With over 3,000 members taking part, Paraguay’s National Farmers Federation’s (FNC) march began earlier today. The march, taking place in the country’s capital, Asunción, bears the slogan “Against large estates, in favour of agrarian reform, against ‘soyafication’ and genetically modified crops”. The aim of the march is to protect the rights and interests of the sector, outlined above.
Congress building in Paraguay by lett -/\=, on Flickr
The protesters arrived at the capital during the early hours of yesterday morning, and began to concentrate near the Metropolitan Seminary in the city centre. From there they marched to the Legislative building.
Since last Tuesday, various protests have been taking place throughout the country, the bulk of which were characterised by roadblocks and small gatherings in front of central organisations such as the Ministry of Finance and Agriculture and the Paraguayan Central Bank.
The famers are seeking payment for subsidies that have been delayed due to drought. More than 20,00 families have been left waiting and have yet to receive payment.
Despite the proximity of the upcoming elections on the 21st April, the head of the FNC, Teodolina Villalba, was keen to underline that the protest was not being carried out with that in mind, but rather to remind political leaders of their obligations to the farmers. To emphasise the point, she went on to explain how the farmers intend to nullify their votes as a form of protest: “rather than choosing a candidate, we are going to write instead that we are voting for farmers rights, and for agrarian reform, etc”.
Paraguayan famers face many difficulties, including issues surrounding land tenure in a country where 11% of landowners amass 77% of the available arable land.
Thousands of Colombian citizens will participate today in the so-called “National March of the Outraged”. This movement demands the inclusion of civilians in the peace conversations between the government and the FARC guerrillas.
Today’s march is a part of the “Week of the Outraged”, which started on Monday all over Colombia. This demonstration aims to make different rallies in 25 of the 32 regions of the South American country. “March of the Outraged” was convened by over 100 workers’ unions, academic, and social organisations. They also seek to discuss “political and economic content related to the disadvantaged and marginalised majorities” of the country.
Meanwhile, one of the main drivers of this movement, the Patriotic March Movement, announced that they could proceed with a national strike if the government does not respond to their demands. Several peasant alliances of various Colombian regions also decided to join the march to support a political solution to the armed conflict.
On 28th August the FARC and the Colombian government reached an agreement to end the armed conflict that has continued for nearly half a century in different parts of the country.
The current agenda includes a list of basic agreements, such as guarantees to the political opposition, end of armed conflict and the drugs war, and guarantees of the victims’ rights.
Tens of thousands of people have joined anti-government marches around the country, with Argentines marching for “security, liberty, and justice”. The protests, known as cacerolazos, due to the tradition of banging pots and pans, began at 8pm in a number of cities.
The biggest demonstration took place in Buenos Aires, where marches started from different points around the capital, arriving at Plaza de Mayo and the Casa Rosada where numbers are said to have topped 200,000, according to unofficial figures.
Banners could be seen which included demands against “insecurity” and the possibility of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner standing for re-election. There were also petitions for greater transparency in official statistics on things such as inflation, and the lifting of restrictions on access to dollars.
Protests also took place in the cities of Córdoba, Rosario, Mar del Plata, Bariloche, and Mendoza, among others.
The effort to mobilise Argentines into marching on 13th September began a number of weeks ago on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
Pupils and teachers of the Liniers school No.13 Coronel de Marina Tomás Espora are the latest group to mobilise at the offices of the Ministry of Education in protest agains the closure of two educational courses.
Seventy students entered the headquarters at 200 Paseo Colón at noon, occupying floors 7, 8 and 9. Their parents allegedly support the measure.
In addition, the students spent the weekend at school, in protest against the same issue. Neither the Minister of Education Esteban Bullrich nor his advisers has responded to the mobilisation.
In the absence of response, the pupils decided to march to the legislature to present their claim.
At least 300 members of Bolivian indigenous communities are set to begin today a 620km march to La Paz via the Amazon forest demanding the government to tackle several environmental reforms.
The seven-point list of indigenous’ requests include halting the paving of a highway in the Tipnis natural reserve; the inclusion of at least one representative for each indigenous community in the national legislative assembly and honoring the promises made in the previous VIII Indigenous March (repressed by authorities last September and lead by Bertha Bejarano, one of the foremost figures in the fight for indigenous rights in Bolivia).
Today’s march, originally scheduled for the 25th of April, is set to arrive in the capital in at least 35 days. Bolivian authorities said this time they won’t allow disruption to the march. “No one will threaten nor interfere with this mobilisation,” declared Carlos Romero, the Bolivian Minister of Autonomies.
“We will be at least 300 people, but more indigenous are joining in from other communities,” said Adolfo Chavez, president of the Bolivian Indigenous Community Central (CIDOB).
The Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia (CIDOB), said Amnesty International asked the state to “ensure the right of assembly, freedom of expression and freedom of movement”.
Protesters leaving Trinidad today at 2pm local time represent at least 24 different organisations. The column is organised into eight sub-committees. Amongst them, politics, art, health, logistics, transportation and communication.
Last Wednesday, another strike, this time organised by the chief trade union federation, Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB), paralysed the capital city and caused road disruptions in many parts of the country.
And winter is back with a vengeance, since courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Climate Change there’s no autumn anymore.
With only a few days passed after the March equinox, we’re now knee-deep into the glacial age, struggling for survival. Get ready for long, oxygen-devoid bus rides, endless meriendas of chocolate con churros and people walking down the street in a shitty mood pretty much because of everything.
Who knows… if you’re lucky you could actually see some snow! Because in case you don’t know, Buenos Aires was blanketed in white snow back in July, 2007, a strange, unexpected phenomenon that prompted residents to leave their homes and head into public parks and squares to celebrate by singing and dancing in collective joy while many homeless people were freezing to death around the corner. But let’s not be a buzzkill and mention that. Here, enjoy some YouTube video from that day featuring a tango soundtrack and happy people dancing in the snow.
And before I forget, here are this week’s top submissions to replace that much-dreaded “It’s Friday again!”:
“Fridayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!” – Suggested by Serena H.
“If Friday was a sparkling sequin glove, consider today Michael Jackson.” – Suggested by Teddy E.
“Does anybody know what time it is? Round-up time!” – Suggested by Carly P.
“Aprendan español, manga de putos!” – Suggested by Juanjo E.
I’m not sure I’m so crazy about that last one.
Now, are you ready for more wacky antics involving the Malvinas, the Subte, Maradona and an invisible puma?
Because you know they’re coming. Resistance is futile.
Here’s what you need to know:
First, the Malvinas/Falklands controversy in a nutshell (because I know you’re bored by it):
UK’s The Telegraph published this non-story because it needed to stir shit up. They succeeded, everyone here was outraged for a couple of hours. Then they went back to talk about the weather.
The British government said Argentina has no military power to engage in a military conflict with the UK.
Argentina, offended by such a horrifyingly true statement, called the UK “ignorant.”
More bilateral stupidity coming next week, I assure you.
Do you have a couple billion dollars to buy the Subte? 'Cause if you do I'm sure the Government will be more than happy to sell. (Photo/Wikipedia)
US President Barack Obama decided he will suspend trade benefits with Argentina in 60 days because the country won’t pay a disputed debt it holds with two American companies since the 2001 economic crisis. The move will not really affect the country since it’s more a symbolic measure and it represents a merely 20 million dollars. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner replied she will not give in to…- you know what? I can tell you really don’t care about all this. So for those of you still interested in reading what she said, here’s the rest of the story. All others jump to the next bullet point.
At last, after many comings and goings, the gloves have come off between Cristina and Mayor Mauricio Macri. This week Congress finally passed a bill that forces City Hall to accept the transfer of the Subte management, which means that the Subway should officially fall in the City Government’s responsibility. But City Hall doesn’t want it, obviously, because it sucks (have you been down there in the summer? Good God!) and it needs a lot of money, so the City Legislature passed a motion to void the bill recently passed in Congress. Now, I’m no expert in bullshit but I’m pretty sure that that is indeed bullshit. Let alone unconstitutional. Yesterday, Cristina gave an unexpected speech on live television in which she once again urged Macri to take over the subway and once again offered to keep part of the subsidies in exchange. A couple of hours later, Macri replied also on live television by criticizing Cristina for her refusal to meet with him to discuss a different approach to the matter. In the meantime, the Subte system remains in legal limbo. Not that you care much since after the fare hike to $2.50 last January you probably started walking everywhere.
