The Latin American Experience

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Definition

afán de poder

thirst for power

n. a strong or insistent desire for power.

atavístico

binding

adj. uncomfortably restrictive.

coercive or constraining.

austeridad

austerity

n. a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods.

avizorar

visualize

v. to create a mental picture or image.

brecha

track

n. a mark or series of marks, often footprints, left on the ground by people, animals, or machines; trail.

Caracoles Zapatistas

Caracol Zapatista

n. a Zapatista symbol based on the ancient Maya conch shell used as a horn to summon people to gather in one place as a community.

The caracol, employed as a symbol in both word and image, represents autonomous Zapatista government entities, or Juntas.

The Caracoles are the physical spaces

comunicado

notice

n. warning, news, or indication of something, esp. in written or printed form.

Consejo Municipal Autónomo

Municipal Autonomous Council

n. an autonomous version of a county council.

derechos inalienables

desprevenido

insurgencia

insurrección

intermediación

intermediarismo

Junta

Junta

n. a small group, often of military officers, acting as the rulers of a nation, esp. provisionally after the overthrow of a previous government.

Juntas del Buen Gobierno

Good Government Junta

n. teams made up of delegates from the various autonomous councils of the zone which form something like a rotating cabinet.

ladinos

ladinos

n. members of a predominantly Hispanic culture with varying degrees of white and indigenous racial characteristics.

levantamiento

uprising

n. the act or an instance of rebelling or rising up against authority; insurrection.

manifiesto

manifesto

n. a public statement of principles and intentions, usu. by an organized political group or person.

mestizo

mestizo

n. in Latin America or the Philippines, a man of mixed European and native ancestry.

movimiento de base

grassroots movement

n. a movement pertaining to, or directed toward the common people.

paramilitares

paramilitary

n. members of a group that has a military structure and purpose but is not part of a nation's armed forces.

parcela

plot

n. a small piece of land, esp. one used for a specific purpose.

pasamontañas

ski mask

n. a covering for all or part of the face, usu. worn to disguise the wearer's identity.

pollero

pollero, smuggler

n. A very hated and notorious person that smuggles Mexicans into the United States of America.

propuesta de ley

bill

n. a proposed law to be considered by a legislative body.

quehacer político

political chores

n. an unpleasant, difficult, or tedious task of, relating to, or concerned with the theory or practice of politics.

a particular task or function one is required to perform of, relating to, or concerned with the theory or practice of politics.

rebelión

rebellion

n. an uprising or armed resistance against established authority or a government.

reivindicación

vindicate

v. to show the validity of; justify.

resistencia

resistance

n. the opposition posed by one force against another.

the act or process of resisting.

rotativo

rotational

adj. that turns around.

 it is not the people or personalities that endure but the functions they fulfil and pass on to others.

ser consecuente

to be consistent

v. to be not contradictory; to be in agreement.

soberanía

sovereignty

n. the power of self-government, with independence from outside control; autonomy.

tribuna

platform

n. the publicly declared set of goals and principles of a political party or candidate; program.

usurpadores

usurpers

n. the ones to wrongfully use or take over another's property, authority, or the like.

the ones to seize a right, position, or the like forcibly or illegally.