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 High Noon in Honduras
By Laura Carlsen
Both sides are preparing for high noon in Honduras this weekend, as President Manuel Zelaya plans to return to his country and coup leaders vow to arrest him immediately if he does.
Honduran Coup Turns Violent, Sanctions Imposed
By Laura Carlsen
If the coup leaders in Honduras were desperate when they decided to forcibly depose the elected president, they are even more desperate now. Stripped of its pretense of legality by universal repudiation and faced with a popular uprising, the coup has turned to more violent means.
 Victory in the Amazon
By Laura Carlsen
Thousands of indigenous people from the Amazon jungle of Peru accomplished the unthinkable early this month. Their movement to save the Amazon and their communities forced the Peruvian government to roll back implementing legislation for the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement that would have opened up the vast jungle to transnational oil and gas, mining, and timber companies.
 Massacre in the Amazon: The U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement Sparks a Battle Over Land and Resources
By Raúl Zibechi
On June 5, World Environment Day, Amazon Indians were massacred by the government of Alan Garcia in the latest chapter of a long war to take over common lands—a war unleashed by the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Peru and the United States.
NAFTA'S Serfs: From Wage Slavery to Debt Slavery
By Kent Paterson
In a time when financial services are globalized, any movement to overthrow the Lords of Credit must transcend borders in order to be successful.
 Radio Atipiri
By Laura Carlsen
Communication—different, autonomous, self-directed—is a central theme in El Alto, a society that knows how to fight for its rights.
Popular Communication in the MST
By Diego González
The MST, together with many other social organizations in Brazil, has spent a number of years highlighting the need for a serious discussion on the ownership of the media and its role. Nationwide, "fewer than 10 groups—made up of families or religious groups—control the major communication networks, including television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and web pages."
Conspiracy, Assassination, and Separatism in Bolivia
By Diego González
What lies behind the story of the armed group discovered in Bolivia on April 16 accused of planning an assisnation attempt on Evo Morales?
 Obama's Cartel Trust Busters
By Frontera NorteSur
Contrary to the expectations of some border residents and advocates who were betting on a new approach last January, the Obama administration's strategic policy thrust mainly follows and even expands on the course long pursued by previous Democratic and Republican administrations.
South American Trade and Currency Volatility
By Tony Phillips
Many of the commodities that South American countries export are not traded in the currency of the originating country. So, if Chile imports oil from Argentina or Argentina copper from Chile, they pay in U.S. dollars. A regional currency facilitates trade and the creation of financial service hubs.
 Radio Ñomndaa, The Word of the Water
By Iñigo Prieto Beguiristáin
Radio Ñomndaa, The Word of the Water in English, is an indigenous community radio station in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It was formed as part of the autonomous organizing of the Nanncue Ñomndaa (Amuzgo) people in the municipality of Suljaa' (Xochistlahuaca). It is a worthy case study, given the underlying situation of media monopolies and the rights to the freedom of expression and information in Mexico.
Argentina's Community Media Fights for Access and Legal Reform
By Marie Trigona
In Argentina, citizen media groups simultaneously fight for autonomous spaces and for reforms in media laws that will allow them to operate legally.
 South American Nations Agree on Technical Rules for Bank of the South
By Tony Phillips
Seven Latin American Finance Ministers have agreed on the basis for establishing the Bank of the South. The motivation for forming the new development bank is based on the belief that keeping Latin America's precious reserves at home is preferable to accepting aid and development loans from the Inter-American Development Bank and other multilateral development banks.
Enforcement-First Immigration Politics
By Tom Barry
In view of Obama's increased financial commitments to border security and immigration enforcement, the "enforcement-first" political strategy mounted by conservatives and restrictionists during the Bush administration continues to shape immigration policy during the Obama era.
Cochabamba: From Water War to Water Management
By Raúl Zibechi
Between 2003 and 2005, the poor of Bolivia drove out the neoliberal model of water management. Now it is community management of water that is the unresolved challenge.
 New Military Base in Colombia Would Spread Pentagon Reach Throughout Latin America
By John Lindsay-Poland
Replacing one military base that was set up for the failed drug war with another base to intervene in South America and to support the abusive Colombian army would be a serious error for the United States. It's wrong and wasteful, and Congress should scrap it.
