Year: 2012
Mexico’s Election: A Personal Commentary from Oaxaca
When we lose an election, and feel angry with or without cause, it’s natural to shout “Fraud!” However, the count of votes cast on July 1, 2012 provoked a scream of rage which didn’t indicate […]
Peru-Mining: “The Devil Operation”
July 4, 2012 Dear friends, Earlier today in Cajamarca, Peru, renowned environmentalist Father Marco Arana was beaten and arrested by a dozen police officers while sitting peacefully on a bench in the city’s main square. […]
Another Guatemalan female community leader, Lolita Chávez, suffers lynching attempt
Source: Mimundo.org On July 4th, 2012, Lolita Chávez, coordinator of the K’iche’ People’s Council (CPK) – pictured here during the October 2010 Community Consultation of Good Faith for the Municipality of Santa Cruz del Quiché […]
The Paraguayan Coup: How agribusiness, landowning and media elite, and the U.S. are paving a way for regional destabilization
It has been nearly two weeks since the parliament of Paraguay orchestrated an institutional coup that removed President Fernando Lugo from power and installed vice president Fernando Franco in his place, a mere 9 months […]
Paraguay: Weaving Peoples Resistance Against Corporate Occupation
The undersigning organizations, collectives and individuals working towards a coordinated initiative of popular resistance from and with the peoples of Paraguay clearly and unequivocally declare: We believe it to be an urgent priority to accompany […]
Student eviction does not stop Guatemalan movement against privatization
As the conflict over educational reforms in Guatemala’s escuelas normales rages on, police violently evicted student protesters on July 2 from their occupation at Industry Park and various schools throughout Guatemala City, in an ongoing campaign to repress the movement. In the morning, reports described that four police squads detained up to eight students, while 12 more were sent to the hospital. Allegations of sexual aggression toward young female protesters also circulated via independent media outlets.
Haiti’s Military Monster Makes a Creeping Comeback
“I am in charge of Haiti!” one excited former soldier in his fifties exclaims. The others laugh on cue, one of them holding a handgun casually by his side. Swinging around to pose for the camera, an older man in fatigues carelessly waves the barrel of his machine gun past me at chest height. Two hours north of Port-au-Prince, in the town of Saint-Marc, we’ve received our first introduction to the 3,000-strong band of military enthusiasts dubbed Haiti’s “rogue” army.