Choosing Democracy: Vote Yes on 50. Fight Fascism.

Choosing Democracy: Vote Yes on 50. Fight Fascism.:  

Choosing Democracy: Sacramento Anti Ice Protest

Choosing Democracy: Sacramento Anti Ice Protest:   Hello all,  big thank you to Dan Bacher for his article in the SB&R featuring --Sacramento groups say ‘No’ to ICE’s reported profiling...

Choosing Democracy: Immigrant Defense and the Fight Against Fascism.

Choosing Democracy: Immigrant Defense and the Fight Against Fascism.:  Excellent article. I am unable to repost for unknown reasons.   https://open.substack.com/pub/liberationroad/p/immigrant-defense-is-the-fro...

Resistance Resources

Resistance resources.

https://nnirr.salsalabs.org/justicedeniedinrecentrulings?wvpId=fd25b9f2-e8bd-4af8-853e-52312ec68e64 

The Delano Grape Strike

 Featuring Dolores Huerta. At one time, a DSA Honorary Vice Chair.

https://vimeo.com/1116833834?share=copy#t=0

Which Side Are You On ?

  Which Side Are You On ?

The Border is Invading America.  August 29,2025.  NY Times. Opinion.  Jean Guerrero. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/opinion/immigration-border-politics.html?unlocked_article

 Press title. Americs's Border Politics Are Coming for Your Rights. 

This piece is a misinformed application of a series of bankrupt, unrealistic political  arguments. 

Each of what is said is relatively accurate.  But, what is not said, is far more important. Yes, the Democrats did not do enough on immigration during the last  two decade. But, the fascist currently in power not only are worse, their movement is organized to destroy U.S. democracy, not only to oppose more immigration.  Yes, the author notes the terror, but that terror is connected to a political project of taking over the nation.  It is not only terror against immigrants. 

So, take each of the points argued and listed as Democratic Party weakness. But, what is not said. Well, Obama tried to pass the Dream Act, when it failed he created the Dreamers where 640,000 achieved some legality. The Democrats failed to pass real immigration reform- in part because of the arguments like those in the piece.

Biden, on day 1, tried to pass comprehensive immigration reform. It would have covered about 13 million.  It failed. Others tried to pass the Farm Modernization Act, it would have covered 3 million plus.  It failed.  Biden dismantled the many horrendous practices of Trump 2016-2020;

Who has been admitted.- and not considered in the essay ?  By my count is 4,700,000 in H-1 B, H-2A, refugees, Temporary Protected Status, refugees, and more. I am not arguing each of these programs were good.  When claiming there is little difference between the Democrats and the MAGA Crowd, you do need to count. 

I am uncertain if the author’s purpose is the support the MAGA claim that the actions of the Democrats on immigration are not significantly different that the current  militarized terrorism in the streets. This is a dangerous false argument supporting the destruction of our democratic constitutional order.

Or is there some other purpose ? I don’t know.  

But, this is a perspective being promoted on line particularly in right wing circles. The argument is neither right nor left.  It is nihilist and based  ignoring substantial history of change in immigration policies during the last two decades and upon totally unrealistic political perspectives and how change is made in the U.S.  The argument has contributed to the 40 year failure to adopt realistic political reform. 

Dr. Duane Campbell.  40 years engaged in the struggle for immigrants’ rights.

Author, Choosing Democracy – a practical guide to multicultural education.  1996- 2010.  Allyn and Bacon. 

 

 

Choosing Democracy: Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Deportation of Guat...

Choosing Democracy: Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Deportation of Guat...:     Judge Temporarily Blocks U.S. Efforts to Deport Guatemalan Children Judge blocks secretive mass deportation of children   https://www.ny...

Choosing Democracy: Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Deportation of Guat...

Choosing Democracy: Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Deportation of Guat...:     Judge Temporarily Blocks U.S. Efforts to Deport Guatemalan Children Judge blocks secretive mass deportation of children   https://www.ny...

Democratic Progress in Mexico

 

Last week, Mexico's official statistical agency reported that 13.4 million people had been lifted out of poverty during AMLO's 2018-2024 government.

The main factors were a steady rise in the real minimum wage, year after year, and the "social programs" -- direct government payouts to people.

So for example AMLO instituted a pension for everyone over 65. It is a modest amount, and some complained that, in keeping with his administration's slogan "Por el bien de todos, primero los pobres" [For the good of all, first the poor], it should have been means-tested. But he said no, let's just do it, give all seniors a debit card and every couple of months, put some money in it. 

Likewise "scholarships" -- in reality just payments to families -- as a bribe for students to go to school. Again, the debit card does the trick.

And to make sure everyone can get one, the government has created what is in essence a huge consumer national bank, El Banco de Bienestar -- quite literally,  "The Welfare Bank." Now it is promoting a scheme for Mexicans in the United States to send remittances to the debit card of relatives in Mexico at a lower cost than competing services like Western Union.

President Claudia Sheinbaum (who took over last October) has kept expanding these programs, starting  with a pension for women beginning at age 60. For women from indigenous peoples, it already started. For other women, those aged 62 have started as well, the younger women start next year, as the government's redistributive capacity expands.

At the same time, Dr. Sheinbaum reported this morning in her daily news conference that foreign direct investment for the first two quarters of 2025 was a record-smashing $34+ billion, doubling the record set by the last full year of a neoliberal government in 2017 with then-President (now Spain resident on account of Spain forbids extradition of people like him) Enrique Peña Nieto.

This while Mexico's economy has become increasingly government-led: joint public-private infrastructure projects such as a railroad land canal between the Atlantic and Pacific to supplement and/or provide an alternative to the Panama Canal. It means cargo ships larger that Panama can handle could arrive on the West Coast, the containers put on trains to cross to the Atlantic, where their cargo could be redistributed so containers headed to Houston or New Orleans could go on one ship, those destined for Europe or the East Coast another.

Why do I suspect this is really important? Because that 13.4 million figure is truly astonishing after decades of neoliberalism during which the number of poor kept rising.

Last Sunday, trying to get material for Radio Migrante's Monday show, I kept doing Internet searches looking for major media in English that had covered it, or even minor media, and found nothing.

On Monday I finally found this on the Guardian: 

‘Historic’: how Mexico’s welfare policies helped 13.4 million people out of poverty