Fallen Banker with Ties to Citigroup Involved in Shooting of Brazilian Landless Workers
By Isabella Kenfield
On April 18, seven members of the Brazilian Landless Workers' Movement (MST) were shot by private security guards on a farm in the Amazon that belongs to Agropecuária Santa Bárbara Xinguara S/A, a company controlled by international banker Daniel Dantas. The violent attack on the MST may well have been an attempt to smack down what is the most powerful grassroots movement to stand in the way of Dantas pillaging what they consider to be the natural and economic wealth belonging to all Brazilians.
Restoring Integrity to the Immigration System
By Tom Barry
This new policy report from the Americas Program concludes that "to restore integrity in the immigration system, the Obama administration needs to act decisively to restore its function as a regulatory system and remove it from the country's overcharged system of crime and punishment."
 House and Senate Pass New Military Aid to Mexico
By Laura Carlsen
A little-known measure was buried in the U.S. 2009 Supplemental Bill to provide millions of dollars to corrupt Mexican security forces engaged in an unwinnable drug war. Disguised as a way of "helping" our beleaguered neighbor, the measure will push Mexico closer to a Colombia scenario and create a new quagmire to suck up scarce public resources.
May Biodiversity Report from the Americas Program
By Carmelo Ruiz Marrero
This month in the Americas Program Biodiversity Report:
Mexico: Swine Flu and the Farm Animal Production Industry; New Report on Agrofuels; No to Monoculture Forests; Genetically Modified Soy Can Never Be "Responsible"; Brazil: Genetically Modified Sugar Cane.
Criminal Alien Funding and the Immigrant-Based Criminal Justice Complex
By Tom Barry
There is no good financial justification for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). Yet the Obama administration, which says it will no longer fund the program, is drawing heavy fire from representatives in states and communities that have benefited from the crime-control assistance program.
Fighting the Drug War at Homeland Security
By Tom Barry
While the Border Patrol and immigration agents have always had bit parts in the drug war, the integration of border patrol and immigration enforcement into the Department of Homeland Security in 2003 not only drafted them into the "war on terrorism" but also into becoming major players in the "war on drugs."
"War on Crime" Targets Immigrants
By Tom Barry
Immigrants have reenergized the flagging "war on crime." Charges against immigrants are clogging federal courts, and new prisons and detention centers are opening to accommodate immigrants.
 Swine Flu Reveals Flaws in Global Public Health System
By Laura Carlsen
Although the Internet and media are abuzz with reports and opinions on the swine flu epidemic, finding clear and confirmed information is maddeningly difficult. Official communications and omissions that indicate bending over backwards to protect industry interests have given rise to a plethora of rumors, ranging from wild conspiracy theories to justified suspicions that officials are working overtime to deflect public attention from the hog farms.
Outbreak of Deadly New Swine Flu Strain, Warning to Rethink Agricultural Trade Model
By Talli Nauman
Authorities' declaration of an "epidemic" and then an "imminent pandemic" fueled an environmental health craze of staggering socio-economic impact in Mexico, weighing heavily on top of existing fiscal woes and survivors' heartbreak over lost loved ones.
 Mexico's Swine Flu and the Globalization of Disease
By Laura Carlsen
Mexico has long been considered the laboratory of globalization. Now a potentially deadly virus has germinated in that laboratory, finding ideal conditions to move quickly along a path toward global pandemic.
 Plan 3000
Resistance and Social Change at the Heart of Racism
By Raúl Zibechi
Plan 3000 is a community that—in the name of the struggle against inequality—the residents resist the machista, oppressive, and violent culture of the local elite.
Over 10,000 Dead: Is Mexican Drug War Violence Ebbing?
By Kristin Bricker
Statistical sleights-of-hand and temporary lulls have obscured the drug war's rising costs.
