Upside Down World – Page 540 – Upside Down World

Eyes on US Troops in Paraguay as Bolivian Election Nears

November 16, 2005 Upside Down World 0

G.W. Bush and Evo Morales

The recent shift to the left among Latin American governments has been a cause for concern in the Bush administration. The White House has tried in vain to put this shift in check. Presidential elections in Bolivia on December 18th are likely to further challenge U.S. hegemony. Evo Morales, an indigenous, socialist congressman, is expected to win the election. How far will the U.S. go to prevent a leftist victory in Bolivia? Some Bolivians fear the worst.

[…]

The ILEA: A New School of Assassins in El Salvador?

November 15, 2005 Upside Down World 0

US Officials and FMLN discuss ILEA

As the solidarity movement prepares for another protest and vigil against the Western Hemispheric Institute for Security and Cooperation (WHINSEC, nee School of the Americas and forever known to the movement as the School of Assassins) this November, another threat to peace and democracy in the Americas lurks behind the curtain. […]

Honduran Mine Workers Sick and Fired but Fighting Back

November 14, 2005 Upside Down World 0

Daniel Martinez

Unionized mine workers in Honduras maintained a week-long strike to protest hazardous working conditions, illegal firings and a string of contract violations by the Canadian transnational mining company Glamis Gold. The strike began on October 25 when workers of Minerales Entre Mares de Honduras, S.A., a subsidiary Glamis Gold, occupied the entry and exit points of the San Martín open pit gold mine, thus paralyzing mining activity. […]

Argentina: The People’s Summit against the FTAA

November 7, 2005 Upside Down World 0

The Argentine beach town of Mar del Plata became a symbolic site in the historical struggle between neo-liberalism and social movements in Latin America last week, when President Bush and the 34 other presidents participated in the IV Summit of the Americas. They were met by hordes of protestors against Bush and his free trade agenda. As Argentine President Nestor Kirchner hosted the official Summit of the Americas behind miles of fences, the People’s Summit brought together social movements, labor unionists, piqueteros, non-profits, and community groups from Argentina and the across the Americas to create a more just and humane form of Latin American political, economic and social integration.

[…]

Students Occupy Army ROTC Building in Puerto Rico

November 6, 2005 Upside Down World 0

On November 3, thirty students from diverse organizations making up the umbrella group Filiberto Ojeda Rios Contingent – in honor of the independence leader murdered by the FBI last September 23 – took over the Army Reserves Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) building in the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez and demanded that the ROTC leave the campus and that the FBI leave the country. After occupying the building, students hung a banner out the window with the image of Ojeda Rios printed on it.

[…]

U.N. Undermining Human Rights Work in Guatemala

November 2, 2005 Upside Down World 0

Almost one year after the U.N.’s ten-year peacekeeping mission in Guatemala closed its doors, the world body has decided to return to the country to address the chronically bad human rights situation in Guatemala by establishing the Guatemalan Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OACNUDH). […]

The Uncertainty of Elections in Bolivia

October 31, 2005 Upside Down World 0

Evo Morales

According to the Bolivian constitution, interim president Eduardo Rodriguez must hold national elections within a timeframe of no more than 180 days from the start of his presidency last June. The realization of these elections, however, remains up in the air due to a recent ruling by Bolivia‘s constitutional court. Conflicts surrounding the distribution of congressional seats are now putting elections, scheduled for December 4th, at risk and bringing the country to the brink of a new crisis.

[…]

Venezuela: The Building Of A People’s Democracy

October 26, 2005 Upside Down World 0

Following the example of Cuba’s humanist approach to guaranteeing its people the right to quality education and healthcare, Venezuela has embarked upon a historical mission to eliminate poverty in a country where nearly 70% of the population is poor. As Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez consistently reiterates, the only way to end poverty is to empower the poor and marginalized. […]

Submit Work, Participate

October 24, 2005 Upside Down World 0

Thanks for your interest in becoming a part of Upside Down World. We welcome article submissions and story ideas from anyone, and encourage first time writers as well as long-time journalists and analysts to send […]

A Leak in the Ecuadorian Oil Adventure

October 24, 2005 Upside Down World 0

While rivers are being polluted, rainforests cut down and the health of citizens severely threatened by the oil industry, this black gold continues to flow through Ecuador. I am in the northern part of the Ecuadorian Amazon, visiting oil fields and researching the contamination of rivers, soil and forest in order to gain insight into what problems confront the Amazon. The area is ruined. Where there were once primary rain forests there are now oil plants, oil roads and a myriad of pipelines.

[…]