Latin America – Global Voices https://globalvoices.org Citizen media stories from around the world Thu, 12 Dec 2024 15:28:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 Citizen media stories from around the world Latin America – Global Voices false Latin America – Global Voices webmaster@globalvoices.org Creative Commons Attribution, see our Attribution Policy for details. Creative Commons Attribution, see our Attribution Policy for details. podcast Citizen media stories from around the world Latin America – Global Voices https://globalvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/gv-podcast-logo-2022-icon-square-2400-GREEN.png https://globalvoices.org/-/world/latin-america/ ‘I'm Still Here': The Brazilian story of forced disappearances by the military dictatorship https://globalvoices.org/2024/12/12/im-still-here-the-brazilian-story-of-forced-disappearances-by-the-military-dictatorship/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/12/12/im-still-here-the-brazilian-story-of-forced-disappearances-by-the-military-dictatorship/#respond Thu, 12 Dec 2024 04:30:31 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=824149 How to carry on when a loved one is taken one day and disappears forever?

Originally published on Global Voices

Poster of ‘I'm Still Here’. Image by Alile Dara Onawale/Videofilmes.

If you've seen anything about ”I'm Still Here” (“Ainda Estou Aqui”), the Brazilian film about a forced disappearance during the military dictatorship (1964–1985), you would have come across the photo above.

A screenshot from the film and the image of its official poster shows Rubens Paiva with two of his five children and his wife, Maria Eunice, on a beach in Rio de Janeiro. While Paiva and the children smile, facing the camera, Eunice looks in a different direction and frowns. Army trucks are passing by the street nearby, and their lives are about to be forever changed.

Paiva is one of the 434 dead and disappeared people in Brazil, according to the National Truth Commission. In January 1971, security forces took Paiva from his home to be interrogated by the police and drove him in his own car. He never came back, and his body was never found.

The film, directed by Walter Salles, is based on a book with the same title written by Rubens Paiva's son, Marcelo Rubens Paiva, and recounts his family's everyday life in the 1970s and how they faced the days following his father's absence, setting a special focus on his mother, Eunice. His parents are played by actors Selton Mello and Fernanda Torres.

It tells a story of the present past, in the same year as the 60th anniversary of the coup d'état that started the dictatorship, and while national headlines report about a military plot to attempt a new coup that would impede Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva‘s inauguration after the 2022 elections.

The movie passed 2 million viewers in Brazil alone, more than the national audience for blockbusters such as Wicked, and is Brazil's submission for the Oscars.

A true story

Rubens Paiva's abduction is an emblematic case from one of the harshest eras for human rights violations in Brazil. According to his son, Marcelo, the National Truth Commission (CNV) installed during the government of Dilma Rousseff — herself a former political prisoner and guerrilla fighter — gave him important elements for his book.

About two years prior to Paiva's forced disappearance, the regime issued the act that would toughen the repression in December 1968: the Institutional Act Number Five, AI-5. The suspension of civil rights was expanded, and ”it enabled institutionalization of arbitrary detention, torture, and extrajudicial killing by the regime,” as summarized on Wikipedia.

When the coup d'état overthrew João Goulart's government, Paiva was one of the Congressmen who had their mandates revoked. An engineer and father of five children, he had been elected by the state of São Paulo two years before with Goulart's party. On April 1, 1964, with the coup underway, he spoke at the National Radio, defending the president and calling São Paulo's government ”fascist” for supporting the coup.

Paiva went to exile but returned to Brazil a while later and carried on with his life alongside his family.

On January 20, 1971, at 41 years old, he was taken from his home, in front of his wife and children, to be interrogated — never to return. Eunice and their 15-year-old daughter were also taken right after, but they didn't see him at the army facility where they were held. ”I'm Still Here” focuses on how his wife coped with this moment and his brutal and sudden disappearance, without telling much about his fate, in the same way Eunice couldn't get any answers for decades about what happened to her husband.

Past uncovered 

More details were revealed years later through hearings at the Truth Commissions, which began in 2012. São Paulo's state commission was even named after Paiva.

In 1986, Cecilia de Barros Viveiros de Castro, a woman who was detained at the Galeão Airport after visiting her son in Chile, told the police she recognized Paiva in a car when she was being taken to be interrogated. Letters from people exiled there were found with her and another woman, one of them addressed to Paiva.

Six months after Paiva was taken, in June 1971, the military regime issued a document that was read by a Congressman at the National Congress, claiming they were driving Paiva to a location to identify the house of the person responsible for bringing the letters, but the car was intercepted, a shooting took place, and he fled with a group.

As the National Truth Commission's report stresses, this version of the story and the denial of knowing his whereabouts were repeated by the military over the years despite contradictions.

Official records and testimonies given to the Truth Commissions made it collapse. Coronel Ronald Leão told CNV that Paiva arrived at the 1st Army DOI (Department of Information), and he was then interrogated and tortured. An eyewitness said the commander responsible for the place was made aware Paiva wouldn't survive the torture sessions.

Former Colonel Paulo Malhães, also in a deposition to the CNV, said those who died at the hands of the repression were usually not buried to avoid leaving any trace. He went on to describe their methods to hide the corpses: they would erase the features of victims, remove teeth and fingerprints, and cut their stomachs to avoid gas so the bodies wouldn't float on the water after being thrown at rivers or the sea.

About Paiva, Malhães said he did receive the mission to hide the body but couldn't conclude it because of other tasks. After Malhães’ assassination in 2014, his widow came clean, saying he told her Paiva was thrown into a river.

The same year, 43 years after Paiva's abduction, five military officers were accused by the Federal Public Prosecution of killing and concealing his corpse. The case stalled at the Supreme Court, with three of the accused men dying since then without ever being judged.

Past present

At the same time that Rubens Paiva's story fills movie theaters with Brazilians learning more about the state terrorism that shattered lives and families, news about another coup attempt, also involving military officers, made the past even more present.

On November 21, the Federal Police indicted former president Jair Bolsonaro and 36 other people for attempting a coup that would have ruptured the rule of law to keep him in power after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's election win in 2022. Among the accused, 25 are military or former military, including Bolsonaro himself.

According to the investigation's 884-page report that was released to the public, the former president led the criminal organization that plotted the coup d'état. The document says, as reported by AP:

The evidence collected throughout the investigation shows unequivocally that then-President Jair Messias Bolsonaro planned, acted and was directly and effectively aware of the actions of the criminal organization aiming to launch a coup d’etat and eliminate the democratic rule of law, which did not take place due to reasons unrelated to his desire.

The case will continue its legal process with the federal prosecution.

In 2014, a statue honoring Paiva's memory was placed at the National Congress. Bolsonaro, a congressman at the time who grew up in the same region where the Paiva family had a farm, showed up at the ceremony and spat on it in front of Paiva's family members.

In an interview while promoting the film, director Walter Salles said:

You know, when we started this, we thought that we were making a film to somehow reflect a bit of our past that hadn't been captured by the camera. And then we realized that it is also about our present, and may be also about our future.

Written by Fernanda Canofre

]]> 0 Why is Latin America's birth rate declining? https://globalvoices.org/2024/12/11/why-is-latin-americas-birth-rate-declining/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/12/11/why-is-latin-americas-birth-rate-declining/#respond Wed, 11 Dec 2024 12:16:23 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=825033 Not having children: A private decision with social consequences

Originally published on Global Voices

Illustration from CONNECTAS, used with permission.

This article by Bolivian journalist Fabiola Chambi was originally published in CONNECTAS. A translated and edited version is published on Global Voices under a media partnership agreement.

Paula Landeros, a Chilean, comes from a large family. Her mother has four siblings, and her father has six. There was always a lot of noise in her home, but she is aware that this will change in the future, as she decided not to have children: “It was never an option in my life,” she says with conviction at the age of 42. She doesn't remember playing with dolls, but she did hear frequently, in her Catholic school, that women were destined to procreate. So, she wondered how life would be when she grow up if she didn't want to be a mother.

Paula's decision seems like a global trend that was unthinkable just decades ago when the negative effects of overpopulation were all over the news. English economist and clergyman Thomas Malthus published “Essay on the Principle of Population” in 1798, which became were very popular. The Malthusian theory held that natural resources would decrease while the population would continue to increase wantonly, which would cause poverty, conflicts, and, consequently, the extinction of the human race by 1880.

Today's data raises other questions. According to the World Bank, the current fertility rate at a global level is 2.2 children per woman, and in the 1960s it was 5.3. These figures are better understood if we consider that the generally accepted replacement rate is 2.1 (the number of children to maintain a stable population over time). Nowadays, many women are having fewer babies or simply no babies at all. The large families of yesteryear have been reduced, and even so-called “single-person households” are becoming popular.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Cuba have the lowest fertility rates in Latin America, with an average of 1.5 children per woman. Brazil and Colombia follow with 1.6 and 1.7, respectively. It is estimated that two-thirds of the population reside in regions where fertility does not reach the replacement rate and an increasing number of countries are experiencing a declining birth rate.

This is a complex phenomenon. Martina Yopo Díaz, a PhD in sociology from the University of Cambridge and researcher at the Catholic University of Chile, explains that this transformation has to do with a “greater prevalence and legitimacy in the use of contraceptives and reproductive autonomy. These changes allow, in some way, that women today can have greater decision-making power about being mothers and when to have children.”

All women have the right to comprehensive, quality sexual and reproductive health care that is free from prejudices and culturally relevant.

🟠 Learn more: https://t.co/YFh2ypDEXR

Let's break down the barriers that deny girls, adolescents, and women from exercising their rights. pic.twitter.com/UnLHhdrK2h

UNFPA Peru (@UNFPAPeru) October 24, 2024

Yopo Díaz also says that the progressive incorporation of women into the labor market and into higher education is one of the main causes.

Están participando de manera mucho más activa en esas dos esferas de la sociedad y eso hace que muchas veces posterguen la maternidad o decidan tener menos hijos a lo largo de su ciclo de vida. Y a este descenso se suma una falta de condiciones sociales.

They are participating much more actively in those two spheres of society, and this often leads them to postpone motherhood or decide to have fewer children during their life cycle. And this decline is compounded by a lack of social support.

This is the case of Vanessa Sanjinés, a successful consultant who works in strategic communication. She has been married for 10 years, has no children and no plans to have them. She says that she made the decision as a couple, but she has had a lot of pressure.

Decidí no ser mamá a pesar de que la gente siempre me dice que voy a cambiar de opinión, que soy joven todavía, que mi cuerpo lo va a pedir en algún momento. Yo estoy segura porque estoy más enfocada en mi carrera profesional y en cumplir mis sueños y eso no va a cambiar. Pero sí creo que la sociedad debería cambiar en sus cuestionamientos.

I decided not to be a mom even though people always tell me that I will change my mind, that I am still young, and that my body will ask for it at some point. I am confident [in my decision] because I am more focused on my professional career and on fulfilling my dreams, and that is not going to change. But I do believe that society should change in its questioning.

The new social and economic dynamics

A 2024 report from Chile's National Statistics Institute (INE) reports a 20 percent drop in the birth rate compared to the same period of the previous year. The figures worry some experts in Chile who are analyzing how to reverse the phenomenon, and that has to go beyond the application of public policies.

In fact, the 2023 UNFPA State of Population Report refers to this “demographic anxiety” and indicates that government initiatives that seek to increase fertility rates “almost never have an effect and can violate women's rights.”

Yopo Díaz explains:

Chile es el caso más extremo, pero al final la fecundidad está disminuyendo en todos los países latinoamericanos; entonces nos pone un desafío como sociedad. Quiere decir que nuestro sistema no puede seguir funcionando como hasta ahora. Pero promover la natalidad nunca puede ir sobre el respeto a la autonomía reproductiva y a los derechos humanos (…) Las políticas públicas tienen que ir orientadas a generar las condiciones sociales para que quienes quieran tener hijos puedan hacerlo.

Chile is the most extreme case, but in the end, fertility is decreasing in all Latin American countries; therefore, it challenges us as a society. It means that our system cannot continue to function as it has until now. But promoting the birth rate can never infringe upon respecting reproductive autonomy and human rights (…) Public policies must be oriented towards generating the social conditions for those who want to have children to be able to do so.

The Chilean researcher considers that, according to international evidence, some concrete policies could be implemented, such as free early childhood nurseries, available to both fathers and mothers. Some countries in Asia and Europe provide indirect economic incentives, for example, lower taxes or higher wages, to effectively improve access to basic services, health, education, and housing. These initiatives have been effective in many contexts.

Why Chile has a low birth rate and how it compares with the rest of Latin America https://t.co/a9TRUqIlnB

- BioBioChile (@biobiobio) October 26, 2024

Other contexts are truly challenging, such as in South Korea, where the birth rate is a national priority. In 2023, South Korea recorded 19,200 fewer births than in 2022, and the average number of children per woman fell to 0.72. People there seem determined to follow that trend. One manifestation is the Dinks (Dual Income No Kids) trend, a term used to refer to a couple or marriage with a stable income, without children and without future birth plans.

The birth rate is related to the countries’ economic dynamics, and this is precisely where the concern of some governments lies. In the report “The Demographic Observatory 2023,” the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) found that in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the ever-decreasing population growth rate, the subcontinent will have 737 million inhabitants in 2050, with a labor force of 402.7 million, that is, 54.6 percent of the total population, a worrying number.

In this sense, reconfiguring the global economy is one of our most urgent challenges. According to a study published in The Lancet, “By 2100, more than 97 percent of countries—198 out of 204—will have fertility rates below what is necessary to sustain population size over time.”

Is the low birth rate a real problem?

For Carmen Ledo, a researcher and expert in urban planning, the birth rate in Latin America is an “extremely heterogeneous” reality. According to her, a deeper reading is needed that takes into account rural areas, less urbanized areas, or even peri-urban spaces, where the birth rate is still high. This is unlike the larger cities, where there is greater segregation and problems, which has had a significant impact on the decline.

