Bigots of the Americas – from the Guatemalan Highlands to Postville, Iowa

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that it’s actually 2015. Usually I have that feeling when I travel to developing countries and take in the standard vistas of poverty: terrible roads, daily power cuts, throwing your TP in the trash, etc. And Guatemala is generally no exception, though our experience of it thus far has largely been one of sheltered ex-pat comfort. But lately, I’m also getting that “is this really 2015” feeling when I turn to the NY Times and read yet another incredulous account of bigotry and voodoo policy, courtesy of Los Republicans.

Trump and Friends exude a certain 1914 vibe: the world on the brink of war, entire continents full of dark-skinned, bloodthirsty haters of freedom, with carpet bombing and personal armaments being the only sensible way out. It’s the kind of rhetoric that usually passes for policy in the Banana Republics – rile up enough fear about some evil-doers (invoking the U.S. has worked pretty well) and you don’t actually have to say anything else of substance. And it turns out the Know-Nothing base is alive and well in the First World, too.

New markets for Trump piñatas in LatAm

Jimmy Morales, the president-elect of Guatemala, has elicited many fair comparisons with The Donald: both political outsiders, both with zero experience in elected office, and neither with any particular compulsion to articulate specific policy positions on issues. The difference is that Trump’s wolf cry is bigot-catering Islamophobia, phobia of refugees and immigrants, and generalized phobia of anything phobi-able. Morales, by contrast, built his campaign on a maddeningly simple but simultaneously semi-righteous slogan: “Neither corrupt, nor a thief.” What leadership credentials of statecraft! But it’s not really a phobia at all, rather a rejection of the kleptocratic state Guatemala has become, a country where the 250 richest residents have the same amount of wealth as the poorest 8 million (that’s equivalent to to the top 0.001% having the same as the bottom 50%, whereas in the U.S. the 1% have about the same as the bottom 20%).

Neither corrupt, nor a thief..

And here we are: a comedian who defends his blackface routine can be the president of a developing country, today, in soon-to-be 2016. Amazing, but at the same time perhaps not shocking, especially in a country where a majority of rural inhabitants cook on open fires inside their homes and literacy is a privilege. More surprising by far is the 21^st century reality up North, where a Trump or a Cruz can be at least the second-best leadership proposition that the US has to offer, especially on the tail of the Obama Hope-Change Enlightenment.

...just a racist!

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Kat and I have actually met an amazing number of new people in Guate thanks to Pepe, our dog. This is probably an obvious feature of pet ownership, but it turns out it’s pretty easy to talk to strangers about dog food. The cool thing is that a lot of these strangers have amazing stories to tell. A few weeks ago we met Luis Argueta in the dog park a few blocks from our building. Luis is an accomplished documentarian, whose films focus on the experiences of Guatemalan immigrants in the US. One of his films, abUSed, tells the story of the 2008 Postville Raid, in which the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (the serendipitously acronym-ed ICE) proudly showcases their skills in handcuffing factory workers and separating families. In the case of the Postville, the factory was a Kosher slaughterhouse managed by the orthodox Jewish Rabushkin family, and a majority of the 400 people arrested and subsequently deported were Guatemalan immigrants. Argueta interviews many of their families, and depicts lives of struggle and hope. The trailer is definitely worth a watch. Also, here’s an excellent piece on the recent history of Postville and its unlikely transformation into a Midwestern hub of diversity.

Easy pathway to citizenship for this future migrant/ wild bandito! Also he will take your jobs.

In this, the Year of the Fear of the Refugee, the Bigots of the Americas are crossing paths, in a way. Morales is a comedian who also happens to be a racist. But it was his idea of a State that serves, instead of State that steals, that catapulted him to victory. By contrast, Trump et al are people who have found that, in 2015, bigotry can be winning idea. As the Republican crazy train careens toward Iowa, let’s consider Postville and all the other villes like it. And by that I guess I mean making your conservative family members watch that trailer. Good luck and Feliz Navidad!

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In other (sunnier) news, Guate is treating us supremely well. My work continues to be stimulating (more soon on that, for real) and Kat just accepted a job at Semilla Nueva, where she’ll be advocating for the scale-up of bio-fortified agriculture, both to increase yields of small-holder farmers and decrease rates of malnutrition among Guatemalan youngins. In the fun department, we’re about to head off on a week-long road trip with Ben and Germaine to the Oriente: Semuc Champey, Rio Dulce and Caribbean Coast. Hasta 2016!