Rebecca Wilson

Scarred by a brutal massacre which took place in December of 1997 and left 45 dead, the residents of Acteal, in the highlands of Chiapas, continue to remind the world never to forget. One woman is at the forefront.

Women in Argentina have recently celebrated progress in women’s reproductive rights with the historic vote in the Senate approving the legalisation of abortion but other struggles for women’s rights to control their own bodies continue.

The orator and community leader was having lunch in La Apartada in Córdoba on January 15, 2021 when he was shot multiple times before being pronounced dead. His murder is being investigated.

Feminist groups in Argentina and abroad greeted the New Year in celebration as the country’s National Congress voted in favour of the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Bill, which will allow childbearing people in the country to access abortion for free in public hospitals up to 14 weeks pregnancy.

In our live talk and Q&A with Maite Alberdi, one of Chile's leading directors and producers, Maite discussed the ways in which documentaries help us construct the kind of society we want to live in, "by showing us what we don't want to face".

This video essay from LAB partner Ojos Ilegales Red, Venezuela, tells the story of Leonardo Milian Ruiz, a member of the Pumé community. Milian left his territory Boca Tronador, on Riecito in Apure State, near the the Venezuelan border with Colombia, after cattle ranchers continually invaded their territory.

Argentina’s strict lockdown measures have seen an outpouring of solidarity for queer tango in Buenos Aires. Edgardo Fernández Sesma, LGBTQI+ activist and queer tango teacher holds tango classes using none of the heteronormative gender dynamics traditionally assumed by ‘male’ and ‘female’ dancers.

The short film El Silencio del Rio, ‘The Silence of the River’, by Peruvian director Francesca Canepa, won the Grand Jury Award at the Oscar-qualifying Calgary International Film Festival and is currently longlisted in the Best Short Film category for the 2021 Academy Awards. Mathilde Aupetit considers the film’s blurring of dream and reality in order to present an Amazonian perspective, and its representation of the narrative power of nature.

Scholars for Academic Freedom in Brazil was set up in late 2018 with the aim of building a network of academics in UK universities and beyond, to raise awareness of attacks on academics and academic freedom in Brazil. Group member and LAB trustee David Treece outlines the changes during Bolsonaro's presidency that have brought about the group's creation.

Scholars for Academic Freedom in Brazil works to support Brazilian academics under threat following Jair Bolsonaro’s election as President. We currently have about 300 members subscribing to our closed Facebook groupand a similar number signed up to our Google Group (join at: academicfreedominbrazil@gmail.com) Scholars for Academic Freedom in Brazil was set up in late 2018, with the aim of building a...