Month: May 2014

No Picture

Ecuador – The Yasuní and the Current State of Affairs: Economics, Regulation, and Opposition

May 8, 2014 Eduardo Gudynas, Translated by Danica Jorden 0

Denying the referendum means that a progressive government, when forced to seriously discuss its appetite for petroleum or mining, must shed its clothes and reveal its most intimate mercantile thoughts. Public debates on oil exploration in the Amazon promoted through public referendum could raise discussion about issues much more far-reaching than the government’s petroleum strategy. There would rapidly also be discussion about development, government practices, etc., revealing their contradictions.

[…]

No Picture

Hands Off Venezuela! What Has Been Happening Since February and Why It Matters

May 7, 2014 Susan Spronk 0

Not only does Venezuela give us much to learn from this creative experiment with “twenty-first century socialism,” but it also continues to play a crucial role in Latin America and the rest of the world—opening spaces for the election of left governments and inspiring extra-parliamentary movements that demand radical social change. However, it is important to recognize that as with any socialist experiment, it has been riddled with contradictions and tensions. Nonetheless, the Bolivarian revolution is worth defending because of its importance to the region and its worth in its own right.

[…]

No Picture

A Reading on Ecuador’s Return to the World Bank

May 6, 2014 Alberto Acosta, Translated by Danica Jorden 0

In 2008, the government of President Correa suspended servicing part of the foreign commercial debt, but not the entire debt. This suspension of payments, or moratorium, was marked by a clear and preconceived programmatic position to seek out better conditions for renegotiating the debt, not because it was impossible to service. However, there are backward steps now being taken, a long way off from the transformative alternatives that were proposed in the beginning.

[…]

Venezuela: Petro-‘Socialism’ in its Labyrinth

May 5, 2014 Raúl Zibechi 0

Economic crisis, product shortages, and polarization paint a scenario in which the continuity of the Bolivarian movement is at stake. So is the sovereignty of a country that dared to challenge its dependence on a superpower that considers the Caribbean a “closed sea to which the United States holds the key.”

[…]

No Picture

Ecuador: A new political map

May 5, 2014 Luis Ángel Saavedra 0

Source: Latin America Press Following ruling party’s defeat at the polls, Correa looks to control land use and local governments. For seven years, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa seemed unbeatable in elections. He won with margins […]

Peru’s Conga Mine Conflict: Cajamarca Won’t Capitulate

May 1, 2014 Lynda Sullivan 0

The fight over the Conga mining project is one of Peru’s largest current social conflicts.   Today, the local population continues resisting the imposition of one of Latin America`s largest gold mining projects – Minas Conga. The situation remains tense, and the resistance continues, but with an intensified sense of urgency because as the battles are won and lost, many feel that the conflict is nearing its conclusion.

[…]

1 … 3 4 5 6