Ledo explains:

Si bien es un hecho social y está determinado por el comportamiento reproductivo, tiene que ver con los riesgos de que no haya reemplazos. Eso significa que la tasa bruta de reproducción sea menor a uno o que por cada mujer en edad fértil que sale de la vida reproductiva no entre otra mujer. Las posibilidades de extinguirnos o no en el tiempo están relacionadas con la calidad de vida.

Although it is a social fact and is determined by reproductive behavior, it has to do with the risks of the lack of replacements. This means that the gross reproduction rate is less than one, or that for every woman of childbearing age who leaves reproductive life, no other woman enters. Quality of life determines whether or not we are likely to become extinct over time.

Yopo agrees with this point and emphasizes women's barriers to decision-making:

La transición a la maternidad sigue teniendo mucho costo porque evidencia fuertes desigualdades de género y hoy las mujeres están menos dispuestas a formar familia en condiciones que les parecen asimétricas. Hoy se exige mucho más y también surgen preguntas: ¿Seré una buena madre? ¿Estoy en las condiciones de tener hijos?.

The transition to motherhood continues to be very costly because it shows strong gender inequalities, and today women are less willing to start a family in conditions that seem asymmetrical to them. Today, we demand much more of mothers, and other questions also surface: Will I be a good mother? Am I in a position to have children?

Inés, for example, has spent her life questioning many things, and although she has not yet been able to become a mother, she is not giving up that dream.

Mi ilusión es ser mamá, tengo 41 años y aunque lo pienso desde hace mucho, antes priorizaba mis objetivos personales y buscar mi independencia. Siento que la situación cada día es más difícil, en cuanto a lo económico y emocional, y eso realmente me hace pensar si voy a ser capaz de cuidar de otra vida más. Pero quiero experimentar todo ese proceso de tener un bebé.

My dream is to be a mom, I am 41 years old, and although I thought about it for a long time, before I prioritized my personal goals, and seeking my independence. I feel that the situation is more difficult every day economically and emotionally, and that really makes me wonder if I will be able to take care of another life. But I want to experience the whole process of having a baby.

On the other hand, what is also blocking population growth are generational concerns and the particular way in which young people conceive the world, with strong fears of the future, especially about climate change, which leads them, in many cases, to feel more attached to pets and less interested in bringing children into a convulsed environment.

Ledo adds:

Vivimos un mundo donde hay problemas de alimentación, de servicios básicos y muchas enfermedades, y en ese sentido es importante hablar de la reproducción intergeneracional que de una u otra forma puede garantizar la descendencia.

We live in a world where there are problems with food, basic services, and many diseases, and in this sense, it is important to talk about intergenerational reproduction, which in one way or another can guarantee offspring.

Written by Connectas Translated by Dalia Tarek · View original post [es]

]]> 0 Feminist literature under fire: The ‘Cometierra’ controversy in Argentina https://globalvoices.org/2024/12/07/feminist-literature-under-fire-the-cometierra-controversy-in-argentina/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/12/07/feminist-literature-under-fire-the-cometierra-controversy-in-argentina/#respond Sat, 07 Dec 2024 12:23:36 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=825248 Another attack by Milei's government that had a boomerang effect: This time it's against literature

Originally published on Global Voices

Collage with the cover of the novel “Cometierra,” by Dolores Reyes. Image created with Canva by Global Voices.

At the beginning of November, Argentine feminist literature became embroiled in a controversy. On her X (formerly Twitter) account, the Argentine vice president, Victoria Villarruel, denounced the actions of the Governor of Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof, for allegedly distributing copies of the novel “Cometierra” (Earth-eater) in classrooms in the province, branding the content as “degrading and immoral,” and citing excerpts containing sexual scenes.  

“Cometierra,” by Dolores Reyes, is one of the feminist works that the current Argentine government is seeking to censor, alleging “sexually explicit content” that is unsuitable for adolescents. The campaign aims to remove these books from school and public libraries, but up to now has not been successful.  

A cry against gender-based violence and an ode to healthy relationships 

Since its publication in 2019, “Cometierra” has sold more than 70,000 copies and has been translated into fifteen languages.

The novel focuses on femicides and tells the story of a young psychic from the outskirts of Buenos Aires (known as Greater Buenos Aires) named Cometierra. A special gift enables her to find missing people — usually women, girls, and boys — by eating a handful of dirt those people stepped on.

Unfortunately, most of the time these people have been violently killed. Cometierra, in turn, is also an orphan because of a femicide: her father beat her mother to death when she was a child. 

Although the story is centred around extremely tragic situations, it also highlights the importance of emotional bonds, the protection of an older brother, close friendships that support and strengthen us, care and love.

In 2023, Dolores Reyes published her second novel, “Miseria,” a sequel that continues to follow the life of Cometierra, her brother and her sister-in-law, Miseria, in the city of Buenos Aires.

Why so scandalous?

In September of 2023, the government of  Buenos Aires Province launched the program Identidades Bonaerenses (Buenos Aires Identities), that includes a catalog of more than 100 literary works of fiction and non-fiction that relate to the territory, the customs and cultural identity of the province. Thousands of copies were purchased to be distributed in secondary and adult schools, technical schools, teacher training institutes, public and popular libraries, and prison libraries. Among these works is “Cometierra.”

The catalog was wrongly associated with the Educación Sexual Integral (ESI) (Comprehensive Sexual Education) program, the content of which is compulsory at all levels. This is not the case, as the catalogue corresponds to a non-compulsory program to promote reading, and details the minimum age recommendations and teacher support for this and other works.

Taking advantage of the controversy, an association for the defence of the “well-being of children and adolescents” has filed a criminal complaint against the General Director of Culture and Education of the Province of Buenos Aires, Alberto Sileoni, for the “corruption of minors, dissemination of pornographic material to minors and abuse of authority.”

At the center of this scandal, Dolores Reyes says that she has received an infinite number of threats and attacks on social media. In response to the vice president's allegations about her novel, the author told media outlet Infobae:

Cometierra es una forma de narrar un pedido de justicia: una chica que falta, una historia que fue silenciada, y por lo tanto no escuchada. El silenciamiento es una de las armas más efectivas de la violencia de género.

“Cometierra” is a form by which to narrate a demand for justice: a missing girl, a story that was silenced, and therefore not heard. Silencing is one of the most effective weapons of gender-based violence.

A gloomy #25N for Argentina 

November 25 was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, a date that has been commemorated since 1999, by a United Nations resolution in honor of the Mirabal sisters who were brutally executed by the dictator, Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic on November 25 1960. 

However, this is the first time that Argentina has experienced this day in the midst of a clear institutional retreat and denial regarding gender-based violence. This in a country where 168 femicides were recorded in the first half of 2024 alone, of which 31 involved prior complaints (17 with precautionary measures in force) and where at least 155 minors lost their mothers to femicide. Policies related to gender equality and support seem to be more of a hindrance than a priority.

Having just assumed office, Javier Milei's government, from the La Libertad Avanza (LLA) (Freedom Advances) party, began the dissolution of the Ministry of Women, Genders and Diversity, and reduced it to an undersecretary of Protection against Gender-based Violence, which was shut down permanently in less than three months. This de-funded support programs for women and sexual diversity, and left thousands of victims of gender-based violence unprotected. 

Furthermore, in February of 2024, the government announced the closure of the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism, alleging that it was “the ‘Cristinista’ thought police” (referring to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the former president and then vice president of Argentina). More than 400 people, who worked all over the country for the protection of minority rights, lost their jobs. The permanent closure was finalized in August 2024.

As if that were not enough, and in a context of inflation that worsens the situation, in August 2024, the LLA government introduced changes to the Acompañar program, which provides financial assistance to victims of gender-based violence, and reduced the economic allocation equivalent to the minimum living wage for workers from six to three months, which makes it more difficult to leave violent situations.

In addition to this set of actions that threaten the safety and support of victims of gender-based violence, there are several more that threaten the great achievements in terms of gender and equality. Among them, the elimination of the resolution that required gender parity in companies and civil associations, the modifications to the Micaela Law, which made gender training mandatory for members of the three branches of government and which is now required only for those who work “in bodies competent in the matter.”

The Registradas program, which promoted the formal incorporation of domestic workers into the labor market, was also ended; the use of inclusive language and everything related to the gender perspective in public administration was prohibited; the pension moratorium — of which the main beneficiaries were women, since they could retire without the required 30 years of contributions — was eliminated. It is usually women who have unregulated jobs or who leave the labor market to raise or care for families, so this measure directly targets them.

These are just some of the policies adopted by Argentina's government in its conservative and regressive “cultural battle” that is detrimental to the democratic agreement that has been in force for the last forty years.

What is also notable, is that the government seems to choose particular dates to apply these policies. For example, on  March 8, International Women's Day, it changed the name of the Salón de las Mujeres Argentinas del Bicentenario (Hall of Argentine Women of the Bicentennial) in the Casa Rosada presidential palace to the Salón de los Próceres (Hall of Heroes), arguing that the previous name represented an inverse discrimination. The Hall of Women was a space created by the former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to honour the role and legacy of women in Argentina's history.   

Read more: Women's rights are backsliding left and right in Latin America

On November 15, ten days before November 25, Argentina was the only country that voted against a United Nations resolution to eradicate violence against women. Almost simultaneously, this campaign to discredit feminist literature was unleashed, especially literature that addresses the problem of violence against women.

From progress to shame: Argentina on 25N

Finally, Milei's most recent announcement, on November 27, is just another element of his persecution against what he calls the “gender agenda”: he will eliminate by decree the non-binary ID card, established in 2021 after many years of struggle by LGBTQ+ organizations, and which made Argentina the first country in the region to recognize gender categories beyond the binary.

In addition to “Cometierra,” three other novels by feminist authors have been questioned: “Las primas” (The Cousins) by Aurora Venturini, “Si no fueras tan niña” (If you weren't such a girl) by Sol Fantin, and “Las aventuras de la China Iron” (The Adventures of China Iron) by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, which were also included in the Identidades Bonaerenses catalogue. 

Collective Resistance

Calls for collective readings of “Cometierra” have gained traction in different cultural and academic spaces as a direct response to the attempts at censorship promoted by sectors of the government. These events have brought together writers, readers and social organizations in libraries, theatres and other public spaces with the aim of making the work of Dolores Reyes visible and defending free access to literature. 

One of the most notable gatherings took place at the Picadero Theatre in Buenos Aires, where more than one hundred writers participated in a public reading of the novel. These activities, in addition to supporting the author, have contributed to generating a debate about the importance of freedom of expression and the role of literature as a reflection of social problems.

 

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Books are the builders of community, of its multiple identities, of its stories, of its values, of its debates and discussions, of its disagreements and of its meeting points. The Argentine literary tradition is a true wonder for men and women alike and has a global projection of enormous importance and prestige. Books, and fiction in particular, are tools of knowledge that link people’s lives and are deeply intertwined with education. Libraries and classrooms have in teachers and librarians the ideal and trained mediators that allow reading to accompany educational development at all levels of public and private education so that it can illuminate and generate debates. It is in these places that citizens are formed. That is why it is imperative that Argentine literature: current literature, that of the country’s early days, that of the native peoples who preceded us, be available to students and readers throughout the country. In line with this, Argentine writers, and writers from various places in Latin America and Spain, call for an unrestricted defence of books, reading schemes and libraries. Writers are not hostages of any regime or any electoral campaign. We cannot allow neither the censorship campaigns nor the violent personal attacks on any writer, male or female, over disputes that have nothing to do with the objectives of our work. Readers, writers, both male and female: books, free from all current disputes and all censorship.

And this avalanche of support and protests is compounded by the almost inevitable result when an attempt is made to censor a work: record sales in recent weeks that have made “Cometierra” the best-selling work, even above South Korean Han Khan, winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize for Literature.

This is not the first time that an unintentional “publicity campaign” by the libertarian Argentine government has boosted the careers of women it attacks or seeks to discredit: at the end of September, the music video by singer-songwriter and actress Lali Espósito, where she mocked Milei’s attacks against her, became the most viewed video worldwide. 

Written by Romina Navarro, Lucía Leszinsky Translated by Molly Furnival-Phillips · View original post [es]

]]> 0 November 20th: A day to celebrate and discuss Afro-Brazilians heritage and history https://globalvoices.org/2024/12/03/november-20th-a-day-to-celebrate-and-discuss-afro-brazilians-heritage-and-history/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/12/03/november-20th-a-day-to-celebrate-and-discuss-afro-brazilians-heritage-and-history/#respond Tue, 03 Dec 2024 01:52:15 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=824405 The date was first suggested and celebrated by a Black group from the south of the country in the 1970s during the military dictatorship

Originally published on Global Voices

Celebration of Black Consciousness Day in Palmares, in 2023. Photo: Rovena Rosa/Agência Brasil, used with permission.

For the first time, this November 20 was a national holiday in Brazil to mark and remember Black Consciousness Day. The date was added to school calendars in 2003 and officially recognized by then president Dilma Rousseff in 2011, but it was only celebrated in certain cities and states until now. 

It remembers the death of Zumbi dos Palmares, the historical leader of the Quilombo dos Palmares, in 1695. Quilombos were communities formed by people of African descent who escaped slavery in Brazil during the colonial period, while nowadays, the term refers to contemporary hinterland settlements formed by individuals of African descent with cultural or historical links to the territory in both urban and rural areas.

Senator Paulo Paim (Workers’ Party — PT), one of the four Black parliamentarians who worked on the discussion and elaboration of the 1988 Constitution, a document that advanced the discussion on racial issues in Brazil and criminalized racism, said about the importance of the date:

Vai além de poder ser um feriado; é um momento de consciência, de debate, de diálogo sobre todas as formas de preconceito, discriminação e racismo que atinge toda a sociedade.

It goes beyond simply being a holiday; it's a moment of consciousness, of debating, of dialogue about all forms of prejudice, discrimination and racism that hits the entire society.

