2021-05-20: News Headlines

Ben Norton (2021-05-21). Chile shifts left to rewrite Pinochet-era constitution, as Goldman Sachs eyes its copper reserves. thegrayzone.com Ben Norton speaks with Chilean activist and politician Pablo Sepúlveda Allende about the historic May 15/16 elections in which left-wing and independent candidates won two-thirds of the seats for a convention to rewrite the constitution, which dates back to the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Sepúlveda Allende, a grandson of Chile's legendary socialist President Salvador Allende, also discusses Chile's enormous copper reserves, which are some of the largest in the world, and are now being targeted by US corporations, after …

W. T. Whitney Jr. (2021-05-20). Massive 'National Strike' in Colombia meets violent repression. peoplesworld.org Colombia is afire with a National Strike mounted by working people, young people, and the excluded. They are protesting neoliberal reforms that diminish lives and hopes. Tax reform proposals from President Iván Duque's right-wing government triggered large demonstrations that began on April 28 and are continuing. Although the government quickly withdrew the tax proposals and …

Andy Higginbottom (2021-05-20). The roots of Colombia's crisis 2021. mronline.org There has been a social explosion of the Colombian people against poverty and repression. President Duque's 'tax reform' package was the last straw that broke their patience. | May 20, 2021 | Newswire…

teleSUR (2021-05-20). Colombian National Strike Makes Duque To Engage In Dialogue. telesurenglish.net After 23 consecutive days of protests against Colombia's President Ivan Duque, the National Strike Committee (NSC) on Thursday announced that it will hold new talks with the government in Bogota. | RELATED: | The Federation of Educators (FECODE), the Colombian Workers' Union (CUT), and the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) are some of the movements that will attend the meeting on behalf of the demonstrators.

Justin Podur (2021-05-20). Is Colombia's Military Displacing Peasants to Protect the Environment or Sell Off Natural Resources? counterpunch.org Colombia witnessed a series of mass protests at the end of April following a call for a national strike in the city of Cali. Still ongoing, the protests have many causes: an apparent "tax reform" that was going to transfer even more wealth to the 1 percent in Colombia; the failure of the most recent

Editor2 (2021-05-20). Port Resistance: The Autonomous Zone at the Heart of Colombian Protests. orinocotribune.com By Joshua Collins — May 17, 2021 | Meet the kids of Cali, who make up the soul of a national revolution |

| Cali, Colombia- A few hundred young women enter Puerto Resistencia, (Port Resistance) the heart of protests here in Cali, with their fists raised to the air in a gesture of defiance against the state that has been killing them in the streets for weeks. They are cheered by the dozens of primera línea, or "front line" protesters who defend the square — youths clad in improvised riot gear with homemade shields that have repelled countless police attacks on this autonomous zone they have ca…

teleSUR (2021-05-20). Police Brutality Leaves 43 Citizens Killed in Colombia. telesurenglish.net The Institute for Development and Peace Studies (INDEPAZ) reported that 43 Colombians have died as a result of the actions that the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD) and the Armed Forces have deployed to stop protests against President Ivan Duque. | RELATED: | Four of these murders were clearly recorded on video. This is the case of Nicolas Garcia, Marcelo Agredo, Santiago Murillo, and Brayan Niño, whose deaths inv…

Staff (2021-05-20). And Now the Health Reform Bill has been Struck Down in Colombia: 'Mobilization Does Work'! orinocotribune.com On Wednesday, May 19, following 22 days of marches against the government of Iván Duque, the Colombian Congress shelved the recently proposed health reform bill. | With 27 votes in favor and 5 against, the seventh committees of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Congress of Colombia rejected reviewing the health reform bill proposed by the government of the country's president, Iván Duque. | "Attention, with 11 votes in favor and 2 against in the Senate, and with 16 votes in favor and 3 votes against in the House, Congress has just overthrown the health care reform," announced the Central Unitaria de…

Adriaan Alsema (2021-05-20). Colombia's anti-government protests swell to historic proportions. zcomm.org Colombia's anti-government protests grew to historic proportions in the capital Bogota…

commondreams (2021-05-20). The U.S. Must Stop Providing Weapons Used to Repress Colombia's Protests. commondreams.org ______________________________…

teleSUR (2021-05-20). Colombian Police Crack Down On Protests With Long-Range Weapons. telesurenglish.net Colombians on Wednesday denounced that the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD) cracked down on peaceful protests with long and short-range weapons. | RELATED: | Videos posted on social networks show agents shooting at farmers in Bucaramanga. According to witnesses, at least 25 protesters were wounded. | In Caucasia, dozens of children, pregnant women, and elderly people had to take refuge from police brutality in La No…

Raphael Tsavkko Garcia (2021-05-20). The Deadliest Police Operations in Brazil's History. latinorebels.com At around 6 a.m. on Thursday, May 6, Rio de Janeiro was waking up to yet another massacre.

