Our Brand is Crisis

The film "Our Brand is Crisis" monitors the election and campaign of Goni (Gonzalo Sanchez De Lozado) under the control of American firm GCS vs. Evo Morales (seen as a man of the people) and several others in Bolivia.  James Carville and his compatriots are able to get Goni re-elected through smear campaigns and other American campaign tactics, though his term as President is cut short.  The film truly shows the damaging effects of US involvement in Latin American countries economically and politically, as self interests outweigh that of the nation in which needs help (in this case Bolivia). 

This mirrors the article by John Perkins and the EHM's (Economic Hit Men), and the United State's pressuring of other countries to bend to their wills.  This is evident with the California comment made in the film, about selling natural gas through privatization or "capitalization" to California.  The EHM's goal is to essentially "cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars".  This "cheating" was then carried out economically in similar fashion to American interests in Africa and abroad (Washington Consensus. James Cypher), by using the IMF and World Bank as a means of creating debt in one country, and a fortune in another, whilst also causing the indebted country to become a quasi-vassal of the U.S.  By loaning other countries money for infrastructure and the like, American companies are able to loan the money to the country, which is then paid back to American firms (who, according to the deal are forced to used American engineers, etc) to create the Airports, roads, schools, etc.  Then the money is set at a high rate of interest, thus resulting in an ever increasing national debt (the money loaned to them is never re-invested in the economy, but simply funneled through various U.S. channels and companies).  The evils of this strategy have been recognized by World Bank chief Economist George Stiglitz, who insists, "neo-liberal economics is nothing but ideology masquerading as defensible, even irreproachable, economic science," and yet, even with this realization, no steps are being taken to prevent this imperialistic method of global commerce.  By running the pipeline through Chile (Bolivia's cultural enemy) this creates violence and protest in the streets of Bolivia and an upheaval, resulting in Goni's resignation and exile to the United States (in addition to his failed policies and his separation from the pulse of the Bolivian people).

 Goni himself was an American born "gringo", being placed into power by an American campaign company.  The GCS also seemed to be grotesquely under informed on the policies Goni wished to implement on the people of Bolivia, in addition to the connotations of such decisions (such as the animosity between Bolivians and Chileans, as exemplified in their focus groups).  By going off campaign formula, they are still able to get Goni elected with far less than a majority vote (22%), and are then faced with having to increase his popularity while in office through focus groups, but to no avail.

This film parallels the readings in showing the inefficiency of U.S. involvement in Latin American politics, as well as the imperialistic attitudes taken by the U.S. Government when involving global economics.  It would appear that, if continued, the U.S. will create an imperialistic nation destined to fall, while the countries and the people it has used as elevation falter and continue to spiral into complete destitution. 

"La Virgen de los Sicarios"

La virgen de los sicaros is a film depicting the life of one gay man and two of his young lovers, who’s lives are intertwined with the violence and destitution that envelops Columbia.  The film displays murder and death as an everyday occurrence in Colombia, showing people as being unfazed by murders in the street, merely stepping over or driving around the bodies several times ( Children go as far to yell, “Let see the stiff!” in the streets after one particular murder). 

In the film, the young boys are both gang members, though Alexis has been “marked” by his old gang.  The violence these children are subjected to continues on and on, with Alexis being the killer of Fernando’s new lover’s brother, and so on.  Hylton suggests that the violence was not restricted to just simple murder, but went as far as “mutilation of ears, fingers, penises and breasts,” (44) in the 50’s and before.  Practices like this only generated an air of violence which are inescapable by the youth of the Colombian nation.  In addition, without the infrastructure to support these misguided and abandoned youths, the circle of violence will continue, especially in light of Paramilitary operations and corruption.  Though the US was aware of Colombia’s “lack of effort” in going after criminals and gangs such as Alexis and the paramilitary groups: “CIA and other intelligence reports from the late 1990s on the notorious Colombian paramilitaries suggested that the Colombian government lacked the will to go after these groups” (War in Columbia Summary Page). 

