(2021-05-24). The Fight For A New Colombia. popularresistance.org On 28 April, Colombian trade unions and social movements staged a new round of Paro Nacional (National Strike) protests, the latest in an ongoing series of mobilisations to address the litany of problems impacting Colombian society. | Opposition to a planned tax reform — which strike organisers said would unfairly target the middle and working classes in what is one of Latin America's most unequal countries — was the central issue, particularly in the context of the global pandemic which has pushed an estimated five million Colombians out of work. Calls to repeal the tax reform were aligned with longe…
(2021-05-24). Resisting the everyday violence of colonial extractivism. roarmag.org 
Indigenous Peruvians protesting in the city of Ayaviri against the pollution from a nearby mine. Ayaviri, Peru — 2015. Paulo de Abreu / Shutterstock.com | "In many cases, the state legitimizes violence," said the lawyer, professor and researcher on socio-environmental conflicts, Patricia Urteaga Crovetto, as we sat in her university office in Lima, Peru. "People make claims, they knock on doors, organize investigations, run petitions, file complaints, appeal, litigate. They use all the instruments the law offers. When all this does not work, sometimes, violence is their last straw. I do not justify violence,…
(2021-05-24). Rivers are Key to Restoring the World's Biodiversity. counterpunch.org Alessandra Korap Munduruku is a Munduruku Indigenous woman leader from Indigenous Reserve Praia do Ândio in the Brazilian Amazon. She is a member of Pariri, a local Munduruku association, as well as the Munduruku Wakoborûn Women's Association. In 2020, Alessandra won the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award for her work defending the culture, livelihoods and rights of Indigenous peoples in Brazil. | Darryl Knudsen is the executive director of International Rivers. He has 20 years' experience channeling the power of civil society movements to create enduring, positive change toward social and environmental justice…
(2021-05-23). State, power and society in Latin America. zcomm.org From state violence and neoliberal extractivism to Colombia's general strike and Zapatismo…
(2021-05-23). Elections in Peru: Shift to the Left or Slide Backwards to the Far Right? dsausa.org RSVP Here Stakes are high as Peruvians go to the polls to elect their next President on June 6th. The country has been devastated by the mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis, which has led to tens of thousands of reported deaths, mass employment, and economic decline. The two candidates in the second round of the…
(2021-05-23). Chile is Reborn by a (Political) Earthquake that Emerged from the Streets. zcomm.org What happened on May 15-16 in Chile has the air of the refounding of an entire nation…
(2021-05-23). 'Brazil Is a Global Pariah'. zcomm.org Lula on His Plot to End Reign of 'Psychopath' Bolsonaro…