An article appearing on a LaredoBlogReports titled, “Laredo South Judges Keep On Scheming” illustrates a political scam in which local Judges profit by perpetuating crime.
Judge Rangel and Judge Veliz keep on scheming south side residents for money and favors, according to many in the community. The so-called godfathers of Laredo’s south-side have been blood-sucking desperate people who have been arrested by letting them out on personal recognizance bonds or PR BONDS.
What’s the scam?
Check out the full article to get an illustrious explanation.
Judges gave favors with special conditions to criminals looking for bail, essentially purchasing their political support by coercion. Repeat offenders were directed to buy bail bonds from businesses owned by Judge Rangel and Judge Veliz. Typically, South Laredo is highly uninterested in-local politics – this fact is evinced by abysmally low voter turn out- their non participation is mostly due to apathy or ignorance. The rise in criminal activity has not seriously affected the conscience of our local representatives. Our local “officials” have a mentality of their own and it is far removed from the benevolent image they portray in the media. “We are for the community!” they hail. Because the public removed itself from the political process local politicians are free to scheme away from public scrutiny.
Local representatives further their political campaigns by abusing their position of authority. This is a very obvious observation of American politics, however,what does it really say about our particular situation?
What’s the big picture?
The City of Laredo is a border town historically, culturally and economically bound to Nuevo Laredo because of its geographic location and predominantly Hispanic community. The power dynamic in this isolated Southern border town is dominated by wealthy land owners, big business and a nepotist, unaccountable local government. The political monopoly by the Democratic party ensures competitors and dissenters are silenced. The domination of city government by crooked politicians is deeply cemented into the collective unconscious of Laredoans. Moreover, this conditioning is promulgated by the learned helplessness which demagogues exploit for their own benefit. Welfare programs have practically domesticated the population of South Laredo. The disenchanted and disadvantaged in Laredo are pacified by government sponsored Carne Azadas and costly stadiums paid by the taxpayer. The inept & boldface corrupt character of City Council operates on the principle of BOSS RULE:
[A] clique of politicians dominated the political life of a city by manipulating the votes of large numbers of immigrants. The bosses resorted to bribery and coercion, but they also won the support of the hard-pressed newcomers by providing informal welfare services and limited opportunities for upward mobility. Businessmen as well often embraced the systems to secure special favors from city government
–read more on the history of political machinations in South Texas
Historically, the City of Laredo’s local government represents a wealthy minority at the expense of the tax-paying majority.
The bosses catered to the needs of land speculators, developers, bankers, and merchants by promoting the extension of railroad lines to this remote section of the state –Ibid
Again, another seemingly obvious conclusion which leads us to more questions. What allows for an entrenched minority to continue to dominate, coerce and manipulate the majority? What keeps the scam going?
- chess pieces to be sacrificed in a game of black vs white
Los Peones, Slave Mentality and Cultural Decay
To the Mexican-American laborers the South Texas politicians offered paternalistic services modeled after the feudalistic obligations of Mexican patrones to their peones.In return for relief during hard times and the financing of weddings, funerals, and other special occasions, lower-class Mexicans submitted to the political control of the bosses –Ibid[Emphasis added]
Laredo has a very particular culture which incubates aggression and promotes cynicism; most especially the South side of Laredo. Though, lauded & promoted by some as being a culturally rich border town teeming with activity the reality is quite nastier. The reality is that most graduates tend to flee to San Antonio, Houston & Austin and those who can’t leave dream of bigger things outside of Laredo. Because of the lack of upward mobility many over-qualified young people are met with the bitter realization that you need to tow the line to get ahead. In this city you only get ahead by petitioning for favors from the boss-man and their cronies. “Move along to get along” “Don’t rock the boat!” Those few lucky people belonging to the clique get the good jobs and get a free ticket to do as they may.
The Gateway city to America is constantly inundated with tons of drugs freshly imported from across the border. Unfortunately, for a growing segment of the young population drugs offer an escape from their poverty & disenfranchisement. Daring to risk life and limb in exchange for glamour and affluence some young Laredoeans involve themselves with Mexican drug cartels. The story of Rosalio Reta and his accomplice Gabriel Cardona is an extreme example, though part of an alarming trend, it illustrates crucial information.
