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A Few Bad Apples ... Or a Rotten System?
By Laura Carlsen
Since President-elect Barack Obama promised to deal with immigration reform in the early part of his presidency, the nation began gearing up for another round in what has been one of the most contentious issues of our time. David Bacon's book, Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Immigration and Criminalizes Immigrants provides essential tools to envision and fight for this reform.
Can G7 + G20 = Recovery?
By Tony Phillips
World leaders struggle to mend an ailing system. What is working, what is not, and how could we get to the root of this global crisis?
Colombia: Social Conflict Replaces Warfare
By Raúl Zibechi
Social conflict has overtaken the center of the political stage, displacing President Alvaro Uribe, who merely repeats the script that brought him so much success in the war: the Indians, sugarcane workers, teachers, government workers, truckers, and anyone else who protests and mobilizes is being manipulated by the FARC guerrillas.
UNASUR Puts Out its First Fire in Bolivia: Brazil Makes the Difference
By Raúl Zibechi
Brazil's active intervention to de-escalate the Bolivian conflict went beyond rhetoric and statements, showcasing its diplomatic style and the goals of a great power that managed, in a single move, to curb imperialistic ambitions "in its own backyard" and isolate attempts to heighten tension in the region.
The WTO and Other Trade Tales
By Raj Patel
While the battle-lines of the Doha round may shift a little, and occasional lulls may occur in the fighting, trade negotiations can never die as long as the WTO exists. So next time you read a report that the WTO trade talks are dead, just remember: there's always a sequel. And you can bet it won't benefit the poor.
 Mexico's Immigration Problem Also a "Red Flag" at Home
By Laura Carlsen
Unless Mexico, the United States, and Central American countries form an effective regional employment strategy that includes a review of trade polices that lead to displacement, the human rights crisis for immigrants will continue to go from bad to worse.
Pain and Protest on the Day of the Butterflies: Violence Persists Against Women in Mexico
By Frontera NorteSur
In Mexico more than 200 women's and human rights activists kicked off a cross-country caravan in Ciudad Juarez to protest against femicide and ongoing violence in all its forms against women.
Immigrants Drive Prison Profits
By Tom Barry
At a time when the economy is imploding, most industries are shedding immigrants. The private prison industry, however, is booming, largely because of the ever-increasing supply of immigrants supplied by the federal government.
Expect "Rule of Law" to Rule Immigration Policy
By Tom Barry
Gov. Janet Napolitano, the likely nominee to direct the Department of Homeland Security, is by no means an anti-immigration hardliner. However, as a lawyer, former federal prosecutor, and a governor who has insisted on more border control and has stood behind a tough employer-sanctions law, she will fit easily into the "rule of law" framework.
Ecuador Seeks Non-payment of Illegitimate Foreign Debt
By Helga Serrano Narváez
Results of the audit conducted reveal that an "incalculable fraud" was produced during the process of borrowing and renegotiation of the debt. Rectification of years of corruption is now in the hands of President Rafael Correa.
Latinos for Latinos
By Tom Barry
Identity politics in an Obama America? It's time for a change.
Anti-Immigration Forces Ready to Challenge Obama
By Tom Barry
While pro-immigration groups are hailing the Obama victory and the Latino turnout as a victory for liberal immigration reform, immigration restrictionists are reshaping their messaging for the Obama era, already trying to leverage Obama's promises to protect workers and create jobs.
Identity Politics and the Latino Payback on Immigration
By Tom Barry
Immigrant reform advocates will have to link the two issues into an integrated platform and be flexible regarding the timing on immigration reform.
Obama and the Minority Majority
By Laura Carlsen
Since the election the nation has changed so that the older, white male, and the ideas that go along with him, can no longer be considered the image of the universal citizen.
Both Sides of Immigration Debate Retrench
By Tom Barry
One side demands liberal immigration reform that includes legalization and family reunification visas, while the other side calls for conservative immigration reform that enforces the "rule of law" and dramatically lowers immigration flows.
