Tag Archives: Latin America

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From Bad to Worse

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GOP’s August Woes Continue

From birther eruptions to lonely diatribes against immigration reform to doubling down on their anti-science climate denialism, things are just not going very well out there for Republicans this August.

Here’s the latest news on Republicans’ long, hot August:
•GOP can’t turn off the climate science crazy: Salon’s Brian Beutler writes, “Going into August recess, GOP leaders were really hoping its members of Congress wouldn’t yield to a shared tendency to talk about climate science…To no one’s surprise, though, that’s a bit like hoping the scorpion won’t sting the frog. Already this month, several House Republicans have given in to their nature.”
•GOP Congressman calls for government shutdown unless Congress ‘defunds Obamacare this year’:
During a town hall meeting in a tony suburb outside Sacramento on Tuesday, McClintock brought up the upcoming continuing resolution, which is necessary to keep government open but which many conservatives are targeting as a venue for another showdown over Obamacare. McClintock told the audience that he will vote against the continuing resolution — and thus for a government shutdown — unless the bill “defunds Obamacare this year.”
•Rand Paul: ‘I don’t think there is any particular evidence’ of black voters being prevented from voting: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a tea party senator with a long history of opposition to civil rights laws, told an audience in Louisville, Kentucky on Wednesday that there is no evidence of black voters being excluded from the franchise.
•GOP Congressman argues against multiculturalism: ‘There’s only one race here, it’s the American race’: Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) took a strong stand against multiculturalism at a town hall meeting, arguing that immigrants need to shed their culture, become “the American race,” and if they’re unwilling to do so, “reevaluate” whether they want to be in this country in the first place. Fielding questions about immigration reform, McClintock told the audience on Tuesday evening that he worries current generations of immigrants aren’t assimilating like in the past but instead retaining the culture from their native land. “There’s only one race here, it’s the American race,” he implored to constituents.
•Rep. Steve King says Latino immigrants are from a ‘violent civilization,’ will bring ‘more violence’ to America:
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) launched a vicious tirade against individuals from Latin America, claiming that the population gets more violent as one moves further south in Latin America
•Huge crowd turns out to pressure House GOP leader to back pathway to earned citizenship: A crowd of at least 1,000 people turned out today at a town hall meeting in the district of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the third-ranking GOP leader in the House of Representatives.
•Almost nobody shows up at Steve King’s anti-immigration reform “rally”: Rep. Steve King (R-IA) held a rally on Monday to oppose the immigration reform effort taking place on Capitol Hill, but no one, it seems, felt like going.
Screen shot 2013-08-12 at 8.37.14 PM
CREDIT: Politico’s @seungminkim

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Help Make Sarayaku’s Victory a Reality!


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Help Make Sarayaku’s Victory a Reality!

Help Make Sarayaku's Victory a Reality!This Thursday is the one-year anniversary of the historic court decision for Sarayaku and indigenous rights. It’s also the deadline for the government to apologize and pay reparations. Sixty members from the community will be traveling to Quito to hold the government accountable and to make sure that what happened in their territory is not allowed to occur again. Join the Cause to show your support for Sarayaku today!

Last July the Kichwa of Sarayaku, an indigenous community from Ecuador’s Amazon, won a landmark legal victory against the Ecuadorian government at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The decision, which the Correa administration said it would respect, establishes new guidelines on the right to consultation of indigenous peoples and has widespread implications not only for governments of Latin American countries but also for multinational companies operating there.

Amazon Watch and our allies are doing all we can to support the community’s journey from the Amazon to the National Assembly in Quito, but we need your help to make it a reality. Please support Sarayaku in the culmination of their fight for justice and accountability for indigenous rights in the Amazon and beyond. Join and support the Cause today!

For the Amazon,

Adam Zuckerman
Adam Zuckerman
Environme
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Pedro Abramovay – Avaaz.org


 
 
 
 
Dear friends,

For decades, Latin American leaders have followed US orders to pursue a failed drug war that has seen criminal gangs destroy countries and communities across our region. But now, Latin American leaders are for the first time proposing a new approach to implement policies that actually work. They are meeting in 24 hours and they need our urgent support to stay strong — sign the urgent petition now:

Sign the petition

Our continent is bleeding at the hands of organized criminals and drug traffickers, destroying thousands of lives every year. All because the US has forced Latin American governments to carry out failed drug policies that only reward the criminal gangs behind the drug trade.