teleSUR (2021-05-20). Argentina Indicts Ordinary Homicide to Maradona's Medical Team. telesurenglish.net In Argentina, the Prosecutor's Office requested to charge ordinary homicide to the medical team of soccer star Diego Maradona, who died in November 2020. | RELATED: | It pointed out that Maradona had a "deficient, inefficient, and indifferent" medical control, which led to his death. | Neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, and four other medical personnel in charge of Maradona's health are accused in the…

teleSUR (2021-05-20). Brazil: Lula to Be Presidential Candidate in 2022 Election. telesurenglish.net In an interview published by Paris Match on Wednesday, the Workers' Party leader Lula da Silva confirmed he wants to be a presidential candidate in Brazil's 2022 election. | RELATED: | "If I am in good health and in the best position to win the elections, yes, I will not hesitate," he replied when asked if he will be a candidate. He also recalled that during his administration (2003-2011), Brazil created strong t…

David Swanson (2021-05-19). Chile and Colombia to Move Money Out of Militaries. counterpunch.org While the proposal for a global ceasefire during a disease pandemic has done the opposite of catching on, there are a few small signs of sanity and even of successful activism. While most big military spenders (including the super-mega-biggest one) have increased or kept their spending steady, the SIPRI numbers show a serious reduction from 2019 to

Staff (2021-05-19). A Letter to Puerto Resistencia, Cali, Colombia. orinocotribune.com By William Ospina — May 16, 2021 | We have always been together, but it is only now that we are really together. We have always known each other, but it is only now that we are just starting to know each other. Who are these unyielding and emphatic girls and boys who are now speaking to us for the first time? They are what we once were, they dream what we once dreamt; they are doing at last what we had always wanted to do. They have been here for centuries and yet, they have just been born, and through their lips speak these seas and through their hands run these rivers, and they are of all races: they were…

Yanis Iqbal (2021-05-19). Colombia's Rebellion against the Capitalist System. dissidentvoice.org Colombia has been burning with the flames of resistance ever since a national strike began on April 28, 2021. The initial impetus for the large-scale demonstrations came from a regressive tax reform. The tax bill came into being due to the necessity of the Colombian state to push down the rising fiscal deficit, which could …

Staff (2021-05-19). Selective Assassinations: The US Agenda for Colombia. orinocotribune.com By Anahí Arizmendi — May 18, 2021 | The assassination of social leaders in Colombia is an expression of the crisis of the Colombian political system and the influence of US government interests on its political agenda, interests that erase the possibility of ever reaching a stable peace in the country. Deaths that were previously concentrated in marginalized, impoverished regions, and occurred either at strategic production and distribution points for drug trafficking networks, or in hydrocarbon extraction areas, have now spread throughout the national territory as a result of the protests against the neolib…

teleSUR (2021-05-19). Colombian Minister of Defense Summoned for Censure Motion. telesurenglish.net The Colombian House of Representatives summoned the Minister of Defense, Diego Molano, to a censure motion debate on May 25 for the excessive use of force by the military and the police, in the context of the protests that the country has been experiencing since April 28. | RELATED: | The information came out through a communiqué from the board of the Colombian lower house, which informed that Molano will have to an…

Forrest Hylton (2021-05-19). Colombians Want a New Government — And an End to Neoliberalism. zcomm.org For weeks, Colombians have remained in the streets challenging their nation's violent social and economic model…

Guest Contributor (2021-05-19). OPINION: Colombia Is in Crisis, and Vaccine Nationalism Is Making It Worse. latinorebels.com Under the pandemic, the number of people living in extreme poverty had already grown by 2.8 million.

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-05-19). Jesús Santrich: The Laughter of a Bolivarian Cannot Be Easily Extinguished. libya360.wordpress.com Néstor Kohan JESàöS SANTRICH, a Colombian and Our-American revolutionary militant, has been annihilated. Honor to those who deserve honor. The shots and grenades that took his breath away were from the Colombian army, as was the knife or razor with which they mutilated his lifeless hand. The orders came from Iván Duque, the little pigeon…

Eds. (2021-05-19). Progressive forces win majority of seats in Chile's Constitutional Convention. mronline.org Independent and progressive candidates won more than a two-thirds majority in the Constitutional Convention, a body responsible for writing Chile's new constitution. | May 19, 2021 | Newswire…

teleSUR (2021-05-19). Chile: Right, Center Left Parties Collapse Before Primaries. telesurenglish.net Chile's presidential race has also been impacted by the tectonic change of the political landscape following Sunday's constitutional convention elections. A group of political organizations withdrew their candidates on Wednesday, seeking alliances with others amid political chaos and fears of a growing progressive force. | RELATED: | May 19 was the last day for political parties to sign up the presidential pre-cand…

Javier Tolcachier (2021-05-19). Chile en tiempo de relevos. globalizacion.ca A treintaiún años de una constitución impuesta a sangre y fuego por la dictadura militar, el pueblo chileno amanece a las puertas de comenzar a decidir un nuevo destino. El repudio popular hizo tronar el escarmiento, no solo al gobierno…

Marcos Roitman Rosenmann (2021-05-19). Chile: Transformar la convención constituyente en la tumba del neoliberalismo. globalizacion.ca El futuro no está diseñado. Como sucedió con el triunfo de la Unidad Popular y Salvador Allende, ni los más optimistas pensaban en una derrota tan aplastante de la derecha. El desconcierto en sus filas equivale al sufrido la noche…

Emir Sader (2021-05-19). Chile — °Bye, bye, Pinochet! globalizacion.ca Fue un proceso largo desde el fin de la dictadura de Pinochet hasta estas elecciones. Fue una transición larga, que restauró la democracia política en Chile, pero mantuvo la Constitución impuesta en plena condición de estado de sitio por Pinochet-…

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