Wednesday, May 31, 2006




5th Austrian Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts to

OLAFUR ELIASSON

This year’s Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts goes to the Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. Elisabeth Gehrer, Austrian Federal Minister of Education, Science and Culture, will present the Prize on 7th June, 2006, at 7 p.m. in the audience hall of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture in Vienna.

The Euro 55,000 Kiesler Prize is presented alternately by the Republic of Austria and the City of Vienna every two years for extraordinary achievements in architecture and the arts that relate to Frederick Kiesler’s experimental, innovative attitudes and his theory of ‘correlated arts’.

“The jury acknowledges Olafur Eliasson as an artist whose interdisciplinary approach and many years of international activity constitute a comprehensive realignment in relations between the art work and the viewer in the sphere of nature, culture, architecture and art. On the basis of scientific studies and models of philosophy and perception theory, Olafur Eliasson creates complex, sensible modellings of the parameters of time and space ... very much in line with the inspiring, comprehensive work concept of Frederick Kiesler ...”
Quotation of the jury 2006: Monica Bonvicini, Peter Cook, Gregor Eichinger, Marco De Michelis and Eckhard Schneider.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Seeking United Latin America, Venezuela's Chávez Is a Divider

By JUAN FORERO
Published: May 20, 2006

BOGOTÁ, Colombia, May 19 — As Venezuela's president, Hugo Chávez, insinuates himself deeper in the politics of his region, something of a backlash is building among his neighbors.

Mr. Chávez — stridently anti-American, leftist and never short on words — has cast himself as spokesman for a united Latin America free of Washington's influence. He has backed Bolivia's recent gas nationalization, set up his own Socialist trade bloc and jumped into the middle of disputes between his neighbors, even when no one has asked.

Some nations are beginning to take umbrage. The mere association with Mr. Chávez has helped reverse the leads of presidential candidates in Mexico and Peru. Officials from Mexico to Nicaragua, Peru and Brazil have expressed rising impatience at what they see as Mr. Chávez's meddling and grandstanding, often at their expense.

Diplomatic sparring has broken into the open. Last month, after very public sniping between Mr. Chávez and Peru's president, Alejandro Toledo, the country withdrew its ambassador from Caracas, citing "flagrant interference" in its affairs.

"He goes around shooting from the hip and shooting his mouth off, and that has caused tensions," Jorge G. Castañeda, a former Mexican foreign minister, said by phone from New York, where he is teaching at New York University. "The difference now is that he's picking fights with his friends, not just his adversaries."

Some of Mr. Chávez's gestures, like his tendency to tweak the Bush administration, or the aid projects he has bankrolled with Venezuela's oil money, still leave him popular, particularly among the poor.

But increasingly, the very image of the Venezuelan leader has come to stand for a style of caustic nationalism that many in the region fear, as the divisions provoked by the man who professes to want to unify his region have widened.

"He is beginning to overreach, wanting to be involved in everything," said Riordan Roett, director of Latin American studies at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. "It's a matter of egomania at work here."

Mr. Chávez, for instance, has taken the uncompromising stand that governments must choose either his vision of continental unity or free trade with Washington, which Mr. Chávez blames for impoverishing the region. "You either have one or the other," he said. "Either we're a united community or we're not."

In late April, he exasperated Colombia, Ecuador and Peru by declaring that Venezuela would drop out of their trade group, the Andean Community of Nations, because the other three members were seeking free trade agreements with the United States. He has instead formed a trade bloc with Cuba and Bolivia's new Socialist government.

While the move was filled with political symbolism, analysts say it offers few real prospects for trade and threatens badly needed integration among Andean countries, which still depend on United States markets.

"Chávez's idea of sovereignty seems pretty selective," said Michael Shifter, a senior policy analyst at the Inter-American Dialogue policy group in Washington. "Chávez has been saying, in effect, 'You're either with us or against us.' For most Latin Americans that hubristic message doesn't go over very well, whether it comes from Washington or Caracas."

The sparring with Peru's government erupted last month after President Toledo said it made no sense for Mr. Chávez to criticize his Andean partners for dealing with Washington when Venezuela sells most of its oil to the United States.

But he saved his strongest words for Mr. Chávez's general involvement in Peruvian affairs.

"Mr. Chávez, learn to govern democratically," Mr. Toledo said. "Learn to work with us. Our arms are open to integrate Latin America, but not for you to destabilize us with your checkbook."

When Alan García, a candidate in Peru's June 4 presidential election, also took Mr. Chávez to task, the Venezuelan president responded with, among other things, an endorsement of his opponent.

"I hope that Ollanta Humala becomes president of Peru," Mr. Chávez declared, backing Mr. García's nationalist opponent, who has modeled himself on the Venezuelan leader. "Go, comrade! Long live Ollanta Humala! Long live Peru!"

Mr. Chávez called Mr. García, a former president whose tenure was marred by corruption scandals, "shameless, a thief," and warned that if he were elected "by some work of the devil," Venezuela would withdraw its ambassador.

But it was Peru that made the move first. Venezuela soon followed, and the Chávez government responded by calling Mr. Toledo an "office boy" for President Bush. Mr. García benefited handsomely, taking a long lead in the polls.

Surveys showed Peruvians had little patience for Mr. Chávez's interference. Only 17 percent of Peruvians said they had a positive view of the Venezuelan leader, the Lima-based Apoyo polling firm found.

