San Quentin News

Written By Incarcerated - Advancing Social Justice

Archives for October 2017

One man betters himself motivating young men

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Long before any law passed providing time off for taking self-help groups, San Quentin Kings basketball player Julio Saca found his own motivations for bettering himself and helping youngsters.

“I don’t want to return to prison,” Saca said. “And I want to be an example, help my family and my community.”

Saca grew up without examples to model himself after. His alcoholic and abusive father separated from his mother by the time Saca turned 8 years old, leaving behind a trail of trauma. By age 17, Saca dropped out of school, sold drugs and had a child.

Over the years, Saca struggled with addiction to cocaine and alcohol. He managed to stay sober for about a year but then came the relapse. Within a week he lost his job and custody of his daughter. Then he ended up with a 12-year sentence for committing robbery with a gun.

“It wasn’t until I came to prison that my eyes were open to that I wasn’t the only one suffering from substance abuse,” Saca said. “I learned of men just like me that ended up in prison for substance abuse. It put a desire and fear in me. I made the decision to stay sober no matter what.”

Ironically, incarcerated men became Saca’s role models. While in a Christian 12-step recovery program called Celebrating Recovery at California Medical Facility, he met men serving life sentences who took him under their wings.

“I met a lot of lifers in programs and learned what a true man is—taking accountability for your own stuff, having integrity, being true to thyself,” Saca said. “The true definition of a man is not using drugs and alcohol.”

Saca fought off temptation while incarcerated by focusing on education, sports and faith. He accepted God in his life and completed many programs, earning a Braille Transcriber certification, an associate degree through CoastLine Community College, a Ministry Degree through Golden Gate, and he completed a substance abuse program. He also played basketball for the San Quentin Warriors and then the Kings.

“When I started expanding my mind it empowered me to never want to use drugs again and it created a desire to help men like me,” Saca said. “I was able to find who I was, and now I’m using my history to help others.”

Saca mentors young men on the yard, like the lifers mentored him. He coaches, along with Royce Rose, a basketball team of men under 25 called The Young Outstanding Players.

“I could relate to them because I made a lot of wrong choices at that age,” Saca said. “You saw leadership in some of them. Raiveon would open us up in prayer. He took that leadership role.”

YOP player Raiveon Wooden, 21, said, “They have a real impact in my life. He (Saca) has been like a big brother and he’s seen me grow into who I really am.”

The YOP team has taken on the significant role of keeping youngsters from getting transferred to violent prisons.

Under the Youthful Offender Program created by prison administrators and established through a state Assembly bill, eligible youngsters get a security override that allows them the chance to start their time in lower-security places like San Quentin’s mainline. However, one disciplinary issue can get them transferred to violent higher-security places.

“I was just doing in my heart what I wanted someone to do for me—I never had the opportunity to play organized ball,” Saca said. “A lot of YOPs get to this yard, and they don’t know if they get a writeup, they are out of here.”

He added, “The vision at the end of the day, turned out it’s not about basketball, it’s about growing and being able to take criticism and being in prison and being able to make the best out of it.”

Saca, now 37, said he has 10 years of sobriety. He is scheduled to parole Sept. 29 and has plans to continue his education. Merritt College in Oakland gave Saca a scholarship to help him become a substance abuse counselor. He also plans to join Project Rebound, a program for the formerly incarcerated at San Francisco State University. Also, Saca wants to help his family.

“My dad is living out of a car in Oakland. He’s sick, been shot seven times, has diabetes — addiction still has him at 72,” Saca said. “My desire is to get out and help him and my family with the things that I learned in prison.”

Living the good life after prison

Building lives through health and wellness TRUST

Letters to the Editor from R. Ross

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Dear SQ News,

Greetings to each of you, I am an old ex-resident of the S.Q., haven’t been there since 1990, the beginning of the change over from Level IV, to Level II. Several of my old friends are still there I see in your paper, it’s great to see that they are still going strong and moving with positivity.

My name is R. Ross, and I am the founder and coordinator for the LWOP Activity Group here at CSP-Solano. I have noticed in your paper that it appears that people all over the world are reading it which is great, SQ has come a long ways with the paper since (Joe) had it years ago. I am hoping that through such terrific publication all over the place, you could equally help and assist the terrific LWOP Group here to hopefully get a big Buzz (talk) etc. started to give (LWOPS) life without parole prisoners as much exposure as possible for a Second Chance at Freedom.

