Brazil: the Rio Massacre
The massacre of more than 100 people in Rio's favelas is an attempt by right-wing governor Claudio Castro to court popularity and revive the fortunes of the far right as they look for a successor to Jair Bolsonaro. It is at once a nod to Trump's military interventionism and a challenge to Lula.
Haiti: the end of Hotel Oloffson
On 6 July, Haiti's iconic Hotel Oloffson was completely destroyed in a fire probably set by one of the gangs that control Port-au-Prince. Like many foreign correspondents, LAB'S Nick Caistor used to stay there. He explains its significance.
Alejandra Parra’s Zero Waste battle in southern Chile
Environmental defender Alejandra Parra continues to oppose a waste-to-energy incinerator in the south of Chile, despite rising danger for activists.
Lautaro has all the makings...
Neighbours come together to defend urban trees in Caracas, Venezuela
The indiscriminate felling of three rubber trees in the capital of Venezuela reveals the challenges facing a city that must embrace its green areas...
Chile: what happened to the pobladores?
During the 1960-73 period, squatter movements for better housing were active and effective. Brutally suppressed during the dictatorship, they have never regained their importance. Malcolm Boorer went to one, Herminda de la Victoria, to find out why.
Brazilian women in London’s delivery sector
Arts project and exhibition Who’s Behind Your Order? focuses on showing the overlapping types of exploitation faced by migrant women in the delivery sector.
Body-mapping in Rio’s favelas
Violations of territories affect women's bodies, just as the violations of women's bodies affect territories. From this premise, women from the Maré favelas of Rio de Janeiro resisting urban violence on a daily basis have found empowerment through the practice of body-mapping.
Buenos Aires – a riverside for the rich?
Buenos Aires' right-wing dominated city council has endorsed two major riverside developments which would reserve huge tracts of land for private luxury apartments and offices. Opposition is mounting.
Building self-sufficient communities in Rio’s favelas
The favela community of Vale Encantado in Rio de Janeiro are using a biosystem for sewage treatment and solar panels to make their neighbourhood economically and environmentally self-sufficient, while facing down a long-term threat of eviction.
Colombia: Cali’s community libraries
In summer 2021, a three-month national strike against Ivan Duque's right-wing government proved a remarkable time for movement-building and social change. Silvia reports on the libraries constructed by and for local communities in Cali during this period.