The latest national census, from 2022, registered the majority of the Brazilian population self-identifying as mixed ethnicity (pardos) for the first time. According to IBGE (Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics), 45.3 percent of Brazilians identify as such, while 10.2 percent as Black. The sum of these two groups forms the entirety of the Afro-descendent population among the estimated 203 million inhabitants in the country.

Despite advancements in affirmative action policies, this population still struggles with the effects of structural racism in Brazilian society with vicious effects, like being the main target of police violence — almost 90 percent of the people killed by police forces in 2023 were Black.

Who was Zumbi?

Map showing the Quilombo dos Palmares region in the 17th century and Zumbi, one of its leaders. Art over images. Public domain.

There are several versions of the life of Zumbi dos Palmares, the man who once led the largest quilombo in Brazil. It is believed he was born around 1655 in the region known as Serra da Barriga, where Palmares was located, between the north portion of Alagoas state and the south of Pernambuco, and taken by settlers (bandeirantes). Later on, around the age of 23, Zumbi would escape and become Palmares’ leader.

Historian Jean Marcel Carvalho França, co-author of a book entitled ”Three times Zumbi: The Construction of a Brazilian hero” (“Três vezes Zumbi: A construção de um herói brasileiro”), noted to Superinteressante magazine that historical documentation about Zumbi is not only very scarce but also usually written by Europeans sources:

É difícil saber, porque você não tem descrições diretas do Zumbi. Você tem descrições das batalhas. Você tem descrições das organizações do Quilombo. Agora sobre o Zumbi especificamente você não tem quase dado nenhum.

It is hard to know because you don't have direct descriptions of Zumbi. You have descriptions of the battles, you have descriptions of the organization within the quilombo. About Zumbi specifically you almost have no data at all.

Around 1680, Palmares would start a period of decay, and a decade later, an expedition was sent to annihilate it. The settler leading this mission was promised land in the region and also the agreement that he could turn some of the inhabitants into his slaves. Zumbi fled for over a year, as the story is usually told.

On November 20 1695, after one of his companions exposed his whereabouts, Zumbi dos Palmares was ambushed and killed. His head was cut off and displayed in a public square in Recife, Pernambuco's state capital.

Today, the term quilombo is used to define hinterland settlements in Brazil and “quilombolas,” the people who live in it. According to the 2022 census, the country has 1.3 million quilombolas living in 7,666 communities and 8,441 places. The northeastern region concentrates 68.1 percent of this population. The Palmares Cultural Foundation, which is responsible for officially recognizing the territories, has already issued 3,103 certificates.

A group to remember 

Black Consciousness March in São Paulo, in 2023, with posters saying ‘Enough with the slaughter. Black people alive!’ and Black Movement Unified. Photo: Paulo Pinto/Agência Brasil/Used with permission

The date marking the death of Zumbi was first suggested in the 1970s as a remembrance day by the cultural and political activist Palmares Group, in Porto Alegre, the capital of the southernmost state of Brazil.

Palmares’ members wanted a day that would celebrate and center on Afro-Brazilian people, opposing May 13, the day commemorating the abolition of slavery that used to remember Princess Isabel‘s role more than any Black personality. She signed the Golden Law in 1888, caving to the growing abolitionist movement, after its approval in Congress, while her father, Emperor Peter II, was abroad.

One of the main markets of the slave trade in the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil was the last country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery. It is estimated that the country received the largest part of the 12 million African people abducted by traffickers and brought by force to the Americas.

On November 20, 1971, members of the Palmares Group held an event to celebrate the date for the first time, and this would later inspire movements in other regions. At the time, Brazil had been living under a military dictatorship for almost a decade already, and the group was monitored by the regime, as told in a story published by local news outlet Matinal in 2021.

Matinal mentions documents available at the National Archive that include a file on the poet Oliveira Silveira, one of Palmares Group's leaders and one of the people responsible for the ideation of Black Consciousness Day. One of the records says: ”The insistence of ‘awakening a Black consciousness’ among Brazilians of African descent raises concerns.”

The monitoring of the group was no exception. As it did to other social movements, the military dictatorship that lasted 21 years in Brazil also eyed Black movements, monitoring, persecuting and causing their militants to become victims of actions that tried to stop the advancement of racial discussions, as remembered by the government site Revealed Memories (“Memórias Reveladas”).

Naiara Silveira, Oliveira's daughter, told Matinal the group had to ask for permission to have their 1971 event as well. Now, more than 50 years later, she celebrated the day by honoring her father's legacy and the gaucho southern heritage of Black Brazilians.

On November 21, the federal government, acting in the name of the Brazilian state, apologized for enslaving people and the effects of slavery later on. As reported by Agência Brasil, the Human Rights Minister Macaé Evaristo said:

A gente sabe que essa memória está na construção da sociedade brasileira de mais de 300 anos de escravatura, ela não acaba no 13 de maio. Porque o 14 de maio começa com o total abandono da população negra no país. Ele começa com a total ausência de políticas públicas. Ele começa com a negação da nossa humanidade.

We know that this memory is built into Brazilian society from over 300 years of slavery, it doesn't end with May 13 [when the abolition was signed]. Because May 14 starts with the total abandonment of the African descent population in this country. It starts with a total absence of public policies. It starts with the denial of our humanity

Written by Global Voices Brazil

]]> 0 Kin t'anik in na'tsil t'aan yéetel ka'anal óolil. The roots of my Mayan language https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/30/kin-tanik-in-natsil-taan-yeetel-kaanal-oolil-the-roots-of-my-mayan-language/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/30/kin-tanik-in-natsil-taan-yeetel-kaanal-oolil-the-roots-of-my-mayan-language/#respond Sat, 30 Nov 2024 08:15:31 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=824703 Strengtheningthe Mayan language and worldview of the children of Dzitbalché

Originally published on Global Voices

#StoriesThatInspire. Meet 10 activists who use digital media to strengthen and promote Mayan languages ​​in Mexico.

Photo of Carlos Alberto Chi Chan, used with his permission.

Read the inspiring story of one of the grantees selected for the 2024 Mayan Language Digital Activism Fellowship, organized by Rising Voices. In this personal essay, the author shares his story of activism and the project with which he seeks to promote his native language within his community and online.

My name is Carlos Alberto Chi Chan, I am 24 years old and I belong to the Maayat'aan (Yucatec Maya). I speak and write in my native language; in this way I explore my roots and what it means to understand my local worldview. For me my language is essential; since I was born I have listened to it and surrounded myself with it, and, although throughout my life I have found myself in situations where I have experienced discrimination, that has not prevented me from continuing to express myself in Mayan.

I am from the municipality of Dzitbalché, located in the state of Campeche, Mexico. My community is known for its poetry, “The songs of Dzitbalché.” Life in my community is calm with beautiful sunsets. This tranquility allows me to go downtown in the afternoons to talk and listen to the stories of the people I meet. I like the patron saint festival season held during the month of August, when we watch fireworks at night and listen to the traditional music of Yucatán, “jarana,” while the party called “vaquería” takes place.

Sunset in Dzitbalché Photo: Carlos Alberto Chi Chan. Used with permission.

I am currently studying for a degree in Mayan Language and Culture, which has helped me reconnect with my roots by understanding that my language is not only the word or the writing, but is part of the worldview that allows me to give meaning to my environment.

From greeting each other with “bix a beel” (“how is your path?”), to the response of “ma'loob” (“good, free of weeds”), they lead me to reflect on everything that goes unnoticed in everyday speech. Within each language there is a great variety of phrases and words that capture different ways of understanding the environment, giving way to what we call culture.

Strengthening the Mayan language in my community

My history in language activism began when, along with my classmates, I carried out a project to adapt and translate everyday games, like the lottery, into Mayan. The goal was to revitalize and spread the language of our community both orally and in writing. People of all ages participated and more than once I ended up hearing “I know how to speak Mayan, but I don’t know how to read or write in my language.”

The Mayan language is the second most spoken language group in Mexico according to statistics, but I would like the presence of the Mayan language to come out of the statistics so that it becomes a reality. I want to hear it on a daily basis but also see it in writing where we can express our stories, tales and histories. This was what motivated me and my classmates to continue with more activities to promote linguistic revitalization in my community.

Currently, as part of the Rising Voices Digital Activism Program for Mayan Languages, I am developing a project aimed at the children of my community, with the goal of promoting education of Mayan reading and writing along with the rediscovery of our roots. This will be achieved through a series of workshops for the creation of stickers that can be shared physically and digitally.

With this project, I seek to strengthen community ties and create safe spaces so that the children and adolescents of my community feel free to speak their language and spread their worldview through creative processes that involve writing, drawing, and research, based on the fact that language is a collective process where we learn from all people.

Playing lottery in Uicam Mayan in Dzitbalché, Campeche. Photo: Irene Cauich Col. Used with permission.

Digital media, an ally in linguistic revitalization

An important tool in the process of linguistic revitalization and dissemination is the use of digital media, as it allows us to share and make visible our language, as well as document our knowledge. The creation of stickers will also involve strengthening my knowledge of the use of digital tools and sharing them with children so that they can use them to support our language.

My actions seek to plant a seed in children so that they can develop a greater understanding of the local worldview from the Mayan language. I hope that this project serves as an inspiration for more young people to be agents of change in their communities and that there is evidence that it is possible to promote native languages ​​in digital media, despite the stigma surrounding them. Change begins by creating support networks in the community and for the community.

Follow my project on the Facebook page “U boonil Dzitbalché”

Written by Carlos Alberto Chi Chan Translated by Teodora C. Hasegan · View original post [es]

]]> 0 Latin America: Who wins and who loses after Trump's victory? https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/25/latin-america-who-wins-and-who-loses-after-trumps-victory/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/25/latin-america-who-wins-and-who-loses-after-trumps-victory/#respond Mon, 25 Nov 2024 13:10:21 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=824298 What can we expect for Latin America?

Originally published on Global Voices

Montage by Global Voices, featuring U.S. President-elect Trump (image from Flickr, under CC BY-SA 2.0) and the map of Latin America

On January 20, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump will assume office again and face familiar but evolving challenges in Latin America. Two of these challenges stand out.

First, the decline of U.S. influence in the world. This tendency is confirmed in Latin America, where China and Russia are strengthening their foothold. China‘s investments in infrastructure, technology, and energy have surged across the region, making it the second most important commercial partner for many Latin American countries.  Meanwhile, Russia has expanded its military and diplomatic ties with several countries and continues to engage in disinformation campaigns, aiming to sway public opinion and political outcomes.

Second, since the onset of COVID-19, Latin American countries have experienced slow economic recovery, deepening political crises, a spike in violence linked to drug trafficking cartels, and worsening social inequalities. These challenges have led to a surge in migration. Migrants, numbering in the millions, have been making the journey to the U.S.-Mexico border in search of a better future. Data indicates that during President Biden's administration, an estimated eight million individuals, mainly from Latin American countries, have been apprehended at the U.S. border.

These were central issues during Trump’s campaign. Like his previous term, his speeches focused on prioritising U.S. interests abroad, a strong anti-immigration stance, and a promise to launch the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history. While in the past he accused Mexico of sending “rapists” and “criminals” to the U.S., he has now directed similar accusations toward El Salvador, expressing concerns about gang members entering the United States. Trump's relationship with Latin America has been marked by ups and downs; for this reason, governments in the region did not all react the same to his re-election.

Those with minimal concerns

For one group of Latin American governments, a victory by either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump would not have changed much. Countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay maintain good relations with the U.S., holding solid economic, diplomatic, and, in some cases, military cooperation. Apart from the Dominican Republic and Peru, the diasporas from these nations in the U.S. are relatively modest, and, therefore, they have fewer significant concerns that Trump's policies would directly impact their populations abroad. 

However, Trump’s re-election could bolster populist right-wing governments in Latin America. This might be the case in Brazil, the region's largest economy, where former president Jair Bolsonaro is also seeking a comeback. Bolsonaro and Trump shared overlapping presidencies from 2019 to 2021 and were close ideological allies. An important question arises: how might Trump's personal ties with Bolsonaro shape his interactions with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil's current president? For his part, Lula has stated that relations with the Trump administration will remain respectful and not based on ideological biases.

Libertarian politician Javier Milei of Argentina may benefit the most. Milei has directed Argentina’s foreign policy toward closer alignment with Western and U.S. interests and shares a network of associates with Trump, including individuals like Elon Musk. Although Milei is known for bold statements, he remained silent during the U.S. campaign. After the election, however, a publicized call revealed Milei expressing admiration for Trump, saying, “You are my favorite President!”

Shortly after the re-election, Milei travelled to Mar-a-Lago to hold a meeting with Trump and Musk. During the meeting, Milei invited Trump to create an alliance of “free nations“ to preserve Western identity and promote commercial trade. Experts say that Milei seeks to stimulate private U.S. investment in Argentina's deteriorated economy and use U.S. influence over the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to secure new credits for his country.

Those with the most to lose

The return of President Trump to the White House is marked by a Republican majority in both the Senate and Congress and allies from Florida in key positions. Florida is home to substantial exiled communities from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, who significantly influence political dynamics and often bring international issues from their home countries into local politics.

Having fled a communist regime, around three million Cubans — representing nearly 30 percent of Cuba's population — have settled predominantly in Florida and gained political influence. They distinguish themselves by being the only Hispanic community that has traditionally voted Republican. Many of them support increased sanctions on Cuba as a way to force the regime to transition to democracy. Over the years, several Republican politicians with Cuban origins have occupied important positions in local and national politics. This Cuban diaspora has been complemented by migrants from Nicaragua and Venezuela who are escaping similar situations.

For these dictatorships, this is the worst-case scenario. Caracas, Havana, and Managua could face increased pressure with Cuban-American Marco Rubio appointed as the next secretary of state. Similarly, Congressman Mike Waltz, nominated as national security advisor, has been one of the strongest critics of these regimes. Together with other Republican politicians from Florida — such as Senator Rick Scott, Congressmen Carlos Gimenez, Mario Diaz-Balart, Maria Elvira Salazar, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz — they are likely to gain more influence in shaping U.S. policies toward Latin American countries within the Republican Party.