 Obama Pledges to Seek "Equal Partnership" At Americas Summit:
Matching Words with Deeds
By Laura Carlsen
The stage was set for a showdown. Hugo Chavez and Barack Obama exchanged another round of insults before getting on their planes to head to Trinidad and Tobago. Many countries came prepared for an all-court press to admit Cuba to the Organization of American States (OAS) and demand lifting the U.S. embargo against the island. Five nations that form part of ALBA, the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America, vowed not to sign the official declaration of a Cuba-less OAS.
The Failed Border Security Initiative
By Tom Barry
The new initiative, "The Southwest Border: The Way Ahead," continues to meet recent increases of cartel violence in Mexico with strong action and solidified coordination with federal, state, local, tribal, and Mexican authorities. It's a crackdown-compounded, and follows old paths rather than pointing to a way ahead.
 Earth Day 2009 Special Report:
Fighting to Save Mexico's Mangroves
By Kent Paterson
The Mexican mangrove story is one that is repeated across the world. A 2001 report from the World Rainforest Movement noted that half the planet's mangroves vanished during the latter part of the 20th century.
Mr. President: Calderon is not Mexico
By Laura Carlsen
President Obama's visit to Mexico has produced vague and contradictory statements, centered on worn-out strategies. Many people who had hoped for a new approach that would seek to redress the inequities of the binational relationship will find little in these declarations—including tired formulas on free trade and the Merida Initiative—to pin their hopes on.
Immigrant Crackdown Joins Failed Crime and Drug Wars
By Tom Barry
The new emphasis by the Obama administration on tracking down and removing "criminal aliens" indicates that the ongoing immigrant crackdown will be driven more by the imperatives of the crime and drug wars than by the ideological fears and fervor of the war on terror.
 April Biodiversity Report from the Americas Program
By Carmelo Ruiz Marrero
Uruguay: Contaminated Honey; Peru: No to the Andean Free Trade Agreement with the European Union; New Book on Genetically Modified Organisms in Latin America Released; Mexico: The Struggle Against Mining in Michoacán; Mexico: More Denunciations of "Geopiracy"; Mexico: Maiz Defense Network: No to GMO corn!
Citizen Groups Organize to End "Soft Censorship," Guarantee Freedom of Expression
By Martha Farmelo
Today Latin American governments rarely exercise direct censorship of the press by banning newspapers or other media outlets, reviewing material, or outright prohibiting publication; however, governments across the region are using taxpayer funds and public power to exercise forms of "soft censorship" of the media.
G-20: Round Two
By Tony Phillips
In early April, the executives of 19 countries and the European Union traveled to London to confront a common challenge: rescue the global financial system.
 The IDB—50 Years, Zero Reflection
By Laura Carlsen
At the end of March, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) celebrated its 50th anniversary in Medellin, presenting an opportunity to revise concepts and move toward a fairer development model.
Drug War Doublespeak
By Laura Carlsen
Drug war violence and organized crime in Mexico and Latin America are serious problems. But ratcheting up a war in response is not the answer.
March Biodiversity Report from the Americas Program
By Carmelo Ruiz Marrero
The Biodiversity Report, written by Carmelo Ruiz, our long-time collaborator on environmental subjects and an expert on the region, brings together information on the most significant threats to biodiversity as well as on grassroots resistance to them.
 The Left Triumphs in El Salvador
By Ana Martínez
The historic victory of the leftist Farabundo Martí Front for National Liberation (FMLN, Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional) party in the presidential elections held in El Salvador March 15, marked the end of governance by the rightist Republica Nationalist Alliance (ARENA, Alianza Repulicana Nacionalista).
Indigenous Community Radio in Mexico
By Sara McElmurry
By giving a "voice" to the "voiceless"—in their own language—community radio programs can support development and cultural revitalization efforts in indigenous communities.
Ecuador: The Logic of Development Clashes with Movements
By Raúl Zibechi
In spite of proclaiming himself socialist and a defender of the general "well being," President Rafael Correa has been promoting the open-pit mining industry, which has provoked serious environmental and social damage throughout the region.
 The National Imperative to Imprison Immigrants for Profit
By Tom Barry
As GEO's Zoley sees it, the prison industry will benefit from a new "national imperative" in these difficult economic times "to protect American workers by detaining and deporting immigrants."
