The Amazon
Brazil: human trafficking crackdown in Amazon
The Brazilian state of Acre declared a state of “social emergency” in response to a surge of undocumented migrants from neighboring Bolivia and Peru.
Tag: labor
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.
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.
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.
North Africa
World Social Forum meets Arab Spring
As thousands of activists from around the world converge on Tunisia for the World Social Forum, the country faces austerity measures as the condition of a $1.78 billion IMF loan.
North Africa
Strike at Chinese uranium mine in Niger
Workers went on a 72-hour strike at the Chinese-owned Somina uranium mine in northern Niger, demanding better wages and the release of unpaid bonuses.
Mexico
Mexico: dissident teachers march against “reform”
Teachers marched and held strikes in much of southern Mexico to protest both the former teachers union head and the government that arrested her last month for corruption.
Mexico
Mexico: Peña Nieto sends a message, jails union boss
The government arrests famously corrupt union boss and power broker Elba Esther Gordillo. Is the new president trying to clean house–or show who's the boss?
Europe
Spain: demand justice in 1976 Vitória massacre
Survivors of the 1976 massacre in Vitória, Spain, marked the anniversary by demanding official recognition of the incident, excised from the history of the post-Franco transition.
Greater Middle East
Islamists, labor protest in Jordan
Hundreds of Islamists demonstrated in Jordan to demand faster political reform after an election weeks earlier that produced a mostly pro-government parliament.
The Andes
Colombia: rebels attack coal mine amid strike
Colombia’s largest coal miner, Cerrejon, under force majeure due to a work stoppage, was targted in a guerilla attack that left four of the company’s trucks destroyed by fire.
Southern Cone
Chile: Pinochet was planning new coup in 1988
Declassified US documents show that Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was planning to carry out another coup if he lost a 1988 plebiscite on his military regime.