Feature Archives

On January 12th and 13th the first APPO (Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca) Youth Encuentro was held in Zaachila, Oaxaca, Mexico. Among the many plans of action agreed upon by the diverse group of young folks, was a march on January 15th for the liberation of political prisoners in Oaxaca, in particular David Venegas Reyes, an APPO council member and member of VOCAL (Oaxacan Voices Constructing Autonomy and Freedom).

By a margin of 1.4 percent, the forces of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez lost a December 2 vote on a referendum of social programs that also would have lifted term limits for the presidency. Chávez called it a "photo finish." The United States reportedly spent $8 million dollars to sway the vote, and a CIA document uncovered by the Chavistas spelled out a thorough program of psy-ops and destabilization.

On the evening of November 11th, Border Patrol officers attacked participants in the closing rally of a week-long bi-national camp in Calexico / Mexicali protesting borders. The rally took place on both sides of the fence just east of the pedestrian border crossing. Nearly 100 Border Patrol agents used pepper gas pellets and batons to assault demonstrators on the U.S side. One protestor is being charged with two counts of assaulting a federal officer.

While Barrick shareholders met to discuss third quarter earnings, over one thousand Chileans took to the streets in protest of Barrick’s multi-billion dollar Pascua Lama mining project. At the same time, in Tanzania, thousands of miners went on strike over salaries, healthcare and working conditions at Barrick's controversial Bulyanhulu mine.

On, October 24th, a benefit was held at Station 40 in San Francisco at 7pm to support the continuing resistance in Oaxaca, Mexico. The newly released documentary "Un Poquito de Tanta Verdad" (A Little Bit of So Much Truth) was screened, accompanied by dinner and refreshments. The proceeds of the evening went to Colectivo Mujer Nueva (Oaxaca autonomous women collective) and VOCAL (Oaxacan Voices Constructing Freedom and Autonomy), an anarchist radio project in Oaxaca.

October 6–13 is an international week of solidarity to demand that "terrorism" charges against Salvadoran water privatization protesters be dropped. The corporate takeover of the world's water, often aided by repressive US-trained police forces, has been called "the greatest theft of common resources facing humanity and the planet today."

On October 7th, Costa Ricans will go to the polls for a referendum on the Central America - Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA/TLC in Spanish). The latest move on the U.S. neo-liberal agenda for Latin America has met widespread resistance in Costa Rica. Anti-CAFTA marches and protests there led to the national referendum and the resignation of a vice president. A solidarity event with the anti-CAFTA resistance in Costa Rica will be held at Station 40 on Sunday, September 30th, at 6pm.