11-25-2003
A lot has happened since I arrived. I have studied the material of the organization: Barrios de Pie. Their analysis is very good! What luck!
I have been helping as I can with the Consulta Popular, the mass action that the junta of organizations (hundreds of them) that they belong to is conducting. I meet them every day at whatever location they are working and talk to the people, help with banners and tables, etc. Plus I study like 5 hours a day, which has helped a lot as I am now able to understand pretty well many of the discussions they have at night. Almost every night we go out to a bar/restaurant, garden, plaza, or just sit in the street and discuss the struggle. I love it. Despite the fact that I don't drink and don't smoke, the conversations are invigorating. I have participated as much as I am able to at this point. I believe this kind of mass exchange of ideas and free conversation is missing from the US struggle. The comrades here are continuously discussing la lucha and la historia that has brought us to this point. At this point I am not up on the history of the Peronista movement as much as I would like to be, but when I can read faster in espanol I will dive into it. I want to read mostly all struggle related stuff on this Kiwi Chameleon Sojourn and all in Spanish. This is the language in which the masses of America think and speak in. Therefore it shall be my language too. The Guevarist perspective is sharp and its view is continental. I am not a Guevarist, although I agree with much of it. I believe in calling myself a dialectical materialist. Many think this is the same as Marxist, but I disagree. Any attempt to sum up my ideology with a suffixed name is to curtail my own disposition.

Today was a long day, as I helped the whole dia at the table. I spent only a few hours in the morning studying. I spoke to people in Spanish. I did ok.

The people were very militant, but not always informed or educated. At one point Pablo had to read the voting tablet to a comrade. He asked "do you know how to read" and the hombre said no with an obvious drop in morale (but he wanted to participate). My heart dropped when I saw the defeated reply. I wanted to embrace him and explain to him it wasn't his fault. That it was a deficiency of the state, not that he did not necessarily already know this. I just wanted to confer to him that I did not think less of him for that reason. Pablo then had him "X" on the right boxes. Pablo then wrote his name, document number, and age and had him sign it. I don't know his name, but he was trying to make money dressed as a clown entertaining children I guess. For this reason, in my head I dubbed him the "Resisting Jester." I credit him for my understanding.

Color lines here do not depict class lines necessarily. Which doesn't really mean much, other than the obvious: we must have a class oriented struggle free of race nationalism.

I am learning much from Eduardo Benitez my mejor amigo aqui. He is very quick and analytical. He also fills me in on some stuff that I miss.

After the huge press conference that we held, where we announced that we collected 2.5 million signatures and votes in only a week campaign against this horrid ALCA, we went to a pizza place, ate pizza and talked. There were a lot of comrades there. I had the pizza guy take a picture of us all. Many of the comrades seemed to be fascinated with my camera. I showed it to them and that launched a conversation about technology and the role that the theft of resources by the US plays in this huge difference in technology in different countries. I explained to them, that the majority of people in the States do not ever think critically about why they have access to such advanced technology, and if they do, many come to the conclusion that it must be a result of their "hard work."

The fact that Argentines are so obsessed with Argentine women being the most beautiful in all the world is an interesting phenomena. I have been asked what I think of Argentine women so many times it's ridiculous. The first time I was asked I was pleasantly surprised to have said the most popular response I could have. It was the night after we had campaigned at the Rio and I had come by and joined up with them towards the end. We returned much of the equipment to the Barrios de Pie Office or some building like that. A large group of us then sat in the street and they drank and smoked and we discussed politics. I was asked many questions concerning the US and the progression of the struggle there, and what the hell does the typical North American think of this colonial war in Irak. I said it was very underdeveloped (the struggle). I went a little into the CIA's crackdown and successful campaign which striped the African and Latino communities of their organizational structures and the space created by this extermination for the less progressive forces such as church groups and narrow-scoped organizations. However, when I was asked what I thought of Argentine women (all eyes on me) I responded that it was more important for me to have a woman that was a militant then what nationality she was. I was pleased by the round of applause I received for that statement, not being used to such treatment. I really wanted to be more eloquent and say something like the most beautiful women of all are those of the struggle, but could not find the words as fast as those that came out. Some day I will be more articulate in Spanish.