Now, for the first time in history, Latin American leaders are pushing for a new approach that could finally deliver results. In 24 hours, Guatemala will bring together the Heads of State of the region to push for a new proposal that gives countries freedom to buck the failed doctrine and adopt drug policies like those that have worked successfully in Europe.

It’s urgent — high level officials have told us that for the leaders to stand up to the US, they need to see a groundswell of public support in the next few hours to change the failed status quo. Click below to sign the urgent petition and share with everyone — when we reach 100,000 our voices will be personally delivered to the Guatemalan commission that is leading the summit. Join in:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/for_the_first_time_in_history_usa/?biEWLbb&v=25425

For decades we have seen governments ignore all the experts’ advice and all the scientific evidence that has proven the failure of the War on Drugs. They have feared voters will throw them out of office if they support alternative approaches, as they will appear “weak on crime”. Now, for the first time, science and politics have a chance to walk together and help shut the door on an age of suffering. The Organization of American States (OAS) is the first international organization that has laid out real alternatives like supporting new, peaceful, effective approaches in each country instead of using international law to repress innovation. And, for the first time a group of Heads of State want to act on that expert advice.

Momentum for change is building and now is the time to act: Guatemala, Colombia and other countries in the region want reform; and opinion polls show that citizens know the current approach is a catastrophe. Uruguay is developing a smart plan to regulate cannabis and here at home, two states have already voted to legalize and regulate it. And while countries that have experimented with regulation-based policies have seen significant reductions in drug-related crime, addiction and deaths, the lobbies that have fiercely defended the status quo, including military, law enforcement, and prison departments whose budgets are at stake, are losing ground in the debate.

From the streets of Chicago to the streets of Bogota, families across our region are scarred by the wounds of failure, and this is our chance to try success! The Guatemalan President wants to get all the American states to agree to experimentation this week, and those at the negotiating table have told us if we come out in force to say yes to change, we can push back on stalling from fearful countries.

Let’s ensure our continent, that has suffered most deeply, leads the world to review and reform failed international drug laws. We have just hours before the meeting — sign now and share with everyone — let’s help our leaders take this crucial step to save lives and restore hope:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/for_the_first_time_in_history_usa/?biEWLbb&v=25425

When politicians take a stand against failed orthodoxies in the face of political risk, as Guatemalan leaders are doing now, and the people don’t rally behind them, they go down in flames. But when mass movements rise up to support them, that’s how history gets made. Let’s make history in Guatemala.

With hope and determination,

Pedro, Maria Paz, Alice, Ricken, Laura, Bissan and the whole Avaaz team

PS – Many Avaaz campaigns are started by members of our community! Start yours now and win on any issue – local, national or global: http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/start_a_petition/?bgMYedb&v=23917

MORE INFORMATION:

OAS chief calls for drug violence debate (AlJazeera)
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/05/2013525124830563273.html

OAS Secretary General Presents Report on the Drug Problem in the Americas (OAS)
http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-194/13

The Drug Problem in the Americas (OAS Analytical Report)
http://www.oas.org/documents/eng/press/Introduction_and_Analytical_Report.pdf

Numbers Tell of Failure in Drug War (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/business/in-rethinking-the-war-on-drugs-start-with-the-numbers.html?pagewanted=all

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Bolivia: Stop the crackdown …Luis Morago – Avaaz.org


On Sunday, Bolivian police used tear gas and truncheons to crack down on indigenous men, women and children who are marching against an illegal mega-highway that will slice through the protected Amazon rainforest.

72 hours later, the country is in crisis — two key Ministers have resigned, Bolivians are erupting in street protests across the country, and President Evo Morales has been forced to temporarily suspend the highway construction. But powerful multinationals are already divvying up this important nature preserve. Now, only if the world stands with these brave indigenous people can we ensure the highway is rerouted and the forest is protected.

Avaaz just delivered a 115,000 strong Bolivian and Latin American emergency petition to two senior government Ministers — they are worried about massive public pressure and are on the back foot. Now after this brutal violence let’s ramp up the pressure and raise a global alarm to end the crackdown and stop the highway. Click to sign the urgent petition — it will be delivered spectacularly to President Evo Morales when we reach 500,000:

WWW.Avaaz.ORG

Thousands of indigenous people have been marching for six weeks from the Amazon to the capital. Finally, at a meeting with Avaaz last week, Bolivia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs pledged to open dialogue with leaders. On Saturday, he went to speak with the marchers, but when he refused their basic demands, they forced him to march with them for one hour to break the police fence. The next day troops stormed the area where the protesters had set up camp and brutally beat and detained hundreds and loaded them onto buses to forcibly remove them.