Analyzing such a violent culture shows the issue lies with the lack of Governmental control, in addition to continued US involvement in Columbian politics and counter-insurgency campaigns, in addition to the misappropriation of ant-trafficking funds for paramilitary actions.  Vargas depicts the first states of Paramilitary control in Colombia: 

“During the initial states of the paramilitaries presence, there was a wave of selective assassinations of community leaders, church activists and in general anyone thought to have links with the guerrillas.   At the same time, the paramilitaries attempted to systematically displace the guerrillas’ control of the commerce in coca paste and threatened shop owners in urban areas who refused to pay for the “protection” offered…”. (Vargas 118).

This shows the inefficiency of government control over the military, which appears corrupt and ill-led, resorting to unnecessary violence for personal gain (most evident in charging for “protection”) as well as violence resulting in the deaths of innocent people.  Fighting according to this ideology causes a party line to be formed, forcing the people of Colombia to either be with or against the paramilitaries providing “protection” while using US funds to help rid the country of its number one export: drugs and the drug trade; or the gangs of which these paramilitaries were in search of.  There is also evidence that the US was aware of Paramilitary groups, of which they helped to fund, working in leauge with the drug traffickers in Colombia:

“This report from the CIA’s Counternarcotics Center examines the relationship between narcotics traffickers and guerrilla groups in Colombia and Peru and assesses the implications of this relationship for U.S.-funded counterdrug programs in the region.(32)  The report finds that guerrillas are indeed associated with the Andean drug trade, but nevertheless warns that the use by Andean security forces of counterdrug aid for counterinsurgency purposes would not produce a measurable result against trafficking.” (Document 24)

Despite the US’s suspicions, (“The CIA is skeptical of Andean government claims that “funding counterinsurgency operations with counternarcotics aid would lead to major gains against traffickers.”  Moreover, the CIA believes that “officials in Lima and Bogotá, if given antidrug aid for counterinsurgency purposes, would turn it to pure antiguerrilla operations with little payoff against trafficking.”)(Document 24) the US continues funding in hopes of stopping the drug trade, With Dennis Hastert even suggesting they “ignore human rights” conditions to gain U.S Aid (War in Columbia).  

Cocaine Cowboys

The film Cocaine Cowboys provides a look into the drug trade of Miami and its interactions with Latin American countries (Columbia, Cuba, etc) in the late 70’s and 80’s, as well as showing the effects of the drug trade economically, emotionally and legally.  The film follows the events of certain members of the trade (Jon Roberts, Mickey Munday, among others) and their respective jobs within the organizations, whilst also detailing the violence and brutality that ensued as the need for more power became apparent, especially in the Griselda Blanco organization (now recognized for killing children, in-discretionary killing and Griselda’s own severe bloodlust resulting in 200+ deaths). 

Fortunately, US involvement in the drug war in the late 80s and early 90’s under Bush Senior allowed for a severe reduction in the violence and importation of narcotics into the country.  However, this was also at a cost, as in years prior the USA was involved in its own “illicit” activities to help combat the drug trade at home and abroad.  Youngers article “Collateral Damage”, exemplifies the wasteful nature of the United States and its ‘Andean Initiative’s’ in its war on drugs:  “In short, several billion dollars have been allocated to Andean counterdrug efforts in recent years.  Yet there is hardly a dent in overall cocoa production and cocaine and heroin are just as cheap and readily available on U.S. City streets as they were when the Andean Initiative was first launched”….”yet with no enemy to declare formal victory, the war continues unabated at a high cost to U.S taxpayers and, most significantly, to the people of the Andean region.” (131) Though the general idea was to go after the “source-countries” of these particular narcotics, the United States’s involvement in increasing military efforts in the area resulted in adverse affects and some of the worst human rights debacles of the area, including deaths of civilians (ex. April 2001, civilian plane shot down, killing Missionary mother and child [132]).  In turn the Pentagon in “seeking to strengthen” its and the native countries forces in Latin America, caused political strife, as local governments were trying to decrease military expansion, having lived in military states for many years, were hesitant on increasing such forces in light of the desire for civilian rule in the area (133).