We have always been at the bottom of the barrel, which is why we started this program (To get us the radar scan). Fortunately, I was successful at this, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg. People power is what’s significant, important, and needed ever more so for extreme expansion and hearing issues for potential change, I’m sure you know what I’m saying in this regard.

Our mission statement of our purpose and the building of a few programs here for LWOPs and youth offenders; and a pamphlet that briefly outlines our self-built program and current two websites that are in motion for our movement. Directing anyone to our site is appreciated. The operators of the sites are myself, K. Moore (another ex-SQ resident), and co-coordinators R. Walker and E. Perry. Trying to do the best we can with what we have.

Any assistance in adding us is most appreciated and welcomed. We look forward any responses you may have. Thank you and God Bless.

Shout Out To:

J. Reed, L. Morris, Freelon, and Ware (Squirrel). P. Comeaux.

Governor signs drug sentencing reform bill SB 180

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Four months after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions renewed the federal government’s pursuit of mandatory minimum drug sentences for low-level drug crimes in federal cases, California lawmakers on Sept. 12 approved a bill to rein in this type of wasteful, ineffective and extreme drug war policy was at the state level.

With a 41 to 25 vote, the California Assembly approved Senate Bill 180, also known as the Repeal Ineffective Sentencing Enhancements Act (RISE Act). The governor signed the bill into law in Oct.

“Sentencing enhancements break up families and don’t make our communities any safer”

The RISE Act, authored by Senator Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) and Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Long Beach), repeals California’s three-year sentence enhancement for prior drug convictions. Previously the base sentence for a person possessing drugs for sale was two to four years in jail. However, if that person has two prior convictions for possession for sale, they would face an additional six years in jails, for a total of 10 years.

“Tennessee is 17.1 percent Black, but Blacks make up 69 percent of all drug-free school zone offenders…” REASON Magazine, January 2018

“By enacting smart and effective legislation like the RISE Act, California has the opportunity to be a leader for the rest of the country in drug sentencing reform,” said Zachary Norris, the executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. “The RISE Act would free up taxpayer dollars for investment in community-based programs and services that improve public safety like mental health and substance use treatment.”

The RISE Act restores balance in the judicial process, address extreme sentences, and reduce racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Although rates of drug use and sales are comparable across racial lines, people of color are far more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, prosecuted, convicted and incarcerated for drug law violations than are Whites.

Sentencing enhancements were meant to reduce the availability of drugs and deter drug selling. However, like most other drug war policies, they are a proven and costly failure. In addition to depleting state and county funds that could be spent on schools, health and social services, sentencing enhancements are a major contributor to jail overcrowding. As of 2016, there were more than 1,500 people in California jails sentenced to more than five years and the leading cause of these long sentences was non-violent drug sale offenses.

“Sentencing enhancements break up families and don’t make our communities any safer,” said Sandra Johnson, a policy fellow with Legal Services for Prisoners with Children. “These extreme sentences have a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable populations — Black and Brown people who have mental health issues, who struggle with addiction and who are homeless.”

As Attorney General Jeff Sessions continues to advance failed Drug War policies and extreme sentencing policies, advocates applaud the passage of SB 180 and see the law as an opportunity for California to demonstrate its commitment to criminal justice policies that prioritize safety instead of punishment.

FAMM supports resentencing

Prosecutors have great power over criminal cases

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Prosecutors have taken over as “rulers” of the criminal justice system, curbing the influence of judges, a federal judge says.

Draconian laws in recent years have shifted sentencing powers to prosecutors, wrote U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff in an article for the Northwestern University Law Review.

The change evolved because “defendants fear the immense sentences they face if convicted at trial,” the article noted.

Within the U.S. criminal justice system, prosecutors’ narratives are always one-sided, Rakoff wrote. He stated prosecutors are given near-total power over the resolution of criminal cases — to the point that the sense of equality is lost and “abuses are inevitable.”

Rakoff emphasized that most prosecuting attorneys are dedicated public servants whose “primary aim and satisfaction is to bring criminals to justice.” Despite their commitment to public safety, they exemplify a very narrow point of view of the American judicial system.