Larry Summers, Champion of Wall Street Greed Attained by Impoverishing the Mexican People
By Peter Cervantes-Gautschi
Appointing Larry Summers our Treasury Secretary would be a grave mistake, and a slap in the face to those who struggle for economic justice on both sides of the border.
 Emanuel's Political Pragmatism on Immigration Reform
By Tom Barry
It's not that Congressman Emanuel (D-IL) is a foe of immigration, but rather that he seems to have concluded that comprehensive immigration reform is not a winning political proposition for Democrats.
Latin America Sends Obama Congratulations—and a Piece of its Mind
By Laura Carlsen
Pundits have said that the election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States will not change the nation's world image overnight. But in Latin America, it already has. Latin America and its leaders are looking for a few specific things, and have already begun asking.
Anti-Bases Coalition Pushes U.S. Military Base out of Ecuador
By Helga Serrano
It's important to share the successful strategies employed by the No Bases Coalition in their campaign against the U.S. base at Manta. Lessons were learned and there is more work to be done at the 1,000 remaining U.S. installations around the world.
 Buenos Aires: The Poorest Resist "Social Cleansing"
By Raúl Zibechi
The shantytowns of the Argentine capital are the site of an intense conflict between the city's government, presided over by businessman Mauricio Macri, and their inhabitants, the poorest and most marginalized who have been persecuted for decades.
Chertoff's Challenge to Obama
By Tom Barry
Over the past three years Chertoff has intensified the post-Sept. 11 immigrant crackdown with the aim of simplifying immigration reform. The Obama administration and the new Democratic Congress will soon face the challenge of addressing the immigration crisis.
The Failure of U.S. "Democracy Promotion" in Bolivia
By Laura Carlsen
After months of bloodshed, violence, and vandalism, Bolivia may finally be back on the path to non-violent institutional reforms—no thanks to the U.S. government.
Winds of Civil War in Bolivia: Understanding a Four-party Conflict
By Raquel Gutiérrez Aguilar
Understanding recent events is very difficult due to a tangle of disputes and long histories that come together in previously unheard-of ways. This essay seeks to schematically display the events that culminated in the massacre of El Porvenir in Pando and identify the actors in the conflict.
The Failure of Operation Chihuahua
By Víctor M. Quintana S.
The Joint Operation Chihuahua involving the army, federal, and state police has been a great fiasco. It has been characterized more by failure in containing organized crime activity and by human rights violations, than by efficient results.
The World Food Crisis: What's Behind it and What We Can Do About it
By Eric Holt-Giménez
The food crisis is anything but silent, and—as long as we are aware of its true causes—we are not helpless. Together we can fix the food system and solve the food crisis once and for all.
 Hemispheric Conference against Militarization Says No to Merida Initiative, U.S. Military Bases
By Laura Carlsen
The first of the list of demands was to close down Palmerola and all U.S. military bases in Latin America and the Caribbean. By the end of the demonstration, the walls of the base sported hundreds of spray-painted messages and demands that contrasted sharply with their prison-like austerity. Read the full declaration here.
Legal Immigrants Next Target of Anti-Immigration Groups
By Tom Barry
The leading anti-immigration groups don't specially target illegal immigrants. For the restrictionist groups the country's 11-12 million illegal immigrants are simply low-hanging fruit. Their long-range goal is to rid the nation of most all immigrants—both illegal and legal.
A Quick, Easy Way to Lower World Food Prices
By Dave Kane
The Pesticide Action Network and People's Coalition on Food Sovereignty declared October 16 "World Foodless Day" instead of World Food Day. No wonder. More than three billion people on the planet live on less than $2 a day and must spend a full half of it on basic food.
Multi-Layered Conflict Poses Uncertain Future for Bolivian Reforms
By Raquel Gutiérrez Aguilar
August, the month of Pachamama according to indigenous tradition, saw the steady build-up of the hostilities and confrontations that have been tearing this country apart.
