CHILE: JUDGE CHARGES SUSPECTS OF KILLING FORMER PRESIDENT
Former President Eduardo Frei died in 1982 of what many believed was a bacterial infection. Twenty five years later, a judge has charged six doctors of killing the former head of state and critic of the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.
His son, also a former president and the candidate for the ruling coalition in the presidential elections to be held next Sunday, believes, together with other members of his family, that his father was assassinated.
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8400684.stm
El Pais (Spanish)
BOLIVIA: EVO MORALES ANNOUNCES NEW FORM OF GOVERNMENT
Evo Morales, who on Sunday was re-elected with more than 60% of the votes cast and whose party, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), now controls both chambers of parliament, has said that he will change the way he establishes his cabinet.
Morales said he would make the process more collective, holding meetings with what he calls “social leaders” to decide who will head the ministries.
He went on: “The centre of gravity [of the new government] will be industrialisation, economic development, productivity, social production, telecommunications and everything we promised [during the campaign]”.
El Diario (Bolivia, Spanish)
La Razon (Bolivia, Spanish)
http://www.la-razon.com/versiones/20091208_006935/nota_249_921313.htm
CLIMATE CHANGE
BRAZIL: INDIANS WARN OF “REBELLION” OVER HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT
Hydroelectric power stations are generally seen as a relatively clean source of energy and Brazil has built many such dams to provide the economy with the energy it needs.
The government wants to construct Belo Monte, the country’s second biggest hydroelectric power station, on the Xingu River in the state of Pará in the heart of the Amazon. In order to build the 11.233 MW plant, 440 square kilometres will have to be flooded.
But a community of indigenous peoples has threatened a “river of blood” if the government goes ahead with the project. The local indigenous communities have sent a letter to President Lula telling him that they will not tolerate an act they consider disrespectful of their rights. They say that the project will disrupt the life of the river and bring a huge influx of people into the region.
El Pais
COP15: NO WOMEN, NO AGREEMENT
It is impossible to reach an agreement on climate change without the participation of women. This is what Andrea Guzmán, a representative of the Women for Climate Justice Movement from Bolivia, told delegates to the UN Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen.
Guzmán said that climate change is already affecting many communities in Bolivia and is “destroying plants, making people vomit and killing our animals”. She criticised industrialised countries because they are trying to find excuses for not reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases.
“A shared vision is essential; and it has to involve the participation of women because, without women, it cannot be called a shared vision” she said.
LAB In COP15
PERU: ARTISTS GET TOGETHER TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE
A group of well-known Peruvian singers has produced a video called “The Time is Now” (El Tiempo es Hoy) to highlight the dangers of global warming for the country.
This is part of the “Tck tck tck Time for Climate Justice” international campaign, which is calling on world leaders to reach an agreement in Copenhagen to stop climate change.
“We have done this thinking about our people, but also about our planet, which is our home. I hope countries become aware of what is happening in the world, so we can stop what’s heading toward us”, said Cecilia Bracamont, one of the organisers of the initiative.
El Tiempo es Hoy (Spanish)