2014 – Page 2 – Upside Down World

Beyond Ayotzinapa: How U.S. Intervention in Colombia Paved the Way for Mexico’s Human Rights Crisis

December 18, 2014 Julia Duranti and Maggie Ervin 0

While the Mexican government has scrambled to present the Ayotzinapa student massacre as a case of low-level corruption that can be solved by shuffling police units and criminalizing the protests that brought international scrutiny, a new report emerged claiming that federal police also participated in the torture and disappearance of the students. U.S. intervention in Colombia shows why the state violence evident in Ayotzinapa is anything but an isolated incident.

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CONAIE Indigenous Organization Evicted from Headquarters by Ecuadorian Government

December 17, 2014 Marc Becker 0

The Ecuadorian government has announced that it is giving the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) two weeks to abandon the headquarters it has held for almost a quarter of a century. The CONAIE leadership says that they will refuse to leave.

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An Open Letter from Boaventura de Sousa Santos to Ecuadorian President Correa on Kicking the CONAIE Indigenous Movement Out of its Headquarters

December 16, 2014 Boaventura de Sousa Santos 0

The government of President Rafael Correa in Ecuador has called for the CONAIE indigenous movement to leave its headquarters in Quito. CONAIE leader Jorge Herrera says this is a political move on the part of the government to repress the indigenous movement and marginalize critics. Here is an open letter to Correa from Boaventura de Sousa Santos on the topic.

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Indigenous Guatemalans Create Political Platform for 2015 Elections

December 10, 2014 Christin Sandberg 0

On November 26, members of Guatemalan Maya, Mestizo, Garifuna and Xinca communities met to make a historic decision to ally with the Convergence for a Democratic Revolution party to run senatorial candidates in the the 2015 presidential election. This meeting was a grassroots and participatory assembly aiming at consolidating a platform for the participation of indigenous peoples.

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People’s Summit in Lima Envisions Bottom-Up Movement for Global Climate Justice

December 10, 2014 Sarah Lazare 0

Source: Common Dreams Alternative gathering outside of UN talks brings together civil societies and social movements from across the globe Social movements and civil societies from around the world are gathered in Lima, Peru this […]

Developmentalism and Social Movements in Bolivia

December 10, 2014 Raúl Zibechi 0

If economic growth is sustained and there are ambitious strategic plans in place, the two weaknesses of the current process of change are in the environment and the autonomy of social movements. […]

Latin America: NYPD chief wants to teach the world’s police

December 9, 2014 Ed Morales 0

Source: Al Jazeera America Spreading bad policing models to Latin America can only exacerbate inequality and state violence A young activist named Diego Ibáñez, a native of Bolivia, is accused of spraying New York City Police Commissioner Bill […]

Palm Oil and Extreme Violence in Honduras: The Inexorable Rise and Dubious Reform of Grupo Dinant

December 8, 2014 Jeff Conant 0

Source: Truthout As one of the fastest growing global commodities, palm oil has recently earned a reputation as a major contributor to tropical deforestation and, therefore, to climate change as well. About 50 million metric […]

Ecuador indigenous leader found dead days before planned Lima protest

December 8, 2014 Jonathan Watts 0

Source: The Guardian Unlimited The body of an indigenous leader who was opposed to a major mining project in Ecuador has been found bound and buried, days before he planned to take his campaign to […]

“Indigenous Peoples Are the Owners of the Land” Say Activists at COP20 in Peru

December 8, 2014 Milagros Salazar 0

The clamor of indigenous peoples for recognition of their ancestral lands resounded among the delegates of 195 countries at the climate summit taking place in the Peruvian capital. “I want my land…that’s where I live and eat, and it’s where my saintly grandparents lie,” Diana Ríos shouted with rage. […]