The Andes

Ecuador: Quito bicyclists get a martyr

Sebastián Muñoz, founder of the bicyclists' rights group Andando en Bici Carajo in Quito, Ecuador, was struck by a car and killed while on his bicycle.

The Andes

Colombia: coffee strike claims advances

With a strike that lasted from Feb. 24 to March 8, tens of thousands of Colombian coffee growers took to the streets across the country, ultimately claiming victory. 

The Andes

Peru: new anti-mining struggle in Cajamarca

National Police troops attacked hundreds of campesinos in Peru’s northern Cajamarca region in a protest against the mineral operations of Canadian-owned Sulliden Gold Corporation. 

The Andes

Ecuador: campesinos march on World Water Day

World Water Day marches in Ecuador ironically coincided with the start of a brief jail sentence for three campesino leaders in Cuenca, convicted in a protest over water rights.

The Andes

Peru: two dead in miners’ protest

A clash broke out as riot troops from Peru's National Police force evicted a group of informal miners from their encampment in northern La Libertad region, leaving two miners dead.

The Andes

Peru: Newmont denies plans to quit Cajamarca

Peru’s Yanacocha mining company, facing an ultimatum from protesters to leave the contested Conga site, denied press reports that it plans to quit gold-rich Cajamarca region.

The Andes

Colombia: ex-lawmaker guilty in Segovia massacre

Colombia’s high court found former Liberal Party regional boss César Pérez García guilty of having ordered the massacre of a village after it voted in the left-wing Unión Patriótica.

The Andes

Contradictory legacy of Hugo Chávez

Whether the gains of Hugo Chávez's Bolivarian Revolution will survive his passing depends on how genuinely it is based on popular power, not just that of a charismatic leader. 

The Andes

Venezuela: indigenous leader assassinated

Sabino Romero, cacique (traditional chief) of the Yukpa indigenous people, who opposed extractive industries in Venezuela’s Sierra de Perijá, was assassinated in a road ambush.