CIP Americas

Immigration reform has returned to center stage, sparked by President Obama’s announcement of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals last August, heightened by interest in Latino voters following the November election, and brought to a near-climax with anticipation over a pending immigration bill from a group of Senators known as the “Gang of 8”. Chicago actions coincided with Congress’ two-week Easter Recess and other organizing taking place across the country, where people took their case to representatives back in their districts for the break.

Since the US got on board, the TPP has taken shape as a second generation of geographically-distributed multilateral negotiations after the collapse of the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks and the Free Trade Area of the Americas proposal. According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, “This agreement will advance U.S. economic interests with some of the fastest-growing economies in the world; expand U.S. exports, which are critical to the creation and retention of jobs in the United States; and serve as a potential platform for economic integration across the Asia-Pacific region.”

The previous governments during the period of redemocratization were left with the important task of promoting the social uses of rural land and urban property and it was assumed that Lula was the most qualified to meet this demand, given his proximity to the MST. However, the number of expropriations in his two terms was significantly lower than his predecessor, the Social Democrat Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Lula expropriated only 1,990 properties compared to the 3,532 under President Cardoso.

A nonviolent protest on March 15 at Fortuna Silver´s Trinidad/Cuzcatlán mine in San José del Progreso turned tense, when pro-mine groups surrounded and fired shots toward local community activists, national and international human rights observers and journalists in this small Zapotec town in Oaxaca, Mexico.

The wealth of Mexican businessmen who top the millionaires list of Forbes Magazine is based “on the theft of the nation’s commons” says Francisco Lopez Barcenas, author of the book on mining legislation in Mexico, “Mineral or Life”.

They set out on February 25, from different parts of a country torn apart. In silent defiance, they entered the capital city of Tegucigalpa on March 6. On International Women’s Day they made their demands of a government that has trampled their rights and brought bloodshed across the nation since the rule of law was shattered three and half years ago.

For ten days, men and women walked many kilometers toward the capital of Honduras, making stops along the way, accompanied by people who joined in solidarity. Called “Step by Step for Dignity and National Sovereignty”, the walkers demanded the derogation of the Law of Special Development Regions, freedom for Chavelo Morales, derogation of the Mining Law and cancelation of environmental edicts that privatize water, energy and natural resources. Indigenous, Afro-Honduran, peasant women, and feminists formed the core of the Walk for Dignity.