Author: Kent Paterson

2010: El Año del Nini

September 6, 2010

Si la revista Time tuviera un vislumbre de percepción, habría nombrado al Nini la Persona del Año para 2010. Y ¿qué, se preguntará el lector, es exactamente un Nini? Adoptado en México durante la crisis económica, este modismo popular define a la persona joven que ni trabaja, ni estudia.

La Conferencia Mundial de la Juventud que tuvo lugar el mes pasado en la central ciudad mexicana de León, Guanajuato, despertó un acalorado debate acerca de cuántos Ninis hay ahora en México, divergiendo entre la cifra conservadora de 280,000 y estimaciones de millones de ellos.

El fenómeno creciente de una juventud ociosa también tiene su impacto en Estados Unidos. La verdadera pregunta es cómo medir el costo humano, económico y social de tener millones de jóvenes sin perspectivas para el futuro…

2010: Year of the Nini

September 2, 2010

If Time magazine had any inkling of sense, it would name the Nini the person of the year for 2010. Just what, you might ask, is a Nini? Coined by crisis in Mexico, the slang word means a young person who does not work or study.

In Mexico, the Nini has been front and center in the press in recent days. Surrounding the World Youth Conference held late last month in the central Mexican city of Leon, Guanajuato, a sharp polemic developed over the number of Ninis in the country and the government’s response to them.

Manufacturing a Border Crisis

June 8, 2010

Unlike Mexican border states where drug-fueled violence has been on the upswing, violent crime rates in U.S. states bordering Mexico have been decreasing for the last several years. So what would be the Obama administration’s next border initiative? Call out the National Guard and toss another $500 million at “border security.”

Arizona’s Brown Codes: A Generation’s Fight

May 28, 2010

If the myth of post-racial politics as propagated by the U.S. mass media after the election of Barack Obama wasn’t already wearing thin, the state of Arizona made sure it was buried once and for all.

Mexico’s New Dirty War

April 30, 2010

Carlos Montemayor broke a political taboo. An astute social analyst and prolific writer, Montemayor’s novels about the leftist guerrilla uprisings and state repression of […]

Cananea Mine Battle Reveals Anti-Labor Offensive

April 30, 2010

Overshadowed by narco-violence, another showdown with far-reaching consequences is unfolding near the Mexico-U.S. border. Striking workers have occupied a Grupo Mexico-owned copper mine and […]