Chile: National Strike Forces Government to Negotiating Table
A recent national strike in Chile called for deep changes to the country’s constitution that would allow reforms to education, healthcare, labor laws and the economy.
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Let Me Speak! A Bolivian Woman Miner’s Revolutionary Life
The life experiences of Bolivian mining activist Domitila Barrios de Chungara traverse some of the most important and tumultuous events in 20th century Bolivian history. […]
Bolivia: Morales Clashes with Native Protesters over Road through Tropical Park
The lack of regulations for consulting indigenous communities in Bolivia on initiatives that affect their territories is at the heart of a dispute over a road to facilitate traffic from Brazil, which would run through an enormous tropical national park self-governed by indigenous communities. […]
Seeking Social Justice Through Education in Chile
The ongoing student protests in Chile are an unwavering accomplishment aimed at combating the social injustice riddling the country’s education system. What started out as a series of peaceful protests has become a manifestation of unity between students, artists and much of the general population in a stance defying the current government’s position regarding social class, cultural difference and political division with regard to education.
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Colombia: Interview with Eberto Diaz Montes, President of FENSUAGRO (United National Federation of Peasant Farmers and Farm Workers)
The military aid of the United States and Plan Colombia constitute one of the greatest obstacles to peace in Colombia. We see every day how the US affects the situation here. The US must not continue intervening in this conflict and advocating for this idea that peace is not possible. It must stop calling the armed insurgency terrorists because this blocks dialogue and it also shows a double standard regarding political violence in the country.
Native Peruvians More Marginalized Despite Growth
For the first time, a representative of the indigenous communities in Peru’s Amazonas region is sitting in Congress: Eduardo Nayap, an Awajún leader who played a central role in the lengthy protests against laws that opened up native territories in the rainforest to oil, mining and logging companies. […]
Colombia Holds National ‘Peace Congress’ To Find Solution To Conflict
Over 15,000 Colombians descended on the oil rich city of Barrancabermeja in Central Colombia to attend a national ‘Peace Congress’. The slogan for the meeting was, ‘dialogue is the path’, and was attended by communities across the country who have been severely affected by the ongoing conflicts.
Honduras: Campesinos Murdered as Honduran-Canadian Trade Agreement Moves Forward
Since the June 28, 2009 coup in Honduras, campesino organizations attribute at least 45 killings in the Aguan region alone to private security forces working for the wealthy producers of African palm oil, who often act jointly with state police and military forces. The most recent surge in rural violence occurred days after Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, signed a “free” trade agreement with Honduras.
Mexico: March Against Drug War Rejects “National Security Law”, Calls for “Citizen Security”
Hundreds of people streamed onto Avenida Reforma from Mexico City’s Museum of Anthropology, further proof that Mexico’s peace and justice movement has the capacity to draw citizens out to protest the drug war. Protesters demanded that the Mexican Congress throw out proposed reforms to the National Security Law that is designed to provide legal underpinnings for continuing the war on drugs strategy launched by President Felipe Calderon in December of 2006.
Photo Essay: Migrants Search for Justice in Mexico
On August 1st, a caravan of several hundred Central American migrants, family members of disappeared migrants, and migrant rights activists arrived in Mexico City to denounce Mexican authorities for their indifference and lack of action to protect undocumented migrants from organized crime, kidnapping, sexual abuse and murder.