Already, immediate consequences are becoming apparent. On Monday, November 18, 2024, members of Congress voted in favor of an act named BOLIVAR, aiming to sanction all individuals and entities with commercial ties to Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela. This law is reminiscent of the sanctions already in place against the Cuban government since the 1990s. Moreover, Cuba may remain on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism for longer, which limits its capacity to trade and receive financing from foreign partners.

Unpredictability prevails for many

Other countries like Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico face uncertain relations with the United States. Apart from Bolivia, these nations have some of the largest diasporas in the U.S., and their economies benefit greatly from remittances sent by migrants to families back home. If President Trump's proposed deportation plan is implemented, it could have serious economic and social implications for these countries.

Another source of uncertainty in bilateral relationships is the left-leaning stance of their governments. A Trump administration that openly dismisses socialist ideologies might find it challenging to work alongside these governments, and the feeling may be mutual. Signs of strained relations are beginning to appear. During the G-20 meeting held in Brazil, Colombian President Gustavo Petro reportedly told the media that Trump and Argentine politician Javier Milei represent a “new kind of fascism.“ More tensions might arise during Trump's second term.

El Salvador, a unique case

El Salvador is an interesting case. Salvadorans make up a large diaspora in the United States, particularly on the West Coast. During his campaign, Trump singled out this diaspora as a source of gang activity, prompting strong criticism of El Salvador and its president, Nayib Bukele.

What makes this dynamic particularly interesting is the similarity between the two leaders. Both Trump and Bukele share a populist style and unconventional political and social approaches. Despite Trump's criticisms, Bukele opted for a measured response, avoiding escalating tensions. Bukele was also the first world leader to congratulate Trump on his re-election.

In conclusion, for Latin American leaders, the next four years are likely to bring changes to U.S.-Latin American relations as governments attempt to adapt to, or survive, Trump.

Written by Michel N.

]]> 0 Preserving the Ch'ol language through theatre and digital media https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/23/preserving-the-chol-language-through-theatre-and-digital-media/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/23/preserving-the-chol-language-through-theatre-and-digital-media/#respond Sat, 23 Nov 2024 05:08:54 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=824158 My language is planted in a seed

Originally published on Global Voices

#StoriesThatInspire. Meet 10 activists who use digital media to strengthen and promote Mayan languages ​​in Mexico.

Photo by Marlene Sanchez, used with her permission.

Learn about the inspiring story of one of the grantees selected for the 2024 Mayan Language Digital Activism Fellowship organized by Rising Voices. In this personal essay, the author shares about her experience in activism and the project through which she seeks to promote her native language, within her community and in digital spaces.

My name is Marlene Sánchez Guzmán, I am 28 years old and I graduated from an agri-food engineering program. I currently work in the production of organic vegetables that is environmentally friendly, which allows me to offer healthy food and strengthen the local rural economy. I am a woman who speaks the Ch'ol language and I have the ability to write in my language. I am proudly from the communal land of Hidalgo Joshil, Municipality of Tumbalá, Chiapas, Mexico.

In my community, almost everyone speaks the Ch'ol language. We grow coffee, corn and beans, we keep much of the empirical knowledge of our grandparents and the custom of greeting each other in our language. There are different ways of greeting, for example: “como latyo ñumikoñ majlel (I'm passing by here), “koñix kermañu” (see you brother), “latyomajlikoñ” (goodbye). The way we express ourselves in Ch'ol is very beautiful and unique.

My language is my identity, it is the connection to the place where I come from. The word Ch’ol comes from cholel (milpa, a corn crop) and it is a legacy that our parents left us and that we will leave to our next generations. Knowing how to speak my native language helps me so that the people of my community trust me to express themselves without fear, and the most beautiful thing of all is that it allows me to converse with our elders, who express to me their feelings, their knowledge and the worldviews that they have of our community. My language is a wealth planted in a grain.

Hidalgo Joshil ejido, Municipality of Tumbalá, Chiapas, Mexico / Photo: Marlene Sánchez. Used with permission.

Theater as an opportunity to strengthen the Ch’ol language

The community work I do promotes and revitalizes the Ch'ol language in my community, because I want more people to see it as a privilege and not as a limitation. In my experience, speaking my language is not an obstacle, since I have had to work with communities that speak Ch'ol and for them it is a great relief to share knowledge in their own language.

As part of the 2024 Mayan Language Digital Activism Program, I am carrying out a community project so that more youth and children in the community become aware of the importance of their language. Among my activities is teaching workshops to create and write theater scripts in Ch'ol. The characters will come to life through puppets, which will be handled by the participants.

The plays will be recorded on videos and broadcast on different digital platforms, and we will also make short videos of the activities so that they can continue to be replicated later and so that our roots stay alive.

Comedy play in Ch'ol with puppets / Photo: Marlene Sánchez. Used with permission.

Keeping alive the roots of Indigenous peoples through language

For me, it is very important to create projects that help my community, especially in the cultural field, since many young people are interested in doing this type of activities.

One of the aspects that motivated me to do this project was the little value that is given to the mother tongue. Sometimes, out of shame or embarrassment, children begin to speak Spanish first and then they are taught their native language. Migration has also had an influence, since families go to work in the city and children grow up outside their community, and when they return, they come back with the idea that they are not from the same roots as their parents.

Given this situation, it is essential to rescue and revitalize our Ch'ol language as a first language, through activities that help understand its importance and its link to our identity.

I would like there to be more cultural spaces in my community where children, youth, mothers and fathers can participate, and that there are projects focused on the Ch'ol language in all communities and ejidos (communal lands), not just in towns. In the future, I would like to have a cultural space where our stories, worldviews and the knowledge of our people can be documented and represented; a space to promote culture and traditions so that our language remains alive in the hearts of future generations.

As part of my activism, I seek to ensure that all people have the same rights, including that of speaking our language. We must recognize that we are one spirit, we are brothers. In my language we say that “añ lajwuty” (we have fruit), “añ laj kuxtyälel” (we have spirit) “yik'oty añ la yäxñälel” (we also have an identity). Maintaining the cultural and linguistic diversity of our country is in our hands.

My connection with other Ch'ol-speaking communities / Photo: Social Service Team. Used with permission.

I want to send a message to the children and youth of my community and of different regions. I want them to know that we can begin to take action in our communities by using digital media and technology as tools to promote our language. Let us be an inspiration and join forces so that no one is ashamed of speaking an Indigenous language.

It is important to use the technology that has reached so many places, even in the most marginalized rural areas. Today, technology has advanced and will not cause us harm as long as we can use it and it allows us to continue being who we are. Therefore, I would like more people to join digital activism so that we take digital media and technology into our hands, because we have the capacity and an identity to promote, without having to be ashamed of speaking our language in public.

I will continue working so that there is respect for all peoples, without discrimination, because all people have the capacity to create and develop actions for our communities. Let us recognize our value and the knowledge that lies in our thoughts and in our hearts.

Wokox awälä piälob muk´bä a kajel a pejkañ ilij tsijbuyaj yom milaj chäñ chaleñ tyañ tyi ch’ol. (Thank you very much to everyone who is going to read this short story, let's continue speaking in our Ch'ol language)

Follow my work on Facebook through the Ch’ol Community Network and on YouTube
@MarleneSanchezGuzman

Written by Marlene Sánchez Guzmán Translated by Teodora C. Hasegan · View original post [es]

]]> 0 Women's rights are backsliding left and right in Latin America https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/23/womens-rights-are-backsliding-left-and-right-in-latin-america/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/23/womens-rights-are-backsliding-left-and-right-in-latin-america/#respond Sat, 23 Nov 2024 04:00:38 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=824061 Right- and left-wing governments in Latin America are taking away the rights of women and transgender people

Originally published on Global Voices

This is an extract from an article by Argentine journalist Luciana Peker published in Muy Waso, a Bolivian media partner of Global Voices.

The Argentine government closed the Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity. It closed it. It did not downgrade it, or merely modify its organizational chart. President Javier Milei took office in December 2023 and kept his promise to eliminate it. He then opened the Sub-Secretariat of Protection against Gender Violence, under the Ministry of Human Capital.

At the end of May, this agency was transferred to the Ministry of Justice. It was headed by Claudia Barcia, who resigned on June 6 when she found out — by WhatsApp — that the executive branch had dissolved the area of help for women victims of gender violence.

The charges against former Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez — who is accused of committing violence against his wife and former First Lady Fabiola Yáñez — show that those who are in favor of policies against gender-based violence are capable of exercising it. Those who are against these policies, like Milei, are capable of keeping their promises. Without polarization, both are united to stop helping victims.

In response to the charges against Fernandez, the presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni declared that the Argentinian hotline for victims of abuse was still working. But it suffered a 25 percent budget cut, according to Argentinian women's rights organization ELA‘s Latin American Gender and Justice Team. On top of that, the budget allocated to the state program “Acompañar”, which grants a minimum wage for half a year to women who have faced violence and sexual abuse, was slashed by 80 percent. Activist and lawyer Lala Pasquinelli says:

Las líneas de ayuda sufrieron una reducción de personal del 38 por ciento, quedaron dos trabajadoras por turno. La 137 (violencia sexual) no existe más. El programa Acompañar pasó de ayudar a 34.000 víctimas a 430.

The helplines suffered a personnel reduction of 38 percent, leaving two workers per shift. The 137 line (against sexual violence) no longer exists. The accompanying program went from helping 34,000 victims to 430.

Cuts to women's rights in Argentina

Lala Pasquinelli, the creator of the feminist project “Mujeres que no fueron tapa” (“Women who were not a cover”) and author of the book “La Estafa de la feminidad” (“The femininity scam”) says that “the setbacks are overwhelming on all fronts: formal, symbolic, and material.”

Argentina's austerity policies affects women, she highlights. “If there are cuts in health, [women] are the ones who wander between hospitals […] The dining rooms remain without food, and they are the ones who roll up their sleeves.”

And it's not only about what's not there anymore, but also what has been demonized. In addition to the budget cuts in public policies, the social sectors are perplexed, isolated, and atomized in the face of the attacks.

Argentina went from being a vanguard country to being the vanguard of attacks against women and sexual diversity. The mirror that had expanded Argentina's green tide for women's reproductive rights to the whole region is now legitimizing a global phenomenon of regression.

Each national or continental context has its own cardinal points, but they coincide in going backwards and generating a false nostalgia about the past. The bans on gender education and human rights frame women and queer movements as the enemy. This “give[s] a supposed ‘cultural battle,’ which is entertainment that covers up the cruelty of hunger,” Pasquinelli explains.

In Argentina, the free distribution of contraceptives was approved in 2002, sex education in 2006, same-sex marriage in 2010, gender identity law in 2012, and legal abortion in 2020. The calendar now looks like “Back to the Future” in reverse.

Milei's government renamed the ungendered “Día de las infancias” (Childhood Day) to “Día del niño” (Child's Day), which uses a gendered term for child that also means boy. Theannoucement read: “Our purpose is that all children grow up in a healthy and safe environment, far from those who promote gender ideology and threaten their integrity.”

A map of regression

In Peru, lawmakers attempted to pathologize trans people. Protestors managed to stop the backlash. In a world of disinformative chaos, accusations towards those who are left at the social fringes impact the streets and culture. It is a latent threat.

The extreme right wants to brand sex education as gender ideology and spur a debate that lights up anti-feminist groups.

Xiomara Castro governs Honduras, but women in power no longer guarantee women's rights. Her win was considered a great victory, as she named several feminists in the government, but Castro “vetoed a law in favor of sexual education for children. Her minister of education, together with an evangelical pastor, broke the guidelines and showed support for the churches. That shows that we are going backwards,” says activist Melissa Cardoza, of the National Network of Human Rights Defenders and the Assembly of Women Fighters of Honduras.

In 2021, Uruguay was a pioneer in approving the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy. Now, lawmakers have presented three bills that go against these hard won rights, such as the draft bill that seeks to repeal Uruguay's law against gender violence. However, in times of false information and disinformation, not repealing it is not enough.

Attacks and disinformation

There are attacks that have tangible effects. Therefore, they cannot be underestimated. There are others that are intercepted, but spread their poison regardless. Something fundamental is that attacks are not isolated.

The current information models work in a bubble. It's not even about what kind of media each person reads, but rather what a person's algorithm feeds them on a plate. Everyone has their own bubble and believes, or ends up believing, that their bubble is the world. We must see the bigger picture, more than the GPS, and not miss the forest for the trees.

In Uruguay, they sought to repeal their gender violence law and create a domestic violence law. What is domestic is once again the center of what's considered feminine and the only place where — supposedly — women could be helped. A girl who goes out partying and is abused would not be a victim. But a wife who stays at home would be a victim.

Above all, the idea of gender violence would be crossed out and replaced with an obsolete term that was used when we first started spelling out the problem: family violence. The family. The holy family. Even the violent family. Not the diverse family. They want to get rid of the limits of what can, and can't, be done within a family. But no means no, in families too.

Demirdjian highlights:

No es casual que se ponga en cuestión la voz de las mujeres y la violencia de género. Son proyectos regresivos que dejarían desprotegidas a las mujeres que denuncian, pero que existan los proyectos y que el tema esté en debate es un retroceso.

It is no coincidence that the voice of women, and [the existence of] gender violence, are being put into question. These are regressive projects that would leave women who report unprotected, but the fact that the draft bill exists and that the issue is under discussion is [already] a step backward.

Creating a villain to go against sexual diversity

The Plata River stretches throughout South America. Apart from electoral results, no one along the river wants to swim against the current. Women have to guard what they won, on one end, and on the other, they have to cry for what they lost. Everywhere, women are accused of lying, and lying itself becomes a way to speak without any basis.

The Southern Cone can become a cone of silence. In Paraguay, on August 22, 2023, the Senate Committee on Family, Childhood, Adolescence, and Youth approved a bill on the prohibition of teaching gender ideology in educational institutions.

