Southern Cone
Chile: students reject government’s new tax law
Chilean high school students occupied at least 10 public high schools in a continuation of protests for educational reform that started more than a year ago.
Author: Weekly News Update on the Americas
Mexico
Mexico: Wal-Mart faces money laundering scandal
Two US Congress members say there’s evidence that Wal-Mart Stores didn’t take legally required steps to prevent money laundering and tax evasion through its Mexican subsidiary.
Mexico
Did Romney donor’s casino launder drug money?
The US is investigating possible money laundering through a Las Vegas casino company owned by US billionaire Sheldon Adelson, a major donor to the Republican Party.
The Caribbean
Dominican Republic: residents protest new Barrick Gold mine
Local residents protested against the Barrick Gold Corporation’s giant Pueblo Viejo gold mine, which they said is contaminating water and affecting their health and their crops.
Southern Cone
Chile: students occupy schools to demand reform
Students occupied public high schools in Santiago in the latest protest against the privatization of Chile’s educational system that started under the Pinochet dictatorship.
The Caribbean
Puerto Rico: new law to ‘intimidate’ unions and students
Puerto Rican legal experts say that a revised Penal Code that Gov. Luis Fortuño that signed into law last month dramatically increases penalties for civil disobedience.
Central America
Honduras: students demand transportation subsidy
A total of 25 high school students from the Honduras Technical Institute in Tegucigalpa were arrested when the National Police broke up a protest with clubs and tear gas.
Central America
Guatemala: students resist education ‘reform’
Student protesters clashed with police in Guatemala’s capital after students occupied several campuses to oppose a right-wing “reform” of the country’s educational system.
Mexico
Mexico: six killed in latest mining disaster
Six Mexican coal miners were killed when some 100 tons of coal and rock collapsed in a mine operated by AHMSA company in the northern state of Coahuila.
The Caribbean
Dominican Republic: Barrick set to open giant gold mine
The Pueblo Viejo gold mine at Cotuà in the Dominican Republic is set to start operations, Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corporation announced—despite local protests.
Southern Cone
Chile: mine workers occupy church in protest
Contract workers occupied the San Ambrosio Church in Vallenar, Chile, to protest labor conditions at the Pascua Lama open-pit gold mine in the high Andes.
The Caribbean
Haiti: workers in new FTZ complain about wages
The first plant in a giant “free trade zone” (FTZ) being built with international aid near Caracol in Haiti’s Northeast department went into operation at the beginning of July, with about 400 workers assembling apparel for a company identified only… Read moreHaiti: workers in new FTZ complain about wages