Upside Down World
Home  
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
El Salvador: The UDW Interview with FMLN Presidential Candidate Mauricio Funes (Part I)
Written by Amanda Shank   
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
Mauricio Funes
Mauricio Funes
After weeks of following him on the campaign trail, Upside Down World finally caught up with FMLN Presidential candidate, Mauricio Funes. In this exclusive interview, Funes clearly frames himself and his candidacy within the seachange that is Latin American politics today. Salvadorans will vote in January and again in March 2009 (don't ask).

 
US Naval Fleet to Be Positioned Off the Coast of South America
Written by Victor Figueroa Clark   
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
ImageThe news from the Pentagon that the US is re-establishing its Fourth Naval Fleet in the Caribbean, ostensibly to "build confidence and trust among nations through collective maritime security efforts" unfortunately shows that the days a US military threat to Latin America are far from over.
 
Rising Fuel Costs Provoke Transportation Strike in Nicaragua
Written by Mneesha Gellman and Josh Dankoff   
Monday, 12 May 2008
ImageMay 5th marked the beginning of an intended thirty day strike, with more than 1.5 million public transport workers and truckers in Nicaragua protesting rising fuel costs and the lack of government impetus to do anything about it.
 
Chilean Protesters Unhappy With Barrick Gold Pascua Lama Project
Written by Christian Peña   
Monday, 12 May 2008
Image Fifty environmental activists protested Barrick Gold’s controversial Pascua Lama gold mine on Tuesday, May 8th. Several of the demonstrators also dressed in black plastic bags to give homage to the 15 individuals related to the project who have died since it first was proposed almost 20 years ago.
 
Santa Cruz Divided: Report from the Streets on Referendum Day in Bolivia
Written by Alexander van Schaick and David Bluestone. Photographs by David Bluestone   
Thursday, 08 May 2008

ImageBolivia’s Santa Cruz state's May 4 Referendum saw violence and deep social divides over a set of Autonomy Statutes thatwould increase power for the governmor at the expense of the central government. These interviews and observations from the streets of Santa Cruz cityon referendum day illustrate the great diversity of opinions.

 
Polarizing Bolivia: Santa Cruz Votes for Autonomy
Written by Benjamin Dangl   
Thursday, 08 May 2008

Photo: Bolivia IndymediaThe May 4th vote for autonomy in Santa Cruz, Bolivia was part of a larger conflict in the region over control of natural resources such as land and gas. It marks a new phase in the polarization of Bolivia, and a new challenge for the region.

 
Indymedia Journalists Targeted in Ecuador
Written by Daniel Denvir   
Thursday, 08 May 2008

ImageEcuadorian police detained five journalists associated with Ecuador Indymedia late Tuesday night. Four of the five were released from custody on Wednesday afternoon. The government says that the four activists were detained because of their relationship with the fifth detainee, Ecuadorian resident and Colombian national Antonio Alcívar.

 
Argentina: Human Rights Witness Goes Missing and is Released
Written by Marie Trigona   
Wednesday, 07 May 2008
Juan Puthod
Juan Puthod
Juan Puthod, a human rights activist was kidnapped in Argentina; his disappearance prompted an intense manhunt and concern from rights groups. This is the third case in as many years of a human rights witness going missing since Argentina opened up Dirty War trials investigating rights violations.
 
Guatemala: Río Negro Survivors Identify Executioners
Written by Thaddeus al Nakba   
Wednesday, 07 May 2008
Image
Accused in court
A landmark trial began in Baja Verapaz last December when a local judge announced the continuation of a trial charging six former members of a Civil Defense Patrol with murder for their roles in the 1982 massacre of 177 Río Negro women and children.
However, dictators who orchestrated the massacres still enjoy impunity.
 
Bullets and Bananas: The Violence of Free Trade in Guatemala
Written by Cyril Mychalejko   
Thursday, 01 May 2008
Juan Lopez Velasquez, murdered by the Guatemalan police March 15, 2005 at anti-CAFTA protest.
Juan Lopez Velasquez
Less than 24 hours after President Bush met with Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom at the White House on Monday, a worker from a union that filed a trade complaint with
Washington against the Guatemalan government was murdered.

 
Heads They Win, Tails You Lose: Canadian Nickel Companies in Guatemala
Written by Dawn Paley   
Thursday, 01 May 2008
Photo: James Rodriguez
Eviction for unbuilt mine
The human cost of speculation on the financial markets by mining companies is high. This is evidenced by the grave human rights abuses that have been committed on behalf of Inco and Skye Resources. This mining project is but one example of what the promises of "development" and "corporate social responsibility" mean for the people directly affected by these projects.
 
After the Water Wars in Bolivia: The Struggle for a "Social-Public" Alternative
Written by Susan Spronk   
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Image
Photo: Tom Kruse
In the month of February, an unusual plight fell upon the city of La Paz. Torrential rains that hit the region ruptured the water main that services the wealthiest zone of the city, leaving the residents of the Zona Sur (Southern Zone) without water for several days. While it is common for residents in poor barrios not to have access to piped water, upper and middle class residents are accustomed to hearing the gush of clean, running water every time they open the tap.
 
Landowners’ Rebellion: Slavery and Saneamiento in Bolivia
Written by Alexander van Schaick   
Monday, 28 April 2008
Source: Bolivia IndymediaIn recent weeks, cattle ranchers and landowners in Bolivia’s Cordillera province, located in the south of the department of Santa Cruz, resorted to blockades and violence in order to halt the work of Bolivia’s National Institute for Agrarian Reform. As a referendum on Departmental Autonomy for Santa Cruz draws near, the conflict calls into question the central government’s ability to enforce the law in the Bolivian lowlands.

 
Argentina’s Soy Storm: Tensions Rising Among Farmers
Written by Marie Trigona   
Monday, 28 April 2008
ImageArgentina has often been described as the bread basket of the Southern Cone, with plenty of fertile land for grains and cattle.Yet with world food prices soaring, soy critics worry about Argentina’s ability to feed its own people at affordable prices.
 
Illegal Autonomy Referendum Deepens Division in Bolivia
Written by the Andean Information Network   
Friday, 25 April 2008
ImageSanta Cruz and the other lowland departments of Bolivia plan to go ahead with a referendum to  approve autonomy statutes,  setting a new system of government for the department on May 4th, in spite of the National Electoral Court ruling forbidding the referendum and the disapproval of the international community.
 
Anti-Hunger Protests Rock Haiti
Written by Nazaire St. Fort and Jeb Sprague   
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
ImageAnger over rising prices has been building for many months in Haiti, with basic food stuffs increasingly out of reach for the poor.  Tires were recently set ablaze in the streets and thrown together to form barricades that paralyzed traffic for days.
 
Webdesign by Webmedie.dk Webdesign by Webmedie.dk