In Guatemala, indigenous communities prevail against Monsanto
Late in the afternoon of September 4, after nearly 10 days of protests by a coalition of labor, indigenous rights groups and farmers, the indigenous peoples and campesinosof Guatemala won are rare victory. Under the pressure of massive mobilizations, the Guatemala legislature repealed Decree 19-2014, commonly referred to as the “Monsanto Law,” which would have given the transnational chemical and seed producer a foot hold into the country’s seed market.
So, what has happened to the thousands of people who have gone missing during the course of the country’s drug war? And what is the government doing to end the crisis?Fault Lines travels to Mexico to investigate one of the worst humanitarian crises of disappearances in Latin America and its impact on families searching for their loved ones, for answers, and for a justice that never seems to arrive.
Mexico protesters torch state assembly
Anger has intensified in Mexico since Attorney General Jesus Murillo said last week that evidence suggests 43 missing trainee teachers were murdered by gangsters, incinerated in a bonfire at a garbage dump and their ashes thrown in a river.
Peru now has a ‘licence to kill’ environmental protesters
The controversial law was highlighted by the FLD in a report published this month titled “Environmental Rights Defenders at Risk in Peru.” What that report makes clear is that if you’re Peruvian and you publicly express concern about the environmental and social impacts of mining operations you can expect the following: death threats, rape threats, physical and electronic surveillance, smears and stigmatization by national mainstream media, police acting as “private security” for mining companies, confiscation or theft of equipment, “excessive use of force by police” during protests, arrest, or detention, and prosecution on charges of “rebellion, terrorism, violence, usurpation, trespassing, disobedience or resistance to an official order, obstructing public officers, abduction, outrage to national symbols, criminal damage, causing injury, coercion, disturbance or other public order offences.”
Honduras seeks billions from U.S. to curb child migration
Honduras President Juan Hernandez wants the United States to invest billions of dollars to help curb the flow of illegal migrants from Central America, and said it will take much longer to stem the crisis without Washington’s help. “If we have to do it alone, it will take us more time. But if we can do it together, it can be quicker and better for everyone.”
Blood for Gold: The Human Cost of Canada’s ‘Free Trade’ With Honduras
In the rural municipality of La Unión, Copán, in western Honduras, communities are being gradually displaced by Toronto-based Aura Minerals’ San Andres gold mine. Earlier this year the army was sent in to quell protests related to the relocation of the local cemetery in Azacualpa, a village in La Unión. This is part of the human cost of an expanding mining industry in Honduras.
For Central America’s migrant women, life can change in a second
According to Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission, approximately 200,000 migrant women from Central America like Brizuela attempt to enter the U.S. each year. The reasons for their journeys are many; but making the decision to migrate, embarking on the trek, and the experience of arriving or being deported all have an enormous impact on the lives of these women.
El Salvador takes steps to tackle scourge of femicide
UN Women says femicide is a growing phenomenon across Latin America. Half of the countries worldwide with very high femicide rates are in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Jamaica, according to a 2012 report by the Small Arms Survey. To tackle the violence, Costa Rica in 2007 became the first country in Latin America to pass a law which defines and punishes femicide as a specific crime. Seven other countries in the region have followed, most recently El Salvador where a law on femicide came into effect in 2012.
FARC-Colombia Talks Advance in Havana
The path that is being crafted now in Havana will shape the future of peace and reconciliation in Colombia. It will determine the way the legacies of war will be addressed, the future options of any ex-combatants and militants who choose to lay down their arms, and the willingness of the international community to back the peace accords. In the meantime, Colombia is setting new precedents for peace processes around the globe.
Haiti’s fight for gay rights
Haiti’s LGBT community, which has long existed in relative secrecy, has faced greater criticism since the deadly earthquake that struck the island nation in 2010. From the pulpit and on the radio, evangelists, some inspired by American sponsors and mentors, have blamed the earthquake on the sins of the country’s gay population. Gay Haitians living in tent camps after the disaster reported “corrective” rape and increased harassment as a result of the greater exposure of displacement and flimsy shelters.