It is not a pandemic, nor a virus that spreads. “Gender ideology,” poetically painted as a villain, sneaks across borders. It's not an exception; it's an international orchestration.

In El Salvador, at the end of February 2024, President Nayib Bukele lashed out against gender education and decided not to include it in public education. Education Minister José Mauricio Pineda posted: “Fact-checked: We have removed all traces of gender ideology from public schools.”

Bukele made the decision after meeting with Trump and Milei in the United States at the Conservative Political Action Conference. In the 1970s, the Condor Plan commanded military coups in South America from the United States. Their collaboration is no longer to fly over, but to silence.

Peru's president is a woman who was not elected and is destroying policies for women, even without any electoral support. Yet, international treaties that are above national constitutions and national laws guarantee that, beyond electoral ups and downs, public policies for women and queer rights cannot be eliminated.

Different types of government, the same strategies

In Latin America, there are many elected and non-elected governments, democracies with left- or right-wing authoritarianism, and none respect the rule of law and the right of women to a life free of violence.

They all use the same old strategies. Removing organizations against gender violence is in the album of almost every country. The project of Dina Boluarte is to cancel the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP). She justifies it by saying that it will be “unified” with the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion (MIDIS).

Amid the crisis of corruption and human rights violations that Peru is experiencing, feminist lawyer Parwa Oblitas says:

Fusionar el Ministerio de las Mujeres sería un grave retroceso, ya que lleva más de 30 años y ha promovido políticas que, si bien no alcanzan, combaten la desigualdad de género en el país.

Merging the Ministry of Women would be a serious setback since it has been in existence for more than 30 years and has promoted policies that, although not enough, combat gender inequality in the country.

Activist, poet, and teacher Violeta Barrientos connects the dots:

Están con la moda Milei y quieren fusionar ministerios para invisibilizar. Por eso se propuso poner el Ministerio de la Mujer dentro de otro: para diluirlo. Era muy escandaloso convertirlo en Ministerio de la Familia.

They are following Milei's footsteps and want to merge ministries to invisibilize [women]. That's why they wanted to put the Ministry of Women inside another one: to dilute it. It was very scandalous to turn it into the Ministry of the Family.

Barrientos also explains that current Peruvian politics are conservative and far-right. “It seeks to favor illegal mining, destroy our institutions, concentrate their power in Congress and take over the courts, just like in Venezuela, to tie the country's hands before the 2026 elections.” She also highlights that, before this happened, the population had repudiated these measures in the streets.

This backslide is not a news headline, but a constant. It does not happen in one place, but in many. Latin America is going against progress and backtracking after decades of moving forward.

Written by Muy Waso Translated by Dalia Tarek · View original post [es]

]]> 0 The art of destruction and creation: Exploring identity and spirituality in the work of Alexis Peskine https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/22/the-art-of-destruction-and-creation-exploring-identity-and-spirituality-in-the-work-of-alexis-peskine/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/22/the-art-of-destruction-and-creation-exploring-identity-and-spirituality-in-the-work-of-alexis-peskine/#respond Fri, 22 Nov 2024 05:00:44 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=824104 ‘Born in Paris into a family rich with cultural and artistic influence, Peskine’s identity is shaped by his Afro-Brazilian heritage and his French-Lithuanian roots’

Originally published on Global Voices

Portrait of artist Alexis Peskine. Photo by Thomas Babeau.

Portrait of artist Alexis Peskine. The photo was taken by Thomas Babeau and used with permission.

Alexis Peskine is a visionary artist whose work seamlessly fuses materiality with metaphor, invoking both aesthetic grace and profound cultural resonance. Peskine's distinctive technique employs nails hammered into wooden surfaces, creating a tactile dialogue between destruction and construction.

His work, which often explores the complexities of Afro-descendant identity, embodies a raw yet harmonious intersection of spirituality, historical memory, and collective consciousness. Peskine’s art transcends the confines of portraiture, offering instead a visual language that speaks to the collective soul, capturing the nuances of strength, vulnerability, and transformation.

Born in 1979 in Paris into a family rich with cultural and artistic influence, Peskine’s identity is shaped by his Afro-Brazilian heritage and his French-Lithuanian roots. His father, an architect, and his grandfather, a carpenter from the island of Itaparica in the state of Bahia in Brazil, who raised Peskin's mother in Salvador, Bahia, instilled in him a deep appreciation for craftsmanship, while his mother’s Afro-Brazilian lineage connected him to the spiritual practices and cultural legacies of the African diaspora.

Raised in a household in Issy-les-Moulineaux, a city in southwestern Paris that revered art, Peskine was encouraged to develop his creative voice, drawing upon the stories and experiences of his lineage. His work is, therefore, not just an aesthetic pursuit but an ongoing exploration of justice, healing, and spiritual awakening.

Alexis Peskine and assistant at work gilding nail heads, October Gallery. Photo: Jonathan Greet.

Alexis Peskine and assistant at work gilding nail heads, October Gallery. Photo: Jonathan Greet.

Peskine’s formal education at Howard University and the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in the United States laid the foundation for his technical expertise. Yet, his artistic vision has expanded far beyond the classroom. Currently based in Paris, he continues to evolve as a dynamic presence in the global art scene. His recent solo exhibition, “Forest Figures,” at October Gallery in London (October 3 – November 9, 2024), marked a significant moment in his career, showcasing a body of work that blends spiritual introspection with a radical exploration of form.

In an interview with Global Voices, Peskine delves into the evolution of his practice, the influence of his familial and cultural background, and the shifting focus of his recent work — from politically charged to spiritually resonant. Through his work, Peskine offers a bold visual language that seeks not only to represent but to heal, bridging the material and immaterial realms with every stroke of the nail.

Excerpts from the interview follow: 

Alexis Peskine, Power, 2017. Moon gold leaf on nails, earth, coffee, water and acrylic on wood. 195 x 250cm. Copyright Alexis Peskine. Majed Halawi collection. Courtesy the Artist and October Gallery.

Alexis Peskine, ‘Power,’ 2017. Moon gold leaf on nails, earth, coffee, water, and acrylic on wood. 195 x 250 cm (76 x 98 in). ©Alexis Peskine. Majed Halawi collection. Photo courtesy of the artist and October Gallery.

Omid Memarian (OM): Your work often incorporates nails hammered into wooden surfaces. Can you explain the technical process behind this technique and how you developed it over time?

Alexis Peskine (AP): I first considered using nails at Howard University. My mixed media teacher, Professor Sorrels Adewale, encouraged us to think about materials as metaphors. My work has always centered on the Afro-descendant experience, influenced by my upbringing in France, Afro-Brazilian heritage, and time spent in various Black American cities and 33 African countries.

Initially drawn to silkscreen printmaking, I experimented with dot patterns to explore the historical significance of our people. My interest in nails grew after learning about the Minkisi Nkondi power figures from the Congo, sculptures adorned with nails. This concept of destruction and creation resonated with me. When I arrived at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), I was inspired by a wooden board left behind by the previous occupant and began using nails in 2004.

My process starts with a photograph, which I translate into dot patterns using computer software, mimicking the values of gray through dots of different sizes. I reverse the typical process by using a black silhouette with white dots to represent light areas, creating portraits illuminated by natural sunlight.

Alexis Peskine, Moto wa Uhanini, 2020. Orange gold leaf, nails, Havana Ochre, curcuma, earth and white hibiscus on lumber core wood, 122 x 122 cm.jpeg

Alexis Peskine, ‘Moto wa Uhanini,’ 2020. Orange gold leaf, nails, Havana Ochre, curcuma, earth, and white hibiscus on lumber core wood, 122 x 122 cm (48 ×48 in). Photo courtesy of the artist.

OM: How has your childhood and upbringing influenced the themes and techniques you explore in your art today?

AP: My father is French and Lithuanian, while my mother is Afro-Brazilian. My grandfather, born in St. Petersburg, Russia, survived a concentration camp in France. These experiences, along with my Brazilian roots, shaped my values. I grew up in a family of artists and creators: my great-grandmother worked in a hardware store, my grandfather was a carpenter, and my father is an architect. My artistic inclinations were encouraged from a young age.

These influences instilled a deep sense of justice and fairness in me, which I channel into my work. It’s made me sensitive to the world around me, shaping how I express my thoughts through art.

Alexis Peskine, Orí, 2024.Basil, Vessie green pigment, lacquer paint, lemon gold leaf and nails on wood, 175 x 154 x 9 cm. (AP126)

Alexis Peskine, ‘Orí,’ 2024. Basil, Vessie green pigment, lacquer paint, lemon gold leaf, and nails on wood, 175 x 154 x 9 cm (69 × 60 in). (AP126) Photo courtesy of October Gallery.

OM: The first experience is beauty and harmony when we see your work. How does this complex concept resonate with your audiences?

AP: My goal is to represent both softness and strength, sensibility and abundance — qualities that reflect our people. The power in my work isn’t about domination; it’s a softer, more nuanced form — an aura rather than an aggressive force. This resonates with viewers because it reflects the spirit of those portrayed, not just portraits of individuals but representations of a collective soul. The subjects give their energy to the work, which connects with the viewers.

Alexis Peskine, Akutjhe (Let it Burn), 2020, Gold leaf, nails, clay, hibiscus and coffee on lumber core wood, 150 x 150 cm.

Alexis Peskine, ‘Akutjhe’ (‘Let it Burn’), 2020. Gold leaf, nails, clay, hibiscus and coffee on lumber core wood, 150 x 150 cm (59 1/10 × 59 1/10 in). Photo courtesy of the artist.

OM: You address complex social and political issues. How do you balance the technical precision of your pieces with the emotional and political messages they convey?

AP: My early work was intellectual and political, but in the last decade, my focus shifted toward art's spiritual and energetic aspects. While politics affects us all, I believe my recent work transcends immediate issues. It connects to something timeless, aiming for balance, harmony, and peace. What viewers feel from the work goes beyond politics and reaches into a deeper, more universal realm of experience.

Alexis Peskine, Safara (Fire/Hell), 2020, Gold leaf, nails, coffee and earth on lumber core wood59 1/10 × 43 3/10 × 3 9/10 in | 150 × 110 × 10 cm.

Alexis Peskine, ‘Safara’ (‘Fire/Hell’), 2020, Gold leaf, nails, coffee and earth on lumber core wood 150 × 110 × 10 cm (59 1/10 × 43 3/10 × 3 9/10 in). Photo courtesy of October Gallery.

OM: Can you tell me which artists or movements have had the most significant influence on your work?

AP: My first influence was my family. My parents encouraged my artistic pursuits, and my aunt, who ran an industrial design company, gave me a strong design foundation. At Howard, I was introduced to figures like Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence and writers like Toni Morrison. The Negritude movement deeply resonated with me. I realized I wasn’t alone in my journey as an Afro-descendant artist.

Artists like Basquiat, Kara Walker, Hank Willis Thomas, and my friends — Zak Ové, Fahamu Pécou, and Zana Masombuka — have influenced me. Conversations and exhibitions with them have shaped my perspective. My brothers, who are involved in music and film, have also been a major influence. We critique one another's work, pushing each other to grow.

OM: I think art schools in the U.S. tend to be a bit kinder when critiquing work.

AP: At Howard and MICA, critiques were harsh, even from classmates who didn’t always understand the references in my work. This helped me learn to accept feedback, discern its value, and understand that critique is part of growth as an artist.

Alexis Peskine, Aljana Moons IV, 2015.Edition of 5 plus 1 artist's proof, Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm paper mounted on Dibond, 82.5 x 154 cm. (AP022). Photo courtesy of October Gallery.

Alexis Peskine, ‘Aljana Moons IV,’ 2015. Edition of 5 plus 1 artist's proof. Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308 gsm paper mounted on Dibond, 82.5 x 154 cm (32.4 × 60 in). (AP022). Photo courtesy of October Gallery.

OM: How do you decide what themes to depict in your work? If it’s a portrait, how do you choose the subject? What drives your choice of technique, or do you prefer sculpture?

AP: My studio is small, so I take a different approach from artists who work nonstop. Instead, I walk and let my spirit guide me, absorbing ideas and making mental notes. I create bodies of work rather than individual pieces, expressing my feelings at specific points in my life.

For example, “Forest Figures” came after my residency in rural Cameroon, where I faced a life-threatening experience. This event sparked a need for peace and healing. The work evolved from the more political “Fire Figures,” which reflected my feelings of revolt during the George Floyd protests, to the more spiritual “Forest Figures,” which explore healing and reconnection with nature.

Left: Kékéréké, 2024. White and black paint, archival varnish, 24k, gold leaf and nails on wood, 150 x 110 cm. Right: Séetal, 2024. White and black paint, archival varnish, 24k, gold leaf and nails on wood, 150 x 110 cm.

Left: Alexis Peskine, ‘Kékéréké,’ 2024. White and black paint, archival varnish, 24 k, gold leaf and nails on wood, 150 x 110 cm (59 1/10 × 43 3/10 in). Right: ‘Séetal, ‘2024. White and black paint, archival varnish, 24 k gold leaf, and nails on wood, 150 × 110 cm (59 1/10 × 43 3/10 in). Photo courtesy of October Gallery.

OM: The art world has become complicated with art fairs, galleries, exhibitions, and money involved. What’s your advice to emerging artists looking to find their voice in the contemporary art world?

AP: Always look inward and pay attention to how you feel and what you want to express. Don’t hesitate to explore what you love and understand yourself. Early on, I wanted to develop my own visual language, and I admired artists who created distinct, resonating works.

Create with purity — don’t focus on commercial concerns while you’re making art. Once your work is done, find ways to make it visible. Social media today makes it easier than ever to share your art worldwide, reaching people who will connect with your expression.

Alexis Peskine in front of his artworks at October Gallery in London, 2022. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Alexis Peskine in front of his artworks at October Gallery in London, 2022. Photo by Elisabeth Lalouschek, October Gallery’s art director.

While having a gallery is beneficial, as I learned through my experience with October Gallery, it's not the only way. When I started, I walked around with a portfolio, went to galleries and art fairs, and tried to get my work seen. Ultimately, gallery representation helps, but you can create your own path.

