Mexico: Voices from ‘Below and to the Left’ Say it’s the Time of Hope and Action for Movements

January 16, 2013 Upside Down World 0

The representative of the National Indigenous Confederation of Ecuador (CONAIE), Severino Sharupi, assessed that the entry of his organization into state institutions and electoral processes had weakened them, even though they have achieved a new constitution and have ousted three presidents. Now, however, they have reactivated nationwide resistance against the extractive model promoted by President Rafael Correa.

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Colonialism and the Green Economy in Chiapas: Villagers Defy Pressure to Forfeit Farms for Carbon-Offset

January 16, 2013 Upside Down World 0

Like many other indigenous peoples in the state, Consuela believes Mexico’s national REDD program is designed to fold Chiapas’ indigenous populations into international markets, thereby “modernizing” the state. In this way, indigenous peoples, most of whom do not generate revenue for their governments, can become “productive members of society.” By agreeing to plant African Palms, Consuela believes indigenous farmers are effectively cut off from an identity based on the land they cultivate, the cyclical nature of agriculture and the maize seeds they once planted.

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What Are ‘Peacekeepers’ Doing in a Haitian Industrial Park?

January 14, 2013 Upside Down World 0

Wages and working conditions are a major issue for the 29,000 Haitians who work long hours in garment factories for about $5 a day. Anger over the situation erupted in August 2009, when thousands of SONAPI workers shut down their machines and marched into the center of Port-au-Prince to demand an increase in the minimum wage. Batay Ouvriye organizers say MINUSTAH began stepping up its presence in the park after the protests.

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