During the 20th century, plea bargaining became an accepted feature of the U.S. criminal justice system.

In the 1970s, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted, as constitutional, a defendant’s guilty plea to second-degree murder, “even when he asserted he was innocent of any murder but was pleading guilty to avoid the likelihood of a conviction of the capital offense of the first-degree murder.”

As a result, plea bargaining has become the ultimate source of ever-increasing power for prosecutors, Rakoff contends. He points out that plea bargaining came about as a result of a prosecutor charging defendants with more criminal offenses than judges and juries could possibly handle.

“To deal with this overload, prosecutors increasingly offered criminal defendants the opportunity to plead to lesser charges, and the ‘plea bargain’ was born,” he said.

According to Rakoff, prosecutors rather than judges are determining sentences in the majority of these cases. “Furthermore, not only are these sessions secret, one-sided, and lacking judicial oversight, but also the results vary materially from prosecutor to prosecutor.”

Today, about 98 percent of state and federal criminal cases do not go to trial.

Currently, there are over 2.2 million people incarcerated in the U.S. — most being young men of color. The U.S. incarcerates more people, per capita, than any other industrial country in the world.

A growing recognition of the costs and negative effects of mass incarceration has created bipartisan efforts to reduce the nation’s prison population. Strategies include the repeal of mandatory minimum sentences and career offender laws as well as a considerable reduction in the length of time recommended in sentencing guidelines.

Rakoff is pessimistic about support from the new federal administration or from state legislatures whose members know that it is still good politics to be “tough on crime.”

An innovative way of handling criminal cases is to change the prosecutor’s role to “advocates,” says Rakoff. He also wants the change so that prosecutors would be required to occasionally serve as defense counsel for indigent defendants. That way, they would see how much power they have in the criminal process.

Facial recognition technology poses privacy issues

Private prison labor in question

New technology aids police oversight

A question of law and prison investments

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Ethical questions are being raised about an immigration judge whose husband has invested in private prisons, Mother Jones magazine reports.

The issue involves Chief Judge Linda R. Reade, whose husband, Michael Figenshaw, bought between $30,000 and $100,000 worth of additional private prison stocks before a massive immigration raid (in 2008) on a kosher slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa, the magazine reported Aug. 24.

The nearly 400 immigrants charged in the raid were then sent to Iowa’s northern jurisdiction to be sentenced by Reade and others, the article stated.

“A reasonable person might question whether or not the judge’s husband was essentially trying to benefit the judge and himself financially by virtue of knowledge the judge acquired in her judicial administrative position,” said Richard Flamm, a California-based ethics expert, to Mother Jones.

Congressional hearings were held to address allegations of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct during the immigration hearings for the undocumented individuals arrested during the Postville raid.

According to a memorandum from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) used in court documents, Judge Reade attended a meeting with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to discuss “charging strategies.” The investigation reports that during the meeting, Reade was informed that ICE anticipated about 700 arrests at the kosher slaughterhouse.

“I am uneasy about the perception problem created when a judge may be financially vested in more people going to prison when she has defendants coming before her for sentencing every week,” said Charles Gardner Geyh, a law professor at Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

The magazine reported one defense attorney wrote a letter of concern to a member of the House Judiciary Committee claiming “Chief Judge Reade had already ratified these deals prior to one lawyer even talking to his or her client.”

Ethics experts maintained Reade should have excused herself from the entire case because of her family’s investments in private prison stock.

“The entire proceedings were scripted (by Judge Reade and court clerks),” said Erik Camayd-Freixas, an interpreter for Spanish-speaking defendants during the proceedings.

A federal code of conduct encourages judges to avoid impropriety. This includes situations in which the judge’s immediate family has a financial interest in the subject matter in question, reported the article.

“As long as her family held prison stock, Reade had a conflict of interest because anyone she sentenced to time behind bars might be sent to a private facility that she had a financial stake in,” said Leslie Abramson, a specialist in judicial ethics at the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission reported that the Northern District of Iowa sends a higher proportion of defendants to prison with longer sentences than the national average.

Transparency Lacking in Private Prisons


 
http://sanquentinnews.com/private-prison-seek-tough-laws-immigrants/

Trump wants $1.2 billion to lock up more illegals

Politicians work toward protection for young illegal immigrants

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The battle over immigration policy continues as some politicians work toward protecting immigrants who illegally entered the U.S., according to two recent Los Angeles Times articles by Sarah D. Wire and Jazmine Ulloa.

