Colonialism and Profits Form the Basis for the Political Economy of Prisons in Occupied America

In 1993 we took time to seriously analyze and critique the work of Unión del Barrio, the national liberation struggle, and what needs to be done to bring victory to our struggle. After a series of discussions we recognized the critical necessity of establishing a "vanguard-type" formation; one that would have the capacity to develop a clear ideology, strategy, and actual organization to lead our liberation movement to victory.

In the July - Sept. 1993 issue of ¡La Verdad! we wrote:

"We understand that during this period of struggle there is no strong leadership found within our movement. While at the same time we are witnessing a growing activism in occupied Mexico (Aztlán). Basically [what we have] is a movement without direction - [like] a ship without a rudder, sailing endlessly.... We firmly believe that only a vanguard-type organization can concretely move our struggle forward. By vanguard we mean an organization composed of disciplined, committed, serious, and politically advanced membership and with a well thought out, scientific strategy and tactical program for winning the liberation of Chicano Mexicanos and all Raza, from Alaska to Chile."

Central to developing the leadership for our movement organizationally is to come to terms, in theory and practice, with a materialist strategy that will lead our struggle to victory. To achieve a correct strategy it is necessary to clearly analyze the characteristics and identify the foundation of the colonial-capitalist system that oppresses the great majority of nuestra Raza.

We understand that prisons are a tool of colonialism. Our revolutionary goals for liberation call for analysis on the question of prisons - its affects on our movement and impact on the whole Mexicano community - by clearly defining the political, social, and economic value of the prison system to gabacho-settler colonialism and capitalism, as well as what needs to be done in order to deal with this particular question in defense of our gente.

In 1986 - for the purpose of understanding what were the causes that led to the defeat of the Chicano Power Movement of the late 1960's and early 1970's - we published a brief document that identified several key factors. They included the lack of a clear revolutionary theory, lack of organization, isolation from other liberation struggles, individualistic approach to struggle, and the vicious attack led by various U.S. government law enforcement/military institutions (read Unión del Barrio pamphlet, "Summing Up The Last Period Of Struggle: The Chicano Movement 1965 to 1975," June 1986). It is within this last factor, that we find the role that the prison system plays in the continued oppression of our gente.

In the late 1960's and early 1970's the U.S. government, with the support of the general white population, unleashed all of its police-military might against the Chicano/Indio Movement, the Black Power Movement and other liberation struggles. Organizers and militants were murdered, brutalized, harassed, arrested and imprisoned. Raids on the headquarters of progressive and revolutionary organizations, setting-up of people on petty or phony charges, getting people fired, threats of losing jobs, and creating splits and divisions within organizations were constant realities of that period of struggle. If the militants couldn't be "neutralized" (forced into exile, give-up struggle, or selling out), they were either murdered or imprisoned (read the chapter "The Black Revolution of the Sixties," Izwe Lethu i Afrika!, by Omali Yeshitela; Occupied America, by Rodolfo Acuña; and Agents of Repression, by Churchill and Vander Wall).

Therefore, as we came to understand the causes which led to the defeat/decline of the Chicano Power Movement and the on-going colonial oppression of Mexicanos, we saw how along with police attacks and government drug pushing came the incarceration of activists and whole sectors of our community. Once the leading organizations of the movement were destroyed and most militants neutralized, murdered, or imprisoned the colonial state carried its vicious counterinsurgency war to the whole colonized communities within its borders.

The state wanted to insure that the movement would not rise again, and thus they implemented a community-wide strategy of oppression (low intensity warfare) that would keep La Raza from ever developing a force that could lead it to liberation. This required imprisonment of large sectors of the oppressed community and the construction of prisons of a "new type" - a type that would exercise maximum control over prisoners.

Historically, we have witnessed how many of nuestra Raza's best minds have been locked up in colonial-occupied America. Some of these individuals, even while still in prison, became leaders in the struggle for Raza liberation. The great revolutionary, Ricardo Flores Magón, was imprisoned and killed by guards in Leavenworth Federal Prison in 1922. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, various Chicano Movement organizations were active in prisons throughout Aztlán. To keep both the community and the prisoner under control, a new strategy of community and prisoner control had to be put into action.

This strategy (low intensity warfare) served, and continues to serve, a political and social purpose for U.S. colonialism. Beyond the social and political though, in a most parasitic fashion, low intensity warfare brings tremendous economic profits to the ruling class as well to its collaborators: the white masses and vendido hispanic elements within our own communities.