 Indigenous Panamanians Defend Nature Against Speculators' Violent Onslaughts
By Talli Nauman
For the small Naso indigenous community of Panama, the curtain of 2009 opened on a heart wrenching scene of conflict over the native people's longtime demand for respect of their territory and natural resources.
Trading our Way Out of the Financial Crisis
The Need for WTO Reform
By Kevin P. Gallagher and Timothy A. Wise
Ensuring that years of development policy are not swallowed up by foreign capital during tough times is among the utmost priorities in the developing world in the wake of the crisis.
 That Other World
By Diego González
The northeastern port city of Belém, which sits on the banks of the Amazon, hosted 133,000 representatives of various organizations, social movements, left-wing parties, nongovernmental organizations, as well as other alterglobalists from 142 countries for a debate that had become an inevitability.
 Help the Poor or Learn From Them?
By Raúl Zibechi
The ideology that emanates from the international finance organizations maintains that the poor suffer from a "lack" of resources, that poverty is a scourge to be combated, and that the best method of doing so is to "help" the poor. Or should we be taking some lessons from them?
Medical Claims and Malpractice in Correctional Healthcare
By Tom Barry
The medical gulag of immigrant detention has underscored the increasing privatization of America's prison system and the consequent problems.
The Crisis Slams Mexico
By Kent Paterson
Within the context of the current global economic crisis it remains to be seen whether Mexico's political system can contain current outbreaks of popular protest with more crumbs; it will depend on how deep the economic crisis reaches, as well as factors such as the unpredictable dynamics of violence and retaliation, repression, and more violence unleashed by the narco war.
Napolitano's Hard Echo of Liberal Immigration Reform Strategy
By Tom Barry
The "rule of law" framing of immigration policy copies the language of the Bush administration and the agenda of the immigration restrictionists. The apparent continuity between the enforcement agenda of Chertoff and Napolitano alarms advocates of comprehensive immigration reform (CIR).
A New Attitude in the White House?
State Department Calls Bolivian and Venezuelan Referendums "Democratic"
By Laura Carlsen
President Obama faces a choice: to build good neighbor relations in the hemisphere or to actively oppose the democratic changes toward greater sovereignty, equality, and decolonization that are taking place.
Autonomy or New Forms of Domination?
By Raúl Zibechi
Each time those from below throw off the trappings of domination, other, newer, more perfected forms necessarily appear. Only by neutralizing the social programs and overcoming the offensive against autonomy from below can social movements find their way back to the road to independence.
The New Political Economy of Immigration
By Tom Barry
While the Department of Homeland Security is driving immigrants from their jobs and homes, U.S. firms in the business of providing prison beds are raking in record profits from the immigrant crackdown.
 Immigrant Inmates Caught in Outsourcing Labyrinth
By Tom Barry
Immigrant inmates protesting medical care abuses in the Reeves County Detention Center in West Texas are caught up in a new prison labyrinth—a complex of federal agencies, local governments, private contractors and subcontractors, public bonds, and private investors. GEO Group, which runs the prison, boasts that the "Reeves County Detention Complex (the 'Complex') is the largest detention/correctional facility under private management in the world."
U.S. Policy Toward Latin America in 2009 and Beyond
By Cynthia McClintock
In the text from her testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere on Feb. 4, Cynthia McClintock cites three "failed policies" that should change: Cuba, drug control, and immigration.
Migration and Mechanization in Brazil's Biofuel Cane Fields
By Gretchen Gordon
As the promise of biofuels-led economic development continues to capture the imagination of migrants across Brazil, as well as nations throughout the region, under globalization, that promise may be drifting farther from reality.
Immigrant Prison Burns in Pecos
By Tom Barry
The Reeves County Detention Center started burning again on Wednesday night, and the billowing clouds of smoke could be seen for many miles across the northern reaches of the Chihuahua Desert. There's nothing much here except abandoned ranch houses, still oil pumps, endless stretches of creosote and tar bush—and a prison for immigrants on fire.
 America's Frontline Is Getting Crowded
By Tom Barry
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks set off the Bush administration's "Global War on Terrorism" and a Border Patrol hiring frenzy that continues into the Obama administration.
