New media forms are being applied by diverse actors, slowly tipping the balance of media power in favor of the active, engaged citizen across the continent.
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By scheduling a meeting with movement representatives for November 2, the government succeeded in diffusing the momentum gained in recent weeks by indigenous protests. But behind the headlines a profound process is underway: The indigenous protests are only the most visible sign of a growing coalition of social movements, including labor unions, Afro-descendant organizations, campesino unions, and human rights and women's groups. The coalition is up against the diametrically opposed economic and security doctrines of the Uribe administration and the Colombian establishment.
In the southwestern department of Cauca on October 14, over 12,000 peaceful protestors from indigenous and other popular movements were violently attacked by Colombian security forces. The repression against the indigenous mobilization is only the latest sign of a growing wave of violent acts and selective assassinations against Colombia's popular movements by all armed actors of Colombia's internal conflict.