Prisons, Genocide, And The New World Order

This low intensity warfare being waged against Mexicans - and other indigenous people - and Africans fits nicely within the imperialist "New World Order" and the political economic strategy of "Neoliberalism" (a new version of laissez faire capitalism) practiced by the U.S. It is around this question where we find the answer to the massive prison construction of the last 25 years - capitalism's need to keep our people oppressed and from developing the organizational capacity for liberation, while at the same time make billions of dollars in profits.

We address this fact in an article titled "The Clinton Crime Bill: A Vicious Program to Keep Our Gente Poor, Exploited, and Colonized" (¡La Verdad!, July - Sept. 1994). The new U.S. government's counterinsurgency program, waged in the form of low intensity warfare ". . . also forms part of the 'New World Order' where the European population under the leadership of the white bourgeoisie (the rich ruling class) will become the supervisors and managers of the wealth and labor of the peoples of the world. The large Mexicano and African population within the borders of the U.S. is not part of this world scheme; thus we see a whole campaign to reduce the population and lock-up Mexicanos, Africans, and other non-European peoples. This campaign includes deportations, murders, spreading of AIDS, disarming of people, importation of drugs into poor communities, and the mass criminalization [and incarceration] of our peoples."

In a recent presentation given at California State University Fullerton, Philip Agee, former CIA agent and author of Inside The Company (aired on C-SPAN, Nov. 1995), called the attacks on Mexicanos, Africans, and other nationalities, as a way for the United States government to eliminate its "excess population." We see more references to the genocide of non-European people throughout the world in the book Excessive Force: Power Politics and Population Control (published by the Information Project for Africa).

Some Facts Regarding Prisons In The U.S. Settler State

History has taught us that the role of prisons, since the rise of capitalist societies, has been to socially and economically control the masses and maintain the power of a small, rich ruling elite. In contrast with the old colonial society, where the white ruling class openly (and shamelessly) oppressed the masses of our people, capitalism has legally/constitutionally codified and masked the role of prisons to make us think that their primary function is to protect society from criminal elements. Yet nothing can be further from the truth, as we witness the fact that the great majority of the people in prisons are the poor or those who rebel against the injustices of the state.

For example, consider the following:

° The imprisonment rate has increase close to 500% within the last 20 years. (see Crime & Prisons, produced by the Prison Law Project of the National Lawyers Guild, Fall 1994 and San Diego Union-Tribune 12/4/95). This is no coincidence since colonialism has imposed a war on the masses under the cover of getting tough on crime and the war on drugs - arresting thousands upon thousands of people.
° Presently close to two million people - the great majority Mexicano Indios, African and poor people of other nationalities - are in U.S. prisons (see Crime and Prison) and millions more tied to the legal system (in the form of parole and probation). In fact, the U.S. has more people in prison than any other nation on earth. (San Diego Union Tribune 12/4/95 ).
° While the actual crime rate, relatively speaking, is going down, the media has distorted and sensationalized crime as ever-increasing and more violent. Over 70% of those getting 25 to life are doing so not for serious crimes (read North Coast Xpress, Dec. 1995/Jan 1996). Information from the system itself shows that most people doing time are not in for violent crime, but as a result of drug busts and burglary arrests. White collar crime (business and corporate crime) far exceeds costs and has far more impact on society than all burglaries, robberies and auto thefts combined. The difference is that business and corporate crimes are generally by the gringo. These crimes which are rarely highlighted by the media, are never put into any kind of perspective that consider their actual impact on society. This is especially important, since most of the time the activities of these gringo crooks run into the millions of dollars and impact many lives (savings and loan scams, stock market rip offs, environmental crimes, etc.). Yet, when some poor Mexican or African rips off some liquor store or gets caught selling a twenty dollar bag of dope, our picture ends up all over the evening news and on all the "Cops"-style shows - thus keeping us on the minds of every simple minded redneck who thinks they are going to be the next victim. On top of that there is fact that Mexicans and Africans are nine times most likely to be convicted of a drug related crime - yet drug use is proportionately much higher among whites (Crime and Punishment). As if this was not enough proof to clearly demonstrate that the whole war on drugs has been used to criminalize and imprison Raza and other poor oppressed peoples there is more to this vicious plan of low intensity warfare.
° Woman imprisonment, relatively speaking, is growing at a faster rate than men. Over two thirds of women inmates in the U.S. are non-white women, the majority of these are Mexicanas and Africans. Over one-half of the women in prison have children. This perpetuates the break down of the family - a necessary factor in maintaining colonialism and advancing the genocide of a people (Crime and Punishment). As Unión del Barrio has explained in the past, the intent of the various new laws, the Democratic Party "Crime Bill" and the Republican Party "Contract With America," are attempts to "control the growing Raza population by targeting the family and thus maintaining white supremacy" (see ¡La Verdad!, Oct.-Dec. 1994 and La Opinión, 11-25-1994).
° In relationship to the "Clinton Crime Bill" and the "Three Strikes You're Out," we see laws where at 13 years old you can now be legally tried as an adult (Turning The Tide, Fall 1995). This is key because it psychologically puts fear into youth and locks down a generation of potential revolutionaries. It attacks Mexicans as most are under 18 years old and keeps us from replenishing the ranks of militants. In this "legal" attack against our youth, we see that in some cases prison sentences are increased to 10 years if crimes were committed by known gang members. This open attack on our youth can easily be applied to political groups accused of anti-government violence. Furthermore, laws in the recent Anti-Terrorist Bill allow for immediate deportation (without hearings) of so-called "aliens" for "connection" to "terrorists activities" and the mass implementation of secret surveillance of anyone "suspected" of being in a terrorist organization (Turning The Tide-Fall 1995). As history has proven, these types of laws are applied to those in society who dare to stand up for their rights and struggle against violations of the civil and human rights.
° California, which has the highest number of Mexicans, is first in prison construction and 46th in public school spending (North Coast Xpress, Dec. 1995/Jan 1996). Yet, when the great majority of public schools students were white, California led the U.S. settler-nation in public school funding. Now that Raza and other non-white people form the majority of the student population, the colonial administrators have implemented plans to keep us under-educated and in prison.
° Time and time again through research by bourgeois groups themselves, studies have proven that prisons do not protect the public or rehabilitate the prisoners - rather it breeds anger and frustration against society (The Fortress Economy: The Economic Role of the U.S. Prison System, by Lichtenstein and Kroll, 1990). The fact that the cost of incarcerating one person can put 10 people through community college, five in the Cal State University system, and 2 in the U.C. system (North Coast Xpress, Dec. 1995/Jan 199), leads us to understand the tremendous value, to the system, of keeping us imprisoned rather than educating us. Therefore, it is not surprising to know that there are more Raza in prisons, than there are in colleges and universities.

