Mexico
Mexico: Guerrero teachers form alliances
The fight against US-style education “reforms” seems to be getting more militant as Guerrero teachers announce a coalition modeled on the one that shook up Oaxaca in 2006.
Author: Weekly News Update on the Americas
The Caribbean
Haiti: maquila sector tries to improve its image
With promised jobs failing to materialize and scrutiny of labor abuses growing, Haiti’s sweatshop industry has decided to change personnel and hire a US lobbying firm.
Mexico
Mexico: teachers block Acapulco highway
Dissident teachers in Mexico spent their spring break protesting US-style “education reform” plans based on standardized tests and teacher evaluations.
Southern Cone
Chile: new problems threaten Pascua Lama mine
With problems—and fines—accumulating at the mammoth Pacua Lama mine site high in the Andes, environmentalists are asking if it isn’t time to call the whole thing off.
Central America
Guatemala: RĂos Montt trial implicates president
Murders of activists continue while attention is focused on the trial of former dictator RĂos Montt and testimony against current president PĂ©rez Molina.
The Caribbean
Dominican Republic: laid-off Haitian workers win
A group of Haitian immigrant workers at a processing plant in the Dominican Republic have finally won their back pay in court; now they’re waiting to see the money.
Central America
Panama: Ngöbe-Buglé leader murdered after anti-dam protest
Masked men killed an indigenous activist from the Ngöbe-BuglĂ© people after a protest against the Barro Blanco dam in Panama’s western ChiriquĂ department.
Mexico
Mexico: 22 injured in Oaxaca wind farm protest
Paramilitaries and state police are stepping up the harassment of residents resisting the construction of wind farms by foreign companies near Oaxaca’s Pacific coast.
Southern Cone
Chile: students resume marches for education reform
Sixty people were arrested as Chilean students marked the beginning of the school year with a new march against the privatized system left by Gen. Pinochet.
The Caribbean
Haiti: Haïti Progrès editor Honorat gunned down
Unknown assailants killed the editor of what was once a prominent leftist weekly. Will this case join the list of unsolved murders of Haitian journalists?
Mexico
Mexico: study says arms smuggling keeps US dealers in business
A new study correlating arms sales with dealers’ locations estimates that about a quarter of a million firearms purchased in the US are smuggled into Mexico each year.
The Amazon
Brazil: protesters briefly reoccupy Belo Monte dam
Area residents carried out the fifth occupation in less than a year at a construction site for the $13 billion Belo Monte dam to protest environmental damage.