Month: August 2009
Haiti: “The people do not buy liberty and democracy at the market”
That the Lavalas political movement opposed the neo-liberal economic model of development that is currently unfolding in Haiti today is without question. The insistence of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank on structural adjustments that included eliminating import and export tariffs, selling off State-owned industries and businesses, maintaining a low minimum wage and an obsessive reliance on the private sector as the motor for economic development was called the "death plan." […]
Honduras: The Frontline in the Battle for Democracy
The coup d’etat in Honduras on June 28 shook the world, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. A month has passed and the de facto regime is still in the presidential palace in Tegucigalpa, and the situation remains explosive. While the neighboring countries of Honduras—El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala—experienced bloody civil wars in the decade from 1970 to 1980, Honduras lived under the boot of a civil-military government, but without war. Now, history could be reversed. […]
Obama: Critics of US Honduras Policy Hypocritical
Source: Democracy Now! President Barack Obama addressed the political crisis in Honduras during a press conference Monday in Mexico alongside the leaders of Mexico and Canada. Obama said it was hypocritical for critics of Washington’s […]
El Salvador: The Mysterious Death of Marcelo Rivera
Marcelo Rivera
On June 18 Gustavo Marcelo Rivera, a community leader and anti-mining activist, whose most recent work targeted a controversial and widely unpopular gold mine project proposed by Canada’s Pacific Rim, was disappeared. Less than two weeks later his corpse was found at the bottom of a 60-foot-well, while an autopsy later revealed he was strangled to death and tortured.
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U.S. appears to soften support for Honduras’s Zelaya
Excerpted from Reuters U.S. policy on Honduras’ political crisis is not aimed at supporting any particular individual, the State Department said in a new letter that implied softening support for ousted President Manuel Zelaya. The […]
Video Report – Honduras: Where does Washington stand?
Forrest Hylton: By not taking steps prescribed by US law, US gov’t supporting an increasingly repressive regime The silence from Washington over the past month of human rights abuses from the de facto Honduran government […]
Pacific Rim Silent in Wake of Violence Against Anti-mining Protesters in Cabañas, El Salvador
A wave of violence targeted at anti-mining protesters has ripped through Cabañas in north-eastern El Salvador, and Pacific Rim Mining Corporation, the mid-size Canadian company which has spent millions in its effort to exploit the area’s ample gold deposits has remained curiously silent on the attacks. […]
Honduras: Regime Says ‘Yes’ to Talks but Squelches Protests
(IPS) – While it publicly declares its willingness to continue to engage in dialogue, the de facto regime led by Roberto Micheletti in Honduras is taking a hard-line approach to protests demanding the return of […]