Referring to young immigrants brought here as children, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said, “There are people who are in limbo. These are kids who know no other country … and don’t know another home,” reported Wire.

A letter to Ryan signed by 10 House Republicans stated, “These individuals’ status in the United States should not be left to the political winds of different administrations that come to power.”

Central Valley Representatives David Valadao of Hanford and Jeff Denham of Turlock were among the 10 Republicans who signed that letter. They stressed that Congress must find a solution that will protect the hundreds of thousands of people brought to this country illegally as children, reported Wire.

These young immigrants, collectively known as “Dreamers,” are currently protected by DACA regulations initiated by former President Barack Obama.

Valadao and Denham also joined a handful of Republicans in a letter urging President Trump not to end the DACA program, while co-sponsoring legislation aimed at finding a fix.

Meanwhile, former U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. filed a brief on behalf of the California Senate, in support of Chicago’s lawsuit against the Justice Department, according to Ulloa’s article.

Holder said current U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions does not have the constitutional authority to mandate that cities, counties or states participate in federal immigration efforts as a condition to receive their federal public safety awards.

In the brief, Holder said the California Legislature is particularly interested in the Chicago case due to State Senate Bill 54, which looks to limit state and local law enforcement agencies from utilizing resources to question, detain and provide information on immigrants illegally in the country.

Deportation Crimes Explained

Race Still a Factor in Determining Police Stops

Black immigrants in fear of deportation

Immigrant rights groups express concern about sanctuary city raids

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Immigrant rights groups are concerned that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) is targeting sanctuary cities.

Sanctuary regions are jurisdictions in which local law enforcement agencies focus on public safety instead of on immigration enforcement.

In late September, ICE arrested 498 undocumented immigrants in a nationwide operation that focused on sanctuary cities, or cities and counties that refuse to employ peace officers as immigration agents, according to Orange County Register.

ICE officials said that they were targeting criminal aliens. However, of those detained during the sanctuary city raids, 181 did not have criminal records, reported the Orange County Register.

In Boston, city officials had told the community that immigration raids would not happen. However, ICE rounded up 50 undocumented individuals throughout Massachusetts. Of the individuals detained, 20 had no criminal record, reported WBUR News.

“Our communities are facing a crisis in the U.S. We are tired of that dynamic and rhetoric that is telling us that all immigrants are criminals,” said Patricia Montes, the executive director of Centro Presente, an immigrant advocacy organization located in East Boston.

ICE officials specified that they targeted cities that refuse to cooperate with the president’s immigration policy, reported the Orange County Register.

“They are targeting criminal aliens, and they are focused on high populations of individuals that are here illegally,” said Robin Hvidston, the executive director of We the People Rising, an anti-illegal immigration group in Claremont.

However, immigration advocates across the country say that the raids are doing more harm than good because innocent people are getting caught in the net.

“I know a lot of people that don’t have papers, so it’s kind of sad that they’re afraid of going out of the house,” said Bernice Maldonado, a hairdresser from Boston. “They’re afraid of going to work. They’re afraid of taking the kids to school. They’re afraid of being outside of the house.”

In Los Angeles there were more than 100 arrested. Although ICE officials said that they were targeting immigrants with criminal records, opponents claim there is a political agenda, according to the Orange County Register.

“ICE is operating as a politicized security force … arresting 498 people in cities that represent the political opposition to what is an unconstitutional federal overreach on immigration,” said Salvador Sarmiento, a campaign coordinator for the Los Angeles-based National Day Laborers Organizing Network.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte had introduced the “No Sanctuary for Criminals Act” earlier this year. It would have punished sanctuary jurisdictions for interfering with President Trump’s campaign promise of mass deportations and border security, according to The Atlantic. The act would have cut some federal grants from sanctuary cities.

ICE Acting Director Tom Homan said that the agency is forced to use more resources to conduct large arrests in the communities because sanctuary city officials often do not cooperate with them, according to the Orange County Register.