The proposed 300km highway would cut straight through Isiboro Sécure (TIPNIS in Spanish), the crown jewel of the Bolivian Amazon, famous for its huge trees, astonishing wildlife and fresh water. TIPNIS’s incredible natural and cultural significance have earned it the status of a double protected area — as a National Park and an indigenous reservoir. The highway is financed by Brazil and would link Brazil to Pacific ports. But below the surface, it would be a poisonous artery that would destroy these communities and the forest and open up this pristine land to logging, oil and mining explorations, and large scale industrial and agricultural business. A recent study found that 64% of the park could be deforested by 2030 if the road is built.

Bolivian and international law say indigenous leaders must be consulted if the government wishes to take their land, and the indigenous communities want safer alternatives to foster economic growth and regional integration. But the government has ignored their vocal opposition and failed to study a single alternative road route outside TIPNIS. Instead, Morales is pushing for a referendum for the region which ignores the law and is seen by many as an attempt to fabricate illegitimate consent.

Morales — known as Bolivia’s first indigenous President — is renowned globally for standing strong for the environment and indigenous people. Let’s encourage him to stick to those principles now that this simmering conflict has violently reached boiling point, and stand with those on the front line struggling for Amazon protection and respect for indigenous communities — sign this urgent petition to stop the crackdown and the illegal highway:

WWW.Avaaz.ORG

Again and again, the protection of the land we all depend on and the rights of indigenous people are sacrificed by our governments at the altar of development and economic growth. Our leaders often choose mining and deforestation over our own survival — regularly directly profiting foreign corporations. In the future we all want, the environment and the lives of innocent people come before profit. President Evo Morales now has the chance to back his people, save the Amazon, and rethink what real development looks like in Latin America.

With hope,

Luis, Laura, Alice, Ricken, David, Diego, Shibayan, Alex and the rest of the Avaaz team

Sources

Bolivia’s Evo Morales suspends Amazon road project (BBC):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15072166

Bolivia halts road project after protests (RNW):
http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/bolivia-halts-road-project-after-protests

Bolivia’s Interior Minister the Latest Official to Resign in Highway Construction Controversy (VOA):
http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/09/27/bolivias-interior-minister-the-latest-official-to-resign-in-highway-construction-controversy/

Bolivia Defense Minister Quits In Amazon Highway Dispute (Huffington Post):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/26/cecilia-chacon-quits_n_981399.html

Article citing study of deforestation projections (in Spanish):
http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/vida-y-futuro/20110703/analisis-historico-y-proyeccion_132222_268061.html

Turning Point for Morales: Bolivian Police Repress and Detain Indigenous Marchers (Andean Information Network):
http://ain-bolivia.org/2011/09/turning-point-for-morales-bolivian-police-repress-and-detain-indigenous-marchers/

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Love music and politics? a gift from BraVenew foundation


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Cuéntame is excited to announce the release of a FREE, innovative, original, provocative and powerful online Latino Music Series.

As an introductory gift to YOU and to whet your appetite, we are GIVING YOU our first Cuéntame Latin music album ever – FOR FREE!

This is an exclusive compilation of 10 amazing tracks put together by our partners Nacional Records, the powerhouse Latin alternative record label home to socially and politically poignant bands such as Manu Chao and Aterciopelados as well as rising stars like Bomba Estereo and Mexican Institute of Sound.

This FREE compilation represents a survey of the most exciting Latino music today and a great opportunity to explore new Latin sounds in an incredible album you won’t be getting elsewhere but here! A one of a kind gift to you from your friends at Cuéntame.

Each week, Cuéntame’s Online Latino Music Series will feature a Latino artist, band or musician in one-on-one interviews and studio performances. We have lined up an incredible festival that will include contests, prizes and an innovative social network call for original music submissions as our way to promote one of the many rich and diverse aspects of Latino culture today.

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We truly hope you enjoy it and while you’re there you might as well share it as a gift to your friends too!

Happy Latino Heritage Month

Yours,

Robert Greenwald, Axel Caballero, Ofelia Yanez
and the rest of the Cuentame team.

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