Home
August 27, 2012
The part of the border that divides the Dominican Republic from Haiti on the southern coast of the island of Hispaniola is seldom reached by outsiders, and the conflicts that transcend the metal gate between the towns of Pedernales, on the Dominican side, and Anse-à-Pitre, in Haiti, seem reminiscent of the children’s stories of Dr. Seuss that warn against infantile stubbornness and teach the morals of cooperation.
Cuadernos Colombianos
August 22, 2012
Former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe's recent verbal attacks against President Juan Manuel Santos are perhaps most important for where they were made—Sincelejo, a powerful stronghold of Colombian landed elite. Across the country, this group has disproportionate political power that far exceeds its economic weight due to its success in political engineering and its employment of brutal force.
Border Wars
August 22, 2012
From the Dominican-Haitian borderlands to Ireland, the United States is internationalizing its boundary policing. In the process, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is creating the 21st century boundary, one that involves enrolling other countries in U.S. enforcement practices.
August 21, 2012
On August 12th, the Caravan for Peace With Justice and Dignity kicked off its one-month, 6,000-mile journey across the United States. Riding from San Diego to Washington, D.C., the Caravan seeks to educate and confront Americans about the terrible violence besetting Mexico—and perhaps to recruit those who are convinced and inspired to a U.S. offshoot of Mexico’s Movement for Peace.
Manufacturing Contempt
August 20, 2012
Geographer and author Jared Diamond seems oblivious to the corrosive role of outside interference in modern Haitian history. In his recent op-ed in The New York Times, Diamond focuses on Haiti’s supposed cultural defects as an explanation for its lack of development, rather than the crimes of foreign powers.
Rebel Currents
August 16, 2012
In the ongoing struggle against the Bolivian government’s plan to build a highway through the Isiboro Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park (TIPNIS), lowland indigenous women have been on the front lines. Their protagonism has sparked controversy in a society where patriarchal traditions and attitudes still run deep, despite important recent advances.
August 16, 2012
Unbelievably good news! The national fútbol team won an Olympic gold medal last Saturday for the first time ever, beating Brazil (Brazil!) 2-1. (OK, the news is not all that good if you happen to be a Brazilian, but Brazil has had more than its share of good soccer news over the years.) And otherwise, these are not happy times in Mexico. There is precious little good news that comes out of the land of the Aztec sun these days.
The Other Side of Paradise
August 15, 2012
This year in Guyana, Emancipation Day—the day which commemorates the abolition of slavery—was not a cause of celebration but was marked instead by widespread sadness and anger. On August 1, funerals were held for three men who were killed by Guyanese security forces during a protest over government plans to increase electricity rates in the bauxite mining town of Linden.
Border Wars
August 14, 2012
The struggle against Arizona's infamous anti-immigrant legislation, SB 1070, continues. A key component of the fight-back involves a grassroots campaign in Tucson against the state's private prison industry via a broad community coalition called Fuerza!
Cuadernos Colombianos
August 14, 2012
Since July 23, workers have been on strike at Colombia's private railway company FENOCO demanding better salaries, improved work conditions, and more social investments in areas of coal production. The strike may have serious implications on coal supply and prices in international markets, considering that Colombia is among the world’s largest coal exporters.