Articles by Upside Down World
El Salvador: Killed in Cold Blood on the Banks of the River at El Calabozo
1982 was a dangerous time in El Salvador. The civil war had begun two years earlier, and in rebel-held areas, the national army saw everyone – peasant farmers, babies, women and the elderly – as […]
Women In the Forefront of Bolivia’s TIPNIS Conflict
Source: NACLA In the ongoing struggle against the Bolivian government’s plan to build a highway through the Isiboro Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park (TIPNIS), lowland indigenous women have been on the front lines. Their […]
Before Occupy Wall Street, there was La Victoria
Forward from: Territories in Resistance: A Cartography of Latin American Social Movements by Raúl Zibechi
Raúl Zibechi, a writer whose work on social movements is widely read in Spanish, suggests that La Victoria may have been the first mass organized land occupation in Latin America. “In this new kind of movement, self-construction and self-determination take the place of demands and representation,” writes Zibechi, reflecting on the occupation of La Victoria. “This pressure from below transformed the course of social struggles and the cities.”
Water and Sanitation Socialism in Caracas: Interview with Victor Díaz
The mesas técnicas del agua (Technical Water Forum, MTAs) are a unique experiment in radical urban planning, whereby beneficiary communities map their own water and sanitation needs and help to plan infrastructure development, which is financed by the state. In this interview, Victor Díaz, Community Coordinator of HIDROCAPITAL, talks about the accomplishments in the water and sanitation sector, including the meaning of socialism, the importance of popular power and political support, as well as the challenges that remain.
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel: ‘There is No Political Will to Respect Native Peoples’ in Argentina
Nobel Peace Laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel said the Argnetine government has a limited view of human rights, and stressed that the extractive model is moving forward, which includes the use of repression. “The truth is that there is no progress because there is no political will in the government to respect native peoples,” said Pérez Esquivel.
Colombia: Despite Repression, the Minga in Huila Continues for the Liberation of Mother Earth
On the evening of August 8, communities belonging to the Movement for the Defense and Liberation of Mother Earth, made up of the Nasa, Misak & Yanacona Peoples of the Regional Indigenous Council of Huila […]
Marketing Consent: A Journey into the Public Relations Underside of Canada’s Mining Sector in Latin America
Whether or not they are upfront about their connections to mining companies, Canadians with labyrinthine corporate, consulting and Indigenous affiliations have been paying unexpected visits to Indigenous communities throughout the Americas. A closer look at an example of this intervention reveals how their promotion of the Canadian mining industry in impoverished communities undermines local struggles to protect territory and exacerbates conflict.