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SW Online's ongoing coverage and analysis
The struggle in Latin America







 

SUBJECTS BELOW:
Where is the struggle headed?
Argentina | Bolivia | Brazil
Chile | Columbia | Cuba
Dominican Republic | Ecuador
El Salvador | Mexico | Nicaragua
Peru | Puerto Rico

LATEST NEWS AND ANALYSIS

New chapter in a dirty war
The heat has gone out of Colombia's confrontation with Ecuador and Venezuela, but the U.S. remains determined to destabilize Hugo Chávez.

What they won't say about NAFTA
Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's criticisms of the North American Free Trade Agreement make it seem like the U.S. is the biggest loser.

After Fidel: Will Cuba change direction?
Samuel Farber talks to Socialist Worker about the political transition underway in Cuba as Fidel Castro steps down from the presidency.


WHERE IS THE STRUGGLE HEADED?

World Social Forum comes to a crossroads
More than 100,000 activists are expected to converge on Caracas in Venezuela January 24-29 for the fifth edition of the World Social Forum.

CAFTA trade deal sparks struggle across Central America
Resisting the bosses' free-trade agenda
A proposal to extend NAFTA southward has triggered mass opposition in Central America--and could even be in trouble in the U.S. Congress as well.

Social Forum of the Americas:
We demand justice across the Americas
Ecuador was a perfect site for the first Social Forum of the Americas. Everyday life sharply illustrates the forum's theme that it's urgent to fight for economic equality and social justice.

Report from the anti-FTAA protest
Defying the police state in Miami
"Welcome to the police state of Miami." That's Florida AFL-CIO President Cynthia Hall's greeting to thousands of union members arriving for a protest against the FTAA.

Preparing to protest in Miami
Why we oppose the FTAA
Thirty-four countries with 800 million people--all under Uncle Sam's thumb. That's the essence of the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas.

Latin America suffers the consequences of "neoliberalism"
Pushed to the edge by the IMF
U.S.-backed free-market policies have caused economic crisis to spread from one end of Latin America to the other.


ARGENTINA

The story of Argentina's reclaimed factories
With workers in charge
Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis' forward introduces a book that provides a history of the dozens of Argentinian workplaces where workers took control and restarted production.

How did the establishment regain control?
Four years after the Argentinazo
How did a ruling class in shambles--whose political parties were completely discredited--reestablish its position?

Where is the struggle headed in Argentina?
Activists across South America are debating how to respond to the new center-left governments that have taken office across much of the continent.

Pushed to the edge by the IMF
Argentina's President Eduardo Duhalde almost lost his job last week when every member of his cabinet resigned--a sign of renewed conflicts in the government that highlight the importance of protests slated for May Day.

James Petras: "You have to take action from below"
Latin America expert James Petras talks to SW about the dynamics of the rebellion that brought down a hated government in Argentina--and what the future holds.

Argentina's rich tradition of working-class struggle
One hundred years ago, Argentina was one of the wealthiest nations in the world, supplying huge quantities of meat and grain to Europe and the U.S. But Argentina is also rich in another way--in its tradition of working-class struggle.


BOLIVIA

Bolivia's deepening crisis
The last year has been a time of dramatically increased social polarization in Bolivia, setting the stage for decisive confrontations in 2008.

Conflicts between oligarchy and social movements
Is Bolivia headed for a showdown?
Increasing tensions threaten to shatter the balancing act that Evo Morales' year-old government has tried to maintain between the social movements and the oligarchy.

Two Cochabamba activists speak out:
"The right doesn't care if people die"

The new shape of the struggle
Bolivia under Evo Morales
Protests, violence and political polarization have re-emerged in Bolivia--this time challenging the reformist government of President Evo Morales.

Morales nationalizes oil and natural gas
Bolivia takes on the multinationals
Bolivia's President Evo Morales surprised urban and rural workers on May Day by decreeing the re-nationalization of the country's natural gas and oil reserves.

Impact of Evo Morales' landslide victory in presidential vote
The "new" Bolivia?
Evo Morales deserves the support of socialists for every blow he strikes against neoliberalism. And he deserves our criticism for every accommodation he makes to global capitalism.

