A synod is a meeting of representatives of Church
communities to discuss issues of doctrine or Church governance. So far, for most people, so boring. But when, in February 2019, General Augusto
Heleno, President Jair Bolsonaro’s senior security adviser, described October’s
Catholic Church synod on the Amazon as ‘relevant to Brazil’s national security’
and having a ‘left-wing agenda’, he was...
Amazon fires
show Bolivia needs a new economic model
Global coverage
of the recent Amazon fires has focused on Brazil, but Bolivia has suffered a
similar catastrophe. Over the last two months, some 2.4 million
hectares of the
country have burned, almost half of which is forest. At least six people have died and around 2,000 families
have...
Dear LAB Supporter and Friend,
11 September 2019
Amazon fires caused by land-grabbing on an industrial scale
Amazon burned -- at Terra Nossa, near Altamira, Pará. Neighbouring land occupied illegally by grilheros, was untouched. Photo: José Cícero da Silva/Agência Pûblica.
In addition to our...
***** to sign, click here
Rainforest fires: put Amazonian people's rights first.
LAB partner Christian Aid is inviting the public to sign a new petition calling on the UK Prime Minister to put the Amazonian people at the heart of any response to the wildfires raging in the...
2 July 2019
Dear LAB Supporter and Friend
Threats multiply - to women, diversity and the environment
Somos Guerreras is a collective of seasoned artists comprised of rappers Rebeca Lane (Guatemala), Nakury (Costa Rica) and Audry Funk (Mexico). They are visiting London for the first time in early July, and will appear at the Festival of Latin American Women in...
Documentary film, one hour long, showing the Salas de Eventos - over 60 in number - that have been designed and built by Freddy Mamani in El Alto. They celebrate the growing numbers of wealthy Aymara business people displaying their wealth and offering dance halls and banqueting rooms for rent and often grand apartments on the top...
Spanish journalist Samanta Villar Fans spent 21 days working in an artesanal tin mine in Bolivia in 2009. She filmed it for her programme 21 Days.
The full programme can be seen on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/samantavillarfans/videos/1183636485105974/UzpfSTM2Njc2NzkxNjk4NzU5NjpWSzoyNjk2Nzk1MjkzNjY5NDM3/
Even though Bolivia has had a progressive government for more than a decade (one of the last remaining in the region), indigenous rights are still under threat.
Deforested clearing made by illegal settlers. Photo: Ricardo Gutierrez
Illegal settlements, mining and timber companies are occupying indigenous territories causing tremendous environmental impact...
Interview with Rene Orellana, Minister of Development Planning of Bolivia, HispanTV Face to Face programme, 15 November 2015.