Success in art comes down to drive, curiosity, and a willingness to ask questions. Teachers don’t always need to be formally recognized. If you have a mentor, whether in school or outside, appreciate those who help you along the way.

Learning to talk about your work is essential — whether you're in school or not. Being able to articulate your vision is as important as the art itself. If you can’t do it, find someone who can write or talk about it for you.

Written by Omid Memarian

]]> 0 Exploring Mexican identity and the human soul through Marlene Pasini's poetry https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/16/exploring-mexican-identity-and-the-human-soul-through-marlene-pasinis-poetry/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/16/exploring-mexican-identity-and-the-human-soul-through-marlene-pasinis-poetry/#comments Sat, 16 Nov 2024 07:19:51 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=823702 A lyrical homage to memory, travel, and Mexican identity

Originally published on Global Voices

Photo of Marlene Pasini in an illustration by Global Voices. Photo used with permission.

To talk about Marlene Pasini is to talk about a Mexican woman and all that that implies: colour, beauty, sensitivity, intensity, and culture.  

In fact, I imagine Marlene Pasini's feet to be like a beautiful map where all stories and all paths are drawn. She has eyes that reveal one of those souls who has seen everything without ever losing the capacity for wonder. 

Renaissance woman par excellence, Pasini has developed diverse interests to which she has dedicated her passion and intelligence. She is a communicologist, a writer, a poet, an editor, a visual artist, and a psychotherapist and coach in Transpersonal Education. If that wasn't enough, she has continued her studies, obtaining a Master's degree in Literature and a diploma in Renaissance History, Egyptology, and hieroglyphics. She is the author of eighteen books: poetry, novels, essays, articles, and books on personal and spiritual development.  

The publication of her most recent book called “Memorias de Aquí” (Memories of Here) is, as the author mentions, part of a series of poetry books that she has produced on the theme of her life and experience as a traveller, poet and artist. This text is a testimony to her commitment to the mystical and spiritual experience, in which she includes clear references to each of the places she has visited — places that have visited her at the same time. This relationship has left indelible marks on her memory, which she shares with us, in the most sublime way: through poetry. 

It is interesting how, at a certain point in life, it becomes necessary to leave a testimony of the path undertaken, and this reminiscence of experiences began with “Memorias Nómadas del Medio Oriente al Norte de África” (Nomadic Memoirs from the Middle East to North Africa). This is the first publication in this series, which was published in 2021 — in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic — and which was the result of the author's travels to the Holy Land, Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt, with poems written over several years that were illustrated by some of the poet's own paintings. Later, in the year 2023, “Memorias de Andalucía” (Memories of Andalusia) was produced, and through brief, Japanese-style texts like haikus and tankas, the author immerses the reader in the experience of visiting Spain.

“Memorias de aquí” was published in August 2024. Its structure contains four autobiographical sections, but with clear reasons for their division. 

The first part is titled: De las memorias del alma (From the memories of the soul), and is made up of poems that allude to Pasini's memories, as well as her personal experiences, which give an account of an inner voice that reflects on life and the passing of time. In them, one can appreciate nostalgia, longing, dreams, the personal connection with nature and its presence in the journey that is life.

The word I would use to define this part of the work is melancholy, and as an example:

LLUVIA

Nada es silencio…

Aquí en esta ciudad

llega el verano

y una música de lluvia

empapa sus calles de asfalto

En el instante y su tiempo fugitivo

en la incertidumbre del más allá

donde la vida aletea

como negra mariposa

en el hueco del insomnio

donde los recuerdos se ovillan

en sombra enmudecida

desciendo despacio

en un largo sueño.

RAIN

Nothing is silent…

Here in this city

summer arrives

and a musical rain

soaks its asphalt streets

In the moment and it's fleeting time

in the uncertainty of the beyond

where life flutters

like a black butterfly

in the hollow of insomnia

where memories coil

in muted shadow

I descend slowly

into a lengthy dream.

It is from the journey through melancholy that we reach Caminos citadinos y Pueblos Mágicos de México (City Roads and Magical Towns of Mexico). In this chapter, the poet shares some of the cities and towns that she has visited throughout her life and that are somehow significant, not for their touristic qualities, but for their historic and ancestral nature, as a part of Pasini's “Mexicanness,” and for the strategic connection with her soul.

FLAMBOYANES

Rojo estallido

el follaje de los flamboyanes

una tarde de mayo

Una brizna suave del viento

corta erizadas alas 

de pájaros en vuelo

Incandescente sol

como una ofrenda

su luz contra pieles color moreno

Cuernavaca

ciudad de la eterna primavera

hondura de suspiros en sus haciendas

tardes de nostalgia

y el eco de los siglos.

FLAME TREES

Red burst

the foliage of the flame trees

an afternoon in May

A soft breeze of wind

cuts the ruffled wings

of birds in flight

Incandescent sun

like an offering

its light against dark skin

Cuernavaca

city of eternal spring

depth of sighs in its haciendas

afternoons of nostalgia

and the echo of the centuries.

Atavismos, is the word that gives its name to the third section, which represents a symbolism that resonates with the idea of Ancestry. It runs between mysticism and a reunion with the ancestral Mexican past.

MUJER INDÍGENA EN TEPOZTLÁN

Borda sueños de magia

con sus manos

en múltiples colores hila

toda una vida sobre su nívea tela

Con una sonrisa apenas perfilada en su boca

finge que no hay sufrimiento

ante este pueblo rodeado

por el gran cerro del Tepozteco

Su rostro moreno — arrugado

y trenzas de color azabache

están cenizos por las polvaredas

que dejan los caminos

tierra suelta

olvido

hambre

Envuelta en rebozo gris y coloridas enaguas

ha quedado en sus manos

olores de hierba y hongos

lo amarillo de la flor

recogidos al alba.

INDIGENOUS WOMAN IN TEPOZTLÁN

She embroiders dreams of magic

with her hands

in multi-colours she weaves

a whole life on her snowy fabric

with the trace of a smile on her mouth

she pretends there is no suffering

before this town surrounded

by the great Tepozteco mountain

Her dark face – wrinkled

and braids jet-black

are ashy from the dust-clouds

left by the roads

loose earth

forgetfulness

hunger

Wrapped in a grey shawl and colourful petticoats

on her hands remains

the smell of grass and mushrooms

the yellow of the flower

collected at dawn.

The last section of this work belongs to Sombras luminosas (Luminous shadows); poetic allusions to people, beings and characters that are not found in the physical world, but whose presence is still a reality through time.

Here is a small fragment of the poem ¿Qué lazos nos unen y desunen? (What ties unite and separate us?):

A mi padre

In memoriam

Materia en sustancia de luz eterna

Memoria

silencio

casa habitada en sueños

con una oración

levantada al cielo de la Gloria

formas diluyéndose en viento.

To my father

In memoriam

Matter in substance of eternal light

Memory

silence

house inhabited in dreams

with a prayer

raised to the heaven of Glory

forms dissolving into wind.

My recommendation is, of course, to enjoy the leap of faith that it takes to go along with the words of a writer who has decided to revel in this poetic work that clearly shows the ability to understand that geography and time are conventions, and that beauty lives in the untouchable space of every human being: the spirit and that intangible essence. 

Written by Paloma Cuevas Translated by Molly Furnival-Phillips · View original post [es]

]]> 2 Explosions and one person dead show extremism is still a looming threat in Brazil https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/14/explosions-and-one-person-dead-show-extremism-is-still-a-looming-threat-in-brazil/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/14/explosions-and-one-person-dead-show-extremism-is-still-a-looming-threat-in-brazil/#respond Thu, 14 Nov 2024 21:09:35 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=824161 One man died after trying to bomb Brazil's Supreme Court building

Originally published on Global Voices

The scene at the Supreme Court building after the explosions. Image: Art by Global Voices over picture by Bruno Peres/Agência Brasil. Used with permission.

Congresswoman Erika Hilton was giving a press conference on the latest developments regarding a proposal that could reduce working hours for Brazilians, at the Planalto Palace hall, the presidential working building, when two explosions were heard on November 13, around 7:30 pm. Only 500 meters away, one person lay dead in front of the Supreme Court building in Brasília, Brazil's federal capital.

The first explosion came from a car parked next to the Lower Chamber that had been loaded with fireworks, bricks, and explosives. Around 20 seconds afterward, a second explosion was set off in front of the Supreme Court, leaving one man dead. The justices were finishing a session and were led to exit the building as a security measure.

The deceased was identified as Francisco Wanderley Luiz, 59. Civil police have named him as the car's registered owner. He was dressed in clothes with images of playing card suits — likely a reference to the comic book character Batman's archenemy, the Joker.

For many in Brasília, the incident was reminiscent of when crowds invaded and vandalized the Supreme Court building less than two years ago, on January 8, 2023, attempting to force a coup d'état only one week after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was inaugurated for a third term as Brazil's president.

The 2023 attacks, alongside a second bombing attempt, were a culmination of months of protests after Lula defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 elections, with the former president refusing to acknowledge the result.

After the attacks, over 2,000 bolsonaristas, as Bolsonaro's supporters are known in Brazil, were arrested. Some were sentenced to 17 years in prison for invading and damaging the Three Powers public buildings — the presidential building, the Supreme Court, and the National Congress. Bolsonaro himself, who headed to the United States to avoid attending Lula's inauguration, is currently under investigation for promoting anti-democratic acts.

The Federal Police launched an official inquiry to investigate this latest attack. The findings have yet to be released.

Who is Francisco Wanderley Luiz?

Authorities are still investigating Francisco Wanderley Luiz and his potential motivation in the bombings. A locksmith by trade, in 2020, he ran for the city council of Rio do Sul, a city of roughly 72,500 people in the southern state of Santa Catarina. Luiz, who identified as “Tiü França,” was affiliated with PL, the Liberal Party, which Bolsonaro joined a year later, in 2021.

Brazilian news outlets, such as ICL, have been reporting that Luiz had been posting threats on his social media in the months leading up to the attack. On August 24, Luiz posted a selfie from the Supreme Court plenary with the caption, “They let the fox enter the chicken coop” and “You've been warned.”

The same day, he visited parliamentarian Jorge Goetten's office, a politician affiliated with the Republican party and part of Bolsonaro's base. The congressman, who said he wasn't in office when Luiz tried to visit, told Folha de S. Paulo newspaper that he had known Luiz for over 30 years, and each time they met last year Luiz seemed “emotionally shaken.”

ICL also mentions screenshots of WhatsApp messages that the man sent himself. In one of them, he writes: “Let's play??? Federal Police, you have 72 hours to disarm the bomb in the house of shitty communists.”

The day after the attack, the Federal Police said in a press conference that he had been living in Brasília for three or four months and that the explosives were handcrafted, but with a high potential to cause damage. A video shows the man throwing what looks like small explosives at the Justice statue in front of the Supreme Court and laying his head over another one, which led to his death.

The Federal Police said Luiz was in Brasília in January 2023, but they have yet to confirm if he participated in the January 8th attacks. The rented house he had been living in, just outside of Brasília, contained more explosives and was covered in graffiti referencing the event.

Long wolf or a systemic issue?

While some see the attacks as an act of a “lone wolf,” the story is part of a larger context that has been brewing in Brazil for the last few years. The Federal Police General Director, Andrei Passos Rodrigues, confirmed that extremist groups are still active in Brazil:

Não descartamos nenhuma hipótese. Eu tenho algumas ressalvas com essa expressão do lobo solitário. Ainda que a ação visível seja individual, por trás dessa ação, nunca há só uma pessoa, há sempre um grupo ou ideias de um grupo ou extremismos e radicalismos que levam ao cometimento desses delitos.

We aren't discarding any hypothesis. I have a few reservations with this term ‘lone wolf.’ Even if only one individual is visible, behind this action, there is never only one person, but a group or ideas from a group or extremism and radicalism that lead them to commit the offenses.

Almost two years after the January 8th attacks and with former president Bolsonaro on the verge of being denounced for his participation, politicians that support him have been trying to grant amnesty for all those involved in the attacks. They had tried to bargain for this in the recent election for the presidency of the Lower Chamber.

Bolsonaro himself cannot run for any public position until 2030 after being charged for a meeting where he attacked the electoral system and accused it of fraud without presenting any evidence in front of a group of ambassadors just before the 2022 elections. His passport is also retained by the Federal Police due to other investigations linked to him.

Throughout his presidency, the former president regularly gave speeches portraying the Supreme Court and its justices as enemies. The day after the latest attack, on November 14th, he issued a statement calling it “a sad episode” and “an isolated fact,” saying that is “about time for Brazil to cultivate a proper environment so different ideas can be confronted peacefully.”

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, in charge of the investigations on digital militias, the January 8 attacks, and now the explosions, said the context that led to this latest attack began back then when the infamous hate cabinet incited hate speech against Brazilian institutions, its servants, and their families. Last year, the judge himself was harassed by bolsonaristas at an airport in Rome while traveling with his family.

Isso foi se avolumando sob o falso manto de uma criminosa utilização da liberdade de expressão. Ofender, ameaçar, coagir, em nenhum lugar do mundo isso é liberdade de expressão, isso é crime. Isso foi se agigantando e resultou, a partir da tentativa de descrédito das instituições, no 8 de janeiro.

It swelled under the fake guise of a criminal use of free speech. Offending, threatening, coercing, nowhere in the world is this considered freedom of expression; it is a crime. It was growing, and resulted in an attempt to discredit the institutions on January 8th.

Moraes was also adamantly opposed to the possibility of an amnesty deal. He claimed an amnesty for criminals wouldn't allow a peace process and that “an amnestied criminal is an unpunished criminal.”

At the time of writing this story, President Lula hadn't spoken publicly about the attack. He was at Alvorada Palace, the presidential residence, when the explosions started.

On November 18th, Brazil will welcome world leaders to Rio de Janeiro for the G-20 summit, an annual gathering of international leaders and stakeholders. Given the attacks, officials are already considering how to further reinforce the city's security scheme.