“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book,” said funny man Groucho Marx once. Or Karl Marx. I don’t know, one of those. Anyway, imagine one of those Marx’s surprise had he been alive in Argentina in 2012 and learned that the Government was actually banning all foreign publications from entering the country. Because that’s exactly what happened. So let’s just say that if you decided to order Breaking Dawn via Amazon.com, first you should be ashamed of yourself, and second, you would have to go down all the way to Ezeiza to get it after paying an import fee. Not only that, the official explanation as to why books and magazines were being banned was that they could contain dangerous amounts of lead in their ink. Now, before you get carried away by an uncontrollable rage and set out to slit each other’s throats, let’s try to look at this matter in the most objective way possible in order to realize that the indignation coming from both sides of the political spectrum was equally ridiculous. First, the public outcry coming from those against the Government made it seem as if we were back in 1933 and this was taking place right before our eyes. “They don’t want people to read!”, many complained on Facebook, denouncing censorship. Even the hashtag #releasethekraken#releasethebooks was trending in Twitter Argentina. At the same time, those blindly supporting the Government (who can be just as idiotic) defended the measure, suggesting that people who buy their books abroad are just rich posers trying to find another excuse to criticize the administration’s protectionist policies. “I don’t read books, I read e-books,” said an influential member of the La Cámpora Kirchnerite youth organization last month during an unrelated interview. So there, problem solved. Just get every poor person in the country an iPad and we’re all set. And while both sides engaged in endless discussion about who was being Nazi-er, the fact is that this had nothing to do with ideology or censorship. The country is bleeding money, so Domestic Trade Secretary Guillermo Moreno decided to put a ban on a lot of imported stuff, including books and magazines coming from abroad. Fortunately the backlash was so big that yesterday the Government decided to reverse its policy on imported books, which means your $700 autographed copy of The Hunger Games will soon be landing safely on your doorstep.
Did you stand in line and pay a lot of money recently to obtain your
Some will try and have you believe we're in Nazi Germany. The few remaining Nazis exiled in Córdoba under a false identity probably beg to differ. (Photo/Wikipedia)
much-coveted DNI identification booklet and card? Congratulations! But don’t you just hate that us foreigners are stuck with this brownish, depressing booklet instead of that pristine bluish one that Argentines get? So unfair. Well, worry no more because Cristina announced this week that the booklet will no longer be produced because let’s face it, it looks like something out of the 19th century. So now people will be able to vote with their ID card and avoid the hassle of having to carry that thing. The sad part is we don’t vote, so I just realized this piece of news is totally irrelevant to all of you.
Sad news, grandparents and Back to the Future fans! Calvin Klein is leaving the country at the end of March (meaning now) due to draconian import restrictions. So if you’re over 75 or just love living in the 80s, run today to the last Calvin Klein store at the Unicenter mall and get as much stuff as you can! I hear there’s a 75% off on everything. I honestly don’t think I’ve worn any CK underwear since I was 12, otherwise I would totally joined the #ReleaseTheUnderpants movement on Twitter.
You have no idea what “draconian” means, do you? Here, learn.
Great news marijuana enthusiasts! (Stop smiling, I know who you are. I know the demographics of my readership and you are a part of it as much as anyone else). The National Government is finally moving ahead with a congressional bill, spearheaded by Senator Aníbal Fernández’s mustache, aimed at decriminalizing the smoking and possession of marijuana as long as it’s for private use. The bill is expected to go through a lengthy process that includes several congressional committees and if approved still needs to be passed in the Senate and the Lower House. So hold your horses, potheads. You’re still gonna have to wait a bit more before you can share a joint with that nice cop that’s usually standing at the corner of your block.
Warning: now comes the football part, which I usually get wrong because I just don’t give a shit about it. So remember that next time you send me an email pointing out how ignorant I am because I don’t know where Chacarita (or whatever is called) plays.
Former football God and current all-things-communist lover Diego Armando Maradona got into somewhat of a kerfuffle this week during a match involving the team he coaches in Dubai, the Al Wasl. And I never thought I would say this, but this time I’m totally on his side! The whole thing’s in Arabic so I have no idea what’s happening, but apparently fans, unhappy with the team’s performance, thought it would be fair to punish Maradona by beating up his girlfriend, who was sitting in the bleachers. By football standards, it sounds like a totally fair idea, right? Well, Maradona wasn’t pleased and all hell broke lose. Don’t worry, nothing happened to any of them. But the funniest part came after the game and during the press conference, when Maradona told an inquiring journalist that he jumped in to defend his girlfriend because he found it unacceptable for a man to hit a woman. “I don’t care if we’re in a stadium, a church or a mosque. It’s unacceptable. Even if it’s you. If you disrespect my woman I will go to your house and get you.” he said, asking in return: “Wouldn’t you have done the same thing?”. And the journalist is like “Uhhh…”. The translators face is priceless. Watch. I will probably go back to disliking Diego next week, but today I’m his biggest fan.
And in an unexpected turn of events, as London readies to welcome the Olympics, three subway (or “tube”) stations in the city have been “temporarily renamed” to honor football stars Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tévez. Good for them. Goes to show that this whole Malvinas/Falklands clusterfuck is nothing more than a divisive ploy concocted by two governments acting like a couple of spoiled brats. Kudos to the Brits on this one.
Huh. This is the second football-related news that I don’t find so reprehensible. Maybe I’m starting to like this sport after all?
Do you like touring car racing? Then you’re in luck, because a major TC 2000 competition (Argentina’s version of NASCAR) is being held this Sunday on the 9 de Julio Av. So now you know why the place looks like the set of Death Race 2000. If you stay home Saturday night and wake up around 4 am you might be able to find a good place. Chances are you won’t though. Just turn the TV on. It’s basically the same.
