Archives

Exorcising the Ghosts of Brazil’s Dictatorship

January 31, 2013 Clarinha Glock 0

At 8 a.m. on Oct. 25, 1975, Brazilian journalist Vladimir Herzog voluntarily reported to the São Paulo headquarters of the government’s intelligence agency and was never seen alive again. He died under torture. His death had profound repercussions, triggering a wave of protests and setting off a mass movement that played an instrumental role in bringing down the dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985. Now, more than 37 years later, Herzog’s murder could be the case that finally sets Brazil on the path of investigating the crimes and abuses committed throughout its long dictatorship.

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Sovereignty vs. Intervention: A Review of Haiti’s New Dictatorship

January 30, 2013 Isabeau Doucet 0

Justin Podur, Associate Professor in environmental studies at Toronto’s York University, in his new book, Haiti’s New Dictatorship: The Coup, the Earthquake and the UN Occupation, offers a timely and concise political history of contemporary Haiti and a case study in “how a multilateral violation of sovereignty is organized and carried out.” He draws on a wide range of academic, journalistic, and human rights reports, as well as U.S. embassy cables released by Wikileaks, to document how Haiti became a laboratory “experiment in a new kind of imperialism.”

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Cyanide Lakes and Hurricanes: An Interview with Dr. Juan Almendares on the High Costs of Mining in Honduras

January 29, 2013 Jen Wilton and Liam Barrington-Bush 0

From January 17-20, anti-mining activists from Mesoamerica and beyond gathered in the small Mexican mountain town of Capulálpam de Méndez, Oaxaca to say ‘Yes to life! No to mining!’. Dr. Juan Almendares, a Honduran doctor with a long history of human rights and anti-mining activism, was a speaker at the event. He spoke with Upside Down World about the negative social, environmental, and health impacts the mining  industry has caused for communities in Honduras.

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Remilitarization Gives Rise to New Tensions and Violence in Guatemala

January 25, 2013 Kelsey Alford-Jones 0

On October 6, the Guatemalan army gunned down six indigenous protesters in Totonicapán and injured at least 30 more. Thousands had gathered to oppose unpopular government reforms, and while the police held their distance, the military advanced and shot into the crowd. The event was a tragic manifestation of one of the public’s worst fears since President Pérez Molina took office in January 2012: that the Guatemalan armed forces would resort to deadly force in order to repress and silence dissent, an experience all too familiar in the nation´s collective historic memory.

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Ecuador: Building a Good Life – Sumak Kawsay

January 24, 2013 Alberto Acosta, Translation by Christina Hewitt 0

The one thing that really stands out about these alternative proposals is that they have emerged from traditionally marginalized groups of people. They invite us to uproot various concepts that have assumed an uncontested status, and called us to question the homogenizing and all-encompassing capitalist structure. They are the voices of other men and women that from their otherness demand that Good Living be built and their ability to put forward ideas be recognized.

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Constitutional Death Spiral in Honduras

January 21, 2013 Rosemary Joyce and Russell Sheptak 0

How does a constitution die? In Honduras, it started with a coup in June 2009. Now, fast forward to January 2013: the Chief Justice of the Honduran Supreme Court is unable to seat a panel of five justices to review an appeal of the constitutionality of a law passed by the Congress. The reason? The law under review allowed Congress to remove four justices serving on the Supreme Court itself. The four people appointed to replace them, and a majority of the justices who were not dismissed, recused themselves from hearing the case because virtually everyone either was directly involved or had expressed an opinion in support of the dismissed justices.

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Mexico: Voices from ‘Below and to the Left’ Say it’s the Time of Hope and Action for Movements

January 16, 2013 Desinformémonos, Translation by Dorset Chiapas Solidarity Group 0

The representative of the National Indigenous Confederation of Ecuador (CONAIE), Severino Sharupi, assessed that the entry of his organization into state institutions and electoral processes had weakened them, even though they have achieved a new constitution and have ousted three presidents. Now, however, they have reactivated nationwide resistance against the extractive model promoted by President Rafael Correa.

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