Buenos Aires’ city center is clogged with several large protests today, as demonstrations led by more than 60 self-managed cooperatives and factories navigate around each other, cutting into the street of 9 de Julio.

The groups are demanding the reversal of a budget cut that was imposed on self-managed work programs.

Alfredo Uriarte, a worker for the Brukman textile factory, told Clarin that after this protest they will “march to Corrientes to the Labor Ministry”.

Uriarte said the groups are protesting the cutting of $600 of welfare they used to be given monthly.

“December was the last time we received it,” he said.

Another protest led by public hospital doctors from Buenos Aires is further congesting the city streets today, as the doctors have situated themselves at the House of the Province of Buenos Aires at Callao 200 to demand higher wages.

La Nacion reported that just one hour later, state employees mobilized around the Ministry of Finance at the intersection of avenues 9 de Julio and Avenida de Mayo to ask for a 35% pay increase.

Clarin reported that protests will likely have difficulties navigating around each other today, both for of the sheer volume of demonstrators, and also because of the heat.

The student movement in Chile has gained quite the momentum, with over 600,000 taking to the streets just last week. The Confederation of Stuents in Chile, or FECH, originally mobilised last year to protest against the Government’s ‘privatisation agenda’, burdening universities with the responsibility of financing themselves. Given the dire perceived consequences this would have on social mobility in Chile, unions and social groups have also joined the fight, calling for urgent reforms.

Strikes have been held, sit-ins have been staged and the public have rallied throughout the capital and country alike. Tension came to a head last week as a 16-year-old protestor was murdered; it transpired just yesterday, that the murder was at the hands of a police officer.

Given that Chile’s democracy is still relatively young (with Pinochet’s authoritarian rule ending just two decades earlier) the scope of the protest is hugely significant, for the country and region as a whole.

The Argentina Independent took to the streets of Buenos Aires to find out what Argentines really think about it. Do they agree with the students? How will the situation be resolved? And what does it mean for the future of their neighbour?

Nicolas, 26, public works

I think the fact that they are protesting is a really important thing, and its obvious they are doing the right thing. Its a difficult place to be doing it, but I think they need to keep going, getting stronger, getting more media attention and as a result other South American countries will support them.

I think Chile at the moment is very conscious of political changes happening throughout South America, with everything that’s been happening with protests in Brazil, in Bolivia in Peru, in Ecuador, with the public occupying a different political space to their governments. I think this is really the case in Chile, which, obviously has reached a very different political phase to that it was in before. They’ve seen how people have reacted to policy in other Latin American countries and emulated it themselves. Its a very fragile situation obviously, but people have to take risks if they want to bring about change.

Carolina, 31, Engineer

I think its important for students to have their opinion heard, and for us to listen to them, but there have to be limits. For people who are educated and intelligent there should be more respectful ways of protesting, without violence. They should voice their complaints and come to a decision without fighting. I hope that the government doesn’t react aggressively, or return to the way it behaved during the dictatorship.

Federico, 25, student

From what I understand, they are protesting for free public education, something like the model we have in Argentina. They want the government to allocate enough money for public education. I understand it perfectly. We have a great education system and they should follow something like it. I think they will come to an agreement, I don’t think it can carry on the way it is.

Marali, 18, film student

I’m completely in agreement with the students, because I think every young person has the right to learn, to be educated. It seems to me that it would be very sad if the clashes end in undemocratic policies- this happens often, that the government or police try to supress protesters and the democracy that they are fighting for by protesting is lost.

 
Pilar, 55, housewife

I don’t think it should be solved violently- violence from one side brings violence from the other, and that isn’t the way a democracy should function. There must be a solution, its a political problem more than anything else.

Nearly 15 million people were summoned by ecological organizations this Saturday to repudiate HidroAysén project. They congregated in Santiago de Chile, capital city of Chile.

Demonstrator s marched to the government house, the Palacio de la Moneda, where a stage was set up.

During the protest, demonstrators displayed banners that read “Patagonia without dams” and “Piñera [president]: Chile is not for sale”.

The demonstration was set up mostly by the organization Ecological Action (Acción Ecológica) and the Defense Council Patagonia.

This is the fourth demonstration in Santiago de Chile after the Environmental Review Commission (CEA) from Aysén approved the HidroAysén project.

The project is property of Spanish company Endesa. It plans the construction of five hydroelectric plants in the commune of Aysén, Chilean Patagonia.

Aysén’s locals reject the project on the grounds of it environmental impact.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the news agency of AMARC-ALC

Yesterday in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, people protested against the big mining and energy projects. The aim was to raise awareness about the effects of these projects on the land and the environment.

The protest began on Monday 14th March, the International Day of Action against Dams, for Rivers, Water and Life.

The first demonstrations were held in the regions of the country which were mostly affected by the mining and energy projects and ended yesterday in the country’s capital.

The demonstrations were aimed to appeal to the defense of territories, the debate and the construction of a policy that respects the food and energy sovereignty.

It also raised the need to generate alternatives to the extractive model imposed by the capital’s private and transnational firms. The people who protested noted that these companies simply ignore the needs and demands of the people and that they violate the rights of those living in the territories.

