The News Roundup is a regular section of the blog, featuring news articles from various sources around the web, with the goal of providing an overview of the weekly conversation about the countries where MCC works in the region. Quotes in italics are drawn directly from sources and do not necessarily reflect the position of MCC.
Stop The Murder Of Environmental Defenders In Latin America
The slaughter of environmental defenders must stop. Governments must act and bring the culprits to justice and put in place enforceable protections in law. Regrettably in some cases governments are in collusion with hydroelectric, mining, oil, gas and other corporations. In some countries the murder of environmental defenders are perpetrated with no more consequences than ‘shooting a jaguar;’ in the chilling words of Darcy Alves da Silva, murderer of Chico Mendes. Perpetrators will continue to walk free unless governments and the international community take action. As natural resources become scarcer, and the pressure upon them increases with increasing population, disputes over land rights, particularly where oil exploration, hydroelectric, mining agribusiness and logging are concerned, are intensifying. Communities and indigenous people are particularly hard hit and their fundamental rights to life and land are violated in many countries. Given the lack of binding international legal mechanisms to protect them, responsibility must fall on individual states.
Mexican woman who uncovered cartel murder of daughter shot dead
Gunmen shot and killed a prominent Mexican activist and mother dedicated to searching for “disappeared” persons in the violent northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, authorities have confirmed. Miriam Rodriguez died on the way to hospital after being shot multiple times on Wednesday – Mother’s Day in Mexico – at her home in Tamaulipas. Mexico’s national human rights commission (CNDH) condemned the murder, saying it underscored the government’s failure to keep the public safe and protect human rights advocates. Rodriguez was known for successfully investigating the kidnap and murder of her daughter by the local Zetas drug cartel.
Mexico: Racing Against Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
Many Mexicans’ perception of Trump as unpredictable and erratic tempers any optimism about bilateral relations even though Foreign Minister Videgaray seems to have established a viable dialogue with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The return of the deported immigrants is an area in which the government is being given a second opportunity to show compassion for citizens. The migrants left Mexico for concrete reasons, however, and some are questioning whether Peña Nieto’s administration will be able to address them. Providing legal assistance to those at risk of deportation and facilitating education for Dreamers are important gestures, but they do not offer a viable long-term strategy. The bigger picture is still suddenly having millions of Mexicans back in the country with no job prospects. Trump’s delays on the border wall and mass deportations give the Mexican government time to come up with effective solutions, but such a massive disruption, especially coupled with the uncertainty over the future of NAFTA and the Mexican economy, is probably too much for any government to handle.
How Will Cuts in US Aid Impact the Northern Triangle?
In other words, for the region as a whole, the majority of cuts were made to soft-side measures like development and economic assistance, while hard-side security programs received similar levels of funding. In total, $655 million was appropriated for the Northern Triangle in 2017, $95 million less than the $750 million appropriated last year. It is important to remember that these appropriations are a barometer for the level of support that these programs receive from Congress, but they don’t necessarily have a direct relationship with how much money is actually spent. Appropriations act as a ceiling. Agencies can spend less than the appropriated amount, but not more.
What the resistance to Trump can learn from Latin America
These tendencies have drawn comparisons to the classic image of a Latin American dictator, and more specifically the caudillo — or strongman leader — by commentators from across Latin American. From his taste in decor and his adversarial relationship with the media, to his fundamental assault on human rights, the similarities are hard to contest. Our neighbors to the south have a long history of resisting authoritarian and fascist regimes, which often were supported by the U.S. governments. They were able to survive under difficult situations and — thanks to social movements — move the region in a more progressive direction. After decades of struggle, here are four lessons that movements in Latin America can teach those in the United States organizing against their own authoritarian leader.
Report Paints Harrowing Picture of Central America Migration
A report from the international medical group Doctors Without Borders paints a harrowing picture of migration from Central America’s violence-plagued Northern Triangle region through Mexico and toward the United States. The study released Thursday is based on surveys and medical data from the last two years. Among its findings:
— Almost 40 percent of those interviewed say they left home due to attacks, threats, extortion or attempts at forced recruitment by gangs in Central America.
— Nearly 70 percent have been victims of violence during transit toward the United States, including nearly a third of women who reported being sexually abused.
The report says heightened immigration enforcement by the United States and Mexico threatens to make more refugees and migrants vulnerable to exploitation by smugglers, gangs and corrupt authorities.
Femicide the rallying cry for families of girls killed in Guatemalan orphanage fire
The former minister of social welfare, along with his deputy and the director of the orphanage, have been charged with negligent homicide. But lawyers representing the families of the dead girls are now pushing for charges of femicide to be brought. They argue that the girls were subjected to abuse and neglect indicative of wider state failings on the protection of women in Guatemala. Lawyers and campaigners are also calling for an investigation into the failure of the police to act on accusations of abuse made by the girls. “This has been the responsibility of the state for a long time,” said Paula Barrios, a lawyer involved in the case who represented women from Sepur Zarco when they successfully took the military to court over allegations of sexual slavery during the country’s long civil war.
Illegal Deforestation: Death by a Thousand Cuts (documentary)
We learned that many of the largest charcoal-smuggling operations on Hispaniola were actually facilitated and paid for by select Dominicans, who controlled production and directly benefited from it. Both Dominican and Haitian charcoal producers struggle to make a living from charcoal, but often work for powerful Dominican merchants. These influential figures have not only increased charcoal production along the border area, but at times have also managed to acquire permits from the Dominican government, making it a quasi-legal activity. The role of influence, trafficking and corruption in the deforestation along the border became more and more clear to us. At its core, this film is a cautionary tale of how the increasingly fierce competition for natural resources combined with swelling wealth inequality can create fertile ground for civil strife. This combination of factors is at the heart of many international tragedies, even if at first glance they appear to be ethnic conflicts.
AngloGold Ashanti ‘accepts’ central Colombia town vote to ban ‘world’s largest open-pit gold mine’
South African mining giant AngloGold Ashanti announced Thursday it has given up on plans for the world’s largest open-pit goldmine in central Colombia’s Cajamarca after the town almost unanimously voted to ban mining. The suspension is a major setback for the mining company that has been preparing to dig the world’s largest open-pit gold mine from a mountain near the town since 2002. The company had been preparing the “La Colosa” project when in March, 98% of Cajamarca’s voters said “No” to mining in their municipality.
Bolivia’s caravan of courage leaves a bittersweet legacy for disabled protesters
But public pressure has grown. In February Amnesty urged Bolivia to respect the rights of the disabled. Meanwhile, elections in neighbouring Ecuador brought to power the world’s first paraplegic president, Lenin Moreno, who has been a vocal campaigner at home and abroad. Ayala said media coverage had helped, including the release of a trailer for The Fight, in February. “That Morales has met some of the demands of the protesters is a big development for the film,” he said. “A year ago, the government was saying that people with disabilities didn’t need a pension, while today they are forced to accept the necessity of the pension, which shows the power of filmmaking combined with activism.”