Making Freedom – A Community Conference on the 1838 Emancipation of Africans in the Caribbean

It’s the beginning of spring here in the UK and there are a number of interesting events to announce. But there’s plenty of news...

A day after Marielle’s murder, Brazilian poets spontaneously posted poems about her murder and legacy on various social media accounts. These poems were then published in 2018 in a collection published by Quintal Edições titled: Um girassol nos teus cabelos – poemas para Marielle Franco (A Sunflower in Her Hair – Poems for Marielle Franco).

The iniquitous ISDS system allows mining companies to sue Latin American governments for massive amounts of 'compensation' every time their mining activities are blocked by local community opposition or environmental concerns.

A short video by OjosIlegales, Venezuela, shows the cult of Queen María Lionza, growing in popularity in Venezuela, which unified indigenous, black African and white European peoples in defence of nature, love, peace and harmony

Nick Caistor reviews Juan Gabriel Vásquez' new novel Volver La Vista Atrás, based on the extraordinary life of director Sergio Cabrera.

Munduruku people on the Tapajós tributary of the Amazon are engaged in a struggle for survival against the long-term effects of mercury poisoning from gold mining, a new influx of illegal miners and the Covid infection they bring with them.

Tom Gatehouse, author of Voices of Latin America: Social Movements and the New Activism and the upcoming The Heart of Our Earth: Community Resistance to Mining in Latin America, will then present ‘Latin America at breaking point: a look back at two tumultuous years’

Mexico has a vast army of informal workers who receive little in the way of formal state benefits. Covid lockdowns have hit them hard and only neighbourhood cooperation is helping them survive.