Do you hate touring car racing? Then for the love of God, STAY HOME this weekend! Don’t even think of driving/taking a bus that goes through that area! It’s going to be a fucking nightmare!!! (Extra “!!!” for dramatic effect).
And last but not least: I know you are all wondering whatever happened to that surreptitious, totally non-existing puma that kept terrorizing the Vicente López residents for weeks. Well, the blood-thirsty feline is apparently still hiding in its non-existing evil lair because the body count has stopped rising and remains at zero since the last time he was seen. That, however, hasn’t stopped it from becoming an international star, so here’s a piece the BBC did on this mythical story of horror and survival, which even quotes the embarrassing statement from a La Nación columnist who suggested the Puma could be “a reincarnation of former president Néstor Kirchner, who keeps lurking around his former Olivos residence.” And that, ladies and gentlemen, did in fact happen.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Send Adrian your comments, thoughts or tips at adrianbono@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @AdrianBono
Yesterday a march for higher disability allowances became violent when the protesters clashed with police. Dozens of people were injured after blows, stones, and sticks were thrown, with police retaliating with force and pepper spray.
Today, ten men continued the protest by pledging to go on a hunger strike until the government met their demands.
“Ten of us have declared a hunger strike and we will all remain vigilant because they haven’t modified the observations we made on the bill,” said the leader of the protest, Mario Torrico.
The annual march for the disabled, which started in November, has covered nearly 1,000 miles of Bolivia in 100 days.
The march arrived in La Paz on Thursday, where the protestors attempted to break through a police blockade. Riot police, earlier dispatched to the presidential square forcefully pushed back. A protestor, Carlos Mariaca, insisted, “We came in peace.”
Starting from Trinidad, in the northern Amazonian state of Beni, the protesters travelled in wheelchairs and on crutches across the country relying on local charity for food and shelter. The marchers are demanding increased government assistance and a 70% increase in state benefits.
After the demonstrators left Beni, the government signed an agreement on 5th February to deliver an annual income of US$145. This was later rejected, with the leader citing US$437 as the minimum subsidy.
Beyond raising state benefits, the protest intended to highlight the difficulty of disabled people in South America’s poorest country. Most disabled Bolivians suffer day-to-day discrimination, as the majority of buildings do not have disabled access, preventing people getting to work or going to school.
Students from various Latin American countries joined a continental march yesterday for the right to free public education. The movement was organised by the Continental Organisation of Latin American and Caribbean Students (OCLAE).
The international event’s main objective was to show solidarity with the student movements in Chile and Colombia.
Student associations from both countries were driving the initiative.
Furthermore, the student unions in Argentina, Costa Rica, Peru, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay and Brazil also participated in the protest in the region.
Students from Spain, Sweden and Germany will also be a part of the demonstration for the universal right to free public education.
In Chile’s case, the protest will be focused on the needs of professional technological education through a peaceful march. This movement has the support of the education sector and labour organisations in the country, but was not authorized by the local municipality.
The protest in the Colombian capital of Bogotá was acted out through an evening concert, pleading for the right to high quality education.
After the student movement’s previous month-long strike in Colombia the government retracted proposed amendments to the Higher Education Act last week. The students said it was a government initiative trying to privatise public education.
The streets of Buenos Aires were filled with blood and carnage last Sunday as the annual Zombie Walk brought thousands of people downtown to raise some Hallowe’en hell.
Indigenous groups, who have been walking for five days defending the protection of indigenous lands in Isiboro (Territorio Indígena Parque Isiboro Sécure), have refused to speak with a government commission sent by Bolivian president, Evo Morales.
Around 1,200 indigenous people have objected to the construction of an interstate highway between the towns of Beni and Cochabamba.
According to the protesters, the road, being built by Brazilian company OAS, will affect the biodiversity of their territories in Parque Isiboro Sécure.
They began marching on 15th August heading for the capital city La Paz to meet with Morales.
Morales meanwhile sent a commission of government delegates including public works minister, Walter Delgadillo., to meet with the protesters.
The commission aimed to develop a joint working committee with the indigenous people to identify the environmental elements effect by the building of the road.
But the marchers refused to speak with the commission and consider only Morales as the valid spokesperson. This is why they did not attend the meeting with the government commission in the town of San Ignacio de Moxos.
On Monday there were protests in many regions of Bolivia by indigenous groups regarding territorial recognition and the provision of aid to improve jobs and housing.
As we launch another Indy photo competition, we revisit Amie Tsang's 2010 article about Sub, a photographic cooperative that gives a unique insight into daily life in Buenos Aires