In Nicaragua, Mr. Chávez has thrown his support behind Daniel Ortega, the former leader of the communist Sandinista revolution, who is running for president in November elections.

"I shouldn't say I hope you win because they will accuse me of sticking my nose into Nicaraguan internal affairs," Mr. Chávez told Mr. Ortega, who was invited on his radio show in late April. "But I hope you win."

Mr. Chávez pledged to supply cheap fuel to a group of Sandinista-run towns. The gesture was interpreted by opponents as a naked ploy to influence the vote and criticized as a backhanded way to funnel money to the Ortega campaign.

Nicaragua's government called on Mr. Chávez to stay out. "We hope this partisan support comes to an end so that Nicaraguans can freely choose who we want to be the next leader of Nicaragua," Foreign Minister Norman Caldera told Nicaraguan television this month.

The American ambassador to Nicaragua, Paul A. Trivelli, speaking to Nicaraguan media, accused Mr. Chávez of "direct intervention," but analysts said it was too soon to say what effect Mr. Chávez would have on the vote.

In Mexico, the leftist candidate in the July presidential election, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has labored to distance himself from Mr. Chávez, to no avail.

When he made a slip of manners recently, calling President Vicente Fox a chattering bird and telling him to shut up, his conservative opponent, Felipe Calderón, ran a series of attack advertisements intercutting the gaffe with images of Mr. Chávez, whose tendency to hurl insults is a trademark. (He has called Mr. Bush a drunkard and Mr. Fox a "puppy dog of the empire.")

In recent weeks, Mr. López Obrador's lead in the polls has evaporated, and he now trails his opponent.

The disputes are not limited to politics, however, but also touch important national interests.

Mr. Chávez, for instance, encouraged and quickly supported Bolivia's nationalization of its energy sector this month, a move that infuriated Argentina and Brazil, which depend on Bolivian natural gas.

Though Venezuela was not a party to the dispute, Mr. Chávez joined a meeting of leaders from Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia aimed at calming the crisis, and dominated a news conference afterward, upstaging even his Bolivian protégé, President Evo Morales.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, steward of South America's largest economy and nominally a left-wing ally of Mr. Chávez, was particularly humiliated. Celso Amorim, the foreign minister, was called before senators and quizzed about Brazil's weak response. He said Mr. da Silva had admonished the Venezuelan leader in a private phone call, telling him that the Bolivian move could jeopardize Mr. Chávez's dream of a 5,000-mile pipeline to carry Venezuela's gas to Argentina.

Mr. da Silva also rebuked Mr. Chávez, he said, for involving himself in a dispute that Brazil is having with Uruguay and Paraguay over their trade bloc, Mercosur, saying Mr. Chávez's role was "a stimulant to activities incompatible with the spirit of integration."

The wounds have yet to heal. Jorge Viana, the governor of Acre state in Brazil, and a crucial ally of Mr. da Silva, told Brazilian radio last week that Mr. Chávez's meddling was "lamentable." He criticized Mr. Chávez's "precipitated decisions to interfere in the internal affairs of Bolivia, Peru and, by extension, those of Brazil." Mr. Chávez, he said, "needs to calm down."

James C. McKinley contributed reporting from Mexico City for this article, and Paulo Prada from Rio de Janeiro.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/20/world/americas/20chavez.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&th&emc=th

Thursday, May 18, 2006

ASIAN CONTEMPORARY ART WEEK (ACAW)

ASIAN CONTEMPORARY ART WEEK (ACAW)
MAY 22 - 27, 2006 IN NEW YORK CITY
http://www.acaw.net

28 leading New York City galleries and museums join forces to present ACAW, an annual citywide event that focuses this year on Asian video art.

A highlight is Fast Futures: Asian Video Art, an exhibition of 35 works drawn from an open call juried by Melissa Chiu (Asia Society Museum Director), Yu Yeon Kim (independent curator) and Barbara London (Museum of Modern Art Curator) to be presented in galleries and museums across New York. Emerging and established artists are included from Turkey, Afghanistan, Dagestan, Japan, India, Pakistan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Asia Society launches this exciting week on Monday May 22 at 6.30pm with Dialogues in Asian Contemporary Art: Take 4, a panel discussion with leading artist Vivan Sundaram, curators Johan Pijnappel and Barbara London, and moderated by Melissa Chiu. Other events throughout the week include lectures, performances and video screenings.

Schedule of Events

Mon, 5.22.06
Asia Society Museum
6:30 pm Discussion
8 pm Reception

Tues, 5.23.06 (Uptown)
American Folk Art Museum
5pm Exhibition Tour
6-8pm Reception

Gallery Korea
5-7 pm Reception

Japan Society
5:30-8 pm Reception

Goedhuis Contemporary
6-8 pm Reception

Tilton Gallery
6-8 pm Reception

China Institute
8-9:30 pm Screening/Discussion

Wed, 5.24.06 (Downtown)
Arts Projects International
11-5 pm
Exhibition Viewing

Brooklyn Museum
3-5 pm Screening/Discussion
Chuk Palu Gallery/Center for
Contemporary Art Afghanistan
6-8:30 pm Lecture/Reception

Ethan Cohen Fine Arts
6-8 pm Reception
7 pm Performance

Thurs, 5.25.06 (Chelsea)
Bose Pacia Gallery
6:30 pm Discussion/Exhibition Viewing