“Instead of criminalizing and scapegoating immigrants, Congress should be offering workable comprehensive reforms that actually strengthen our economy and national security,” said Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, according to The Atlantic. “Until then, we will continue to be a firm wall of resistance—using all tools at our disposal—to prevent Republicans from blindly trying to sanction this administration’s mass deportation agenda.”

 

Deportation Crimes Explained

Alabama restores voting rights without notification

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Alabama recently passed a law to restore voting rights to most of its citizens with felony records.  A federal judge, however, ruled that this new law does not require the state to notify them.

Tens of thousands of Alabama ex-felons were prohibited from voting before Gov. Kay Ivey signed House Bill 282 into effect in May. They may never know that the right to vote has been reinstated unless they inquire about the change, reports ThinkPress.com.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said he will not dedicate any resources toward educating people about the shift in policy. He compared voting to a privilege, like receiving free ice cream.

Prior to HB 282’s passing, a felon’s right to vote was at the discretion of Alabama’s county registrars and supposedly based on the nature of a person’s crimnal conviction. Historically, however, this became a device to primarily disenfranchise Black ex-felons in Alabama, ThinkProgress reported.

HB 282 now obligates registrars to abide by a limited list of felonies which will still disqualify certain convicted criminals from regaining the right to vote. 

On behalf of 10 former felons, the Campaign Legal Center filed a federal request asking the state to educate and inform those affected by the new law.

U.S. District Judge W. Keith Watkins denied that request, finding only that Alabama must notify all its county registrars of the change in law. He said it is ex-felons’ responsibility to review the law for themselves and discern if they can now regain their right to vote.

In many cases, former felons in Alabama had previously had attempted to register and been denied by their county registrars. According to Judge Watkins’ ruling, the state has no duty to inform even these people of the reversal in their voting eligibility.

“There is no evidence that any HB 282 voter has been denied the right to register to vote,” Watkins wrote in his decision.

HB 282 is “a step in the right direction,” not a clear solution to Alabama’s problematic felon disenfranchisement policies, said Danielle Lang, deputy director of voting rights for the Campaign Legal Center.

The law imposes what still amounts to a poll tax because ex-felons must pay fines and fees to restore their right to vote, Lang explained.

“Wealth should not be a factor in deciding who can vote,” Lang said.

ThinkProgress reported 6.1 million Americans nationwide are no longer permitted to vote due to a prior felony conviction.

One in 13 Black Americans has lost his or her right to vote, while just one in 56 non-Black voters are disenfranchised, according to The Sentencing Project.

Nebraska executes inmate using Fentanyl

India adopts capital punishment for child rape under twelve

New Law Would Restore Voting Rights to Ex-Felons

El legado de la revolución Mexicana

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El pueblo unido por la libertad y el derecho a su tierra

El pueblo unido por la libertad y el derecho a su tierra

La Revolución Mexicana fue un movimiento armado iniciado en 1910 para terminar la dictadura de Porfirio Díaz, la cual culminó oficialmente con la promulgación de la nueva Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de 1917.

Porfirio Díaz gobernó México desde 1876 a 1911. Durante este período el poder estuvo en manos de un grupo pequeño de personas encabezadas por Díaz. Este tiempo se caracterizó por la inconformidad y desigualdad social en los sectores más pobres.

Díaz intentó imponer la paz en el pueblo mexicano que estaba harto del desorden y la guerra. Con mano dura, Porfirio Díaz eliminó las diferencias de opiniones sobre asuntos de política, y se dedicó a mejorar el funcionamiento del gobierno. A pesar que no se logró la paz total, Díaz consiguió mantener el orden mediante el uso de la fuerza pública. Con el orden, aumento el trabajo y se logró el desarrollo económico. Con los recursos del país, los empresarios podían obtener buenas ganancias. Sin embargo, a medida que pasó el tiempo, el descontento fue creciendo por la miseria en que vivía la mayoría de la gente pobre y porque Díaz tenía demasiado tiempo en el poder.

México tuvo un crecimiento económico nunca antes visto. Desafortunadamente, el desarrollo económico favoreció a unos cuantos mexicanos y extranjeros quienes podían obtener permisos para explotar los recursos del país. Este grupo selecto compró enormes porciones de tierras deshabitadas y sin cultivar. Esto creo una notable desigualdad entre los ricos y los pobres.

