Marches and protests celebrating International Women’s Day focused on violence against women and emphasized demands for abortion rights and equality in political representation.
Hundreds of relatives and friends of people killed or injured in the crash of an Argentine commuter train marched to demand a thorough investigation of the accident and punishment for those responsible.
Protesters in the southern Chilean region resumed blocking traffic when the government of right-wing president Sebastián Piñera set new conditions for negotiations.
In an official report, Paraguay’s Department of Indigenous Affairs confirmed that an uncontacted tribe is living on lands in the northern Chaco region owned by the Brazilian ranching company River Plate, which is accused of wanton deforestation.
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.