Chambers Fine Art
6-8 pm Exhibition Viewing

James Cohan Gallery
6-8 pm Exhibition Viewing

Max Protetch Gallery
6-8 pm Reception

M.Y. Art Prospects
6-9pm Reception

Sepia International /
The Alkazai Collection
6-8 pm Reception

Sundaram Tagore Gallery
6-8:30 pm Reception

Sikkema Jenkins & Co.
6-8 pm Reception

Thomas Erben Gallery
6-8:30 pm Reception

Fri, 5.26.06 (Various)
Rubin Museum of Art
4:30-12 pm Video Screening
Artist Tours & ACAW DJ

Bose Pacia Gallery
6:30 pm Video Screening

Flow Sound Collective
Diapason Gallery
8:30-12 pm
Sound Art Performances

Gallery Arts India
6-9 pm Reception

Sat, 5.27.06 (Boroughs)
Bronx Museum of the Arts
4-6 pm Video Screening

Queens Museum of Art
2-5 pm Music & Dance Performances

Asian Art Museum
(San Francisco)
Exhibition on view thru July 16


Sponsors: ArtAsiaPacific, Diapason, Chambers Hotel, Sotheby's, SurroundArt and WPS1.org Art Radio

For a complete agenda and schedule of events, visit http://www.acaw.net
Media Contacts: Elaine Merguerian Asia Society, (212) 327-9271
ACAW Managing Director: Leeza Ahmady, (212) 327-9251

Asian Contemporary Art Week is an initiative of the Asian Contemporary Art Consortium: Melissa Chiu, Asia Society and Museum; Eleni Cocordas, Japan Society; Ethan Cohen, Ethan Cohen Fine Arts; Esa Epstein, Sepia International, The Alkazi Collection; Michael Goedhuis, Goedhuis Contemporary; Steve Pacia and Shumita Bose, Bose Pacia Modern; France Pepper, China Institute; Jung Lee Sanders, Arts Projects International; David Solo and Jack and Susy Wadsworth, Collectors.
FREUD AND CONTEMPORARY ART:
THE COLLECTION OF THE SIGMUND FREUD MUSEUM VIENNA

Austrian Cultural Forum New York
11 East 52nd Street
New York, NY 10022
212 319 5300
http://www.acfny.org

Exhibition dates:
April 25 – July 8 | 2006

Gallery hours:
Monday – Saturday | 10 am – 6 pm
Free admission.

Works by:

John Baldessari
Pier Paolo Calzolari
Clegg & Guttmann
Jessica Diamond
Marc Goethals
Georg Herold
Jenny Holzer
Joseph Kosuth
Sherrie Levine
Ilya Kabakov
Haim Steinbach
Franz West
Heimo Zobernig


In 2006, the world is commemorating the 150th anniversary of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis. From April 24, 2006, the Austrian Cultural Forum New York presents Freud and Contemporary Art: The Collection of the Sigmund Freud Museum Vienna, exhibiting this unique collection for the first time in the United States. The works assembled are extraordinary examples of how Freud’s thought found its way into the processes and contents of artistic creation. The exhibition is curated by Peter Pakesch, artistic director of the Joanneum in Graz, and Inge Scholz-Strasser, director of the Sigmund Freud Museum Vienna.


The Sigmund Freud Museum at Berggasse 19 in Vienna is a showcase of how a traditional memorial-type institution can become a platform for the numerous interconnections between science and art. Its transformation started in 1989, the 50th anniversary of Freud’s death and the centennial of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s birth, when American conceptual artist Joseph Kosuth was involved in an exhibition on Ludwig Wittgenstein at the Vienna Secession. As Kosuth’s work is also heavily influenced by Freud, the opportunity arose to shed light on the significance of Freud’s theories for the practice of art and present this correlation to the public in the place where the thoughts originated. Kosuth not only installed Zero & Not in Freud’s vacant private apartment but convinced other artists of major international reputation to each donate a work to the Sigmund Freud Museum Vienna. The example set by Kosuth was followed by John Baldessari, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Clegg & Guttmann, Jessica Diamond, Marc Goethals, Georg Herold, Jenny Holzer, Sherrie Levine, Ilya Kabakov, Haim Steinbach, Franz West, and Heimo Zobernig.

A special characteristic of the collection is that the works belong to the realm of conceptual art. The link between object, language, and representation in the arena of psychoanalytical theory is inherent in all of them, with Joseph Kosuth acting as the pioneer. West’s linguistic shifts and Herold’s overstated wit are telling examples of the various approaches that came together in this collection. Psychoanalytic thought has become an indispensable tool in the general practice of many artists, and as a consequence allows psychoanalytic theory to live on in the creative. Through its collection, the Museum demonstrates the vitality of psychoanalysis as a system and an intellectual model that has become an integral part of our consciousness and that through art acquires an additional level of action and interpretation.

An exhibition catalogue including artist statements, a foreword by Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, introductory texts by the curators Inge Scholz-Strasser and Peter Pakesch, and an essay by August Ruhs will be published in conjunction with the exhibition.

Freud and Contemporary Art: The Collection of the Sigmund Freud Museum Vienna is part of a series of programs organized or sponsored by the Austrian Cultural Forum New York to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Freud’s birthday. For more information, please visit http://www.acfny.org

The Austrian Cultural Forum is located at 11 East 52nd Street in Manhattan. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm. Admission is free. For additional information call 212 319 5300 or visit http://www.acfny.org

We gratefully acknowledge the support provided by Austrian Airlines, Austrian Lotteries, the City of Vienna, Gesellschaft der Freunde der Bildenden Künste, and Zumtobel Staff.



