Category: Tierra

Venezuela joins Mercosur: A New Strategic Alliance

October 26, 2012

Venezuela’s entry into Mercosur has had interpretations centered on the economic and commercial aspects, but the most important is a geopolitical and geo-energetic matter. The region becomes a food and hydrocarbon power pointing to the Caribbean. On July 31 when the entry of Venezuela into Mercosur was decided in Brasilia, presidents Dilma Rousseff and Cristina Fernández emphasized the importance of the new Mercosur in the framework of the world crisis that is summed up in the birth of a “new pole of power.”

The Fight for Corn

October 25, 2012

In an era of food crisis, the fight for corn has intensified, and the importance of this grain – a staple of the diet of Mexico and a large part of the world – has been revealed to the fullest extent. The scenario we are faced with is a battle between a culture that revolves around the material and symbolic production of corn, as well as the cultural, social, and historical value placed upon this crop by humankind, and the network of commercial and political interests that sees this prodigious crop simply as another way to increase power and profit by means of plundering its native lands.

Yaqui Resistance: Against the Aqueduct, Agricultural Chemicals and Transgenics Crops on their Ancestral Lands

October 23, 2012

According to tribal leaders, the economic, ecological, and social stability of the Yaqui tribe is being threatened by the construction of the Sonora Sí (Sonora Yes!) project that is being imposed within its territory with the backing of the state government. “The aqueduct is an unfair, illegal project, supported by the federal government,” says Juan Piña, Yaqui tribal governor, expressing his concern about the situation in the country and especially in the state of Sonora.

Las semillas de la discordia

October 22, 2012

Como parte de una decisión controversial, vista por muchos como la prueba fehaciente de la intromisión de Monsanto en los asuntos internos de Paraguay, el gobierno de Franco aprobó el cultivo de semillas de maíz y algodón transgénico.

Uruguay rejects “the war on drugs”

October 21, 2012

The government of President José Mujica achieved its main objective when it proposed legalizing marijuana: to spark a broad national debate regarding drugs, prohibitionist policies, and the repressive measures used to date. The motives set out to explain the proposed legislation criticize prohibitionist policies for aggravating the drug problem and establish assert “users not be stigmatized or treated under penal law, but instead create conditions to work with them and with society as a whole.”

Historias de resistencia yaqui: Contra el acueducto, los agroquímicos y los transgénicos en su territorio

October 17, 2012

El proyecto Sonora SI, impulsado por el Gobierno del estado de Sonora, está siendo impuesto en territorio de la comunidad Yaqui, poniendo en riesgo su estabilidad ecológica, social y económica, según la autoridad tradicional indígena. “El acueducto es una obra injusta, ilegal, apoyada por el gobierno federal”, dice Juan Piña, gobernador de la Tribu Yaqui, al expresar su preocupación por la situación del país y en especial en Sonora.

The Seeds of Discord

October 2, 2012

In a controversial move seen by many as proof that Monsanto meddled in Paraguay’s domestic affairs, the Franco government has approved the cultivation of genetically modified corn and cotton.

La disputa por el maíz

September 21, 2012

En época de crisis alimentaria, la disputa por el maíz se recrudece. El escenario es el combate entre una cultura que gira en torno a la producción material y simbólica del maíz, valioso patrimonio agrogenético, social e histórico de la humanidad, y el entramado de intereses mercantiles y políticos que ven en este grano prodigioso sólo otro elemento para aumentar sus ganancias y poder mediante el saqueo.