudanana, Juventud Caribe, Articulación Nacional Campesina, Ciudad Alternativa, La Multitud, Alianza Dominicana contra la Corrupción, Foro por la Transparencia y el Desarrollo de San Cristóbal, and Juventud Alianza País. -Crosby Girón   Read More

Dragon Mart Project Back on Track After State Supreme Court Orders Local Authorities to Grant Construction Permit

The huge megaproject sponsored by the Chinese government in Quintana Roo state is back on track after receiving a favorable court ruling that overrode strong opposition from the municipal government of Benito Juárez, which includes the resort of Cancún. The Dragon Mart project has been proposed for a 120,000-square meter site in the community of Puerto Morelos, just outside Cancún and within the borders of Benito Juárez. The project received a setback in April of this year, when authorities in Benito Juárez denied a building permit for the project because of environmental concerns about the high-density project In late August, the Quintana Roo Supreme Court (Tribunal Superior de Justicia del Estado de Quintana Roo) said the municipality’s decision violated the state’s constitution and ordered Benito Juárez officials to award the construction permit. -Carlos Navarro Read More