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An Assessment of Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution at Twelve Years

February 2, 2011 Gregory Wilpert 0

On the 12th anniversary of Chavez’s first oath of office as president of Venezuela on February 2, 1999, one can easily get the impression from the international mainstream media that Venezuela is trapped in a terminal spiral towards becoming a state socialist dictatorship. However, Venezuela has made significant progress in the past 12 years of Chavez’s presidency (despite some significant shortcomings) towards creating a more egalitarian, inclusive, and participatory society.

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Living under the Oppression of Democracy – The Mapuche People of Chile

January 31, 2011 Ramona Wadi 0

The United Nations, Human Rights Watch and the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racism have condemned Chile’s Anti-Terrorism Law and its use against the Mapuche. According to Pedro Cayuqueo, editor of the Mapuche newspaper Azkintuwe, around 1000 Mapuches have been in Chilean jails in the past ten years. In the beginning of 2010, 106 people were jailed and 58 of them were tried under the Anti-Terrorism law.

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Bolivia: People with Disabilities Demanding Rights and Payment

January 26, 2011 Cory Fischer-Hoffman 0

On Monday, shots rang out in the air. Chants followed. The intersection of Heroinas and Ayacuchu, Cochabamba’s central thoroughfare, was completely shut down by a circle of people—many in wheelchairs, with walkers or crutches—demanding rights for people with disabilities. Their central demand was for a bono, or a monetary form of social security, paid as a monthly stipend.

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The Human Faces of Latin America’s Cold War

January 26, 2011 Benjamin Dangl 0

The Last Colonial Massacre: Latin America in the Cold War by Greg Grandin is based on the belief that the Cold War was more than just a battle of ideologies, nations and political leaders, but a dramatic struggle waged by everyday people whose illuminating stories were buried.

 

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Honduran Constitution: Still Explosive, But No Longer Set in Stone

January 21, 2011 Rodolfo Pastor Fasquelle 0
The Honduran Congress’s decision last week to allow popular referendums to amend the Constitution is nothing short of momentous given the country’s tumultous historical span of the last two years. The significance, if not the irony, lies in the fact that many of these representatives who support these constitutional reforms opposed them when they were put forward by former President Manuel Zelaya.

All the Right Enemies: Farewell to the Utterly Unique John Ross

January 17, 2011 Frank Bardacke 0

John’s gone. John Ross. I doubt that we will ever see anyone remotely like him again. The bare bones, as he would say, are remarkable enough. Born to show business Communists in New York City in 1938, he had minded Billie Holliday’s dog, sold dope to Dizzy Gillespie, and vigiled at the hour of the Rosenberg execution, all before he was sixteen years old. […]

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