Written by Global Voices Brazil

]]> 0 Villagers vow to return to ghostown in ruins in Oaxaca, Mexico https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/14/villagers-vow-to-return-to-ghostown-in-ruins-in-oaxaca-mexico/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/14/villagers-vow-to-return-to-ghostown-in-ruins-in-oaxaca-mexico/#respond Thu, 14 Nov 2024 17:00:02 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=823935 Stories of a displaced people struggling to return home

Originally published on Global Voices

Woman looking at the ruins of a house in Cerro Metate, Mexico. Photo by Juana García. Used with her permission.

What was once a prosperous town with fertile lands and at least 15 families has become a place of silence, where only the birds sing. An arson fire caused many houses to collapse, while those that are still standing are riddled with bullet holes, and others are just walls.

At the end of March 2024, more than 25 homes were burned down. The drinking water distribution system, light poles, agaves, and the forest of the families of Cerro Metate, one of the towns in the municipality of San Juan Mixtepec, located in the South of Mexico, in Oaxaca, were also either burned or destroyed.

Abraham, a former resident of Cerro Metate, recounts the attack between sighs, while showing what is left of what was once his home:

Quemaron mi casa el que hice con mucho trabajo, lo construí con el dinero que conseguí en Estados Unidos, cuando regresé hice esta casita donde me pasé después, pero me tuve que salir porque a diario estaban disparando y así no se puede vivir, ahora quemaron todo. Cuando todo se calme, ¿dónde voy a vivir?

They burned down my house, which I worked hard to build with the money I earned in the United States. When I came back, I built this little house where I lived afterward. But I had to leave because there were gunshots every day and you can't live like that. Now they burned everything down. When everything calms down, where am I going to live?

Of the house that Abraham had built after working in the United States for six years, only ashes remain, along with some clay utensils and a metal door that stands overlooking what were once the homes of a dozen families.

The song of the wind is heard coming from the forest. It is a sunny day, about 35 people had gathered to participate in tequio — community volunteer work that involves the participation of the entire town. This time they were cutting down trees burnt by the fire in an effort to restore electricity to the area.

Although Cerro Metate has become a ghost town, when there are tequios, former residents return and take turns working, while another group stands guard, watching the nearby conflict zone to warn the others if armed people are approaching.

That day, while they continued their work, bursts of gunfire could be heard in the distance — as if it were a war zone.

The violence, the result of years of political unrest, territory disputes, displacement, and crime, has brought chaos to this once-tranquil region.

Six kilometers away, residents from Santo Domingo Yosoñama, from another municipality, are claiming 1,700 hectares of land from Cerro Metate. The land dispute continues even though the case was settled in 1996 when the Unitary Agrarian Tribunal accredited the land to San Juan Mixtepec.

José Sánchez was displaced from Cerro Metate and sheltered in another community located about five kilometers away, where other families who fled like him are taking refuge. He told Global Voices:

Estamos cansados de esto, todos los días es así, hay días con más disparos y otros menos. Han sido 14 años de vivir en la incertidumbre, con miedo que nos vengan a balear, como lo han hecho. 

We are tired of this, it is like this every day, there are days with more gunshots and others with less. It has been 14 years of living in uncertainty, afraid that they will come and shoot us, as they have done before.

By the end of 2023, more than 380,000 people were forced to move nationwide, according to estimates by the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (CMDPDH).

According to this Commission, both Chiapas and Oaxaca have the highest number of displaced Indigenous people in the country, both in terms of occurrences and number of people.

Daniel Márquez, CMDPDH internal displacement officer, said in an interview:

La mayoría de las formas de violencia están asociadas con armas de fuego. Entonces, hay esa proliferación de actores que tienen armas de una u otra forma. Con esto, hacen que haya un potencial riesgo de desplazamiento, a conflictos de larga data. En Oaxaca tienen mucha incidencia.

Most forms of violence are associated with firearms. So, there is this proliferation of actors who have weapons of one kind or another. With this, they create a potential risk of displacement, of long-standing conflicts. They affect Oaxaca a lot.

A man in the rubble of Cerro Metate, Mexico. Photo by Juana García. Used with permission.

14 years of displacement

Since 2010, residents and various media have documented the burning of more than 50 vehicles, more than 30 houses, almost 100 hectares of forest, and at least 28 murders in the municipality of San Juan Mixtepec. This means that dozens of families have been gradually displaced over the course of 14 years. Some went to live in the municipal capital of San Juan Mixtepec, others to Tlaxiaco, Santiago Juxtlahuaca, Huajuapan de León, the city of Oaxaca, and even to the United States.

Fourteen years ago, before the violence and displacement affected them, they and the residents of Yosoñama respected each other. However, they say that since Antorcha Campesina (Torch of the Peasantry, a political organization) arrived, the violence has worsened, and the people of Yosoñama began to invade the lands of Mixtepec more quickly.

Unlike other displaced communities in this area of ​​Oaxaca, Cerro Metate and Rancho Lucero have been gradually displaced for more than a decade. They organized tequios and guards. The people who accompany Abraham in a tequio say in unison:

Tenemos la esperanza de regresar algún día a Cerro Metate. Pueden corrernos, quemar nuestros cerros, pero no pueden borrar nuestras memorias y registros, porque acá nacimos, acá crecimos y de acá somos.

We hope to return to Cerro Metate one day. They can chase us away, burn our hills, but they cannot erase our memories and records, because we were born here, we grew up here, and we are from here.

Forced displacement has also affected other neighboring communities such as Rancho Lucero, Cuajilotes, Pueblo Viejo, and Río Azucena. For example, S. Suárez from Cuajilotes (who didn't provide his full name to avoid reprisal) decided to go with his family to live in his wife's village, although he returns to serve in the tequios and stand guard. Suárez says:

Nosotros somos los que estamos acá viendo cómo le hacemos para sobrevivir, cómo nos turnamos para hacer guardia, cómo sobrevivimos cada día. Antes salíamos a trabajar a Estados Unidos para mantener a nuestras familias, porque nunca nos llegan los programas de apoyo, pero ahora tampoco podemos salir porque estamos al pendiente de lo que pueda sucederles a nuestras familias.

We are the ones here figuring out how to survive, how to take turns on guard duty, how to survive each day. We used to go to work in the United States to support our families, because the [state] support programs never reached us, but now we can't leave because we are worried about what might happen to our families.

His father was killed in February 2013, and he says that since then, the Attorney General's Office of the State of Oaxaca has not informed him about the progress of the investigation, if there even is one. The fight to defend this territory has orphaned children, widowed women, and left parents without children.

In an interview, the authorities of San Juan Mixtepec have said that it is a conflict that affects the entire municipality. However, there are five communities that have been facing the bullets for 14 years, a conflict that has not stopped; on the contrary, it has worsened, leaving Cerro Metate and Rancho Lucero as ghost towns.

In 2011, José Sánchez was lent a house in Río Azucena and planned to ​​return to Cerro Metate soon, but 13 years have passed, and he is still away from his home. In March, his house was also burned down. In 2011 he fled as gunfire broke out. He states with a broken voice:

Estamos cansados, todos los días se escuchan disparos, todos los días nos turnamos para cuidar nuestro territorio, nuestro hogar y bosques, para que no se acerquen a adueñarse de las tierras. Nada es igual que antes.

We are tired, every day we hear gunshots, every day we take turns to protect our territory, our homes and forests, so that no one comes to take over our lands. Nothing is the same as before.

Photo of an abandoned house in Cerro Metate, Mexico. Photo by Juana García. Used with her permission.

The displaced families are begging for the violence in this area of ​​San Juan Mixtepec to stop, for justice to reach them, so that they can return to their homes, to Cerro Metate, to work their lands.

Since the conflict began, neither the families of Cerro Metate nor the others have received any humanitarian support from the governments for the violence they are experiencing. On the contrary, they have closed the schools in Pueblo Viejo where the children attended.

Written by Juana García Translated by Teodora C. Hasegan · View original post [es]

]]> 0 What changes will arise from the Brazilian Supreme Court's ruling on personal marijuana use https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/14/what-will-the-brazilian-supreme-courts-ruling-on-personal-use-of-marijuana-change/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/14/what-will-the-brazilian-supreme-courts-ruling-on-personal-use-of-marijuana-change/#respond Thu, 14 Nov 2024 13:59:21 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=823079 The ruling could impact millions of people, especially in overcrowded prisons

Originally published on Global Voices

Image: Art by Global Voices. Free Use. Kindle Media/Pexels

In a historic decision in June 2024, Brazil’s Supreme Court (STF), the highest court in the country, approved the decriminalization of marijuana possession for personal use, marking a significant step in national drug policy.

The ruling redefines the legal approach to the consumption of cannabis sativa derivatives by setting clear guidelines to distinguish between trafficking and personal use. Under this new interpretation, possessing small amounts of the substance for personal consumption will no longer be considered a crime, a decision that could potentially impact millions of Brazilians.

According to the new court understanding, possession of up to 40 grams (about 1.4 ounces) or six female plants of marijuana is now considered personal use, separating drug users from drug dealers.

Law 11.343, from 2006, which established the National Drug Policy System and was signed during President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva‘s first term, had already acknowledged the distinction between users and traffickers or dealers. However, without specific criteria, the decision in each case was left to law enforcement officers or the judiciary. Crimes related to drug trafficking have also led to significant growth in Brazil's prison population.

Gabriella Arima, a lawyer with the Legal Network for Drug Policy Reform (Rede Reforma), explained to Global Voices:

O que era para proteger o usuário teve o efeito contrário. Juízes e delegados decidiam se o sujeito seria enquadrado e processado como usuário ou traficante baseados em elementos subjetivos, como natureza e quantidade da substância em posse, local e condições em que se desenvolveu a ação, e condições sociais e pessoais, como antecedentes criminais. Isso permitia que moralismos e preconceitos pessoais influenciassem as decisões, em vez de critérios científicos e técnicos.

What was meant to protect users had the opposite effect. Judges and police officers decided whether someone would be treated and prosecuted as a user or dealer based on subjective factors, such as the type and amount of the substance, the location and conditions in which the action took place, and personal and social background, including criminal records. This allowed personal biases and moral judgments to influence decisions, instead of scientific and technical criteria.

According to Arima, the new ruling provides more objective guidelines to determine if the substance is for personal use, which she views as a positive change.

A 2015 survey conducted by Fiocruz (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, one of the main science research centers in Latin America) and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), released in 2019, revealed that 7.7 percent of the population between 12 and 65 years old had consumed marijuana. However, 2023 data from the Datafolha research institute indicates that 1 in 5 Brazilians reported having used the substance at some point in their lives.

Organizations like NGOs Conectas and Rede Reforma celebrated the decriminalization as a crucial step towards reducing overcrowding in prisons and violence related to drug trafficking, which disproportionately affects Black people and poorer regions.

Still, experts interviewed by Global Voices pointed out that the decision did not address the entire complexity of the issue and highlighted the need to end the so-called war on drugs, a prohibitionist policy seen as ineffective.

Myro Rolim, a social educator working on harm reduction with drug users, director of the Brazilian Multidisciplinary Association for Drug Studies (ABRAMD), and member of the Brazilian Network for Harm Reduction and Human Rights (REDUC), is cautious about the changes on the ground. He says:

The [STF decision] came too late, [for something that] caused permanent damage to Brazil’s social fabric. I see the reality on the streets, where there is a lack of investment in education for autonomy, and prohibition is still the rule.

Protester calls for marijuana legalization in Brazil during a march in São Paulo. Photo: Paulo Pinto/Agência Brasil, used with permission.

Decriminalization vs. Legalization

STF ministers emphasized that the ruling does not legalize marijuana use. In practice, consumption is still illegal, but decriminalizing it means the punishment is administrative, not criminal. This means that if someone is caught with up to 40 grams of marijuana, they could be stopped by the police, but not arrested.

A study by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) points out that decriminalizing cannabis could have an impact between 1 percent and 2.4 percent on Brazil’s prison population, potentially saving the system between BRL 262 million and BRL 591 million Brazilian annually (between USD 46.6 million and USD 105 million).

Brazil has one of the largest prison populations globally in absolute numbers, surpassed only by China and the United States. Over 850,000 people are incarcerated, with an estimated quarter of them imprisoned for drug trafficking offenses. About 19,000 are detained for possessing up to 100 grams of marijuana, and more than 8,500 for possessing only 25 grams, according to 2023 and 2024 data.

In Brazil, the punishment for marijuana users was turned into law in 1976. A UOL news outlet story notes that marijuana likely arrived in the country as early as 1549, and was classified as a product “of interest to the colony” for decades before being criminalized in 1830 by the Rio de Janeiro City Chamber, which “punished enslaved people and others” with three days of detention or a lashing. Nationwide prohibition only came in 1938.

Supreme Court President Luís Roberto Barroso highlighted that the new ruling can be applied retroactively when it benefits the defendant, meaning that individuals currently imprisoned for possessing small amounts of marijuana could request a review of their sentences.

In August, a ruling by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) applied the new precedent and acquitted a person imprisoned for possessing 23 grams of marijuana.

Protester holds sign: ‘Marijuana is a matter of health’. Photo: Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil, used with permission.

Drug education 

Even after the STF decision, experts say that Brazil still lacks comprehensive education about psychoactive substances.

While this decision certainly marks progress, they say Brazil still needs to regulate the production and distribution of cannabis, create support programs for users, and develop educational initiatives that are not based on stigma. Rolim says:

É inerente à sociedade o desejo de experimentar com a mente, mas é essencial educar sobre quem pode não estar apto para isso, os riscos envolvidos, as melhores formas de consumo e onde buscar assistência. A educação sobre o uso de drogas não deve ser direcionada apenas aos jovens, mas deve abranger toda a sociedade, incluindo profissionais de segurança, comunidades e trabalhadores da saúde.

