Deep in the mountains and jungles of Chiapas, populated primarily with indigenous farmers, a new campaign is seeking to upstage the high-financed drama of the 2006 Mexican presidential election. It emerged out of rebel-occupied territory held by the EZLN, known as the Zapatistas. […]
Maybe it had to do with the beer, or the heady mixture of languages, or the humidity, but it felt like something unique was growing out of the sweaty discussions and incessant drum circles. It wasn’t the same energy one feels at a large protest or indoor activist conference, and it was more than a tropical version of Woodstock. There was a feeling at the fifth annual World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil that something extraordinary was happening.
The large brick building hangs heavy and desolate, lacking the welcoming pastel colors found at other Argentine kindergartens. But this is not a typical kindergarten; this is Crecer Imaginando en Libertad (Imagine Growing in
"With the good intentions of transmitting a message of hope to all the compañeros in different communities, to indigenous peoples, to those of us struggling for justice, those of us who are always characterized by our work to defend the rights of the people, especially the right to our lands and all the resources our communities possess " […]
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean’s recent comments to Wolf Blitzer on CNN serve as a reminder that Republicans and Democrats share the same foreign policy goals in Latin America, they just differ on tactics. […]
Colleges and universities across the U.S., most recently the University of Michigan and NYU, are deciding to ban Coca-Cola from their campuses in response to the company’s alleged human rights abuses in Colombia. "The reality […]
President-elect Michelle Bachelet, Chile’s first woman leader, has pledged to "walk the same road" as the outgoing Lagos administration. For this "socialist," that means supporting free market policies such as the Free Trade Area of […]
Latin America is boiling with revolutionary potential these days that could redefine economics, politics and social relations. But sometimes things aren’t always as they seem. […]
January is a special month for the global left. Every year at this time, progressives and activists convene at the World Social Forum, usually in Porto Alegre, Brazil. In January 2005, I too was eagerly awaiting my first trip to the Forum, imagining a week of cross-cultural communication, strategic organizing, and inspiring celebrations. Although I didn’t know exactly what to expect, I did know one thing – the Forum would be an alternative to neoliberalism. So why did I walk away from Porto Alegre worried mostly about the similarities between the Forum and neoliberalism? And is there still reason to be worried, as the 2006 Forum approaches? […]
There are reports that Brazil’s army is training Amazon Indians in guerrilla warfare. Leaked photos of training exercises were published in the Rio Newspaper Extra. One of the pictures published yesterday shows a line of […]
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