This article was written for BrasilWire. You can read the original here.
The political situation in Brazil is getting confusing, even for people who study it. To summarise recent events:
In April the organized left held the largest general strike in Latin America this Century, demanding for a halt to the austerity reforms and for illegitimate president Michel Temer’s immediate...
Vitória lives in a small two-room house with her baby son Lucas and mother Laura in Jardim Guarani, on the northern periphery of São Paulo, Brazil. She welcomes us for a coffee in her small kitchen that also serves as a lounge. The family store their belongings next to a bunk bed in the only bedroom, where they all...
This has been a historic year for Colombia, with the signing of the peace accords in September 2016 and the continent’s oldest guerrilla group, FARC-EP, laying down its arms and becoming a formal political party. The process has had many sceptics. Questions abound about how effective implementation will be and many city dwellers doubt whether the peace accords have...
This article was translated from the French by Gregory Duff Morton, Bard College.
After two decades of military dictatorship, a new Constitution proclaimed in 1988 gave pride of place to human rights and the protection of the environment. Nicknamed the Citizen Constitution, it expressed hope for a regime of justice and democracy. Thirty years on, it has suffered from all...
Prospéry Raymond, Christian Aid’s country manager for Haiti and the Dominican Republic, reflects on how Haiti is moving on from one disaster and preparing for another
You could be forgiven for associating Haiti with disaster: when the country is mentioned, it is usually alongside words like ‘earthquake’, ‘hurricane’, ‘political turmoil’ and ‘cholera’.
In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew’s 146mph winds swept across...
Aug 14 2017
What is President Temer's weapon for fighting corruption charges? Why, corruption of course.
In his relentless battle to stay in power, President Michel Temer has appealed to the very methods he stands accused of by the Attorney General’s investigations: bribery and corruption, or as Theresa May might say, confidence and supply.
This enabled him to win last week’s crucial...
With the bancada ruralista mining / agribusiness lobby in control of the Temer government and Congress, a Brazilian company, Intertechne Consultores, sees it as an opportune time to revive a shelved plan to build dams in the Amazon’s Aripuanã basin.
The company has asked federal officials to allow viability studies for 3 new dams in this very remote,...
This is a slightly edited version of an article, first published by Brasil Wire. You can see the original here.
It is always hard to explain Brazilian politics to foreigners. There is a lot of history and many characters and there are 25 political parties represented in Congress alone. It is even harder to explain how illegitimate president Michel Temer,...
The article was published (in Portuguese) by MST here. Translated and with additional material by Mike Gatehouse, for LAB.
2016 turned out to be the second most violent year for land conflicts in Brazil in the last 25 years, only just behind 2003. That reality is made up of 61 murders, including those of 16 young people between 15 and...
This article is mainly based on material made available by London Mining Network.
According to ACAFREMIN, the new regional alliance against metal mining in Central America, Condor Gold has dropped charges against seven community members from Santa Cruz de la India, Leon, Nicaragua. If convicted, the seven faced up to five years in jail.
Condor Gold Plc is a UK based,...