Month: December 2020

https://time.com/5895167/brazil-fires-ricardo-salles-environment/

This article was written in October 2020. In short, it is about Brazilian environment minister Ricardo Salles announcing an end to two legal protections for mangroves and coastal restinga forests, arguing the protections were “excessively restrictive” and “stifled economic development.” This article also goes into detail about how this is not Salles’ first time attempting to remove protections in place for the environment, and it is all due to the fact that he does not work to protect the environment but instead works for companies. His job is to reduce protection for the environment so that corporations can use Amazon’s natural resources without having to do it sustainably and without any legal repercussions. In the second part of the article, it explains that Salles is also in a way holding the amazon ransom. Telling nations of the world that if they want Brazil to take care of the amazon rainforest that they should plant one in their own country or send the money for more trees to be planted in Brazil.  The only things keeping Salles in check are the judiciary system which has blocked many of his proposals, and the international pressure, the government of the world such as the European Union do not want to conduct business with Brazil if it will cause more environmental impact and so Brazil has to take steps to reduce environmental impact in order to continue trade.

I believe that in this regard it would be important to take notes from a very influential environmental activist in Brazilian history, primarily Chico Mendes. While Salles is trying to abuse the amazon rainforest by handing it over to corporations perhaps there are ways to use the amazon rainforest sustainably that will still facilitate economic growth. Chico Mendes believed in the idea of extractive resources, in which those working in the rain first would be allowed to continue but the government would, in turn, promote and market other natural resources in the rainforest that was not being heavily consumed in order to industrialise that product and allow it to be more accessible. I believe that I the current environmental agency of Brazil took this steps and started to market and sustainably used new natural resources in the Amazon rainforest, then there would not be a need to deforest it in the name of economic growth because it would be providing it without having to be destroyed. They would be using the amazon rainforest as an avenue for economic growth instead of trying to remove it. If done sustainably this could lead to increased awareness of the abundant resources the rainforest offers. It would also lead to better relations with foreign nations who are worried about the deforestation of the amazon.

 

Nugent, Ciara. “Brazil Is on Fire. But Ricardo Salles Is Cutting Protections.” Time. Time, October 1, 2020. https://time.com/5895167/brazil-fires-ricardo-salles-environment/. 

*Chico Mendes, Fight for the Forest: Chico Mendes in His Own Words, rev. ed. (London: Latin American Bureau, 1992), 46–47, 64–65, 68–69, 72–74, 79. Reprinted with permission from Practical Action Publishing.

Wood, James A., and Alexander, Anna Rose, eds. Problems in Modern Latin American History : Sources and Interpretations. Blue Ridge Summit: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019. Accessed December 9, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central.

 

Throughout Latin America, all people agree with an argument difficult to contradict; Venezuela is a clear example of the chaos and misery created by “21st-century socialism.” As time goes by and each time news is heard from Venezuela, the uncertainty of the Venezuelan people is confirmed by living in a country where there is no democracy and corruption abounds. This is the case of the last elections in Venezuela, last Sunday, December 7, where citizens voted to choose the new assembly. Nicolas Maduro, the Chavista leader who has governed Venezuela since 2013, claimed victory for his party, thus prolonging his absolute power in government. For the vast majority of the population, these elections once again represent fraud on a larger scale and an act riddled with irregularities. In a country where authoritarianism and oppression have reigned for several years, it is not difficult to understand how the current government manipulates the election results and intimidates a people through blackmail. This was once again the case that occurred this Sunday.

The state of apathy of the Venezuelans for these past elections was a sentiment shared by many when they did not trust the legitimacy of the elections and opted instead not to go out to exercise the right to vote. Maduro’s threatening words were forceful when declaring that “those who don’t vote, won’t eat.” The shortages of food, essential products, and medicines have caused these intimidations by the Chavista government to create fear in the society of suffering reprisals for not favoring Maduro’s party. Furthermore, the lack of support from countries such as the United States, Europe, and several Latin American countries in the fight to overthrow Maduro has left Venezuelans hopeless, in search of justice in a country corrupted by an arbitrary dictatorship.