Pentecostalism and South America's Social Movements
By Raúl Zibechi
In several Latin American social movements a new reading is emerging of the role being played by Pentecostal churches in poor urban neighborhoods and their political consequences.
 Bush Foreign Policy: From Dynasty to Legacy
By Laura Carlsen
The radical policy dictums of Bush foreign policy, in Latin America and elsewhere, must not be allowed to continue. In these last weeks of the current administration, the Democrats and the public must identify and reject all administration measures that could leave a Democratic president hamstrung to make significant changes in foreign policy.
 Change Triumphs in Ecuador's Constitutional Referendum
By Helga Serrano N. and Eduardo Tamayo G.
People voted for a more participative democracy, demilitarization, and for the ability to intercede actively in political life. U.S. presence in Manta will end in 2009.
 The Bolivian Crisis, the OAS, and UNASUR
By Tony Phillips
The unanimous declaration of support from South American presidents in the UNASUR meeting in Santiago raises hope that this new forum could offer a stabilizing force for self-managed South American international relations that could rival or surpass the Organization of American States.
 The Biosafety Protocol and the Future of Biosafety
By Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero
How are concerns about the safety of genetically modified organisms addressed at the international level by the United Nations Biosafety Protocol, known also as the Cartagena Protocol, and how can they be regulated on a global scale?
Armoring NAFTA: The Battleground for Mexico's Future
By Laura Carlsen
The "securitization" of the trilateral relationship under NAFTA has profound implications for Mexican civil society, where the Mexican government is changing its priorities and using security measures to crack down on social protest.
Return of the Good Neighbor: From Cuba to Geneva
By Wayne S. Smith
There is no reason now not to return to something resembling the Good Neighbor Policy, no reason certainly not to commit ourselves to respect international laws and treaties, and to fully respect the sovereignty of the other states. These suggestions would be a good start.
 Cross-Border Activists Escalate Fight Against "The Wall of Death"
By Kent Paterson
In Mexico and Latin America, the wall is viewed as a symbol of racism, xenophobia, and militarism. Grassroots activists go up against the Department of Homeland Security to prove that cross-border activism can unite forces against the divisive wall project.
Democrats to Immigrants: "Get Right with the Law"
By Tom Barry
Instead of the immediate reform necessary, the Democrats will continue fiddling with their language and principles while the forces of immigration restrictionism keep winning the battles on messaging and policy.
Republicans Echo Immigration Restrictionists
By Tom Barry
Four years ago, immigration was one of the shortest sections of the platform. In a sign of the newfound strength of the restrictionists, the immigration section is one of the longest sections of the 2008 platform.
Taking Away the Ladder: China and the Competitiveness of Mexican Exports
By Kevin P. Gallagher and Roberto Porzecanski
If Mexico doesn't rethink its industrial and macroeconomic policies, China may take away the ladder to economic development that Mexico seeks to climb.
 "Acapulco-ization": The Final Stage of Tourism?
By Kent Paterson
This economic model is not providing for middle-sized cities like Acapulco—and Puerto Vallarta, Zihuatanejo, and Cancun are learning similar lessons.
A Partial Debate On a Partial Plan
By Andrés Musacchio
Faced with this scenario, which at times has taken on a destabilizing hue, the Argentine government has committed a number of errors of political strategy.
Mexican Environmental Journalists Improve Coverage
By Talli Nauman
Environmental reporting in Mexico faces obstacles in bringing to light the severe environmental crises facing the nation. Through valiant efforts, a dedicated group of underpaid and under-recognized reporters is making itself heard in this important field.
Obama, Latin America, and FDR
By Tom Barry
A commitment to mutual respect, self-determination, and cooperation would take Obama much further in forging an Americas partnership.
