Month: June 2014
Zapatistas Decide to Do Away with Subcomandante Marcos
“It is our conviction and our practice that we don’t need leaders or chieftains, messiahs, or saviors, in order to rise up and fight, only a little humility, a lot of dignity and a great deal of organization; the rest either serves the collective or is useless,” Marcos said, suggesting a criticism of the revolutionary vanguard, as the EZLN managed to transform “leading by obeying” into the centrality of the collective in the face of the individual.
From Mexico to Brazil, climate change threatens coffee growers in Latin America
Coffee, like gold, sugar and oil, has long been one of Latin America’s major exports, sustaining everyone from independent farmers in mountain regions to corporate bankers in capital cities. Over the last decade, changing climate patterns have intensified droughts and plagues in the region, creating conditions less suitable for coffee production and wreaking havoc on the industry that came to define, even shape, many hillsides in rural Central and South America.
China Trades Up in Latin America
Source: Foreign Policy Focus China is taking advantage of its growing trade surplus in Latin America to rally support for its positions at the United Nations. In the past 15 years, China has gone from […]
108 Members of Congress Urge Action on Political Repression and Human Rights Abuses in Honduras
Source: The Americas Blog Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry received a letter regarding “egregious violations of human rights” in Honduras signed by 108 members of Congress. The letter represents the latest in an […]
Photo Essay: Zapatistas Show Dignified Rage and Demand Justice and an End to Violence Targeting their Communities
Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos rides horseback in front of the Zapatista support base members in La Realidad during an homage to fallen compañero – Galeano – killed in a paramilitary attack against Zapatista members in La Realidad on May 2, 2014. Thousands gathered in La Realidad to show there digna rabia, dignified rage, demand justice and an end to the on-going violence directed towards Zapatista indigenous communities in Chiapas.
Self-Determination as Anti-Extractivism: How Indigenous Resistance Challenges World Politics
Governments have been busy criminalizing Indigenous claims to consultation that challenge extractive models of development. Indigenous opposition to extractivism ultimately promotes self-determination rights, questioning the states’ authority over land by placing its sovereignty into historical context. In that sense, Indigeneity is a valuable approach to understanding world politics.
Rural Communities Push El Salvador Towards Ban on Mining
(IPS) – Mining is not viable in this country, says Salvador Sánchez Cerén – who was sworn in as the new president of El Salvador on Jun. 1 – and his team of environmental advisers. […]
Ecuador Pushes for Greater South-South Cooperation and Stronger Public Disability Assistance Policies
The most recent report published by the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) found that Ecuador was the largest recipient of bilateral south-south cooperation projects in Latin America. However, the report also noted that Ecuador has become an increasingly important provider in bilateral cooperation projects, specifically in the area of social assistance programs which accounted for 35 percent of all south-to-south projects carried out by the Ecuadorian government.