Organisations like the National Network of Affected People also have been participated in the demonstrations. As well as communities which have been affected by the Colosa Mine and the Social Movement for Defense of the Sogamoso River.

The dam-affected network said the “large mining and hydroelectric projects have resulted in violation of rights, dispossession of land, involvement of ways of survival and a strong attack on the country’s indigenous cultures. ”

It ultimately charged that “the ongoing projects will displace over ten thousand people and affect the livelihoods of even thousands more. ”

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the news agency of Amarc-Alc

The Chamber of Deputies of Chile unanimously adopted the opposition and independent party’s request to question the Minister of Energy, Ricardo Raineri. The case relates to the raise of gas prices in the region of Magallanes.

The interrogation of the secretary is scheduled for Wednesday of next week.

The minister must explain the government announcement to raise prices of gas in the region of Magallanes to the Chamber of Deputies

The initiative was introduced by area legislators, Carolona Goic and Miodrag Marinovic,

The deputy of the Christian Demoncrats, Carolina Goic, announced that Raineri had not assumed responsibility for the occurrences in Magallanes.

The independent, Marinovic, affirmed that it is a historical interpellation that demonstrates an abuse of power by the central government.

The inhabitants of Magallanes began a strike for an indefinite period to reject the price of gas.

In addition, they created roadblocks in order to stage the demonstrations.

In one of the courts in the capital, Punta Arenas, two women were run over and died.

The people of Magellan reject the government’s decision to eliminate the subsidy that makes gas cheaper in the area.

The measure is translated into a 16.8% increases in gas balls, taking effect 1^st February 2011.

Gas is indispensable in the area due to the cold weather experienced in Chilean Patagonia.

Story courtesy of Agencia Pulsar, a news agency run by AMARC-ALC network of community radios.

More than 5,000 people joined a demonstration in Punta Arenas, Chile, to reject the government’s decision to cut gas subsidiaries in the region of Magallanes.

The demonstration in Explanada de Avenida Costanera was supported by representatives of the country’s main political parties. 

The president of the city assembly in Magallanes, Eugenio Bahamondes, declared that if they didn’t receive an answer by Monday a region-wide strike would take place on the following Wednesday.

The people of Magallanes have rejected the decision taken by Sebastián Piñera’s government to remove the subsidiary which makes gas prices cheaper in the area.

These measures will lead to a 16.8% rise in gas bills that are dated from the 1^st February. The assembly said that the increase has lead to “scenes of protest” and that if there is no answer by Monday they will be obliged “to use more radical methods” so that “it is not the market that is imposed, rather reason and prudence”.

The strike, which was called for by the assembly, will go on for an indefinite amount of time and is being held in the main cities of the region.

In his election campaign, Piñera promised to maintain the favourable terms for the commodity’s value in this region.

Punta Arenas, the capital of Magallanes, lies 3,000km from Santiago de Chile and gas is vital because of the cold climate in Chilean Patagonia. The area has an average lowest temperature of six degrees Celsius and the highest annual temperatures do not rise above eleven degrees.

Story courtesy of Agencia Pulsar, a news agency run by AMARC-ALC network of community radios.

The city’s transport is on strike today, in protest of the death of 23-year-old Mariano Ferreya, who was murdered yesterday in a series of violent union clashes that took place between Avellaneda and Baracas.

Mariano Ferreya, 23, a member of the Partido Obrero (PO), was shot dead yesterday afternoon during a bloody altercation between the Railway Union and leftist labour groups. Elsa Rodriguez, 60 received a shot in the head and is now in a coma. Two others have been left injured.

The fighting came amidst clashes between the Railway Union and members of worker’s unions, who were protesting the loss of over 100 contract jobs in the past three months.

Conflicts began last July when 117 employees of Rock Railroad were dismissed. The decision came on the part of the Rail Operations Management Unit (UGOFE), who manage the company.

PO and leftist groups have remained in conflict with the Railway Union ever since. The last railroad blockade occurred last month.

Yesterday’s altercation began with rocks and sticks hurled between the two groups. The fatal shot is believed to have originated from the side of the Railway Union, but investigations are underway.

A round of hearings with witnesses will begin today. The prosecutor in charge of the case, Cristina Camaño, explained, “If we can find the authors of the crime, we’ll be then able to find the masterminds who planned this.” No suspects have been identified yet.

The Central Argentine Workers Union (CTA) has called for nation wide demonstrations to show solidarity for the death of Ferreya. At 6.30am Kraft workers set up road blockades in the General Pacheco are of the Pan American Highway. Protestors donned signs condemning the death of the 23-year-old PO member.

In Buenos Aires the CTA has announced a citywide transport strike and a march through Plaza de Mayo is planned for this afternoon. Head of CTA, Hugo Yasky, declared “there can’t be any impunity. We must put an end to these union thugs.”

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has condemned the killing and demanded punishment for the perpetrators. Transport should return to normal this evening.

