Indigenous communities in the western highlands of Guatemala who are organizing against an illegal gold mine in the face of violence and repression are beginning to see the fruits of their labor. The Canadian/U.S. mining […]
On July 18th, Guatemala’s Vice President, Eduardo Stein, flew to Plan de Sanchez, 95 miles north of Guatemala City, to formally apologize for the government-directed 1982 massacre of more than 200 Achi Mayans in that […]
The road to Bolivian elections, scheduled for December fourth, is becoming increasingly fraught with obstacles. With Carlos Mesa’s resignation and the inauguration of Supreme Court head, Eduardo Rodriguez, as interim president last June, a hard fought political agreement was reached to move up national elections, originally to take place in 2007. That journey, however, recently hit a large roadblock as a new Bolivian Constitutional Court ruling threatens to delay elections. […]
Fifty-one indigenous community leaders, along with the mayor of Comitancillo, San Marcos, traveled to Guatemala City on May 25 to present lawmakers with results of their municipality’s community consultations regarding mining projects in the region. […]
On Jan. 11 Guatemalan President Oscar Berger spoke to a group of reporters in Guatemala City about ongoing protests against a World Bank mining project in the northern part of the country. He said that […]
Two years ago, in early November 2003, after a ferocious markets-based campaign in the US, an agreement was signed by US and Chilean environmental groups with the two largest wood products companies in Chile. The agreement, facilitated by Home Depot, was received as an important step forward in promoting collaborative resolution to international environmental conflicts. […]
La Vega, a sea of tin-roofed shacks and steep, narrow streets, is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Caracas, Venezuela. Most of the country’s population lives in slums, or barrios like this. Until President Hugo […]
Peggy Ortiz is a blonde, 35-year-old self proclaimed Chavista (Chavez supporter) who works as a writer and radio producer in Caracas, Venezuela. On a walk through the city’s Plaza Bolivar she introduced me to her […]
SANTIAGO — Days before the anniversary of the 1973 military coup that overthrew the left-wing government of President Salvador Allende, half of the people on Santiago’s busiest street were shopping. The other half were protesting […]
The sounds of car horns, salsa music, children in playgrounds, barking dogs and occasional gun shots rise out of Catia, one of the largest slums in Latin America. Catia is a sea of multilevel, tin-roof […]
Copyright 2003-2018 Upside Down World