State of Affairs MLG’s Plutocratic Government

Eroding the power of the people, plutocracy diminishes the power of democracy and opens the door for corruption. Plutocracy is nowhere more noticeable than in the New Mexico State Legislature, where, in 2020, they voted to destroy the will of the people in the Public Regulatory Commission. The legislature voted to change this once democratically elected commission from a five-member board, where every member was elected, to a three-member board, where the governor selects the members who must be confirmed by the New Mexico Senate. Before this could take effect, the people then had to vote on the amendment. Unclear on how exactly this would affect New Mexico, voters said yes to another disastrous constitutional amendment.

Before we move on, let us define plutocracy. Much like the term Democracy is derived from Greek; meaning Demos – People, and Kratia – Government. Plutocracy means, Ploutos – Wealthy; Kratia – Government. So, if Democracy is government by and for the people; Plutocracy is government by and for the wealthy. How does this erode democracy? A. The people no longer have a say on the board that dictates our utilities, like electricity and water. B. Lobbyists will now run amok, spending money and buying elected officials in a strategy called “Elite Capture” to ensure that the only members on the board are people who will pass their agendas.

The plutocracy doesn’t end there. Recently, Chamath Palihapitiya, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Virgin Galactic, a company that owns a great stake in New Mexico’s Spaceport America, made disturbing comments about the ongoing genocide of Uyghur people in China.

Chairman Palihapitiya, said that he doesn’t care about the ongoing genocide in China, declaring that “It’s below my line.” Safeguarding human rights has historically been an American priority, but is very clearly not a priority for Virgin Galactic, who leaves him on their board. “I'm sorry if that's a hard truth to hear but every time I say that I'm caring about the Uyghurs I'm really just lying if I don't really care, so I'd rather not lie to you and tell you the truth. It's not a priority for me,” Chairman Palihapitiya said. There has been no condemnation from New Mexico’s leadership over his comments. Genocide is not something that should be joked about, it’s a real-world issue, with actual concentration camps, under the guise of “reeducation camps” in the Xinjiang region of China.

If you don’t see the severity of these comments, replace the term “Uyghurs” with “Jews” and see just how despicable this situation is. On January 18, in a statement released on social media site Twitter, Chairman Palihapitiya said, “I recognize that I come across as lacking empathy. I acknowledge that entirely. As a refugee, my family fled a country with its own set of human rights issues so this is something that is very much a part of my lived experience. To be clear, my belief is that human rights matter, whether in China, the United States, or elsewhere,” though, in his statement he doesn’t apologize or even mention the ongoing genocide against the Uyghur people.

New Mexico is a state that has bred a long line of warriors, and has stood in defense of all that is good in the world. Even with the oppression against the Native Americans who lived here, they still rose up and did what was right by fighting the Nazis in Europe, and the Imperialist Japanese in Asia. 2022 is not the time for New Mexicans to turn their back on human rights, especially in the face of Russian and Chinese aggression, now is the time to shed the binds of corruption and hold companies who enable genocide accountable. How do we hold them accountable? Write your state legislators, call them, text them. Do the same to the governor, and to our congressional delegates in Washington D.C. All of their contact information will be at the end of this piece. Tell them to call on Virgin Galactic and demand the immediate removal of Chamath Palihapitiya from the board of directors. This is how we stand in support of human rights across the globe. This is an important step to take, state government struggles to speak up in the face of harrowing comments like this because of the power of plutocracy, but state government shouldn’t fall to the whims of whomever has the biggest checkbook. State government must listen to the people, and the people must demand better.

Plutocracy is not a Democrat issue, or Republican issue, or any third party’s issue either. It is an American issue, an issue that is eroding US Democracy in every state. We must demand better. Before leaving you, I want to share a quote I heard recently that was attributed to the great Winston Churchill, it is important to note, however, that despite this quote’s wide usage, there is no documentation of him saying it. “Americans will always do the right thing, after all other alternatives are exhausted.”

Cibola’s state and

congressional officials are:

NM Representative Eliseo Alcon – 505-906-9411

NM Representative Harry Garcia – 505-290-7510

NM Senator George Munoz – 505-721-0019

NM Senator Joshua Sanchez – 505-620-2237

US Congresswoman Yvette Herrell – 202-225-2365

US Senator Ben Ray Lujan – 202-224-6621

US Senator Martin Heinrich – 202-224-5521

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham – 505-476-2200