Once again history repeats itself as a tragedy. On one side, Vale SA, a major worldwide mining company, and on the other, the Brazilian people gathering bodies sunken in the mud of criminal enterprises. This January 25 will be marked by the breaking of three iron-ore tailings dams at the Córrego do Feijão Mine, part of the Paraopeba Complex. The dam of responsibility of the company Vale is…
The Continental Day for Democracy and against Neoliberalism expresses solidarity with the Venezuelan people and rejects the Coup strategies implemented in the South American country. We think that a negotiated and peaceful way out, crafted by the government and a democratic opposition force, can forge the paths of dialogue to overcome the political differences and obstacles that have turned into…
On January 10, the Honduran Public Prosecutor´s Office requested a life sentence for the murder of environmental defender Berta Cáceres against the 7 people accused of the crime, and 13 years in jail for the attempted murder of Gustavo Castro, member of Otros Mundos Chiapas – Friends of the Earth Mexico. “The sentence will be made known in the verdict,…
Stefan Borghardt is a German photojournalist who came to Neuquen to report about fracking in Argentina and particularly to photograph the development of the Vaca Muerta megaproject. On January 7th he was arrested by the police while he was taking photographs of the activities at the oil waste management plant Treater, in Añelo city, and the pollution caused by this…
The murder of Maritza Quiroz, leader of the Santa Marta Victims Roundtable, on January 6th, was the sixth political murder that took place in the first week of 2019. The crimes against Colombian territory defenders continue unabated and are a cause of concern for social organizations throughout the country that defend the Peace Agreements signed in 2016 between the Revolutionary…
In an abbreviated procedure, which lasted two weeks, on December 14 lonko Facundo Jones Huala, a Mapuche authority of the Pu Lof from Cushamen, was convicted by the Chilean justice system for the crimes of arson and illegal possession of a firearm. A week later, Judge Francisco Olate of the Public Oral Court of Valdivia announced the sentence to 9…
The Council of Wuxhtaj Peoples and the Council of the Mayan People (CPO), which are part of the Movement of People Affected by Dams in Latin America (MAR), denounced the murder on December 16th of the brothers Nery Esteban Pedro and Domingo Esteban Pedro, from the Bella Linda community, a microregion of Ixquisis (municipality of San Mateo Ixtatán, Huehuetenango, Guatemala).…
On December 8th, two peasant leaders of the Landless Rural Workers Movement of Brazil were shot to death by hooded man while they were having dinner at their campsite “Don José María Pires”, in Paraíba State. This clearly reflects a “hate speech” which has been specially targeting Brazilian popular organizations. The victims were Rodrigo Celestino and José Bernardo da Silva…
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity urged the governments on November 29th to conduct strict risk assessments and consult indigenous people and other local communities before releasing organisms into the environment with “exterminator technology” such as gene drives. The decision to consult the people about this dangerous genetic modification of organisms was celebrated by Friends of the Earth and the…
December 2nd marked 33 months of the murder of the Lenca people defender, Berta Cáceres, at her home in La Esperanza, Intibucá department (Honduras) and the attempted murder of environmental activist Gustavo Castro, member of Otros Mundos Chiapas – Friends of the Earth Mexico. The case went to trial after many irregularities in the investigation carried out by the Public…