Democracy and Conflict: Bolivia's Constituent Assembly, Federal Government and Departmental Autonomy Statutes
By Pilar Uriona Crespo and Dunia Mokrani Chávez
The MAS governments' reforms based on a political project envisioned by social movements faces off with the regional autonomy movement of the Crescent provinces.
 What did Bolivian Society Say Through the Recall Referendum?
By Raquel Gutiérrez Aguilar
Confidence in Morales continues and increases, but, as is known from Bolivian society's deepest vital core, political transformations of the institutional and regulatory structure of inherited power are urgently needed.
 Would There Be Change in Obama's Americas Policy?
By Laura Carlsen
Opinion divides sharply on whether his platform for U.S. policy in Latin America is really a "Change We Can Believe In." Looking at it closely, the picture gives reasons for hope, but also some important points to work on.
Asunción's Bañados Neighborhood: The Power of Community
By Raúl Zibechi
The city's former garbage dump is now one of the most populous neighborhoods, where extreme poverty has become tolerable thanks to incredible solidarity.
 Haiti's Compounding Food and Health Crises
By Rupa Chinai
Haiti today is a tragic case study of how developing nations can lose the sovereign right to ensure access to healthcare when they lose their right to local food self-sufficiency under globalization.
U.S. Recession, Drug War Violence Cause Crisis in Mexico Tourism
By Kent Paterson
Foreign travelers account for nearly $13 billion of the tourist revenue, so fewer foreign travelers translates into economic pain. Tourism generates more money than the maquiladora export industry or remittances sent home by U.S.-based migrants.
Scenarios for the FARC
By Raúl Zibechi
How will the decline of the FARC affect regional stability? The change is not confined to Colombia—although it has its epicenter there—but extends to countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru, and affects the entire region.
 Welcome Home Raymundo Pacheco
By Tom Barry
It shouldn't be too much to expect that the Mexican government welcome its citizens back home—to be there at the border with agencies that provide shelter, food, transportation, and medical attention for all the hundreds of thousands of Raymundos and Raymundas who are unwillingly coming home.
 United States Announces IV Fleet Resumes Operations Amid South American Suspicions
By Matthew Flynn
In a region where there are virtually no terrorist groups or nuclear arsenals seeking to attack the United States, it is time for a civilian and not a military approach to define U.S. foreign relations in Latin America. The reactivation of the Fourth Fleet is taking us further down the opposite path.
UNASUR and the Challenge of Being South American
By Ariela Ruiz Caro
The objectives are laudable. Nevertheless, there are more than a few difficulties in creating the Union of South American Nations. Political differences and the weight of ideological alliances could place geopolitical national projects over regional interests.
Back to the Future: Limits of Economic Growth in Latin America
By Eduardo Gudynas
Traditional economists, political actors, both conservative and progressive, and many other social groups have not wanted to listen to the debate, which is why in Latin America we continue to ignore the warnings.
The Soybean Crop in Uruguay: The Creation of a Power Block
By Raúl Zibechi
In Uruguay, as in all other countries in the region, the expansion of single-crop agriculture (monoculture) combined with the powerful presence of agri-multinationals, has led to the creation of new power blocks.
 U.S. Lawmakers Approve Mexico Military Aid as Human Rights Complaints Mount
By Kent Paterson
Reports of human rights complaints in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua came at a time when the Bush administration just signed into law the anti-drug assistance package to Mexico known as the Merida Initiative, or Plan Mexico.
North America Doesn't Exist
By Laura Carlsen
The North American Free Trade Agreement is a misnomer in every one of its terms—it wasn't an agreement, it isn't free trade, and North America doesn't exist. So now what?
NAFTA and the Elephant in the Room
By Laura Carlsen
Even when Canada and Mexico have a chance to sit down and discuss regional integration, the United States is the dominating influence. Unfortunately, our most pessimistic predictions about NAFTA's potential effects have come true.
Amazon Tribes Fight to Keep the Xingu Alive
By Glenn Switkes
The sense of determination and unyielding commitment on the part of indigenous people to protect the Xingu was not dimmed by the violence, or by the media backlash orchestrated by the government.