The desire to experiment with the mind is innate to society, but it’s essential to educate about who may not be suited for it, the risks involved, the best ways to consume, and where to seek help. Education on drug use should not be aimed only at young people but should cover all of society, including law enforcement, communities, and healthcare workers.

Recent changes in drug policies in countries like Uruguay challenge prohibition-based approaches. Some countries, such as Portugal, promote alternatives focused on public health and human rights, while others, like Australia, experiment with the therapeutic use of classic psychedelics.

“There’s a conservative narrative that says marijuana is a gateway drug. I believe that the discussion about marijuana use has, in fact, been the gateway to a better understanding of the use of psychoactive substances for individual and collective health and well-being,” says Gabriella Arima.

Recent research indicates that psychedelics can be effective in treating conditions such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety, and substance dependence.

With authorization from the Brazilian health regulatory agency (Anvisa), Brazil has since 2014 allowed the import of CBD-based medicines extracted from the cannabis plant to treat conditions like seizures, although these treatments are still costly and inaccessible for most people.

In December 2019, the country took a further step by authorizing, also through Anvisa, the production and importation of cannabis-based products for medicinal use, setting guidelines for marketing, prescribing, distribution, monitoring, and supervision, which made it easier to find these medicines in pharmacies.

Written by Isabela Carvalho Translated by Isabela Carvalho · View original post [pt]

]]> 0 Fresh threats to free press in Paraguay, Argentina, and Cuba https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/10/fresh-threats-to-free-press-in-paraguay-argentina-and-cuba/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/10/fresh-threats-to-free-press-in-paraguay-argentina-and-cuba/#respond Sun, 10 Nov 2024 07:15:19 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=823855 A round-up of threats against freedom of expression in October

Originally published on Global Voices

This story was written by Laura Vidal for IFEX, a Global Voices media partner and global network of organizations defending free speech.

October in the Americas witnessed intensifying pressures on freedom of expression, with new legislative actions and escalating threats to journalists marking a difficult month for civic space. In Paraguay, proposed legislation requiring non-profits to disclose detailed financial and personnel records threatens to hinder independent media’s ability to operate freely. Argentina saw a surge in government hostility toward the press under President Milei, whose restrictive decrees and inflammatory rhetoric have fostered an increasingly hostile environment for journalists. Meanwhile, Cuba’s new Social Communication Law has brought severe repercussions for independent journalists, who report facing threats, detentions, and coerced confessions under state pressure.

Paraguay: Proposed legislation threatens press freedom

The Paraguayan Congress recently approved a controversial bill aimed at tightening control over non-profit organisations, a move that press freedom advocates warn could impose severe restrictions on independent media.

The bill, now awaiting President Santiago Peña’s decision, mandates that all non-profit organisations, including those receiving foreign funding, must submit semiannual financial reports to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It also requires NGOs to disclose lists of collaborators, which could put both staff and donors at risk.

“Many independent Paraguayan media organisations are non-profits dependent on foreign donor funds. This law would force them to disclose sensitive information about those they work with, creating a serious obstacle to their work,” said Cristina Zahar of IFEX member the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Press advocates, including the Human Rights Coordinating Committee of Paraguay (Codehupy) urged President Peña to reject the legislation, citing risks to both press freedom and civic engagement.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has also expressed concern. The office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression warned that the bill’s extensive requirements — such as mandatory registration for all NGOs, detailed tracking of funds and expenditures, and exhaustive documentation of organisational activities — would expand the administrative burdens already in place. It also flags that vague language in the bill, linking nonprofit status to terms like “public utility,” “social interest,” and “cultural interest,” could enable government authorities to interpret compliance loosely.

The law introduces stringent penalties for non-compliance, including suspension of organisational activities for up to six months and disqualification from holding office for up to five years. Critics argue that these punitive measures could further constrain civic space and hinder NGO operations, noting similar authoritarian strategies across the region used to control civil society, as seen in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Escalating tensions against the press in Argentina

Since Javier Milei took office as Argentina’s president, antagonism towards the press has escalated. Milei has repeatedly lashed out at journalists critical of his administration, using opportunities to dismiss and berate them. This approach has raised concerns among media workers and press organisations, as it signals a shift towards greater governmental intolerance of critical reporting.

These escalations follow other important recent events. One was the controversial decree 780/2024, which introduced amendments limiting access to public information, using ambiguous language and granting authorities discretion to withhold information by citing these terms. Previous to that, in July, IFEX member the Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA) reported that digital operators linked to the government had launched a smear campaign against independent media.

This hostility, notably endorsed by Milei himself, is seen as unprecedented, especially given his brief tenure. Then, in late September, Milei’s aggressive rhetoric reached new levels when he publicly incited crowds to insult journalists during a party event. FOPEA voiced concern, stating, “Inciting people to publicly insult journalists is not only an expression of intolerance but a strategy that undermines democratic principles.”

IACHR Special Rapporteur Pedro Vaca echoed FOPEA’s concerns, remarking, “Having a disagreement is one thing, but for the official voice to initiate or condone violence is another. State voices should never be the starting point for a permissive environment of violence.”

Milei’s preferred medium of attack has been the social platform X (formerly Twitter), where he frequently criticizes journalists and detractors. He rarely holds press conferences and only occasionally engages with media figures he deems favorable. Political analyst Óscar Romano, speaking to France 24, commented on Milei’s style, noting how figures from the new right wing employ a “direct, explicit, and visceral” communication approach, often using social media to convey impactful, headline-grabbing statements that resonate with their audience and drive engagement.

Cuba's new Social Communication Law

Cuba’s new Social Communication Law, enacted on October 4th, has unleashed a severe wave of repression targeting independent journalists who operate outside the official media landscape. Journalists report facing harassment, threats, and accusations of mercenarismo (mercenary activity), a charge under Article 143 of the Penal Code that was introduced in 2022 and carries penalties of four to ten years in prison. Authorities allege these journalists receive foreign funds to carry out actions that threaten constitutional order.

“The Cuban regime, without delay, has unleashed a new wave of repression, which can be described as state terrorism,” said Normando Hernández, the general director of the Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and Press (ICLEP), to the LatAm Journalism Review. He added that the purpose is clear: “to instill terror, force them to abandon their informative work, and warn them, through threats and coercion, that the new law is another instrument to imprison them.”

IFEX members ARTICULO 19 and Reporters without Borders have documented disturbing patterns in the interrogations of journalists. They are subjected to verbal abuse and are pressured to either sign statements or record video confessions acknowledging their involvement with projects allegedly funded by foreign sources. These confessions, which also tend to be broadcasted on state-controlled media — an additional layer of humiliation — are also made under the threat of imprisonment or harm to their families, loved ones, or other people in their support networks. The targeted individuals are forced to choose between being labeled as accused, or as state witnesses, with evidence gathered through these forced confessions being used to substantiate criminal charges.

Independent digital media outlets in the region, including El Toque, Cubanet, Periodismo de Barrio, and Magazine AM:PM, have reported arbitrary detentions, illegal interrogations, threats of prosecution, and confiscation of personal and work equipment. Other IFEX members including CPJ,  the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA), and a number of human rights organizations have condemned these actions, warning that the Social Communication Law represents a new tool for the Cuban government to curb freedom of expression and restrict access to information.

Written by IFEX

]]> 0 Why does the Spanish crown refuse to apologize for colonizing Mexico? https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/09/why-does-the-spanish-crown-refuse-to-apologize-for-colonizing-mexico/ https://globalvoices.org/2024/11/09/why-does-the-spanish-crown-refuse-to-apologize-for-colonizing-mexico/#comments Sat, 09 Nov 2024 03:50:02 +0000 https://globalvoices.org/?p=823318 The horrors of the Spanish colonization of Mexico, a “black legend?”

Originally published on Global Voices

A collage made by Global Voices showing an 18th century painting by an anonymous artist about ethnic castes during the Spanish colonization of Mexico. Source: Wikimedia commons, public domain archive.

Before the inauguration of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo on October 1, her first diplomatic conflict had already begun. Although she invited the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, to her inauguration, she denied attendance to King Felipe IV of Bourbon. Claudia justified her actions by highlighting the event where King Felipe's refused to answer  a diplomatic letter written by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) in 2019, where he asked the king for an apology on behalf of the Spanish crown for the violence and massacres in Mexico during the Spanish conquest and the colonial period.

For years now, European nations have offered a set of apologies for their colonial past in the African continent. For example, the Belgian crown offered an apology for the massacres and mutilations made to the Congolese population by King Leopold II and the German president Frank Walter Steinmeier apologized for the abuses committed against the Indigenous peoples of Tanzania.

On the American continent, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized to Indigenous nations for the residential schools (where native children were killed) and even Pope Francis apologized on behalf of the Catholic Church for the violence in the evangelization of Mexico. These apologies likely gave AMLO the idea that he could obtain one from the Spanish crown, which he requested again in 2021.

That same year, AMLO apologized in the name of the Mexican state to the Mayo and Yaqui Indigenous communities in Northern Mexico for the massacres carried out by the state under Porfirio Díaz, Mexico's last dictator. He also apologized to the Mayas in the southern state of Yucatán for the brutal Caste War, and to the Tzotzil people for the massacre of Indigenous people in Acteal. And of course,  the massacres of Chinese migrants during the Mexican Revolution.

Spain celebrates its National Day (Día de la Hispanidad — Colombus Day) on October 12 — the date when Christopher Columbus set foot in the American continent. This day is the greatest source of pride for any nationalist and patriot and is also the celebration of the beginning of a colonization process that would lead to the creation of the Spanish empire and immortalize Spain in history as a conquering country. However, it would leave an indelible mark on the native peoples.

The black legend and the golden legend

Since 1552, the controversial book “Brevísima Relación de la Destrucción de las Indias” (A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies) by the monk Fray Bartolomé de las Casas would reveal the excesses committed by Spanish conquistadors in the encomiendas. Centuries later, in 1914, historian Julián Juderías would spread the term “black legend,” claiming that this depiction of Spanish history in the Americas was biased and false, with the intention of portraying Spain as an enemy rather than as a cultural ally, a “humanist” that granted equal treatment to Indigenous peoples in the Americas.

However, primary sources show Aztec codices evidencing with graphic brutality the Spanish punishments to the Indigenous such as “emperramiento” (prisoners thrown to the dogs of war), and colonial paintings would show the stratified division of society in Spanish colonies in Latin America.

Nevertheless, for the Hispanic patriot Juderías, the history of Spanish colonization was painted as a “black legend.” One common complaint was that it was the Anglo-Saxon countries — first the British Empire and later the United States — that incited hatred toward the motherland, disdain for the Hispanic past, and encouraged rebellions in Latin America.

Of course, the attempted “reconquest” by King Ferdinand VII in the 19th century painted a different picture. In 1829, the Spanish tried to reconquer Mexico by besieging the coastal city of Tampico, and in 1862 Spanish forces joined a military expedition with England and France to collect debts to Mexico. Historically, there are reasons to understand the anti-Spanish sentiment during the 19th century.

There is a glorified idea of the Spanish Empire as a provider of culture, Catholic values, and civilization to the Mesoamerican nations, falling into denials such as the “quinto real” (the percentage of gold extracted from the colonies and sent to Spain) and defending the notion that this wealth was used to promote the construction of cities, palaces, universities, and cathedrals.

An idyllic past is portrayed, where miscegenation was consensual, where Indigenous peoples had equal representation under Spanish law, and where Hispanic violence was always overshadowed by the human sacrifices celebrated by the Aztec and Inca empires. The fact that Indigenous peoples were not eliminated as they were in the United States or Canada provides a justification for the colonization process.

The new Mexican identity

Mexico, unlike other nations in the region, went through a revolutionary process from 1910 to 1920 that marked a drastic change in all institutions and social classes. Suddenly, landowners of Spanish heritage, magnates who had inherited fortunes since the colonial era, lost everything at the turn of the 20th century. For Mexicans, it was easier to identify with the farmers and workers who had fought in the revolution than with the white Spaniard descendant elites that adorned the estates and public buildings. For Mexico, it made more sense to connect with an Indigenous past than with a Spanish one.

“La Raza Cósmica” (The Cosmic Race) (1925) by José Vasconcelos, the first secretary of public education, would be decisive in shaping a more homogeneous model of national history. It portrays Mexican identity as the union of two bloodlines, two worlds. A being stemming from both an Indigenous past and a Spanish one, it exalted Mexican nationalism while never forgetting the cruelty involved in the founding of Mexico.

Until the 1990s, during the administration of former president Salinas de Gortari, the term “Encounter of Two Worlds” was used to refer to the interactions between Spanish conquistadors and Indigenous peoples.

The diplomatic conflict

In 2019, when AMLO sent the letter, a response from the Spanish crown was expected. That response never came. Spanish investors in Mexico and the Spanish right, led by the president of the party VOX, Santiago Abascal, and a congresswoman of the People's Party (PP), Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, began to criticize AMLO's government, which the former president saw as an act of intervention in his administration.

Sheinbaum wrote a tweet explaining that her refusal to invite the King of Spain was not due to any ideology, but rather because of his refusal to respond to a letter from the president of Mexico. Now, as president of Mexico, she would remind Spain that debts are not forgotten.

Some attitudes of the Spanish kings are difficult to forget, such as King Felipe VI's refusal to stand up from his seat in the presence of the sword of Colombia’s liberator Simón Bolívar during the investiture ceremony of Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego in 2022. Or the famous “Why don't you shut up?” from King Juan Carlos I, directed at the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

If the Spanish crown is interested in deepening its relationship to Mexico, then an apology can strengthen those ties. However, as Spain is linked to the common European interests of the European Union, not Latin America, asking for an apology for an event that occurred 700 years ago seems ridiculous to them and Spanish investors have no problem continuing to invest in Mexico. Only the future will tell if there is a change of thinking in Spanish society to reconsider its role with Latin America.

If you are interested in this topic, read this: Portugal and the Myth of the Good Colonizer.

Written by Roberto Díaz Translated by Roberto Díaz, Dalia Tarek · View original post [es]

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