Latinos affected by the atomic bomb that 'Oppenheimer' does not show

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1. The Theme to Highlight: What's Missing from Oppenheimer's Plot

As moviegoers prepare for the release of the Oppenheimer biopic or debate whether to see that or Barbie first, some residents of southern New Mexico near where the first atomic bomb test was made lament feeling left out of the narrative.

Overview: They say their families have suffered from rare cancers for generations and that their health status has been largely ignored as Manhattan Project scientists like J. Robert Oppenheimer are remembered or celebrated.

Details: Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt, follows the American scientist at different times, from when his team rushes to create the bomb to when he deals with the consequences of this creation.

• The film is based on the biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Best Biography or Autobiography in 2006.

Count: During World War II, Oppenheimer led a group of scientists to build the atomic bomb. It was first tested in New Mexico, in the so-called Trinity Test in the early morning hours of July 16, 1945, near Hispanic and Native American communities that were not given any warning.

• The U.S. government first seized land from those Hispanic and indigenous settlers in northern New Mexico to build the secret laboratory at Los Alamos.
• Nearby are the Hispanic town of Tularosa and an indigenous reservation of Mescalero Apache communities. Some residents there are nicknamed downwinders in reference to the atomic particles scattered by the wind into the areas.
• Several residents, curious about the noise, also went to ground zero and without knowing that there was radioactivity began to have picnics; They collected green stones that look like glass formed by the explosion, called trinitita, as well as contaminated pieces of cloth that they used to make christening dresses. They learned that the bomb was atomic until a month later.

Henry Herrera, an elderly Hispanic man who lived near the atomic bomb test site and died in 2021 from a rare cancerPhoto illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Russell Contreras/Axios and Bettmann/Corbis via Getty Images

In her own words: The new film "is an over-glorification of the science and scientists of the project that, like others, fails to reflect on the harm done to people in New Mexico," says Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, a group that advocates for families affected by the Trinity Test.

• Cordova says no one involved in the film contacted survivors in the areas surrounding the test. "We've done everything we can to contact the filmmakers from the time they were filming until today," he says.
• "With just one scene included, a message at the end of the film that recognizes the sacrifice and suffering of the people of New Mexico," Cordova says.

Henry Herrera was 11 years old when he witnessed the explosion of the Trinity Test. He spoke to Axios in 2021, shortly before his death at age 87.

• "My mother had just hung her white clothes on the clothesline, and wow! There should be how much dust was spread in seconds all over the city," Herrera said.
• Herrera had to have his jaw reconstructed because he suffered from rare mouth cancer, like other residents of his town.

2. Protests revive in Peru

Peruvian protesters this week resumed a series of marches to demand early elections and the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, months after more than 60 people were killed in similar demonstrations.

Why it matters: This time's protests were called and coordinated mostly by unions and mine workers, who threatened a work stoppage to exert pressure. Mining is a major contributor to the economy of Peru, which is the second largest copper producer in the world.

• The day passed in relative calm compared to the protests at the beginning of the year. Human rights advocates had called for no violence after fears were sparked when Boluarte said earlier this week that any protest would be seen as a "threat to democracy" and members of the presidential cabinet warned that police would make "legitimate use of force."

A tribute to people killed during protests in Peru in early 2023 was erected during demonstrations in Lima on July 19Klebher Vasquez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

What to know: Anti-government protesters are seeking to regain the momentum of earlier this year, when thousands of Peruvians — many from indigenous communities and high-poverty areas — marched calling for early elections after Congress ousted then-President Pedro Castillo when he tried to impose a government by decree.

• Those protests were violently repressed: some 60 people were killed and nearly 2,000 injured, according to data from the Ombudsman's Office.
• Officials and security officials, including Boluarte, are being investigated in connection with the deaths. Boluarte denies wrongdoing and his lawyer has said the authorities' reaction was in "self-defense."
• Reports from local NGOs, as well as Amnesty International and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, found that the police and military used excessive force and that several of the deaths may have been extrajudicial executions.

Background: Boluarte was one of Castillo's two vice presidents (Peru constitutionally has two) and assumed the presidency by default in December. The joint coup of impeachment and succession unleashed criticism that the popular will of Peruvians, expressed at the polls in 2021, had been attacked, and therefore there should instead be elections again.

• Boluarte initially said he supported having those early presidential elections. But in June he spoke out unequivocally, saying he planned to stay in office until 2026, when Castillo's term would have ended.
• Holding elections ahead of schedule requires congressional approval, but lawmakers have rejected the measure five times this year.

3. The new USDA Under Secretary

Xochitl Torres Small, who represented New Mexico in Congress from 2019 to 2021, was sworn in this week as the new U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture (USDA).

Xochitl Torres Small in 2021.Jon Cherry/Getty Images for Concordia

Why it matters: With the USDA appointment, she is the first Latina to assume such a senior position within the secretariat that oversees laws and regulations on agriculture, forestry, rural economic development and food across 29 agencies. It employs 100,000 people. The department has also been accused of unfair treatment of Hispanics.

• In reaction to these allegations, the branch of government is experiencing major changes and challenges, including adjusting past practices regarding agricultural credits that experts say have been discriminatory.

Details: Torres Small is also an attorney specializing in water access issues. As a legislator, she earned a reputation as an advocate for rural issues and for her bipartisan outreach to fellow Republicans.

• He ran for re-election, but lost to Republican Yvette Herrell. In October 2021, she joined President Joe Biden's federal administration as USDA's undersecretary for rural development.
• His promotion as the second person in command of the entire department was confirmed by the Senate on July 11.

In her own words: "As the granddaughter of migrant farmworkers, Xochitl experienced firsthand the challenges many producers and rural communities face day in and day out," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in celebrating Torres Small's confirmation.

• Vilsack noted that during Torres Small's time on the rural development team there was record progress in reducing energy costs, improving access to high-speed internet and helping ranchers get fairer prices.
• One of those ranchers, David Sanchez of northern New Mexico, told Axios Latino that while he has been critical of Vilsack, he remains optimistic that Torres Small will listen to the concerns of Hispanic ranchers.

To watch: One of the items on the agenda for Torres Small will be the task of easing current tensions between the U.S. Forest Service and Hispanic ranching groups that dispute land rights issues.

• In the face of record temperatures, it is likely that there will also be greater pressure on the infrastructure system for water, and that it will be requested to update this especially in rural areas of cultivation.

4. Summary of key news in Latin America and the Caribbean

1. Guatemalan prosecutor Cinthia Monterroso, who led the criminal case against journalist José Rubén Zamora convicted last month in a trial that experts describe as flawed, was one of 39 Central American officials included this week on the Engel list of anti-democratic or corrupt actors handled by the United States government.

• Former Salvadoran presidents Mauricio Funes and Salvador Sánchez Cerén, as well as a sitting Honduran mayor, Alexander López Orellana, were also added to the list.

2. Hugo Carvajal, Venezuela's former intelligence chief, was extradited from Spain to the United States on Wednesday to face drug trafficking charges.

• Carvajal, who was a close ally of the late former President Hugo Chavez, is accused in a New York court of helping smuggle cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico whose intended final destination was the United States. Carvajal has denied the allegations.

Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios

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