The Dragnet for "Fugitive Aliens"
By Tom Barry
Incorporating immigration policy into national security strategy, the administration treats immigrants as security threats and criminals.
 Haitian Massacre Victims Win Historic Victories in U.S. Courts
By Brian Concannon
The Raboteau victims' example is particularly relevant to Haiti's current leadership, and to the members of the international community that exercise significant influence in Haiti, especially the United States, France, and Canada.
The Immigrant Bed Bureaucracy
By Tom Barry
There's always room in the inn for immigrants. That's essentially the guarantee offered by the Department of Homeland Security.
When More Is Less: The Limited Impact of Foreign Investment in the Americas
By Kevin P. Gallagher and Andrés López
A comprehensive review of the impact of foreign investment liberalization in Latin America shows that, with some exceptions, foreign investment has fallen far short of stimulating broad-based economic growth and environmental protection in the region.
Homeland Security's Enemy Next Door
By Tom Barry
Why all the anti-immigrant fervor in government? What are the politics behind this offensive? This new article in our series on immigration policy examines how the politics of immigration restrictionism have mixed with national security politics to create America's new immigration crisis.
Colombia: Indigenous Self Defense in Times of War
By Raúl Zibechi
The Cordillera Central is one of the prime regions torn by the war between the Colombian military and the FARC, so local indigenous groups taken their security into their own hands.
The Revolution of 1968: When the Basement Said Enough!
By Raúl Zibechi
What remains if we take from '68 the multitudinous protests on main avenues? If we leave the colossal although fleeting events of that period?
The Deterrence Strategy of Homeland Security
By Tom Barry
Under the Bush administration, the immigration system has become a system of crime and punishment.
County Jails Welcome Immigrants
By Tom Barry
Involving local governments and police in immigration law enforcement and detention is not a solution; it just extends the failure of immigration policy to new levels of government.
Behind Latin America's Food Crisis
By Laura Carlsen
What's happening should be seen as wake-up calls to fix our most vital link to each other and to life itself—the food system.
 Mexico's Battle Over Oil
By Laura Carlsen
The public has a right and need to participate in this crucial debate for the future of Mexico and of the region as a whole.
Paying the Price of the Immigration Crackdown
By Tom Barry
Just as we are squandering billions abroad in the war in Iraq, we are wasting billions of dollars at home in what has become a war on immigrants.
 Juarez Mothers Demand Justice for their Murdered Daughters
By Kent Paterson
As families demand justice, cases of women murdered in Ciudad Juarez mount and impunity continues.
"We Are Workers, Not Criminals"
By David Bacon
Instead of making work a crime and treating immigrants as criminals, we need equality, economic security, jobs, and rights for everyone.
Argentina Versus the World Bank: Fair Play or Fixed Fight?
By Tony Phillips
Argentina is the ICSID's biggest caseload and the court represents a significant agent in the Argentine economy. A single ruling for investors against the state could cost the Argentine public hundreds or thousands of millions of dollars, equivalent to a significant tax loss or the price of constructing many new hospitals.
Haitian Food Riots Unnerving But Not Surprising
By Mark Schuller
We need to take heed, but also action, to respond to recent food riots. Long-term solutions will have to address both our dependence on oil and the inequalities in distribution within the world system.
The Real Crisis of Argentina's Agricultural Sector
By Carlos A. Vicente
Agro multinationals that have benefited from the soy boom are robbing the Argentine people of their natural resources.
 Border Land Battle Pits Development against Human Rights
By Kent Paterson
In a context of mounting violence, the struggle of Lomas de Poleo residents for basic human rights has become an example for the rest of the borderlands.
Food Fights
By Laura Carlsen
Unless governments hold fast to their right to regulate supply, these food fights could develop into all-out war.
