Progression

In my search for research, I have mainly come across two types of sources: those that are biased and those that do not give enough information. I have come across several websites claiming to be that of the Mexican government; I have yet to find one that looks truly official. Actually, let me look that up on Wikipedia right now.



Okay, there isn't really much on the official website.


Since 1994, the EZLN has enforced a unilateral truce with the Mexican government. This is pure fact. Now, this website http://www.larouchepub.com/other/1995/2245_ezln.html paints a rather different picture. For one, it says that they are violently taking over Mexico; this is most defnitely not the case. It also states the real name of the anonymous "Subcommandante Marcos" (the leader of the EZLN) is "Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente (a.k.a. "Marcos")"; this is not fact, only a suspicion. Upon further investigation of this website, it seems that it is run by an extremely biased dude, and all of the stuff he writes is tainted.

Another one bites the...

Today I decided to look on the internet for official information (and possibly a website) about the EZLN and their struggle, from their perspective. There is an abundance of positive information about NAFTA, but it mostly comes from government and NAFTA websites, so this is to be expected. I found their official website (http://www.ezln.org.mx/index.html), and decided to search for mas información. Since their website is in Spanish, I used Google translate so I could understand it. It wasn’t as helpful as I thought, and it was actually more difficult to comprehend than the Spanish version. After reading some of their website, I came across their declaration of war against Mexico, and the evidence they used to back it up. I checked their claims, and they seemed to be mostly true. Overall, I would say that I learned a lot about the EZLN’s reason for being, as well as my ability to read in Spanish for a non-Spanish class.

(Note to "LaMags": this blog was due Wednesday)

Well...

I decided on this topic much sooner than today, but since I haven’t posted in a while, I’ll write this anyway:

After many hours of long deliberation, sleepless nights, and an orange cinnamon roll, I have decided to research the pros and cons of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), focusing on its effects on the U.S. and Mexico, and how it relates to the role of the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, or EZLN, a militant revolutionary group from one of the poorest states of Mexico.

NAFTA is an agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico that eliminates many trade barriers (tariffs, restrictions, etc.). It is supposed to help the economies of the member countries. Some, such as the EZLN, located in the poorest part of Mexico, say that it has practically eliminated the land reforms mentioned in the constitution of Mexico. They have declared autonomous rule, and while they do not actively attack targets, they defend their land against the Mexican government if necessary. I am going to try and see where each side is coming from and what data and evidence they use to back up their claims.

(Note to "LaMags": this blog was due Friday)

To be perfectly honest...

To be perfectly honest, I have absolutely NO clue as to what topic I am going to chose for my inquiry contract. The assignment description asks me to “Choose a contemporary issue that interests you, is relevant to your life and is something you feel can be explored for several months without becoming exhausted or boring.” To be perfectly honest, I can’t even think of a topic that meets all three criteria, or even just two. And to be perfectly honest, no matter what topic I end up choosing, I will most likely be either exhausted or bored after several months. Hm. Should I write about abortion, or maybe the war in Iraq? What about the economy? After reading several other people’s blogs, it almost appears to be a requirement that I choose a boring, overused cliché. I can’t imagine finding a topic that I care enough about, so I might as well find something that I know has plenty of information, even if it’s because it’s been discussed every other day on Fox News, NPR, and the blogs of several uninterested individuals, who look for nothing more than quick money by hosting ads. Maybe I should start hosting ads.