Photo courtesy of Independent Journalist with Amazon Watch

On Friday 5th June, protests against government measures to open resources in the Peruvian Amazon to foreign businesses descended into deadly violence. The confrontation, near the town of Bagua Grande, 870 miles north of the capital, Lima, culminated in the deaths of police officers and protesters alike. Indigenous groups and opposition politicians are now calling for the resignation of the president. Human rights groups have urged a suspension of trade over what they are calling ‘Peru’s Tiananmen’.

Around two thousand natives, many armed with spears and machetes, took to the streets in protests over the implementation of controversial laws which take away their rights to land in the jungle. The police response was armed with tear gas and grenades.

Reports vary on the exact number of people killed in the confrontations. Survival International, a support organisation for tribal peoples, stated that “up to twenty” native protesters and seven police officers died after armed forces were called in to clear a roadblock on Friday. Other sources report that eleven police officers lost their lives in this confrontation. After a weekend of clashes, indigenous groups number their dead at between forty and sixty. Peruvian Interior Minister Mercedes Cabanillas contradicted this claim, stating that nine indigenous people and twenty four police were killed during Friday and Saturday.

Ongoing tensions

On 9^th April, thousands of native residents of the Peruvian Amazon started demonstrating against controversial Law 1090, blockading rivers and roads and forcing the closing of an airport. President of the republic Alan García Pérez attempted to impose a night time curfew to quell the uprising.

Photo courtesy of Independent Journalist with Amazon Watch

Allies of the president last week blocked a motion in Congress to debate the decree, which modifies the Forestry and Wildlife Act, leaving 45 million hectares, equivalent to about 60% of Peru’s jungle, out of the Forestry Heritage Protection system. Oil giants including Anglo-French company Perenco, Argentina’s PlusPetrol, Canada’s Petrolifera, Spain’s Repsol and Brazil’s Petrobras are among those named by Survival International as having interests in the region. Felling of the rainforest by logging companies is also causing concern.

Prime Minister Yehude Simon refused to negotiate with indigenous groups while protests were going on, before declaring a sixty day state of emergency in the Cuzco, Ucayali, Loreto and Amazonas regions on 14^th May. The military were called upon because demonstrations were blocking food and fuel supplies to the north of the country.

Alberto Pizango, elected head of the Interethnic Association for Development in the Peruvian Rainforest is now wanted for his involvement in the protests. A warrant has been issued for his arrest on charges of sedition, conspiracy and rebellion. He has been granted asylum by the Nicaraguan embassy in Lima. President García labelled Pizango a “delinquent” and said that indigenous leaders were responsible for the consequences of radicalising their protests.

Criticism for the government

Coordinator of the National Assembly of Regional Governments, César Villanueva, condemned the president’s inflammatory language. Nicanor Alvarado, representative of the Vicariate of the Environment for Jaén, raised concerns over police intervention in the violence and alleged that dead and injured indigenous protesters were being moved to a military barracks. Alvarado called on international organisations to intervene and demanded that Congress form a high level committee “to put an end to this persecution and death of natives”.

“Mistakes were made, of course,” Yehude Simon said to CPN Radio. “In this case, the government was unable to communicate with the indigenous communities, thinking that it could develop the Amazon region from Lima.”

President García’s government is unpopular at the moment; Reuters announced on Saturday that his approval rating stands at 30%. Analysts say this is partly due to his favouring free markets and foreign investors and apparently neglecting the country’s poor.

Photo courtesy of Independent Journalist with Amazon Watch

Before Pizango went into hiding, he is reported to have said, “We feel that the government has always treated us as second class citizens.”

Mauricio Mulder, a congressman in García’s APRA party was accused of having “blood on his hands” by the Nationalist opposition. “The government does not kill policemen or natives,” he responded.

President García’s office issued a statement saying that protesters “carefully planned an attack against Peru”. He compared tactics used with those employed in the 1980s and 1990s by the Shining Path insurgency, a self-proclaimed Marxist-Leninist-Maoist group who waged a bloody war against the state. This group are understood to have assumed the role of fighting for the working classes against countryside landowners and urban capitalists, whom they viewed as exploiters.

Peruvian press sources reported that Environment Minister Antonio Brack declared the Nationalist opposition party’s calls to amend Law 1090 a “political whim”. Brack asked legislators not to commit the “error” of repealing the law, suggesting that without it there would be no legal wildlife protection. “Without that forestry law, those forests will be totally unprotected and illegal loggers will make their living in the whole Amazon,” he is quoted as claiming.

An international reaction

Survival International issued a petition on Monday, calling for all oil companies operating in the Peruvian Amazon to “suspend operations”. The organisation’s director, Stephen Corry, referred to the “desperate measure” to which tribes are being driven “to try and save their lands which have been stolen from them for five centuries”.

Corry went on to say, “Their protests signal that the colonial that the colonial era has finally drawn to a close. No longer are Amazon Indians prepared to put up with the illegal and brutal treatment that has been routine…This is the Amazon’s Tianamen. If it finishes the same way, it will also end Peru’s international reputation.

“Oil companies operating in Peru should suspend their operations until calm is restored and the Indians’ communal land rights are properly respected – only then can they negotiate as equals.”