In 1998 Hugo Chavez would become the constitutional president of Venezuela, promising great changes in the economy and social justice. The alliance that he forged with Fidel Castro at the beginning of his presidency would make the country little by little cut off relations with the United States, one of its main commercial allies. Chavez, considering Castro as his political mentor, acquired a socialist model and began his fight against imperialism. I implement authoritarian measures and limit freedom of expression. The struggle against capitalism made Chavez join other Latin American presidents such as Lula da Silva, Evo Morales, Rafael Correa, Cristina Kirshner among others to create what they would call “21st-century socialism”, based on the vision of Simon Bolivar to create a Latin America without borders.

 

The results of the last elections reflect the years of a corrupt system where Chavismo continues to perpetuate itself in power since 1998. The example of Venezuela allows Latin American countries to know their history and learn from the mistakes that led to misery.

 

WORK CITED

 

Source: New York Times

 

 

Title: In Mexico, Women Go on Strike Nationwide to Protest Violence by Paulina Villegas, March 9, 2020

 

 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/09/world/americas/mexico-women-strike-protest.html

 

 

 

In February and March of 2020, Mexico witnessed massive demonstrations and a nationwide strikes demanding government attention toward gender-based violence and women’s rights. After years of human abductions, disappearances, sexual assaults, and violence in Mexico, many perpetrators have reaped the rewards of getting away with these horrific crimes. It is also important to point out that most of these victims are women. “As violence in the country escalates, the number of femicides, or the killing of women and girls killed because of their gender, has also increased” and, in 2019, “Mexican authorities registered 1,006 such killings, a 10 percent jump over the year before” (Villegas).

 

Time and again, the Mexican president’s has been accused of indifference. While he still pays lip service to women’s rights, his response to these issues leaves women’s rights groups without much support. “The unprecedented collective action also tested the leadership of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. As smaller protests shook Mexico City in the preceding month, he appeared unable to recognize the magnitude of the mounting frustration, blaming the killings of women on past neoliberal policies.” However, It’s not just caused by the epidemic; violence in Mexico has been on the rise in all categories due to the economic downturn and regional instability in recent years. “Larger efforts in Latin America to organize women around reproductive rights, equal pay, or the treatment of women in the home or workplace have revealed the class, religious, and cultural cleavages that characterize women s movements the world over” (Dawson 331). During an economic downturn or decline, the working class and poor employment range is limited, especially for women and particularly for mothers.

 

On the other hand, the reasons for the government’s disregard of these issues are far-fetched. For instance: “In the free for all that was the border zone, where hundreds of thousands of migrants passed through every year, and only a few stayed, few people of influence had any interest in pressuring the state over the disappearances of a few poor women. Already under pressure because of growing crime and tightened budgets, Mexican officials first ignored the crimes because of the ethnicity, class, and reputed professions of some victims (some may have been sex workers), and then botched the investigations by torturing suspects until they confessed” (Dawson 332). However, the government treats crime as a political element of opposition and employment for a minority of poor women. But the government’s neglect has brought many difficulties and challenges to working-class women in Mexican society; for example, age discrimination, gender discrimination, and even crime.

 

In conclusion, the working class and low employment range is limited during an economic downturn or decline, especially for female citizens. Government neglect has led to social discrimination and an increase in crime, which has created many issues for working-class women in society. Although the Mexican government has introduced relevant laws, the government’s words and deeds still need to be improved and pay more attention to social problems affecting these groups.

 

Citation:

Villegas, P., Mcdonald, B., & Tovar, M. (2020, March 09). In Mexico, Women Go on Strike Nationwide to Protest Violence. Retrieved December 09, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/09/world/americas/mexico-women-strike-protest.html

Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence: A History with Primary Sources. 2nd ed. Taylor & Francis, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central.

With the looming issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic, governments across the globe have gone through major changes, for better or for worse, as a response to the crisis. This article highlights Latin America’s unique and monumental reaction to the pandemic, the decline of democracy. Latin American democracy has gone through its fair share of changes and failures since it first became prevalent as a result of the Cold War. Latin American democracy, with its very shaky and humble beginnings, had survived through the neoliberal era as well as the rise and fall of the pink tide, albeit barely. However, even to this day, calling democracy in Latin America unestablished or weak would be an extreme understatement, at least compared to some other more established democracy. To make matters worse, it seems that this COVID-19 pandemic has provided the necessary conditions for the ultimate decline of democracy in Latin America. The recent pandemic has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands as well as debilitating the lives of millions of Latin Americans. Taking advantage of the desperate situation and the massive unrest among the people, government officials have, in many regards, turned to authoritarian-like conduct, reminiscent of the dictators of the Cold War and even the Caudillos of the early 20th century. Although it is highly unlikely that Latin America will again begin to foster authoritarian leaders such as the likes of Fidel Castro, Augusto Pinochet, and even Juan Peron, the actions by Latin American government officials in lieu of the COVID-19 pandemic show eerie similarities. While there are surely no indications of lifetime dictatorships or mass murder, evident in Latin America’s recent history, government officials have extended their office terms, weakened certain government actions, and censored critics, as a “necessary response” to the pandemic. Although Latin America may not completely regress into the remnants of the early 20th century and the Cold War era, it seems evident that democracy in Latin America, after having failed numerous times, is declining to its potential downfall.

