Feature Archives

Over one hundred people braved uncertain weather in San Francisco on Sunday, April 24th in solidarity with the worldwide demonstrations in support of Mexico City's embattled mayor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Now that he has been stripped of his immunity, Lopez Obrador has been facing arrest over a minor four-year-old infraction. Two weeks ago, the Mexican federal Congress voted to impeach him from his job as mayor. Once an arrest warrant is issued, he could lose his political rights and be barred from running for the presidency. He has been comfortably leading opinion polls for next year's elections to replace Mexican President Vicente Fox, who cannot run again.

The crowd included students from UC Davis, UC Berkeley and Stanford students, as well as local organizations such as Centro Azteca de Información, AFL/CIO local 790, families of Mexican origin and diverse US citizens. Signs carried by protesters included "Mexican democracy is an endangered species," "Mexico: Democracy in Danger," and "Fox, the world is watching." They rallied along the piers near Fisherman's Wharf. The crowd held an emotional visit to a statue of Mohatma Gandhi, which emphasized the peaceful nature of the protests that were carried out in Mexico City, San Francisco and cities such as Sacramento, Barcelona, Tolouse, Boston, and Sydney. More than a million people protested in Mexico City alone. The San Francisco protest ended in Aquatic Park, where pictures were taken with the Golden Gate bridge as a backdrop, and the different groups proclaimed an alliance to increase pressure on the Mexican government throughout the state of California.

Photos and Report | More about the Mayor from Democracy Now! | Report/Analysis of 4/24 from La Jornada | More Coverage on Chiapas Indymedia

President Lucio Gutierrez of Ecuador is holed up in the Quito airport, trying to flee the country. Meanwhile, the airport is surrounded by the military, who have been ordered by the new authorities to arrest Lucio and not allow him to leave the country.

Lucio, who was elected with the support of Ecuador's indigenous population, but subsequently turned his back on them, has been forced out after a week of massive protests. Today the Congress voted to oust him, while the military withdrew their support and the chief of police resigned. So, as the protests continued, Lucio took off for the airport to try to get out. His Vice President, who distanced himself from Lucio months ago, has taken over.

Julio Garcia, a photographer who has been in Ecuador documenting the indigenous movements for 30 years, was killed in the midst of the street protests near the presidential palace. Garcia, a 70-year old Chilean news photographer, died of a heart attack after being gassed by police, according to Red Cross and hospital officials. Reports: 1 | 2 | 3 | Full coverage at Indymedia Ecuador

On Monday, March 14th in Guatemala, a national strike was called by various social and popular organizations that are opposed to the ratification of new trade accords with the United States. During protests in Colotenango, Huehuetenango on Tuesday, March 15th, a group of campesinos and teachers were violently repressed by the military. At least two protesters were killed and over 10 were seriously injured. Reports confirm that one of the protesters, Juan Lopez, was killed by a bullet to the head.

Three of the wounded who were in serious condition in the hospital were taken out by the National Civil Police (PNC) with the pretext of transferring them to the Institute of Social Security (IGSS). But it has been confirmed that the compañeros have not actually been taken to this assistance center.

The protests and the National Strike in opposition to CAFTA in Guatemala continued into Wednesday, March 16th. The administration of President Berger maintains its position against the protestors, citing the loss of 70 million Quetzales or the equivalent of almost $10 million dollars in exports and imports as a result of the roadblocks and national strike.

Reports: 1 | 2 | 3 | UK Indymedia coverage | Photos on Freedomsojourn.com | Links on PGA site | Global Indymedia coverage | Links at Globalinfo.nl | 12/2004 CAFTA signing protest in SF | Past Indybay CAFTA coverage

SOA Watch received news this week from the Colombia Support Network of the murder of Luis Eduardo, one of the leaders of the San Jose de Apartado Peace Community in Uraba, Colombia. Luis died with seven other civilians, including three children, at the hands of the 11th Brigade of the Colombian Army.
Luis Eduardo was a founding member of the San Jose de Apartado Peace Community, a nonviolent community that has stood up to incredible paramilitary and military repression and to targeting by all armed actors in the region since its inception in 1997.
In November of 2002, Luis was a featured speaker at the Fort Benning Vigil to Close the SOA / WHINSEC.
Read More | Report from Peace Community | Indymedia Colombia | SOA Watch

Feb. 16th: This morning a 2,500-strong military police operation evicted the Sonho Real (Real Dream) land occupation in the city of Goiânia, Brazil. Two people were killed, over 800 arrested and many wounded, including five very seriously. Among the arrested were two Indymedia reporters, one from Goiânia and one from Indymedia New York.

The occupation started in May 2004 in an area which had been abandoned for years and quickly gathered 3,000 families. In January, Justice officials ordered the eviction of the families and since then police have terrified the families with death threats and sudden attacks. On Feb. 11, police showed up suddenly and shot gas and concussion bombs and fired rubber bullets at the people. One child was hit by a concussion bomb. On Feb. 15, in another attack, police shot bombs and fired guns; two people were hurt. After pressure from social movements and human rights groups, state of Goiás Governor Marconi Perillo committed to not sending the police to violently evict residents. The attack and death toll suggest that he did not stick to his promise. Brazil Indymedia

Feb. 12th: Dorothy Stang, American nun and eco-activist, was assassinated in the state of Para, Brazil. Reports: 1 | 2 | 3

1/30/2005 Porto Alegre, Brazil - Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela came to the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil today. Speaking at a press conference, before attending a 6 PM rally at the Gigantinho stadium, Chavez spoke about the increasing tension with Colombia. Rumors have been circulating throughout the forum that the United States was trying to provoke Colombia to attack Venezuela, and overthrow Chavez. After an incident between the two countries last week, Chavez said, “all of the nations in Latin America came together to get the two countries to work out their differences.” The United States was the only country in the world encouraging Colombia to take hostile action against Venezuela.

Chavez was adamant that capitalism will not solve the problems of hunger and poverty in the world. He said “we need to re-invent socialism. It won’t be the socialism that we saw in the Soviet Union, but it will emerge as we develop systems that are built on cooperation, not competition.” Venezuela now has 20,000 Cuban doctors in their country and is providing Cuba with oil. Venezuela has a lot of oil to sell and that is one of the reasons why the United States is so interested in the country.
Read More | Chavez Closes WSF with Call to Transcend Capitalism | More Indybay WSF Coverage

1/25/2005: Porto Alegre, Brazil - The Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST) has occupied and controls huge amounts of arable land in Brazil. Because of militant action, and in some cases ambiguous land ownership issues, the MST has given hope to the millions of Brazilians living in poverty and who are without land. Over the last 20 years these landless farm workers have taken over and now occupy more than 20,000 square miles of land - that is about the size as the entire Tulare, Fresno, Madera, Merced, and Stanislaus counties combined.

Vardoci Mostarda is typical of the landless farmworkers who are driven by poverty and desperate conditions to participate in land seizures with the MST. “I lost my job in the rice fields and was forced to move to a slum in a large city. There, I began to sell fruit from a cart, but there was no future in that.” Mostarda said he met a militant from the MST who told him about the movement and showed him that it was possible to have a better life and return to the land. He ended up at Camp Monte Pill, outside of Porto Alegre in Southern Brazil, about a year ago. The camp sits on the roadside next to 1,800 hectors of land (approximately 4,450 acres) which is now occupied by 110 families. Read More | mstbrazil.org