Los indígenas y la mayor parte de los habitantes del campo se vieron obligados a trabajar como peones en las haciendas al perder sus tierras. Estos trabajos eran mal pagados y los trabajadores tenían poca libertad. El poco dinero que ganaban lo gastaban en las tiendas propiedad de los propios patrones, quienes vendían todo más caro.

Uno de los momentos más culminantes hacia la revolución sucedió cuando en 1910, Porfirio Díaz afirmó que México ya estaba preparado para tener elecciones libres, dándoles así la oportunidad a nuevos candidatos para que compitieran por la presidencia de la República. Lamentablemente, Díaz cambio de opinión y se reeligió una vez más.

En las elecciones de 1910, el principal candidato opositor a Porfirio Díaz era Francisco I. Madero. A pesar de estudiar en el extranjero y no tener dificultades económicas, Madero sabía que muchos mexicanos vivían en condiciones de extrema pobreza y estaba profundamente preocupado por los problemas nacionales. Madero creía en la democracia y en la necesidad de renovar el gobierno de acuerdo con las leyes. Durante su campaña, Madero viajó  por todo el país explicando sus ideas políticas, las cuales crearon gran interés en las elecciones de 1910. El éxito de su campaña  lo convirtió en un peligro para el gobierno de Porfirio Díaz, quien lo mando a detener y encarcelar en San Luis Potosí. Poco después, mediante el pago de una fianza, salió de la cárcel y escapo a los Estados Unidos, donde publicó el Plan de San Luis potosí.

En ese documento, Madero denunció la ilegalidad de las elecciones y desconoció a Porfirio Díaz como presidente. Madero se auto declaró presidente provisional, hasta que se realizaran nuevas elecciones y prometió devolver las tierras a las personas que injustamente se les había despojado. Madero exigió que se defendiera el voto efectivo y la no reelección de los presídentes. También convocó a un movimiento armado en todo el país, el domingo 20 de noviembre de 1910, con el objetivo de derrocar la dictadura de Porfirio Díaz.

El pueblo respondió a este llamado. Por el lado norte, el legendario Francisco (Pancho) Villa, cuyo nombre real era Doroteo Arango Arambula, se unió a la lucha. En este movimiento armado sobresalieron sus aptitudes como excelente estratega, derrotando a las fuerzas de Díaz en varios frentes. Mientras tanto, por el lado del sur Emiliano Zapata se unía a Madero encabezando a los campesinos del estado de Morelos a reclamar sus derechos sobre la tierra. El movimiento en contra de Porfirio Díaz tuvo una duración de seis meses y el 21 de mayo de 1911 renunció a su cargo como presidente de México. Posteriormente  Díaz  se embarcó rumbo a Francia, en donde murió el 2 de julio de 1915, en la ciudad de Paris a los 84 años de edad.

Para junio de 1911 Madero toma la presidencia de la república, pero a los dos años de su gobierno es traicionado y asesinado por Victoriano Huerta, quien era uno de sus colaboradores. En febrero de 1913, Victoriano Huerta se nombra presidente de México y dirige al país hasta el año de 1916. Posteriormente, Villa, Zapata y Venustiano Carranza inconformes con la forma en que Huerta dirigía al país,  se levantaron en armas y lo derrotaron. De esta manera Venustiano Carranza asumió la presidencia de 1916.

A finales de 1916, los revolucionarios se reunieron en Querétaro para reformar la Constitución de 1857. A pesar que la  nueva Constitución se promulgó el 5 de febrero de 1917, en algunas regiones de México la guerra continuó hasta 1920. La nueva Constitución declara que la educación primaria debe ser obligatoria y gratuita. Además, debe ser ajena a toda doctrina religiosa, para garantizar la libertad de cultos. Así mismo, estipula que las riquezas del suelo, el subsuelo, las aguas y mares de México son de la nación. Esto hizo posible controlar la actividad de las compañías mineras y petroleras, así como el reparto de la tierra de las grandes haciendas entre los campesinos. Esta Constitución agregó grandes reformas laborales. Estableciendo que la duración del trabajo diario no debe ser más de ocho horas y  un día de descanso obligatorio a la semana. También  Prohíbe que las mujeres y los niños se ocupen de labores inadecuados para su sexo y su edad. Además reconoce que los trabajadores tienen derecho a formar sindicatos  y hacer huelgas.

