The villas of Buenos Aires–the poorest neighborhoods in the city, self-constructed, self-defended during decades of state harassment and real estate speculation–produce one of the best publications around: La Garganta Poderosa.
Two years after the fall of the Fernando Lugo government and one year after the rise of Horacio Cartes of the Colorado party, social movements show signs of rebuilding, with remarkable leadership of the campesino movement facing agribusiness and repression.
When governments facilitate the business of multinationals and leave communities unprotected– as with mining – those communities must defend themselves by their own means, through self-defense organizations, mobilizing affected communities, or creating new ways to prevent being evicted from their own territories.
A meeting in Popayán, capital of the Cauca department, was the excuse for learning about a complex and violent reality. The war between the military, paramilitaries, guerrillas, and drug traffickers is intertwined with savage extractivism, with illegal mining its worst expression.
Started during the military dictatorship, the Carajás Project has, in three decades, made Brazil a mining power. Social movements, ecclesial groups and human rights institutions are assessing the impacts, while Vale, the second largest mining…
Economic crisis, product shortages, and polarization paint a scenario in which the continuity of the Bolivarian movement is at stake. So is the sovereignty of a country that dared to challenge dependence on the global superpower.
After three decades of struggle for agrarian reform, Brazil's Landless Movement paused during its 6th Congress to evaluate its experience and reflect on the new reality. The goal: to change while changing themselves.
The fear that mass demonstrations could take place during the World Cup – like those during the Confederations Cup last June – is leading the government to militarize against the protests, with incredibly repressive strategies. And half of the Brazilian population rejects the Cup.
In the year of elections and the FIFA World Cup, the country that aims to be a global military and energy power must face the challenges of popular sectors, who demand inclusion and access to the same goods and rights enjoyed by half of Brazilians.
The peace agreements are being boycotted by the far right though the FARC and the Santos government are moving towards the end of the conflict. But the main push for peace comes from the changes that come about in a society tired of war.