Where the Asphalt Ends: Bogota's Periferies
By Raúl Zibechi
At the southern end of Bogota, Colombia, in the cold, wind-eroded mountains, millions of people displaced by 60 years of war try to build the world of their dreams despite threats from armed groups and abuse from landowners.
The North American Union Farce
By Laura Carlsen
The North American Union (NAU) conspiracy theory is an offshoot of an all-too-real trilateral agreement called the "Security and Prosperity Partnership" (SPP). Let's sort out the facts.
 Historical Mapuche Hunger Strike Ends in Success
By Raúl Zibechi
Patricia Troncoso forced Michelle Bachelet's government to yield and allow her weekend passes and completion of her sentence at a work-study center.
Indigenous Movements in the Americas: From Demand for Recognition to Building Autonomies
By Francisco López Bárcenas
We must celebrate these examples of indigenous peoples and communities that have decided not to wait passively for changes to come from the outside and have enlisted in the construction of autonomous governments.
 The Militarization of the World's Urban Peripheries
By Raúl Zibechi
Urban peripheries have become war zones where states attempt to maintain order based on the establishment of a sort of "sanitary cordon" to keep the poor isolated from "normal" society. What can come of the isolation and militarization of the places where a third of the world's population live?
Cosmetic Changes: The Argentine Economy after the 2007 Elections
By Alan B. Cibils
While it is too soon to know what changes CFK will introduce, if any, her actions so far indicate that, despite having a new president, not much will really change for the better in the country.
Truth about Illegal Immigration and Crime
By Tom Barry
Anti-immigration forces have been hammering into our heads the dangerous link between illegal immigration and increases in violent crime. Their only problem: the facts don't support their alarmist contentions.
 2008: Latin America's Hope and Challenge
By Laura Carlsen
U.S. policies can promote rather than suppress efforts at self-determination and social justice in the region.
Climate Change Cause and Effect, An Americas Perspective
By Tony Phillips
In the recent Bali consensus the U.S. government agreed to overall cutbacks and China, formerly exempt as a developing country, agreed to voluntary cut-backs. But how will Latin America affect climate change and be affected by it?
Wall Street and Immigration:
Financial Services Giants Have Profited From the Beginning
By Peter Cervantes-Gautschi
The role that the financial services industry and its political lobbying is and has been playing in the issues surrounding immigration can no longer be ignored.
 NAFTA Inequality and Immigration
By Laura Carlsen
Since NAFTA, the Mexican economy rests on four pillars: the informal economy, non-renewable resources (oil and gas), remittances from migrants in the United States, and drug trafficking. To call that a shaky foundation would be an understatement.
Arizona Border Fence Environmental Impact Questioned
By Brenda Norrell
The thin environmental assessment lists many threatened and endangered species of flora and fauna in the area potentially affected by the fence near Sasabe, Arizona, yet comes up with a "Finding of No Significant Impact."
A Global Good Neighbor Ethic for International Relations
By Tom Barry, Salih Booker, Laura Carlsen, Marie Dennis, and John Gershman (May 2005)
Inspired by Franklin D. Roosevelt's vision of international relations guided by "mutual respect" and cooperation, the IRC's Global Good Neighbor Initiative is initiating a process of reclaiming this legacy by promoting dialogue and action aimed at forging a new animating vision for foreign policy in our time:
A Global Good Neighbor Ethic for International Relations.
Read the full
report now (also in
Spanish); the executive
summary is also available.
 Hungry for Justice:
How the World Food System Fails the Poor
Inequalities in the world's food system have been aggravated by recent developments to create the much talked-about food crisis. But what is behind the headlines? This new series delves into agrofuels, trade policy, corporate concentration, climate change, and rising demand to help sort out the real causes of the crisis and what needs to be done about it.
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Large scale infrastructure projects are changing the social, political, and physical geography of Latin America. Check out the latest in the series, "Damming Patagonia's Rivers: A Dirty Energy Business (#8)" at http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5247.
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