A coalition of fishing people, unionists, cab drivers and students blocked roads and bridges for 13 days to demand more resources for Chile’s isolated southern Aysén region.
Unionists are pointing to lax standards since privatization of Argentina’s extensive state-owned rail system as lying behind the horrific accident onf a Buenos Aires commuter line that killed 51 passengers and injured more than 700.
Mining supporters held a “protest” after authorities violently dispersed roadblocks set up by locals opposed to the Bajo de la Alumbrera gold mine. The pro-mine “protest” appears to have been organized with the support of the ruling Justicialist Party.
Argentina’s confederation of transport workers (CATT) has instructed its members not to work on British ships or aircraft arriving in the country, as a show of support for the Argentine government’s claim of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
Police in northwestern Argentine province of Catamarca used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse some 100 local residents who were blocking a road to protest open-pit mining—the latest in a wave of such actions in the South American country.
As the 30-year anniversary of the 1982 Falklands War approaches, Argentina accuses the UK of sending a nuclear-armed submarine to the islands Buenos Aires claims as the Malvinas. The UN has been called in mediate in a conflict over offshore rights.
Montreal-based Osisko Mining Corporation announced that it would suspend exploration for a proposed gold mine at the Nevados de Famatina mountain after weeks of protests blocking access to the site.
Chile and Mexico are leaders among the 34 “developed” countries in the OECD group–leaders in income inequality, along with Israel, Turkey and the US.
Brazil’s government is facing an outcry from rights groups and social movements following a violent Jan. 22 eviction of a favela (informal settlement) that the media have dubbed the “Massacre do Pinheirinho.” Some 2,000 troops from the Military Police of São Paulo… Read moreBrazil: outrage follows “Massacre of Pinheirinho”
Brazilian prosecutors plan to file criminal charges against Chevron officials for November’s 3,000-barrel oil spill off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state. The spill has not yet been contained, with oil still seeping from the ocean floor.
Buenos Aires subway workers protested a 127% increase in the fare by opening the turnstiles during rush hours for about a week and letting passengers ride for free.
A series of raids in southern Chile followed the the government’s suggestion that Mapuche activists were responsible for recent major forest fires in the Biobío and Araucanía regions.