 

Citations:

Dawson, A. S. (2015). Latin America since independence: A history with primary sources. New York: Routledge.

Wood, J. A., & Alexander, A. R. (2019). Problems in modern Latin American history: Sources and interpretations. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

The reason why I chose this simple article was one of the previous assignments related to Benito Alvarez, one of the presidents of Mexico and his devotion to the press and free speech.

It appears as if though corruption still lingers and follows Mexico and its government to this day. It is no secret that the whole world is suffering from what is now massively known as COVID 19, a virus that has affected the whole world. Yet, Mexico’s officials continue with their allegations that Mexico is far from in danger.

It states that Mexico’s director of epidemiology, Jose Luis Alomia Zegarra announced that “there have been 100 to 104 confirmed COVID deaths in Mexico since February.”  The article also implies that Mexico ranked sixth close to the United States and Italy regarding COVID-19 cases. This article shows also the power of the American media and how they have always been accused of twisting the facts when it comes to comparing the U.S with other countries (specifically vast majority of Latin America). The difference between Mexico and the U.S was triple in numbers (Mexico around 100,000 to date and the U.S around 300,000).

Regardless, what was more concerning than this, was the response of Mexico’s president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who not only downplayed the pandemic in general but also told the press that “his personal protective shield against the virus consisted of amulets and prayer,” and then continued to criticize the way media was covering the pandemic. Obrador also accused them of trying to spark “political confrontation”.  This takes me back not only to Mexico in the 1857 and the whole Benito Juarez era, but also to many Latin America countries such as Peru and Brazil which have historically suffered from the corruption of politics and their mass manipulation through the media.

 

WORK CITED

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/11/20/936958271/mexico-surpasses-100-000-covid-19-deaths

The continuing movement expanding indigenous and environmental rights in Latin America was highlighted with the awarding of the Goldman Environmental prize to Nemonte Nenquimo, a leader of the Waorani people in Ecuador. Ms. Nenquimo is the President of the Waorani of Pastaza region and a co-founder of the Ceibo Alliance, which works to protest the rights of indigenous people. She organized a successful lawsuit stopping the proposal to drill oil by the Ecuadorean government in the Waorani region. As a result of the successful legal action, 500,000 acres of land are now protected, and the local population must be consulted before any other projects in the region are considered.

The Waorani people had lived in isolation in Ecuador’s portion of the Amazon forest until Christian missionaries made contact in the late 1950s. Since that time, the Waorani have seen their territory shrink dramatically. The governments’ announcement to offer oil drilling leases in their remaining territory galvanized Ms. Nenquimo to organize the community and challenge the leases in the courts. The court ruled in the Waorani’s favor in 2019. She was recently named to Time Magazine‘s 100 most influential people in the world.

“The Waorani people have always been protectors, they have defended their territory and their culture for thousands of years,” Ms. Nenquimo told the BBC.

Environmental protections in Ecuador have been strengthening during the past few decades. In 2008 the government expanded the constitution to grant permanent legal rights to the environment. The constitutional changes stressed the importance of indigenous culture and populations in preserving and strengthening the environment and Ecuador. Ecuador was the first nation to grant such rights to environment. The recent ruling by the Ecuadorian court directed the National Assembly to pass a bill to guarantee the enforcement of the courts’ ruling. The ruling demonstrates tangible results from the Ecuadorian constitutional reforms.

The Goldman Environmental Prize was created in 1990 to honor and promote grassroots environmental action across the world. It often highlights individuals who have risked their lives in organizing their communities and nations to protect the environment. Five total winners are selected each year, one each from Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, and North America. Previous winners include Berta Caceres from Honduras who was assassinated one year after receiving the award for her work in protesting the building of the Agua Zarca dam.