These two American high school dropouts were contract killers — on the payroll of drug cartels in Mexico. Investigators say they were paid $500 a week, just to sit around and wait for orders from Mexico to kill. Depending on the target they could bring in anywhere between $10,000 and $50,000. They would drive around in a $70,000 Mercedes Benz, flash cash, guns and live with little fear of any consequences for their actions –CNN.com
The lack of opportunity is a shared frustration by many in Laredo but only a very few will go to these horrendous extremes. From their interviews in prison crucial points can be understood for their justification as to why they chose that dangerous & dysfunctional life-path. Sidestepping their excuses for murder and penchant for deception we can clearly see they did it for the glory and power. They felt empowered and in control, though misguided, their aspirations & frustration swayed them from studying, working, building, creating & thinking. In reality, they were disenchanted high-school drop outs with a myopic perception spurred on by hormones and encouraged by a culture that glorifies dysfunctional behavior.
Furthermore, the self-defeating attitude inculcated by Mexican-American culture has condition our community to accept a perpetual state of devolution. Our society ignores a lot of inconvenient things in order to preserve its “esteemed” image. Generally speaking, of course, most Laredoeans are hesitant to critically analyze their intent & actions, because it is more comfortable to follow the dominant group. The corrupt character of our local leaders aptly compliments a misinformed and unwitting population of peones
Who profits?
Government and those working for government like to proudly portray their image as an incorruptible force proudly serving the community. We are asked NOT to QUESTION our leaders because they have been trained to know best. Does a society really benefit from unquestioned conformity? Are we to believe everything we are told? What’s the reality?
Under the cloak of the benevolent mantra “for your safety!” cops busy themselves ticketing taxpayers like predators lusting after prey. Meanwhile, the real power brokers of criminal syndicates continue undisturbed. Local police selectively enforce the law by busting down doors of low-level drug dealers. Their budgets grow bigger and continue to be federalized by Department of Homeland Security. The imagined threat of terrorism is legitimizing the use of extreme measures to ensure “public safety”. The Patriot Act and the National Defense Authorization Act coupled with Federal grants are slowly morphing the City of Laredo into a panopticon. An issue I covered a while back on an article titled, “The Creeping Police State in Laredo” here is a snippet:
according to US federal court documents DEA, ICE and FBI “allowed the Sinaloa drug cartel to traffic several tons of cocaine into the United States” (see this, this and this).
The perpetuation of crime oddly enough is a profitable venture because there’s almost a guaranteed resource from which to make money. Not only that but if you are partnered with the government or working for the government your position is much better than that of your competitor. The big excuse which keeps overcrowding prison complexes around the nation is the “War on Drugs”; more aptly referred to the “War on People”. Big Corporatist lobbying group such as ALEC support legislation which keeps the prison industry fat and happy:
When a federal judge ruled that overcrowding in Texas prisons was cruel and unusual punishment, the CCA signed contracts with sheriffs in poor counties to build and run new jails and share the profits. According to a December 1998 Atlantic Monthly magazine article, this program was backed by investors from Merrill-Lynch, Shearson-Lehman, American Express and Allstate, and the operation was scattered all over rural Texas. That state’s governor, Ann Richards, followed the example of Mario Cuomo in New York and built so many state prisons that the market became flooded, cutting into private prison profits.–read the full article on the prison-industrial complex & over-crowded prisonsGlobalResearch.ca
. Effectively what this means is that the taxpayer has underwritten a business model in which profit is made from human suffering. The prison-industrial complex is a behemoth and they are many working gears from big corporate cartels to tyrannical legislation at a Federal, state & local level.
How is this relevant? The run-away corruption affecting our community emanates from the macrocosm of the political game. The platform of power & control attracts power-hungry monopolists that want to get richer. The corruption is much larger than local judges giving out favors in return for votes, as if that weren’t bad enough. Our unaccountable government operates under our noses and continues to grow because our lack of participation, social cohesion and lack of knowledge . Complaints, petitions, lawsuits or other forms activism are practical methods of directing our energy against the the corruption in government. However, they all require participation in the political game and only address the political issue. If we intend to succeed in our quest for freedom we must make government irrelevant. The game has not changed! We must learn from our history and assess ourselves critically in order to move forward & beyond the need of political dynasties. Applying our knowledge locally in this vital time of change is of utmost importance. Don’t react, create! Participate! Break through your limitations and reinvent the world around you for the better!
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