From Consultants To Prison Guards, Thousands Gain From Prison Industry

Generally, most people know very little about the political-economic benefits of prison construction and maintenance. To get an idea of what is the economic basis for the existence and growth of prisons we need to take the following into account:

° Over 80 billion dollars - a sum larger than annual budgets of most nations in the world - is spent annually by the U.S. capitalist-colonial criminal justice system (Focus, National Council on Crime and Delinquency, July 1989 and The Fortress Economy).
° Within the last twenty years, 21 prisons have been built in California alone, and by the year 2,000 (four more years!) 22 more will be completed (Los Angeles Times, 1994).
° With the enactment of laws such as the Crime Bill, Anti-Terrorist Acts, Three Strikes, etc., "We project 4 to 6 million people, most of them black and Hispanic [sic] imprisoned nationally," explains Jerome Miller of the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (quoted from article of Prisons, by the African People's Socialist Party).
° The FBI, CIA, DEA, INS and countless other police and military institutions in the U.S. have dossiers (personal files) on millions of people currently residing in what currently is the U.S. Eleven sites, presently empty, that are maintained and could serve as concentration camps for "radicals," have been identified. Most are strategically located in rural communities (check out The Pig Society, by Dean and Koontz, 1970).
° Recently, the INS (migra) along with other elements of the colonial police, held a massive three-day field exercise in case of a large flow of "illegal immigrants." In an article entitled "Border Patrol gets ready, just in case", (December 8, 1995, the San Diego Union-Tribune) the military exercise was upheld as "...the Clinton administration's top immigration policy-makers tested new plans to control the border in case Mexico's financial and political problems worsen dramatically... Their field radios crackling through a border canyon here [Nogales, Arizona], scores of Border Patrol agents practiced erecting cyclone-fence corrals, herding immigrants through them for emergency processing, and loading them onto bus convoys for travel to mass detention centers."

Based on the history of setter America, we know racist-colonialist-capitalists have always worked to maintain the Mexicano and other non-European people in state of oppression and subjugation. They have been active agents in crushing the many uprisings of our people and of revolutionary movements, and staunch supporters of the prison industry.

