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February 2, 2009

Any evenhanded comparison of the Colombian and Venezuelan governments’ human rights records would have to note that, though Venezuela’s record is far from perfect, that country is by every measure a safer place than Colombia to live, vote, organize unions and political groups, speak out against the government or practice journalism. But this new survey shows that, over the past 10 years, editors at four leading U.S. newspapers have focused more on purported human rights abuses in Venezuela than in Colombia, and their commentary would suggest that Venezuela’s government has a worse human rights record than Colombia’s.

February 2, 2009

The Prop 8 fallout shows how much work remains to be done to connect the LGBT rights movement with other struggles for social justice. Unfortunately, it may have taken the brutal murder of Ecuadoran immigrant Jose Oswaldo Sucuzhañay to highlight the invisibility of queer people of color – particularly queer immigrants – in LGBT rights discourse. His murder will hopefully provide an impetus for coalition building.

January 30, 2009

In the presidential elections in March, an FMLN victory will rely heavily on stronghold neighborhoods like Mejicanos, where most people live in densely packed cinder block apartment buildings. As the bullet-pocked walls attest, the area was home to brutal fighting during El Salvador’s civil war that scarred the country from 1980 to 1992, and few residents here have forgotten.

January 29, 2009

After a total of three exchanges, Human Rights Watch gives a final response to critics of its report, "A Decade Under Chávez: Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela." HRW says the the academics' last letter "essentially recycles previous allegations" that are unfounded.

January 27, 2009

After Bolivia’s new constitution was passed in a national referendum on Sunday, thousands gathered in La Paz to celebrate. Standing on the balcony of the presidential palace, President Evo Morales addressed a raucous crowd: "Here begins a new Bolivia. Here we begin to reach true equality."

January 26, 2009

While the mainstream media fumes over the possibility of indefinite re-election in Venezuela, local reaction of some chavista sectors provides compelling insights into the course of Venezuela's revolutionary process. Some chavistas support the referendum in undying devotion to Chávez, for many others its pure pragmatism. For still others, the officials in the government are just incubators of a more radical project.

January 22, 2009


The new in-depth report, "The 2009 El Salvador Elections: Between Crisis and Change," by CISPES, NACLA, and Upside Down World reflects on El Salvador's current situation as well as the possibilities and challenges ahead at this pivotal moment for the nation's future. The leftist FMLN party currently holds a double-digit lead in the presidential election to be held on March 15. An FMLN victory would end 20 years of one-party rule by the main right-wing party. El Salvador could soon be joining the broadening coalition of left-leaning governments in Latin America.

January 21, 2009

On January 25, Bolivians will vote on whether to approve a new constitution, which polls indicate will be easily passed. The new constitution will introduce sweeping changes, particularly on indigenous rights and on the fundamental right of every citizen to have access to basic public services. It also calls for a more active role for the state in economic matters and natural resource control. The constitution makes important reforms in the areas of gender, environment, labor, and land tenure. But it remains unclear how many of these changes will be implemented.

January 16, 2009

The governments and corporations that hold power all over the globe are pushing people from their homes with one hand and punishing them for leaving with the other. Any policy addressing the right to migrate needs to take into account “the right not to migrate” — already a popular slogan among indigenous people from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, as documented by labor journalist David Bacon.

January 15, 2009

Our friends at the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) have launched a blog providing reports and analysis on the upcoming local and presidential elections. On January 18, Salvadorans will vote for municipal and legislative representatives, followed by the presidential election on March 15. If current polls hold, the leftist FMLN will win the presidency.

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