In just one month opens the first manifestation of Ideal City –Invisible Cities. Fortyone international artists will reflect from June 18 onward the ideal city and its sibling, the invisible city in Zamosc, Poland:

Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Francis Alys, Carl Andre, Archigram, Colin Ardley, Tim Ayres, Miroslaw Balka, Daniela Brahm, Pedro Cabrita Reis, Rui Calcada Bastos, Constant, Jonas Dahlberg, Tacita Dean, Jaroslaw Flicinski, Carlos Garaicoa, Dan Graham, George Hadjimichalis, Rula Halawani, Franka Hoernschemeyer, Craigie Horsfield, Katarzyna Jozefowicz, Jakob Kolding, Ola Kolehmainen, Lucas Lenglet, Sol LeWitt, David Maljkovic, Gerold Miller, Matthias Mueller, Teresa Murak, Brian O’Connell, Daniel Roth, Albrecht Schaefer, Kai Schiemenz, Les Schliesser, Melanie Smith, Monika Sosnowska, David Tremlett, Anton Vidokle, Lawrence Weiner, Tilman Wendland, Krzysztof Zielinski

Curated by Sabrina van der Ley and Markus Richter / European Art Projects
Commissioner: Anda Rottenberg, Adam Mickiewicz Institute

Zamosc is an extraordinary treasure of late Renaissance architecture singular in its urban conception, located near the Polish-Ukrainian border, on route between Lublin and Lwow. The never destroyed city will host the works of contemporary artists from twelve European and six non-European countries amidst its traces of a once truly multicultural society, the former orthodox churches, the cathedral, the synagogue as well as the Armenian houses.

Only few ideal cities were ever partially or completely built. In particular, the ideal city plannings that were closely tied to societal utopias usually remained unrealized. Zamosc, conceived by Count Jan Zamoyski and built between 1580 – 1605 by Italian architect Bernardo Morando, is one of the rare existing examples of an ideal city. Today Zamosc is included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage.

The artists working site-specifically will react to the given architecture and insert their work in public spaces and buildings, hidden courtyards or squares. Lawrence Weiner enfolds the arcades at the main square with one of his word sculptures. Monika Sosnowska composed a fountain while Miroslaw Balka sculpture relates to wounds, deeply cut during the second World War. Daniela Brahm, Colin Ardley, Kai Schiemenz determine squares and public spaces anew, Franka Hoernschemeyer reflects with her installation the clear gridding of the city’s layout and Lucas Lenglet drafted a columbarium for one of the courtyards. Les Schliesser sets up a museum for a fictive architect born in Zamosc, Jakob Kolding investigates functional city planning with a poster project and Craigie Horsfield introduces a sound installation. David Tremlett inserted pastel wall drawings into the cartouches of the Renaissance synagogue, while the structural works of Katarzyna Jozefowicz and Pedro Cabrita Reis d ialogue across its naves and Sol Lewitt inhabits its courtyard temporarily. Tilman Wendland’s installation in the historical museum will integrate documentation on ideal city plans of the moderns Le Corbusier, Niemeyer and Hansen and Jaroslaw Flicinski will conceive a large wall painting for the academy, in the gymnasium of which George Hadjimichalis will install his Workshop of Projects and Images in Crisis.

In the casemates of the decorates fortress Zamosc, the photo, film and video works by Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Francis Alys, Tacita Dean and Rula Halawani address the issues of geometry, order, defence systems, resistance and alleged security. In the historical academy building, which today houses the town’s high school, in the Historical Museum and at the Zamosc City Gallery 20 artists will be showing their works relating to the major themes of the exhibition including memory and the grid. The contemporary art works will engage in a challenging and substantial discourse with the historical city and the underlying invisible cities, hidden beyond or masked by time and history.

All in short walking distance, the exhibition will cover the entire city of Zamosc from June 18, 2006 to August 22, 2006. In September and October, a freshly adapted version of the exhibition will be shown in the city of Potsdam, which was mainly planned and built during Baroque times.

Ideal City - Invisible Cities is funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation.

Further generous support is kindly provided by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Warsaw and the City of Zamosc. Additional funds thanks to ifa-Institute of Foreign Relations, Stuttgart; the Mondriaan Stichting, Amsterdam, the Instituto das Artes, Lisbon; the Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon; the Luso-American Foundation, Lisbon and the Ford Foundation, Cairo.

Project Partners: City of Zamosc; BWA Zamosc; Museum Zamoyski, Zamosc; Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland; Art School of Zamosc, College of Management and Administration, Zamosc; Brandenburgischer Kunstverein, Potsdam; Kulturland Brandenburg e.V.; Filmmuseum Potsdam, Haus der Brandenburgisch-Preussischen Geschichte, Greige – Buero fuer Design.

For images and further information please view http://www.idealcity-invisiblecities.org or contact Anne Maier at European Art Projects, Tel. +49-30-30 38 18 37, Fax +49-30-30 38 18 30, am@european-art-projects.com



Preview in Zamosc, Poland
17 June 2006, from noon

Symposium
17 June 2006, 3-6 pm

Official Opening
7 pm

Wednesday, May 17, 2006


La nueva revolución femenina
El fallo de la Corte sobre el aborto fue valeroso y la reacción de la Iglesia, desproporcionada.