Though the Goldman Environmental Prize is based in San Francisco, the awarding of the prize to Ms. Nenquimo received little attention by most of the US media. Her selection, along with the other recipients, did receive significant coverage in Europe and in Latin America. She is the fourth Ecuadorian to receive the prize.

“About the Prize.” The Goldman Environmental Prize. Accessed December 9, 2020. https://www.goldmanprize.org/about/.

“Nemonte Nenquimo: The indigenous leader named ‘environmental hero’.” BBC. November 30, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-55122550.

Earlier in 2020, NBC news reported on an alarmingly high number of environmental activists killed in Colombia – more than 40 in roughly two months. In the article, three particular activists detail their experience advocating for the driving out of mining and logging operations in predominantly indigenous lands. While reading the Problems in Modern Latin American History entry on Chico Medez’s struggle and assassination in 1980’s Brazil, I saw parallels to that and this current news story. Both era’s activists faced constant threats to their lives, flimsy governmental support, and aggressive opposition by those ransacking their land for resource profit. The threat of violence is not lost on the modern activists, with Nidia Becerra, claiming to wear a bulletproof vest when in public, and having to change residences regularly. Another activist, Clemencia Carabali was fired upon and had a grenade thrown at her while meeting with other Afro-Colombian leaders, followed by threatening text messages saying “what happened on Saturday was only the beginning of the extermination of it all”. Jackeline Romero, who protested the Cerrejon coal mine, received death threats, rape threats, and threats to her family for demanding the mine’s closure and reparations for the damage done to her indigenous lands.

Similarly to Chico Medez’s Consejo National de Seringueiros, the activists in Colombia’s Land is Life organization also serve to combat the encroachment of big interests and the violence caused by organizations like the FARC, both equally hungry for the resource rich territories. In Mendez’s situation, he claimed that the police and judicial system were biased against them, and in the Colombia situation, the supposed governmental support offered is not held in high regard. In the article, the author states, “Activists and researchers who spoke to NBC News said they do not have faith in the government’s efforts to stop the violence”. Becerra specifically, filed a complaint on the death threats to which she says no progress has been made. This indicates either a poorly equipped governmental environment agency, or a disinterest in resolving the situation at all. 

The activists in Colombia adhere to the same rhetoric as Mendez in the 80’s in that they follow nonviolent means to achieve national and international recognition. Where Medez said, “We feel our resistance can produce results through pressure by the press and lobbying organizations, at both a national and an international level.”, the Colombian activists reach out to multinational news agencies like NBC to have their situation heard. While the Brazilian communities were organizing women at the fronts of their empates to bring safety and security to their movements, the women of the modern Colombian movements stand at the forefront of international view, taking on the burden of death threats and violence. 

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/colombia-was-deadliest-place-earth-environmental-activists-it-s-gotten-n1139861

Wood, James A., and Anna Rose Alexander. Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations. 5th ed. Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central.

The article I picked is entitled “Cuba attracts $1.9 billion in foreign investment despite U.S. sanctions”. The article provides details of how Cuba increased its foreign investment compared to last year despite ongoing sanctions from the United States and the Trump Administration. Cuba was able to attract 34 new foreign investments this year despite the “economic war” it’s going through with America sanctioning oil shipments and cash remittances to the island. I find it remarkable that Cuba was able to increase foreign investment to its island while dealing with American sanctions as well as a global pandemic.

Latin American and Caribbean nations history of dependency and exploitation at the hands of more developed nations is a reason why this article caught my attention. The history of many Latin American regions has been one of dependency on foreign investment to develop their countries. Cuba requires a Cuban stakeholder in order for any foreign investor to be involved in any projects “regarding extraction of natural resources”. This helps to ensure that the islands natural resources will not be exploited by foreign investors. Although this still exhibits “how the legacies of colonialism and dependent capitalism remain persistent in shaping the region” (Problems, 315). This remains true for many Latin American and Caribbean nations, they are forced to rely on foreign investment in many ways such as exporting, extraction of natural resources, migrant workers, and tourism dollars. Although, with all of the strains on the Cuban economy I’m amazed at their ability to move forward.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/cuba-attracts-1-9-billion-foreign-investment-despite-u-s-n1250546

• Wood, James A., and Anna Rose Alexander. Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations. 5th ed. Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central.