How revolt from below toppled a president
Victory in Bolivia!
Protesters in Bolivia forced President Carlos Mesa to resign June 6 and stopped two other U.S.-backed free-market conservatives from assuming power.

Mass protests force president to resign
Is Bolivia on the edge of revolution?
Tom Lewis explains the background to the mass demonstrations that forced Bolivian President Carlos Mesa to resign--and weighs the prospects for revolution in Bolivia.

Will the movement that toppled a president go further?
What next for Bolivia's rebellion?
The mass rebellion in Bolivia that drove out the despised President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada represents a breakthrough for the workers' movement in Latin America.

Protests topple a president
Rebellion in Bolivia
Bolivian President Gonzalo Sánchez de Losada fled La Paz as hundreds of thousands of Bolivians overran the capital city demanding his resignation and prosecution.

The struggle against Washington's anti-coca program rallies resistance
Mass protests paralyze Bolivia
Roadblocks and mass protests against the government of President Gonzalo Sánchez de Losada paralyzed Bolivia in the second half of January.


BRAZIL

Lula: From rebel to bankers' friend
A Brazilian socialist talks about the nature of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government and the effort to build a socialist alternative in Brazil.

Lula's reelection plans shaken by...
Challenge from the left in Brazil
A challenge from the left has shaken up Brazil's presidential election, which the incumbent, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, was expected to easily win.

Lula turns on his party's left wingers
The stage is set for a showdown between Brazilian President Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva and left-wing members of his own Workers Party.

Lula forced into runoff election despite massive support
What's next in Brazil?
Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva triumphed in the first round of Brazil's presidential election, but fell just short of the 50 percent needed to win outright.


CHILE

Thousands murdered under Pinochet's reign of terror
Death of a dictator
Thousands came out on the streets across Chile to celebrate the death of the former dictator Augusto Pinochet, and people around the world rejoiced at the news.

The revolt of the penguins in Chile
Chile has been overrun by high school students whose mass protests have forced the government to drop planned cuts in education spending.

U.S. plan for regime change in Chile
A newly released 34-year-old memo by Henry Kissinger documents the U.S. government's policy of pre-emptive "regime change" in Chile--30 years before George W. Bush sought the same thing in Iraq.

Thirty years after the coup that toppled a left-wing government
Chile's tragedy
Thirty years ago, Gen. Augusto Pinochet--backed to the hilt by the U.S.--led a military coup to overthrow Chile's democratically elected left-wing government.


COLUMBIA

Colombia's Uribe on the warpath
With regional tensions escalating after the assassination of a rebel leader, protesters plan to honor victims of Colombian state and paramilitary violence.

Campesino groups attacked
Terrorized by the Colombian army
Rural workers in northeastern Antioquia in Colombia are finding themselves victims of Colombian military units that function simultaneously as paramilitaries.

Leading human rights activist among the victims
Murdered by the Colombian military
Colombia's military has carried out another massacre against civilians--and among the victims is a human rights activist well known to opponents of war in the U.S.

Colombia's killers get green light
Colombia's new president Álvaro Uribe can now use dozens of attack helicopters and other supplies provided by the U.S. in operations against left-wing rebels fighting a decades-old civil war.

Why the Bush gang wants an offensive against the rebels
U.S. pushes for war in Colombia
George W. Bush's "war on terrorism" is pushing Colombia to the brink of a bloodbath.


CUBA

Right-wingers plot regime change in Cuba
The hysteria about Castro
The right wing's obsession with Cuban leader Fidel Castro reached new heights at the end of July when the ailing president announced he was temporarily ceding power.

The terrorist George Bush wants to protect
George Bush says that any country that "harbors" terrorists is a "hostile regime." Unless, that is, the "regime" in question is the U.S. government.

Bipartisan "regime change" in Cuba
Just as American politicians can never seem to be pro-Israel enough, they can't seem to be anti-Castro enough.

What's behind Cuba's crackdown?
An intense controversy has developed over what attitude the left should take to Cuba's recent crackdown on dissidents and the execution of three hijackers.


DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Wide support for strike in Dominican Republic
The class struggle in the Dominican Republic is intensifying after a series of recent strikes and protests that were followed by the start of a ruling class attack.

Dominican Republic hit by general strike
A 24-hour general strike in the Dominican Republic partially halted public transportation and commerce in a protest against the neoliberal policies of President Leonel Fernández.

Crisis in Dominican Republic deepens
Another free-market miracle in Latin America has unraveled into economic collapse, mass protest and repression--this time in the Dominican Republic.

HAITI


Regime change by another name
They lied to go to war in Iraq--and now they're lying to cover up their coup in Haiti. But it's clear that Jean-Bertrand Artistide was removed in a Washington-sponsored "regime change."

Author Robert Fatton on the background to the crisis
"A war waged on the Aristide regime"


ECUADOR

Protests drive out Ecuador's president
The crisis caused by the neoliberal agenda in Ecuador spurred three weeks of struggle, culminating in a mass mobilization that brought down the country's president.

Eyewitness report from Ecuador
Stop Washington's free-trade rip-off
Between 10,000 and 15,000 demonstrators marched against the Free Trade Area of the Americas in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito.


EL SALVADOR

El Salvador's new wave of repression
Fifteen years after a peace agreement was signed in El Salvador, the government has launched a new wave of repression against social movements.


MEXICO

A striking teacher from Oaxaca describes...
"Our fight for social and economic justice"
A representative of striking Oaxaca teachers describes the backdrop to the struggle and what the future holds.

Federal police sent to crush five-month occupation
Deadly crackdown on Oaxaca protest
The killing of three protesters and a journalist in Oaxaca City was followed in a matter of days by an invasion of the city by Mexico's federal police.

Disputed election sets the stage for struggle
Mexico "perched on a powder keg"
Speaking to half a million of his supporters in Mexico City's main square, Andrés Manuel López Obrador called for a recount of ballots cast in the July 2 presidential election.

Police attack in Oaxaca sparks mass protest
Mexico teachers resist crackdown
Tens of thousands of public school teachers and their supporters clashed repeatedly with riot police in the Mexican state of Oaxaca in a battle over the future of education.

Zapatistas spark a debate in Mexico
The Zapatistas have launched their "other campaign," opening up a debate inside the Mexican left about what position to take on the 2006 presidential elections.

The Zapatista uprising: Ten years later
Ten years ago, more than 2,000 guerrillas seized four towns in the state of Chiapas in Mexico, the beginning of an uprising that would become celebrated around the world.


NICARAGUA

Sandinista leader poised for victory
Nicaraguan voters defy U.S. threats
Despite a relentless campaign by the Bush administration to derail his election, Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega is poised to win Nicaragua's presidential election,


PERU

Defying a crackdown
Mass strike brings Peru to standstill
Thousands of Peruvians defied a state of emergency to take to the streets in strikes and protests that have spread like wildfire across the country.


PUERTO RICO

A "people's strike" by Puerto Rico teachers
The Teachers Federation of Puerto Rico went on strike after the government of Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá cancelled their previous contract.

Puerto Rico's crisis sets stage for confrontation
The government of Puerto Rico declared itself bankrupt and laid off 95,000 public employees for two weeks, sparking marches and protests by organized labor, students and others.

The U.S. government's last colony
Repression and resistance in Puerto Rico
Ever since the U.S. seized Puerto Rico in 1898, Washington's colonial rule has showcased the intersection between exploitation, imperialism and racism.

Leader of Puerto Rico's nationalists gunned down
Murdered by the FBI
FBI sharpshooters killed a leader of the Puerto Rican independence movement September 23 in an operation that bears all the hallmarks of a political assassination.

Protesters from Vieques get harsh sentences
Sent to jail for protesting
The Vieques 12--a group of anti-Navy activists accused of destroying U.S. government property at the former military base on Vieques--were convicted and received harsh prison sentences.

After decades of struggle...
Navy pushed out of Vieques
The people of Vieques have won an important victory over the U.S. Navy. After six decades of struggle, the Navy was forced to abandon its base on the Puerto Rican island.

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