 Boom Times on the Border
By Tom Barry
Alongside the Rio Grande, which forms the natural divide between the United States and Mexico, another divide—a decidedly unnatural one—is marching west from El Paso, tearing through the farms and riparian zones that turn the desert green.
 Night of the Golden Iguana:
Land Conflicts Riddle Mexican Tourism Development
By Kent Paterson
The tourism industry has exploded and word of the Mismaloya struggle to keep their lands despite the booming tourism industry and international investment that comes with it is gradually filtering out to the national and international community.
Indigenous Communication in a Gobal World:
Strategies Used by the FIOB in the United States and Mexico
By Bertha Rodríguez Santos
FIOB was founded in 1991 in response to the needs of the immigrant communities in the United States and the native communities in Oaxaca. The organization has gone through various stages and is currently working at the binational level to defend indigenous communities.
 Is Brazil Creating Its Own "Backyard"?
By Raúl Zibechi
In past months a number of conflicts have occurred between the emerging global power of Brazil and its smaller neighbors, in particular Ecuador and Paraguay. This has led Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government to defend Brazil's multinationals and to mobilize troops to protect the nation's interests.
Napolitano Finessing Immigrant Crackdown
By Tom Barry
In a Jan. 20 departmental directive on immigration and border control, DHS chief Janet Napolitano says: "Smart, resolute enforcement by the department can keep Americans safe, foster legal immigration to America, protect legitimate commerce, and lay the groundwork for a more comprehensive reform."
Homeland Security Colony
By Tom Barry
The contrast between the billions spent on dubious projects to increase homeland security and the poverty of the border town of Ft. Hancock raises questions about governmental priorities.
El Salvador Elections Set Stage for Tense Presidential Race
By Jena Andrews
Widespread and numerous FMLN wins in the January 18 elections prove that, on the national level, most voters see the FMLN as a hopeful alternative to 20 years of ARENA-led government.
 The New Bilateral Relationship and Immigration Reform
By Laura Carlsen
A bilateral agenda should be developed based on the shared priorities of work with dignity and peaceful societies.
Global Crisis is Good News for IFIs in Latin America
By Vince McElhiny
As taxpayers begin to question the credibility of the gatekeepers of the U.S. financial system that blatantly accumulated private fortunes but now require public funds to socialize the costs, can the IFIs remain immune from their role in enabling the crisis by failing to act earlier?
NAFTA's Dangerous Security Agenda
By Laura Carlsen
The Security and Prosperity Partnership was adopted and expanded without public or congressional consent and should be abolished. A review by congress can determine which working groups should continue under the framework of NAFTA and how their composition can be changed to reflect the real and diverse interests of society.
Good News from Nashville: Diversity Not Uniformity
By Tom Barry
Voters in Nashville defeated an English Only amendment that would have made English the only language for government business in a Southern city that is taking new pride in its diversity. Both at a national and local level, diversity—not uniformity—has a new power in American politics.
Obama's Immigration Challenge: More about Words than Policy
By Tom Barry
With his power of words and ability to evoke hope, President Obama could provide the impetus so badly needed to help us determine together how and how many immigrants contribute to our national interest and our nation's future.
The Challenges of Current Indigenous Migration
By Rufino Domínguez-Santos
Millions of indigenous people have migrated from small towns and communities to the big cities of Mexico, and around half a million Mexican indigenous people now live in the United States. What must we do to improve the situation of our binational communities?
Time to Rethink Free Trade Agreements with the United States
By Laura Carlsen
An economic crisis is no time to tie the hands of government in the economy. It is time to rethink the free trade model.
Obama Reaffirms Promise to Renegotiate NAFTA
By Laura Carlsen
Obama should hold to his campaign promise of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.
WTO: Staying the Course in the Face of Mistakes
By Umberto Mazzei
Recent declarations give a brief nod to financial supervision and recommends more of the same mistakes that brought about the crisis.
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.
In this series, Tom Barry of the TransBorder Project of Americas Program provides a first-hand look at the way the federal government's focus on border security is impacting the Texas-New Mexico borderlands.
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 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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