Maya Q’eqchi’ community forcibly displaced by the power of private interests
In the latest of ongoing violent attacks against the rural community of Lajeb Kej, private security forces destroy the resident families' homes and force...
Colombia’s ‘Just Transition’ from coal to wind and solar
Once the centre of coal mining in Colombia, La Guajira now finds itself at the heart of Colombia’s climate goals, which are some of the most ambitious in the world. But what does this mean for the people who live here?
Confronting racism and gendered violence in Guerrero
On 27 January 2025, the collective Mujeres Colibrí, Defensoras de la Vida (Hummingbird Women, Defenders of Life) presented their research on the multiple forms of violence experienced by Indigenous and Afro-descendant women in the state of Guerrero, Mexico, to state representatives and local media.
Brazil: organic cotton farmers lead the way
Organic cotton production lifts resettled and Quilombola communities out of poverty in Brazil, but there are challenges to keeping the trade sustainable in the long term.
Britain exports banned pesticide to Paraguay
Paraquat, manufactured by British company Syngenta, is banned in the UK and the EU. But it is widely used on Paraguay's booming soya farms, with often terrible effects on the crops and health of local people.
‘Open Fire’ exhibition in UK
In September 2022, LAB described a new photo exhibition, created by the Brazilian photographer and film-maker Marilene Cardoso Ribeiro.
Now that exhibition has come to...
Mexico: life and death fight with a mining company
Members of Ejido El Bajío, in the Gran Desierto de Altar, Sonora, have been fighting for almost 20 years against a gold mining company that is destroying the fauna and flora of their beautiful but delicate surroundings.
Peru: why the terms ‘Lo Andino’ and ‘terruco’ still matter
Power and wealth in Peru reside on the coast. Poverty reins in the Andes, a problem Lima elites refer to as 'Lo Andino'. These divisions fuelled Shining Path and were behind the recent removal of Pedro Castillo from the presidency.
Honduras: defending a mountain for 30 years
Pedro Pinto, 67, has spent over half his life defending the environment in the western region of Ocotepeque, Honduras. In November 2022, two of his vehicles were burned by an unknown party, he suspects that they were enemies of his work as an environmental defender.
Honduras: Deaths of environmental activists reopen wounds in Aguán Valley
In January, four social activists were murdered in Honduras within a period of 11 days. The deaths of two environmental defenders from Guapinol were followed by the murder of a peasant leader and his father-in-law.
