Deepening Police Violence in Mexico: “Ley Eruviel,” Megaprojects and Organized Resistance

April 22, 2016 Ryan A. Knight 0

The authorities of the state of Mexico have grown impatient, or perhaps even fearful.  Faced with the well-organized and constantly growing resistance to countless megaprojects in the state of Mexico—projects driven by the ruthless pursuit of capital accumulation—political authorities have sought justification and legal protection to violently repress the resistance and see these projects through. […]

Guatemalan Campesino Organizations Mobilize to Demand Agrarian Reform, Energy Nationalization

April 9, 2016 Jeff Abbott 0

On February 10, 2015, thousands of indigenous campesinos from across Guatemala associated with the Committee for Campesino Development (CODECA) took to the streets of Guatemala City in the first large march of the administration of Jimmy Morales. The campesinos were continuing a decade-long struggle to demand that the Guatemalan government nationalize the electrical system.

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Brazil: Building New Worlds in the Favelas

April 8, 2016 Raúl Zibechi 0

The debate is part of all new movements in Latin America: how much energy should be spent building something unique and how much should go to dealing with state institutions. There are two sides to the debate on public policies (participation in the management of public institutions at the local level): fear of being co-opted by the State and fear of isolation. It is the need to choose between creating popular community or governing without power.

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The Dammed of the Earth: The Deadly Impact of Mega Hydroelectric Projects in Latin America

Early in the morning of March 3, Berta Cáceres was assassinated as she slept. Berta is not alone, nor is her story unique to Honduras. Across the Global South, mega hydroelectric projects are expanding — driven by governments and multinationals as a source of cheap energy, they also displace communities, destroy the local social fabric and spiritual ties to land, lead to privatization of land and water, and generate food insecurity.

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Does Brazil’s Proposed Anti-Terrorism Law Threaten Public Protest? Two Opinions

As the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro quickly approach, Brazil continues to debate the introduction of a new counterterrorism law. Despite strong criticism from Human Rights Watch that the bill is “overbroad and vague”, the bill has passed in both the Brazilian Senate and, as of February 24, the House of Representatives. As the bill makes its way to President Rousseff’s desk, we consider the arguments of two politicians.

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More or Less Dead: Feminicide, Haunting and the Ethics of Representation in Mexico – A Book Review

March 29, 2016 Jen Wilton 0

More or Less Dead, author Alice Driver’s first book, is a critical and timely look at the ethics of portraying violence against women in the media. The book’s title refers to the ways that disappearances leave families in limbo, robbing the victim of even having the right to death. Although Driver focuses on the issue in the context of Mexico, the ideas and conclusions she comes to are equally applicable to other cultures and geographies.

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Interview with Berta Cáceres: “To Fight Against Repression in Honduras is to Fight for our Whole Continent”

The coup in Honduras hasn’t just been against Honduras. It’s been against all emancipatory processes. It’s been a clear, threatening message to the progressive and leftist governments in our continent. It’s a message that the ultra-right and the imperialists aren’t going to stop. They want to reclaim power, and they know very well that they need our resources. – Berta Cáceres […]

Honduras: Gustavo Castro Soto and the Rigged Investigation into Berta Cáceres’ Assassination

March 23, 2016 Beverly Bell 0

The sole eyewitness to Honduran social movement leader Berta Cáceres’ assassination on March 3, 2016 has gone from being wounded victim to, effectively, political prisoner. Now Gustavo Castro Soto may also be framed as the murderer of his long-time friend, Berta Cáceres. Both the Mexican Ambassador, Dolores Jiménez, and Castro himself are worried that he will be charged by the government for the killing, they told the National Commission of Human Rights of Honduras on March 16.

 

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