US involvement in Columbia, according to Youngers is “intertwined with the military’s counterinsurgency campaign”.  In affect this has resulted in innocents being killed due to political violence, with the numbers doubling in the past few years, in addition to this “over three hundred thousand in 2000” to a million overall of Columbian citizens have been forced from their homes.  The US’s war on drugs appears to be failing in addition to causing political problems in other countries. 

There is also evidence of the US being aware of the growing drug trade problem years prior to the events of Miami with the increase of seized cocaine going from “26 pounds in 1967...to 436 in 1971 (174)” according to Gootenberg’s article “Pre-Columbian” Drug Trafficking in the Americas. This article also explains how “cold-war politics” caused by the US resulted in the growth of the Drug trade in countries like Bolivia (ex. 1952 revolution removed the national army due to the US “reversal” of the revolution.  This then left Bolivia “in an era of statelessness” (162).  US politics and drug policies seem to fuel violence abroad, whilst only squelching a bit of the issue domestically.


A strong point that the film makes is how Miami, in essence, exists as it does today because of the drug trade and the spending it allowed on goods and services in Miami, which in turn, led to mass development of the city, with office buildings and sky scrapers being constructed galore (being financed almost completely via drug money investment in local businesses, etc)  This is seen as both a blessing and a curse, as it placed Miami onto the global spectrum, but to some, at too great a cost in life. 

Bus 174

            Bus 174 gives a detailed look into the debacle of Sandro's "holdup" of Bus 174 versus the incompetence and inefficiency of the Brazilian Police force.   Sandro exemplifies the brutality of  the culture surrounding Street Kids in Brazil and abroad.  The film delves into the history of Sandro by interviewing those who were close to him, in both Street Gangs and his remaining family, whilst also depicting the deplorable conditions of Brazilian jails. 

            His mothers violent death so early in his childhood affected Sandro for the rest of his life,  traumatizing him up till the Bus incident, as is evident in him speaking about how they killed his mother.  He had also mentioned it frequently with the social workers that tried to help him in his youth.  Though his purpose on the bus is still unclear, it would appear it was a normal hold-up gone wrong.  As the film progresses, the viewer gains more sympathy for the situation of Sandro, best summarized by Alberto Ramos's line, "And i thought that we are so screwed in this country that the only option left to us in the end is thanking the thieves," as they are, "thieves man, not killers."  Left with a desperate situation theft is their means of livelihood.  The thieves in Ramos's "The Drive by Victim" explain that the victim does not understand abuse as he, "hasn't seen anything yet".  This shows the struggle they face each day to survive, in league with the insurmountable amount of abuse they receive from society and the government (Massacres, night murders, etc, as displayed in the film).  So in their thefts they resort to violence only if necessary, similar to Sandro.  He did not wish to kill anyone on the bus, due to his indesisiveness (though this may have been drug related), in addition to telling the girls on the bus to "act" and firing a fake shot at one of them. 

Interestingly enough, the Police Negotiator even suggested that the situation would have been handled differently if they had realized he was a "street kid", suggesting they have a method of dealing with this phenomenon, or at least understanding their psyche.  Unfortunately, as the film suggests, this method is part of the problem, as the institution itself is faulty and ineffective.

"The Heart that Bleeds" by Alma Guillermoprieto shows how modernity in these cities, along with American Imperalistic attitudes can cause the little people to fall through the cracks as "Modernity is a buzzword".  The new subway is one such example, as it increases revenue for the state as a more easily accessible means of transportation, however the poor shop owners and mariachi bands are now loosing work, as the main road is less traveled by (taking customers on the subway, instead of letting them wonder freely, to pick their own mariachi band etc.).  This exemplifies the lack of Government help or concern for lower class citizens, like Sandro of Bus 174.

Though theft is inherently wrong, one cannot help but sympathize with the Situation of Sandro and the Street kids of Brazil and other Latin American cultures.  Left to their own devices by a crippled and uncaring government, they must resort to illegitimate means survive.  Though other avenues may be presented to them, they are without the guidance, financial means and of the proper class (insofar as to say because they are street kids they are viewed as unable to be anything other than) to get a proper education or a job ( as Sandro points out in the film, ex con, cant read, no education equals no job).  With this in mind, the condition of the street kid will not improve, but rather continue.