[The rising repression against rural populations in Colombia seems to be motivated by two primary factors: 1) the desire of the Colombian oligarchy and transnational corporate interests to augment and consolidate the appropriation of peasant land in the event of a successful peace process and land reform; and, 2) an attempt to prevent the emergence of a strong Left political bloc.]

Alborada & Chile 40 Years On present

The Spirit of '70: Celebrating the Life & Legacy of Salvador Allende

On Wednesday 26 June 2013, Chile's former president Salvador Allende would have turned 105 years old. Join us for an evening celebrating his life and legacy.

The event will be hosted by Pablo Navarrete (www.alborada.net) and will include:

- The launch of the London section of the 'Chile 40 Years On' network. Maria Vasquez-Aguilar, chair of the London section, will talk about its planned activities (more info about the network here: http://chile40yearson.org/).

- A talk by Victor Figueroa-Clark, author of a forthcoming political biography about Allende for Pluto Press (more info about the book here: http://bit.ly/10XEdgp).

- A Q&A with Victor about Allende and his legacy, chaired by Simon Dubbins, Head of International Affairs for Unite, the largest trade union in Europe.

[Critics say Correa is creating a pro-government media system; Correa says there is a fundamental contradiction with corporate for-profit media involved in distributing public information.]

[As a careful examination of the language and coverage of nearly four years of New York Times articles reveals, concern for freedom and democracy in Latin America has not been an honest concern for the liberal media institution. The paper’s unwavering conformity to the posture of the U.S. State Department—consistently vilifying an official U.S. enemy while systematically downplaying the crimes of a U.S. ally—shows that its foremost priority is to subordinate itself to the priorities of Washington.]

[Cartes’ election raises significant concerns among all Paraguayans who are concerned with politics. Under Cartes we can expect, over the next five years, continuing high levels of inequality in land ownership and social justice and poor or declining quality of our democratic institutions. This is certainly not a positive outlook for a nation in dire need of structural change.]

Alborada e-news: May 2013

http://www.alborada.net

Amig@s,

We hope you are all well. Our May e-news will inform you about our activities, as well as the latest information related to Latin America.

[In the years before her death, Josefina became one of the strongest critics of the Mexican army's role in policing the drug war. Five thousand soldiers entered Juarez and the Valley in May of 2008, bringing along with them a wave of murders and kidnappings. Miguel Ángel Reyes Salazar, Josefina’s son, was kidnapped by soldiers in August 2008, and released a month later. Following his kidnapping, Josefina didn’t back down. Not until she was killed, that is.]

Invisible Women from Literally Films on Vimeo.

[Colombia's ruling class have every reason to be fearful. The sheer show of popular support that Marcha Patriótica demonstrated on April 9 was breathtaking. There are plans for a Marcha Patriótica television and radio station, and it recently began publishing a newspaper. As has been noted, Marcha Patriótica aims to be a political party in the long-term. With a movement like this and its momentum, there is hope for a true peace, a peace with social justice, and the emergence of a new, exciting force in Colombian politics.]