Pocos temas han movilizado tanto a los colombianos como el aborto. Aunque Colombia llegó tarde al debate mundial, las pasiones desatadas por la demanda de la abogada Mónica Roa contra el artículo del Código Penal que condenaba a entre uno y tres años de cárcel a las mujeres que interrumpieran su embarazo, no tienen precedente en la historia del país. Fue una batalla campal. De un lado, la Iglesia y el Movimiento Laico no escatimaron esfuerzos para ganar este pulso: recogieron un millón de firmas para solicitarle a la Corte que conservara el aborto como delito; el cardenal Pedro Rubiano lo equiparó con el homicidio, los sacerdotes incluyeron la defensa de la vida del feto en sus sermones, la red Futuro Colombia y Laicos por Colombia pagaron avisos de página entera en los periódicos con imágenes amarillistas de fetos agonizantes de casi 9 meses. Incluso los niños escribieron cartas a la Corte rogándoles no dejar que las "mamás mataran a sus bebés". En privado, el lobby fue aún más intenso. A cada uno de los magistrados de la Corte le llegó el video El grito silencioso, con la filmación de un supuesto aborto en vivo, y magistrados de todas partes del mundo enviaron sus 'recomendaciones' a sus pares colombianos alertando sobre la inconveniencia de despenalizar.Del otro lado, se ubicaron Mónica Roa, el movimiento feminista y la vanguardia intelectual. Roa, una abogada bogotana de 30 años de la Universidad de los Andes, lideró una estrategia minuciosamente diseñada. Roa viajó a diferentes lugares del mundo para investigar qué argumentos habían sido efectivos con los jueces para despenalizar el aborto; estudió a fondo la jurisprudencia de la Corte y los tratados internacionales, y adelantó una efectiva labor de medios. Identificó a las personas más sensibles frente al aborto y las convirtió en sus aliados: involucró a médicos, académicos y organizaciones de mujeres en todas las regiones. Su lobby trascendió las fronteras colombianas. A la Corte Constitucional llegaron conceptos de la prestigiosa Clínica de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad de Yale, así como el grupo de derecho de Harvard y de cientos de expertos mundiales y magistrados.
El alcance del fallo Con una votación 5-3, la Corte Constitucional despenalizó el aborto en circunstancias excepcionales. En concreto, la Corte prohibió a partir de hoy enviar a la cárcel a las mujeres que aborten cuando su embarazo ha sido el resultado de una violación, cuando el feto tiene malformaciones graves O cuando pone en riesgo la salud y la vida de la mujer. Los médicos que se los practiquen tampoco podrán ser penalizados. El fallo es revolucionario en muchos sentidos. Primero, porque la Corte definió estos tres casos de manera muy amplia. Por ejemplo, en el caso de la malformación grave del feto, la Corte no especificó que debía ser genética. También se puede abortar en el caso en que sea el resultado del consumo de drogas, por ejemplo. ¿Significa esto que ahora está permitido abortar si se sabe que cuando nazca el niño será sordo o tendrá síndrome de Down? No. La Corte fue enfática en que esta excepción sólo se aplicará para casos en los cuales un médico certifique que la malformación es tan grave, que el niño no vivirá más de unos pocos días. Antes del fallo, así una mujer supiera que esperaba un bebé sin cerebro, o con una deformación cardíaca que no le permitiría a su hijo vivir ni una semana, tenía que darlo a luz. En el caso de la violación, la Corte Constitucional no exige a la mujer someterse a una inspección forense. ¿Basta con que diga que la violaron? No. La Corte fue explícita en afirmar que es necesario que el delito haya sido debidamente denunciado ante la Fiscalía. Esto mismo se aplica cuando el embarazo es producto del incesto, que también es un delito en Colombia. Poner una denuncia falsa contra una persona constituye en sí mismo un delito, por eso es bastante improbable que las mujeres denuncien por salvar el 'honor'.Cuando la "continuación del embarazo constituya peligro para la vida o la salud de la mujer, certificado por un médico", también podrá abortar legalmente. La Corte no especificó que el peligro debía ser inminente ni grave. Tampoco lo limitó a la salud física. De esta manera, también comprende la salud emocional o sicológica, pues la Corte tiene una amplia jurisprudencia acerca de cómo la salud es integral. ¿Basta tener mareos para poder abortar o la angustia propia de las madres primerizas? No. Un médico debe certificar que la vida o la salud corren peligro y los mareos no ponen en peligro a nadie. Pero, por ejemplo, una depresión grave sí puede ser causal para abortar. Es el médico quien lo evaluará.Precisamente por esta redacción tan amplia de este artículo, mucha gente cree que la sentencia de la Corte es una legalización del aborto por la puerta de atrás. En cierta forma tiene razón. Con la falta de controles que tiene el Estado y con la cantidad de embarazos indeseados que ocurren en Colombia, es poco factible que la sentencia se pueda ejecutar con la rigidez que exige el papel.La dimensión del aborto Estudios internacionales como los del Instituto Alan Guttmacher, de Nueva York, el centro de investigación sobre el aborto desde la perspectiva médica más reconocido del mundo, demuestran que en los países donde se ha liberalizado la práctica, el problema de mortalidad y salubridad disminuye considerablemente en el mediano plazo. Por eso, el fallo, además de implicar una defensa a las libertades y losderechos de la mujer, también es la base para solucionar un grave problema de salud pública. Como hasta el pasado miércoles en Colombia