We know that the growing incarceration of Raza is tied to the super profits made by businesses such as engineering, construction, medical services, waste removal, maintenance, consultants and academics (who do the research on prisoners), food preparation and delivery services, arms (special tear-gas and riot equipment producers) and security systems, and other companies and syndicates; corporations such as AT&T, G.E., American Express, Kitchel Capital Expenditures Management, etc. Also cashing in on the profits to be made by imprisonment are the correctional guards, counselors and psychologists, parole and probation officers, wardens and assistants, etc. We see the whole criminal justice system, lawyers, D.A., judges, police/sheriffs, etc. living off our colonial situation. Even business around prisons, such as hotels, restaurants, and travel/transportation business such as train, bus, airlines, are making profits from the colonial concentration camps known as prisons. There is so much money to be made that private corporations are getting into the prison and jail business, establishing privately owned, for-profit prisons! (The Fortress Economy)

The Great Majority Of Gringo America Is Politically Or Economically Tied To The Prison Industry

Prison construction is "sold" to white, economically depressed communities (gladly accepted by them) as a source of employment and tax revenue and the solution to their problems. This sick complicity and unity between the rich white ruling class and its brothers and sisters, the general white population, is concretely expressed in their joint support of locking-up more Raza, African, and other non-white peoples. This cross-class, racial unity of white people around mass imprisonment of people is brilliantly summed-up by Omali Yeshitela (chairman of the African People's Socialist Party) as, "...the U.S. government and whites are making so much money off our genocide that the massive U.S.-wide prison-building alone is responsible for the current economic prosperity which flows to the majority of the white population. . . . White people making their prosperous livings off the suffering of African people is not new. . . . This is why the majority of the white population enthusiastically backs all of the genocidal anti-black legislation today - from the Crime Bill to the welfare cutbacks, attacks on affirmative action, to and the theft of our babies through the foster care program."

The Current Situation Of A Great Number Of Raza Presently Locked Down

Daily acts of brutality (physical and mental) by guards or intentional "set-ups" as a way of promoting confrontations between prisoners, forced inducement of mind altering drugs, and censorship of reading material, are common practice. Since 1963, starting with the construction of Marion, several Maximum Security Prison have been built (Pelican Bay, CA, etc.) and over 36 state prisons have created "prisons within prisons" known as super maximum security sections (Crime and Punishment). Everyday, rights of prisoners, won through uprisings, strikes and legal actions are being annulled. Access to legal advise, rights to file suits, visits by family and friends, literature and other information, exercise equipment, access to educational opportunities, etc. are basic fundamental rights being denied to prisoners. This whole movement to further punish and control prisoners has as its objective the use of terror of imprisonment as a psychological tool to keep the rest of the population in line - as a center for controlling those who dare to rebel, and an attempt to keep prisoners from organizing themselves and uniting with the liberation movement "outside" of the prisons.

Our Work Around This Particular Question

If we are serious about bringing about revolutionary change and liberation for nuestra Raza, then those involved in the movement must identify those forces which oppress us and unite with those forces which struggle to defeat and destroy colonialism. This calls for including the question of prisons and prisoners as something that our movement must address. This is precisely the reason that Unión del Barrio founded the Chicano Mexicano Prison Project.

In the last issue of ¡La Verdad!, we outlined the objectives of the Prison Project as the following:
"The work of the CMPP is guided by three basic principles. One, to raise the political consciousness of Raza locked up in the U.S. colonial jails and prisons. Two, to expose to our communities, groups, students, and the families of prisoners, the political and economic realities of the prison system, which is set up to keep our gente colonized and oppressed, while at the same time making huge profits for the gringo capitalists and their vendido-puppet allies. And third, to advocate for the rights of all prisoners." (¡La Verdad!, July-Sept. 1995).

We currently have 500 members of the CMPP who get literature from our organization on a regular basis. As a way of advancing the objectives of the CMPP, through the Barrio Defense Committee (a component of the CMPP) in San José (see related article in this issue), we have launched a campaign to free a young Mexicano (Jose Luis Aviña) convicted for defending himself against a white vigilante. We have also supported the work around the defense of Ramsey Muñiz, a former leading member of La Raza Unida Party, presently in prison after being set-up by DEA agents on phony drug charges.

The Unión has also made it a point to raise the questions of police brutality and the role of prisons at all movement events in which we participate. In addition, a series of documents on the question of prisons is being developed and will be presented to the community and published by La Verdad Publications in January of 1996. We have committed ourselves to bringing this question up for discussion and action at the first Unión del Barrio Congreso which will be held mid 1995.

IMPRISON THE OPPRESSOR, LIBERATE THE OPPRESSED!
¡EN LAS CALLES Y EN LA TORCIDA, LA RAZA VENCER!

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