Year: 2012
US-El Salvador: Threats to Privatize Education Meet International Resistance
Pressure to privatize public services and goods – and concerns about who stands to gain in the process – has become increasingly familiar in the United States, where many communities now face the same policy prescriptions that have been offered to El Salvador and other countries in the Global South for decades.
Mapuche Indians Fight New Airport in Southern Chile
(IPS) – “This is a project that reflects the occupation…of Mapuche territory,” said Iván Reyes, an indigenous leader staunchly opposed to the construction of an international airport in the southern Chilean region of Araucanía. Reyes, […]
Indigenous Protests Grow as Ecuador Auctions Amazon Oil Blocks
Hundreds of indigenous people gathered outside the Marriott Hotel in Quito today at the VII Annual Meeting of Oil and Energy where the Ecuadorian government announced the opening of the XI Round, an oil auction in which 13 oil blocks went on sale covering nearly eight million acres of rainforest in the Amazonian provinces of Pastaza and Morona Santiago near the border with Peru.
Brazilian Mining Giant Given Green Light for Perilous Railway Plan
The Brazilian government has given the go-ahead for a railway project that severely endangers Earth’s most threatened tribe. Mining giant Vale announced it has obtained an installation license for its doubling of the Carajás railway, […]
Using the Airwaves for Empowerment of Quechua Women in Bolivia
Throughout the department of Cochabamba, women who have never taken a course in radio broadcasting are using the airwaves to inform, empower and raise awareness, and to work for change in their communities. Their impact in rural areas and poor neighborhoods surrounding towns and cities is indisputable, thanks to their programming in Quechua, Aymara or Guaraní, the three most widely spoken native languages in Bolivia.
Action Alert! Guatemalan Anti-Mining Activists Threatened
Two anti-mining activists from the Northern Front of the Metropolitan Area (Frente Norte del Área Metropolitana, FRENAM) were threatened in San José del Golfo, following a confrontation outside a mine site in the department of […]
Ecuador’s Election: Correa, His Opponents, and Possible Outcomes
While the reelection of Rafael Correa may seem to be a foregone conclusion, the eight candidates competing for the office point to the ongoing fragmented and volatile nature of Ecuadorian politics.
Correa’s most serious challenge from the left comes from his former ally and fellow economist Alberto Acosta.
Guyana Seeks to Shield Gold Miners from Mercury Ban
(IPS) – As regional delegates meet to discuss a legally binding ban on the use of mercury this week, Guyanese officials are arguing that an exception should be made for the South American country’s lucrative […]