2011 – Page 37 – Upside Down World

Rebellion in the Brazilian Amazon

April 21, 2011 Raúl Zibechi 0

During the month of March 2011 the biggest social protest by workers in many years erupted in Brazil. More than 80,000 workers all over the country paralyzed the work of “progress” in the form of hydroelectric plants, refineries, and thermoelectric generating facilities. The spark of the protest was lit in Jirau, in the Amazon jungle, provoked by arbitrary action, violence, and authoritarianism.

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Cuba: Raúl Castro Proposes Change from Within Socialist System

April 21, 2011 Dalia Acosta 0

(IPS) – Accompanied unexpectedly by Fidel Castro, his brother Raúl brought the sixth congress of Cuba’s Communist Party (PCC) to a close Tuesday with a call to “change everything that should be changed,” but without […]

From The “Dirty War” to Poisoned Food: The World According to Marie-Monique Robin

April 20, 2011 Interview by Lucas Palero, Translation by Alex Cachinero-Gorman 0

Marie-Monique Robin’s investigation Death Squadrons: The French School helped shed light on the terrorist acts committed by the State during Argentina’s Dirty War. Recently she testified in two lawsuits concerning crimes against humanity in Argentina. Her new book, Our Daily Poison, investigates the pollutants that contaminate the production of food, and the corporations that want to cover them up.

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El mundo según Marie-Monique Robin. De la “guerra sucia” a la comida envenenada

April 15, 2011 Lucas Palero 0

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Protestors Across Honduras Challenge IDB-Funded ‘Shock’ Program Met with Violence and Repression

April 14, 2011 Karen Spring and Annie Bird 0

March 2011 was marked by the worst repression seen against the people of Honduras since the June 2009 military coup. The repression came in response to massive protests against an all-out final push by the […]

Águilas Negras: Rising from the Ashes of Demobilization in Colombia

April 14, 2011 C.L. Smith 0

With extensive prior experience in irregular warfare and the exportation of cocaine shipments, the Águilas Negras freed itself from the ideological constraints that circumscribed the AUC’s code of conduct and rapidly became one of the most powerful armed criminal organizations in Colombia. The newfound freedom of association and action coincided with a marked rise in human rights abuses and violence attributable to the group, as it has recently expanded their operations into bordering states of Venezuela, a disturbing trend that has been met with official complaisance in Washington and Bogotá alike.
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Latin America and the US: Social Movements Are the Engines of Change

April 13, 2011 Nikolas Kozloff 0

“The past ten years in Latin America have seen a historic shift to the left in the halls of government power and the streets, so it makes sense that people in the US need to learn from these examples if we are to break out of the stranglehold of our stagnant political culture,” Ben Dangl explains in this interview. […]

Tensions escalate over Amazon mega dam

April 13, 2011 Benjamin Dangl 0

Source: Al Jazeera In early March, while boisterous Carnival celebrations filled the streets of Rio de Janiero, bulldozers began clearing away Amazonian jungle for roads leading to the construction site of the Belo Monte hydroelectric […]

Police Charged for Role in Bagua Massacre in Peru

April 12, 2011 Survival International 0

Three senior police and army officers have been charged in connection with the deaths of 33 Peruvians during clashes between Amazon Indians and police in June 2009. Violence erupted in the northern Amazonian town of […]

Peru: Humala and Fujimori in Final Stretch

April 12, 2011 Ángel Páez 0

If retired military officer Ollanta Humala wins the Jun. 5 presidential runoff in Peru, he will have to govern with a highly fragmented Congress. And if lawmaker Keiko Fujimori triumphs, her most notable move may be the release of her father, former president Alberto Fujimori, who is serving 25 years in prison. […]