…. A bit dated, but with all the talk about Latortues personal life, i figure some may find this interesting.  I was covering a rally for Mexican farmworkers rights in Lakeland, Florida.   The march walked along the sidewalks, with about 50 people chanting “boycott Mount olive pickles!” and El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido!”

I noticed a group of several college-aged people with matching t-shirts on, and I began interviewing one of them.  The young woman was a student from the University of Florida, they were participating in a“farmworker spring break” focused on the issue of farmworkers rights; the week long program included such activities as going out into the fields to pick strawberries and learn first hand from the workers what they have to deal with, and helping organize this protest.  It was Friday afternoon, the last day of the weeklong experience, so I asked her to reflect on her experience.  Then I asked her name...

“Axel Latortue”

“Any relation to the new prime minister of Haiti?”

“Yes actually, he my fathers cousin.”

What follows is a transcript of our conversation, both about Mexican farmworkers rights, and about her relatives rise to power…nothing groundbreaking, but to me it brings up many issues, especially when we think about “taking sides” in these politically polarized days—painting people as good or evil.  Latortues' second cousin is spending her vacation marching for the rights of disempowered Latin Americans, yet she does not seem to be aware of the fact that similar mechanisms of US funded imperialism were taking place as we spoke, under the power of her own flesh and blood.

This one's for the Bush daughters…

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Axel Latortue: We’ve been out here since Saturday, working with FLOC (farm Labor Organizing Campaign), Learning about farmworkers, meeting them, and preparing for this march today.

Andrew Stelzer:  So what have you learned?

AL:  “we’ve learned about that conditions that they work in, pesticides a lot of the time, the wages that they earn, we actually worked out in the fields with them one day, and actually picked alongside farmworkers.  We picked 27 flats of Strawberries between the11 of us, whereas 1 worker picked 24 on his own, and so we learned how difficult it was and how little they get paid for it.  Were out here because it’s a human rights issue, we want justice, we want to help make a difference.”

AS:  What did the farmworkers say to you when you were visiting?

AL:  They were laughing at us when they saw us picking, because we were pretty new at it, but they were very very welcoming.  They would offer us the shirts off their backs, they fed us a lot.

AS:  I’m surprised a farmer let you do that, come out to the fields.

AL:  I think they were a little skeptical about who we were, but they did let us do it.

AS:  Were the farmworkers telling you about things that need to change, about their conditions?

AL:  No actually they didn’t.  I think they don’t want to look like bad workers, and they’re afraid because if they do look like they aren’t doing their job, they may get sent back home, and the conditions here are better than they are for them in Mexico, so they didn’t say anything like that.

AS:  That’s one thing that seems to come up a lot in this issue, people say ‘well you shouldn’t be complaining, you’re making more money that you could in whatever country you come from.”  What do you think about when people say that?

AL:  I guess in some ways we are a little bit better than it is over there, but that doesn’t make it right.  I think we have the power here to be able to help them and to be able to give them more without bringing ourselves down, and I think it’s our responsibility to do that.

AS:  I guess your spring break is almost over, but is this going to change you, are you gonna take on this issue?

AL:  I was very already very passionate about human rights issues prior to this, which is why I wanted to come out here; but this is definitely gonna fuel my fire, and I’m going to go back to school with a whole new passion for it, I hope, and hopefully ill be able to do more than I am doing now.

AS:  What’s your name?

AL:  Axel Latortue

AS:  What year in school are you?

AL:  I’m a junior.

AS: Are you related to the Latortue that just…?

AL: Yes I am.  He is my Fathers cousin so I guess that makes him my second cousin.  

AS:  Do you know him?  (Gerard Latortue)

AL:  My mom has told me I met him, but I don’t remember it.

AS:  What do they say about that whole situation in Haiti?

AL:  I’m not sure what they think, but I think it’s for the better.  They always say it cant get any worse but it usually does.

AS:  Have you been over to Haiti?

AL:  Yes. I was born there and I lived there for about half my life.

AS:  Do you think he (Aristide) was kidnapped?

AL: No.  I talked to my mom about it, according to her, he did sign resignation papers, and so if he signed it then I think he was just saying that he can still be in power and be protected.

AS:  Do you have any family still over there?

AL:  Yeah, a lot of my extended family is still over there.

AS:  That’s got to be a little scary...

AL:  I guess I’m kind of disconnected from it since I’ve been living here for a while now, but still, you never know what could happen.

AS:  So did your mom just say, ‘oh by the way, your uncle is the new prime minister of Haiti?’

AL: She asked me if I had heard the news.  I was on this trip and so we haven’t had access to TV; So I didn’t know.

AS:  You should go hang out in the palace over there now.  

AL:  I don’t know if I’d be safe there.