el aborto era una práctica ilegal, no hay cifras oficiales, pero varias instituciones han realizado investigaciones, por la magnitud del tema. Uno de los estudios más completos es el que realizó el Centro de Investigaciones sobre Dinámica Social (Cidis), de la Universidad Externado de Colombia en 22 ciudades del país. La investigación demostró que el 22 por ciento de las 33.275 mujeres de entre 15 y 55 años encuestadas declaró haber tenido por lo menos un aborto inducido. De esas mujeres, el 17 por ciento pertenecen al estrato bajo-bajo; el 25 por ciento, al estrato bajo, y el 22 por ciento, al medio-bajo. Casi la mitad de las mujeres que aceptaron haber abortado (45 por ciento) son adolescentes menores de 19 años, mientras que el promedio para el total de mujeres es 12,4 abortos por cada 100 embarazos.Aunque las cifras de Profamilia no se refieren directamente al número de abortos, la encuesta Nacional de Demografía y Salud contiene elementos que reconfirman los resultados de la investigación del Cidis. Según las cifras, el número de embarazos registrados en un año se acerca a 1.500.000, mientras que el número de nacimientos oscila entre 1.000.000 y 1.100.000. Lo que abre la pregunta sobre cerca de 500.000 partos que nunca se dieron. El aborto es la tercera causa de la mortalidad materna después de la eclampsia y las complicaciones del parto. Así lo aceptó el Ministerio de la Protección Social, como aceptó también que hay una cifra aproximada a los 300.000 abortos, según registró en el concepto favorable que mandó a la Corte Constitucional con ocasión de la demanda de despenalización. Lo que sí es claro es que la mayoría de las mujeres que abortan son pobres.El razonamiento de la Corte ¿Tomó en cuenta la Corte estas circunstancias sociales? Al parecer no. Según dijeron los magistrados a SEMANA, el fallo se tomó estrictamente interpretando los derechos de las mujeres garantizados por la Constitución. Aunque quienes se oponen a la despenalización del aborto se autodenominan Pro Vida, paradójicamente el eje del fallo fue la defensa de la vida. Normalmente el debate se había planteado entre el derecho a la libertad de las mujeres para decidir sobre su cuerpo y la vida del feto. La Corte le sacó el quite a este debate, y de entrada todos los magistrados reconocieron que era deber del Estado proteger la vida humana y que esta existía aun antes del nacimiento. Pero también reconocieron que la mujer tenía derecho a la vida y, aplicando un criterio de proporcionalidad, concluyeron que el derecho del feto va hasta donde no afecte desproporcionadamente el derecho de la mujer. En el caso en que la vida de la mujer corra peligro, la decisión era fácil. En el de la salud no tanto, pero la Corte consistentemente en todos sus fallos de tutela ha considerado que el derecho a la salud está estrechamente vinculado al de la vida. En el caso de las malformaciones graves, dado que sólo se aplica cuando la vida del feto es inviable, no se afecta el derecho a la vida, ya que en todo caso no va a vivir. Y en el de la violación, el razonamiento de los magistrados fue que sería ilógico que el Estado, que define el acceso carnal violento como un delito, se aliara con el violador para instrumentalizar a la mujer en la dirección que quería el criminal.¿Qué viene ahora?¿Puede una mujer hoy mismo ir a solicitar un aborto? Sí y no. El fallo es de aplicación inmediata, eso quiere decir que empezó a regir desde la semana pasada, cuando quedó en firme la decisión. Es decir, toda mujer que presente una denuncia penal contra el violador o el certificado de un médico dando fe de que ese embarazo pone en peligro la vida o la salud de la madre, o que el feto no es viable por malformaciones graves, puede exigir que le practiquen un aborto de inmediato, sin importar el mes en el que esté.Ese es otro de los elementos revolucionarios del fallo: no exige un plazo máximo para hacerlo como se exige en la mayoría de países, sino que lo deja a criterio del médico. Tampoco pone un tope mínimo de edad, lo cual sin duda podría evitar que siga creciendo el número de madres adolescentes pero no dejar de ser polémico. Pero, más importante aun, redactó la sentencia de tal forma que no hay necesidad de que el Congreso entre a reglamentarla. Esto es clave, puesto que lo que ha sucedido en la mayoría de países de América Latina es que por la vía de la reglamentación, el Congreso, con procedimientos engorrosos, ha anulado en la práctica el derecho reconocido por el tribunal supremo respectivo. En Colombia, el derecho a abortar en casos extremos opera desde ya.Sin embargo, al Ministerio de Protección Social le corresponde definir las condiciones de la práctica de los abortos dentro del sistema general de seguridad social. Definir el papel del asegurador, el del prestador, el de la población afiliada a los régimenes contributivo, subsidiado y vinculado. Deberá reglamentar en qué tipo de clínicas u hospitales se pueden practicar, cómo deben ser las salas de cirugía, registrar los procedimientos a seguir y los medicamentos que inducen la interrupción el embarazo; definir cuáles se van a incluir en el POS, entre otras cosas. Para esa tarea, el ministro Diego Palacios creó un comité especial que se reunirá esta semana con la sentencia de la Corte en la mano, con reglamentaciones de otros países donde ha sido despenalizado, y directrices de las organizaciones internacionales de la salud que le sirvan de guía. Pero se sabe que el Ministerio ya lleva meses preparándose para estar a la altura del fallo.La OMS, por ejemplo, recomienda que en las primeras nueve semanas de gestación el aborto sea