LETTERS.

Don't Legalize "Poison"

YOU PRESENTED AN INTERESTING IDEA IN your Editor's Note Ending the War" (June 1999) in which you propose that President Andres Pastrana legalize drugs in Colombia to defuse the violence. However, I think your view takes a very superficial perspective on Colombia's problems and its history. I can see no reason, and you present no evidence to support a reason, why legalization would eliminate the guerrillas' "tax" on drug movement and processing, as well as on legitimate businesses in Caqueta, Putumayo, and the llanos orientales (the Eastern plains). Legalization in Colombia would not affect the supply/demand situation in consuming countries--prices would still be high--and the drug business would be just as lucrative as ever. The guerrillas would have no greater motivation to settle differences with the government than they do now, especially since they have de facto control over the above-mentioned regions of Colombia.

You must recognize that the guerrilla movement and Colombian-on-Colombian violence did not begin when drug cultivation was undertaken as a livelihood. The roots began in 1948 with the "Bogotazo" [the assassination of a leading presidential candidate that ignited a round of violence in which almost 300,000 Colombians were killed]. In the early 1960s, Manuel "Tirofijo" Marulanda--the founder and leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)--along with a few priests and other social rebels, began their anti-government movements at a time when drugs were not a problem in the United States. The independent republics of "El Pato" and "Marquetalia" in the Colombian jungle date from the early 1960s and their political/social "reason for being" had nothing to do with drugs. I agree that innovative concepts are required to bring Colombia out of this vicious cycle of violence, but legalizing poison does not get at the heart of the problem.

Gene Walters

Glastonbury, Connecticut, USA

Bompreco's Pride

YOUR ARTICLE ON PAO DE ACUCAR "POS Patriotism" (June 1999) makes no mention of the Brazilian supermarket chain Bompreco. Based in Recife, Bompreco has a significant market share, including several hypermarkets throughout the Northeast, and is consistently growing. Their slogan is "Orgulho de ser Nordestino" (Proud to be a Northeasterner). Could it be that Pao de Acucar "borrowed" Bompreco's slogan on a more national level?

Chang-Hak Choi

Chicago, Illinois, USA

The Linux Way

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE ARTICLE on the Linux operating system "Revenge of the Nerds" (April 1999) and freeware applications. I have been reading material by, and articles about, Mr. Miguel de Icaza for almost a year, when I started running Linux on my PC. His work and that of all those associated with open-source software will definitely be a boon to those national economies who cannot afford--be it fiscally or philosophically--to be dictated to by Microsoft.

Arthur Martinson

Washington, DC