La Constitución de 1917 es la que nos rige, sin embargo, ha sido reformada muchas veces para adaptarla a las circunstancias, que cambian con el tiempo, pero sus principios siguen normando la vida de México.

By Tare Beltranchuc
 

Viviendo y sobreviviendo entre el cielo y la tierra

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Entre el cielo y la tierra.

“[…] nadie puede decir en qué momento comienza el despertar del hombre” (Eduardo Subirats, Utopía y Subversión, 1975, p. 148).

En lo que más me fijé la primera vez que te conocí, fue en tus manos. Grandes, con las uñas bien recortadas y con un tatuaje imperfecto. Tus manos siempre cargaban algo: una pluma, papel, tarjetas con números telefónicos, periódicos, libretas y bolsas de plástico trasparente con comida. Puños llenos de sueños… Tus manos eran por si solas, un taller de trabajo, una oficina, una librería, una lucha hispana. Esas manos tuyas reflejaban de una manera muy pulcra, tu trabajo: cuidadas, útiles, en eterno movimiento y fuertes.

Entre el cielo y la tierra (ese sitio donde nosotros, los ridículos y dramáticos humanos, intentamos vivir y sobrevivir) estaba tu laboratorio. En él hacías experimentos para revolucionar la existencia de los que no sabemos cómo saborear la vida de una forma sana. En él construiste comunidad y derribaste muros. En él luchaste por todos nosotros; de hecho, este espacio en el que hoy estoy escribiendo en español, nos lo conseguiste tú.

¿De quién eran esas manos mágicas que trabajaban entre el cielo y la tierra? Eran de un hombre que soñaba despierto y despertaba a sus sueños: correr programas de rehabilitación en español; “les voy a enseñar (a las correccionales) cómo se debe de hacer la rehabilitación adecuadamente”, me decía. Eran de un hombre que no recibía un “no” por respuesta; “eh, Lucía, va a estar bueno. Vamos a agarrar lo mejor para la raza. Tú confía”, me repitió. Eran de un hombre que tocaba puertas, que luchaba por los “compas”, que explicaba cuando nadie quería oír, que compartía con los demás hasta lo que no tenía, que respiraba profundo “cuando la cosa se pone fea”, que miraba siempre para adelante y dejaba atrás rencores y remordimientos, que creía ciegamente en la unión y el trabajo en equipo, que disfrutaba de estar vivo. Eran las manos de un hombre de palabra que, invariablemente, caminaba con la cabeza bien erguida porque estaba orgulloso de su cultura; orgulloso de nosotros.

Compañeros, ustedes que hoy están leyéndome, déjenme decirles que le debemos mucho al dueño de esas manos: ahora es nuestro turno de trabajar entre el cielo y la tierra, para derribar muros y construir comunidad. A él no le importaba si eras “gabacho”, “moreno”, “paisa”, o extraterrestre; “no le hace. Aquí con nosotros todos son bienvenidos”, decía con una gran sonrisa. Mis compas, compitas, ñeros, paisas y banda, de Norte a Sur y de Sur a Norte, todos somos uno y uno somos todos. Juntos, vamos a mantener vivo el trabajo que él comenzó entre el cielo y la tierra; porque ese trabajo era y es, para y por nosotros. Porque entre el cielo y la tierra sólo podemos caminar. ¡Ya basta de correr! Vamos a andar, un pie delante del otro. Vamos a despertar y a dejar ese racismo que nos pudre por dentro. Vamos a recorrer, cogidos de las manos, las carreteras que no entienden de fronteras; las carreteras que sólo saben de unión.

“No se descubre al sueño por haberlo des-cubierto, no son las luces del día, de la conciencia y la razón, las que lo desvelan. Más bien revelan una nueva luz. Una nueva claridad que penetra en la vida vigil con las sombras de recuerdos de deseos olvidados […] Al amanecer no se despierta del sueño; es el sueño el que despierta la vigilia” (pp. 147-148).

Despertemos de ese sueño que nos tiene adormecidos. Ese sueño que nos hace sentir cansados y desganados, esclavos del hartazgo. Despertemos al sueño de ser el mejor ejemplo de nuestras raíces. ¿De qué sirve una vida llena de sueños, si dormimos durante el día? Arnulfo T. García: esta lucha no se acaba aquí.

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