inducido con medicamentos, y hasta las 12, se debe usar el método de aspiración al vacío. "Los medicamentos no serán costosos, pero hay que tener en cuenta que los procedimientos tienen indicaciones distintas ,dependiendo de las semanas de gestación", dijo a SEMANA Lenis Urquijo, director de Salud Pública del Ministerio.Uno de los motivos por los que se le recomienda a la mujer tomar temprano la decisión tiene que ver con la complejidad de los procedimientos. "No es lo mismo uno ambulatorio que uno que implica hospitalización y sala obstétrica", explicó Urquijo. Por ejemplo, entre las semanas 13 y 22 ya es necesario utilizar métodos quirúrgicos para evacuar el útero, como la dilación y el curetaje. La decisión de la Corte no sólo reducirá la mortalidad femenina. Si en Colombia se repiten los mismos efectos de la despenalización de otros países, se reducirán también los costos del sistema de seguridad social generados por la atención de las complicaciones de abortos ilegales. En Estados Unidos la despenalización cuesta cinco dólares por paciente, mientras que por atención de complicaciones se gastan entre 200 y 400 dólares. Son muchos gastos: los de sangre, transfusión, antibióticos. Hay muchas complicaciones por cuenta del aborto inseguro, como el daño interno en el aparato genitourinario, infertilidad, como afirmó Urquijo: "En términos de costos uno espera un ahorro porque se va a reducir la atención de las complicaciones leves, moderadas y severas que produce el aborto inseguro a corto y a largo plazo". De hecho, un estudio realizado por Cecilia López calculó que el sistema de salud colombiano gastó más de 76.000 millones de pesos durante 2005 en atender a mujeres que llegaron a los hospitales desangrándose o con infecciones graves por haberse practicado un aborto inseguro. Esto, claro, sin contar las muertes de mujeres pobres, que quedaron infértiles o perdieron la vida tratando de interrumpir su embarazo con ganchos de ropa, puntas de paraguas, ramas y otros elementos peligrosos.En los países que tienen legalizada la práctica, los procedimientos no invasivos se realizan incluso en instituciones médicas de primer nivel de atención porque no requieren un equipo más allá del necesario para un examen ginecológico. Los otros procedimientos se practican en hospitales que cuentan con instrumentación más compleja que asegure la atención plena de la mujer. El fallo de la Corte es claro en decir que aunque un médico puede alegar su derecho a la objeción de conciencia y negarse a practicar un aborto por principios morales individuales, una institución no podrá hacerlo y deberá encontrar un profesional que atienda la solicitud de la paciente. Ni siquiera las instituciones administradas por comunidades religiosas podrán hacerlo, porque el derecho a la objeción de conciencia no prevalece sobre el derecho a la vida o a la salud del paciente. Los contradictores de la despenalización del aborto califican la interrupción del embarazo como un método anticonceptivo atroz. Pero las dudas emocionales y sicológicas de una mujer que toma la decisión y lo aparatosa que resulta una intervención médica siempre serán más complicadas de manejar que el uso de un condón. Por eso, es difícil pensar que una mujer va a preferir tener que pasar por un aborto que usar un método anticonceptivo. Más ahora, que, saliendo de la clandestinidad, las parejas tendrán la posibilidad de discutir otras opciones con allegados. Lo importante ahora es que la despenalización vaya acompañada de una estrategia de educación sexual que estimule el uso de anticonceptivos, promueva el valor de la vida y disminuya la violencia sexual. "Si eso se hace bien, las mujeres que aborten lo van a hacer sólo por las razones que despenalizó la Corte. Ninguna va a abusar de su derecho, dijo Mónica Roa. Lo importante ahora es atacar las razones que llevan a las mujeres a abortar".En concreto, se requiere una política que garantice el acceso de los colombianos a los anticonceptivos, como se hizo recientemente en Bogotá. También campañas para disminuir la violencia sexual, para que las niñas de las comunas, a falta de muñecas no opten por tener hijos, para acabar con el machismo que impide que los hombres se sometan a una vasectomía, en fin, para que el tema de los embarazos indeseados se ponga en el centro de las políticas públicas. Esa es una de las grandes ganancias de este fallo. Ahora el problema se volverá visible, se discutirá y la sociedad tendrá que volverlo un tema colectivo.Ante un tema de esta complejidad ha causado bastante sorpresa la posición de la Iglesia. Es entendible que ésta, por cuestiones de doctrina, manifieste su rechazo al fallo. Sin embargo, era de esperarse que esta oposición fuera en cierta forma simbólica o nominal, como lo han sido sus posiciones frente a temas como el condón, el divorcio y la clonación. Se sentaría así una posición de principio, sin interferir con realidades que no se pueden ignorar. Pero haber llegado al extremo de ex comulgar a los magistrados que votaron a favor de la despenalización es no sólo desproporcionado, sino algo ridículo. Sobre todo si se tiene en cuenta que no son pocos los juristas que consideran que esos magistrados no hicieron nada diferente que respetar los parámetros de la Constitución. Esas posiciones anacrónicas, más cercanas a la Inquisioción que a la sociedad contemporánea, en lugar de sumar adeptos, tienen el efecto de distanciar a la Iglesia de sus fieles.La Corte hizo bien al dejar clara la diferencia que existe entre lo que puede ser un pecado para los católicos y lo que debe ser un delito para todos los colombianos.

http://semana.terra.com.co/wf_InfoArticuloNormal.aspx?IdArt=94565

Challenging abortion law in Colombia
An interview with Monica Roa
July 2005


AWID: Could you please explain the current abortion law in Colombia and how this impacts women?
MR: Abortion in Colombia is illegal under every circumstance. Colombia's abortion law stipulates that both the woman who has the abortion and the abortion provider can be sentenced to up to three years in prison. Colombia, Chile and El Salvador are the only three countries in Latin America that prohibit abortion under all circumstances. Only 4% of the world's population lives in countries where abortion is totally banned.
Although women do not go to jail for this reason often, the illegality constitutes a violation of their right to life, equality, integrity and dignity. Women are forced to risk their lives and health by getting unsafe abortions. This is how abortion is the third leading cause of maternal mortality in Colombia, which is unacceptable given that unsafe abortion is the only cause of maternal mortality that can be prevented.
AWID: What exactly have you targeted for change within the law, and what immediate impacts for women would result if the case was successful?
MR: The complaint petitions the review of the constitutionality of Article 122 of the Colombian penal code, which criminalizes abortion under all circumstances. It sets forth that the criminalization of abortion, when the woman's life or health is in danger, the pregnancy is the result of rape, and/or when the fetus has impairments incompatible with life outside the womb, violates the following rights:
The right to equality and to non-discrimination (political constitution, art. 13), by criminalizing a medical practice that only women need and which, in certain cases, is necessary to save their lives. The result of this discrimination is that, for example, women lack control over their own bodies, including their reproductive health. the criminalization of abortion stigmatizes a medical procedure that all women have the right to obtain. This discrimination disproportionately impacts young, poor and rural women.
The right to life, health and integrity (political constitution, art. 11, 12, 43 and 49), by failing to recognize the effects the total criminalization of abortion has on the life, health and integrity of women.
The right to dignity, reproductive autonomy and the free development of personhood (political constitution, preamble and art. 1, 16 and 42), by obligating women to carry unwanted pregnancies to term - in the case of rape from the beginning of the pregnancy, or in other cases, when serious fetal impairments, incompatible with life outside the womb, are found to exist - including when it goes against the woman's best interest for her physical, psychological or emotional well-being. These rights are also violated in that women are treated as "reproductive machines," ignoring the right to determine their own lives.
A favorable decision from the court would immediately give all women under these circumstances the right to have a legal and safe abortion provided by the public health system. At the same time, our objective is to take the debate around abortion to another level. We want Colombian society to discuss the issue as a matter of gender equality, social justice, and public health. The moral and religious positions should only be relevant as personal choices and not as public policy. Hopefully having this kind of debate will derive in a broader liberalization in the future.
AWID: What prompted you to challenge the law in the constitutional court at this time, and not before? Has there been a significant change in the political/social climate regarding abortion?
MR: "The likelihood of passing a new abortion law is higher now than at any other point in Colombian history," says Roa. "Legal precedent, international law, and societal attitudes towards abortion all appear to be working in favor of protecting the lives of Colombian women."
In the past 10 years two relevant legal developments have occurred that make this challenge viable and irrefutable. On one hand the Colombian constitutional court has recognized the legal value of international human rights arguments and has used them to solve constitutional challenges in other areas. On the other hand the international human rights arguments that frame illegal abortion as a violation of women´s rights have become clearer and stronger. I am only putting those two together.
From the public opinion point of view, I am gladly surprised by the response we have received so far. We have received a lot of support, the media coverage has all been favorable, and in many cases I have been accused of being too conservative. I hope this facilitates the decision making process to the court.
Several additional factors offer reason to believe that the challenge could be positively acted upon by Colombia's highest court, which needs a simple majority (5 out of 9 votes) to overturn the current provisions. The court composition includes the first-ever female magistrate and other justices who have in recent years issued statements against the criminalization of abortion in judicial arguments. Colombian society also appears to be sympathetic to a liberalization of the abortion law. A 2003 survey of Colombian men and women who are self-identified Catholics reveals that they condone abortion when: the woman's life is in danger (73%), the woman's health is at risk (65%), in cases of serious physical or mental fetal impairment (61%), and/or the pregnancy is the result of rape (52%) (source: Catholics for the right to decide).
AWID: What role has the women's movement in Colombia played in the development of a favorable climate for political change on the issue?
MR: In Colombia the women's movement has been working on the issue of abortion for a long time. Several attempts at passing law reforms have failed, but the debate has been ongoing and has been "maturing" with time. I am only building up on these fruitful advocacy efforts. The role of the international women´s movement has also been key since we owe the development of the international human rights standards to them.
From a strategic point of view, within the context of the constitutional challenge, the women´s movement plays the role of standing by the principle of complete liberalization. They remind society that this is only a first step, that it is not enough, and by the way they make my arguments sound more moderate (which facilitates the support of a group that does not agree with total liberalization or total criminalization).
AWID: If successful, how do you think the result could resonate within the region? Could it affect other countries with similar restrictive laws on abortion like Chile and El Salvador?
MR: I am positive it will. There is momentum in the region about the liberalization of anti-abortion laws. There are projects in many countries going on that have good chances of success. This momentum will be more visible as the projects advance, and it will be undeniable when successes start coming. All these will give advocates from other countries like the ones you mention, tools and inspiration to continue the struggle. This is a global movement that has no frontiers. It is time that the rights provisions written in international human rights treaties come to life and start having a real impact on women´s lives. That is the judge's role and women´s rights activists must give them the chance to do so by bringing challenges to the courts.
For more information on the case, please visit the Women's Link Worldwide website: http://www.womenslinkworldwide.org/

Sunday, May 07, 2006



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