One example is a citizen video from El Salvador, where a group of concerned neighbors of the Garrobo creek film the lack of followup after a legal mandate to fix damage done to the creek after Mr. Orlando de Sola Wright dumped demolition rubble into a creek, which caused it to fill with material and later flood the neighboring communities. Although the Salvadorean Sixth Sentence Jury mandated the removal of rubble and the construction of breakers in the creek to slow down its passage, this injunction hadn't been followed at the moment of the videos upload, on December 2007.

Also, China's Green Beat Green Brothers bring us a humorous take on the public transportation options in Beijing, with some tips on appropriate behavior on buses, taking advantage of the crowds in the Subway system to pick up girls, the health advantages (and disadvantages) of riding bicycles and why green is the way to go when it comes to transportation.

The furor in El Salvador started when the Spanish newspaper El Pais disclosed[es] that one document on the computer referred to a Salvadoran making an introduction in 2007 from the FARC to Australian arms dealers. The Salvadoran named was Luis Merino, a senior official of the left-wing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) and member of the Central American parliament. The conservative press in El Salvador played up the story with prominent pictures showing Merino beside the FMLN's presidential candidate Mauricio Funes.

Bloggers in El Salvador have been writing about how this story could impact the presidential campaign of Funes. Blogger Hunnapuh wrote a post [es] which put the issue in the context of the campaign strategy of the ruling right-wing ARENA party. According to Hunnapuh, ARENA is trying to convince the “swing” voter. This is the person who is currently inclined to vote for the FMLN and Mauricio Funes, but is not a party militant and would not vote for the FMLN if convinced that “FMLN = [Venezualan president Hugo] Chavez.” But the strategy is shifting with the disclosure of the FARC computer files:

Por lo que se vé, la estrategia la han cambiado un poco dados los acontecimientos, ahora la tesis me imagino que es FMLN = FARC, pero como lo expuse anteriormente, nuestro pueblo tiene una memoria coyuntural y toda esta publicidad y cobertura mediática actuales sera pronto olvidada.

Si en realidad hay algo de verdad en todas las acusaciones, se deben ejecutar las acciones legales pertinentes de parte de los paises que se consideren ofendidos e iniciar los juicios legales que correspondan, pero si solo se queda en la pura propaganda, se demostrará que símplemente se trata de estrategias electorales.

The writer at the blog Salvadorans in the World [es] sees the repetition of the regular themes of Salvadoran politics in this story:

Y es aquí dónde las principales fuerzas políticas salvadoreñas se enfrentaran en una guerra de acusaciones e insultos. El FMLN dirá que todo esto es un montaje, un show, una estrategia más de la derecha para mantenerse en el poder. Por otro lado, ARENA volverá a repetir la misma historia, que el FMLN tiene nexos con grupos que no benefician en ningún modo al país, bla bla bla, etc. En la guerra de acusaciones e insultos, las propuestas para sacar al país adelante quedarán relegadas a un tercer o cuarto plano.

En este escenario adverso, Mauricio Funes debería dar señales inequívocas que tiene criterios propios, y más importante, que tiene suficiente independencia de los comandantes en el FMLN para pedir que se investigue a fondo las acusaciones.

Ernesto Rivas-Gallont did not believe [es] that presidential candidate Funes had done well in his initial response to the story. In Funes' initial statement after the El Pais story, Rivas-Gallont saw an unconditional defense of Merino, the FMLN leader, with Funes acting almost as an apologist for the FARC.

Con esa actitud, Mauricio ha desilusionado a aquellos que creímos en su independencia, porque estamos convencidos que un gobierno de Funes sería controlado por los mismos que hoy controlan el partido y parecen controlar al candidato.

With this attitude, Mauricio has disappointed those who believed in his independence, because we are convinced that a government controlled by Funes would be controlled by the same ones who today control the party and seem to control candidate.

El-Visitador [es] referred to the links to the FARC to support his conclusion that the FMLN was a “very dangerous entity.”

Reflecting the polarization of El Salvador's politics and parts of its blogosphere, the view of El Visitador is counter-balanced by Chichicaste [es], who has a lengthy post[es] challenging the media coverage of the FARC computers and looking at the links between El Pais, its ownership and the owners of powerful media in San Salvador. For Chichicaste, the nonstop coverage in Salvadoran newspapers and television is an sign of the fear that foreign multi-national corporations have over the prospect of a Mauricio Funes' victory.

Global Voices is well positioned to follow the nuances of this complex issue with authors tracking citizen media in nearly every country of the planet. This article is an attempt to place an overall narrative on the global food crisis with observations from our authors from around the world. Clicking on the links will take you to all the posts that have been referenced.

Let’s begin in the Caribbean. In Barbados, locals learn to deal with a 30% increase in flour prices, along with gasoline and diesel price jumps. Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Agriculture, denies there is a food crisis on the two islands, but locals notice an increase in chicken and flour prices. Cuba is trying a new agriculture policy of providing more land to private farmers.

Prices and shortages of food can be seen across Latin America, as many people are becoming desperate. Blame is being placed on both farmers and governments for their failure to act. Arab bloggers in Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait and Egypt are also feeling the pinch, and writing about it too.

Worries continue to circulate in Cambodia that nearly 500,000 children could start missing meals due to a 20% increase in the price of rice. However, a dramatic increase in rice production may not be beyond hope in this country. Farmers here can cultivate two or three harvests per year on the same piece of land.

The latest riots

Protesters in Cairo lighting fires and throwing rocks at a barricade, April 7, 2008 - Photo by James Buck

Two days of riots broke out on April 6 and 7 in Egypt, where prices of staples have doubled since 2004 (and in some cases quadrupled). At least two people were killed and 111 people – including police – were injured (See our special coverage on Egypt's General Strike).

In Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, protesters blocked roads and burned tires, demanding the government cut taxes on key imports.

Just days later, four people were killed and 25 injured in riots in Haiti, where the prices of rice, beans, and fruit have increased 50% in the past 12 months. Less than a week after the violent demonstrations, Haiti's prime minister was ousted in a vote of no confidence.

For Natifnatal, a Haitian currently in Abu Dhabi, the food crisis offers simple math:

For those who don't even know the basics can present the equation: hunger + poverty + rising prices = demonstrations + the Prime Minister's resignation + violence, and argue that an increase in food aid would suffice to reduce hunger.

Even as a cargo plane crashed in Kinshasa on April 15 killing 75 people, Congolese blogger Du Cabiau à Kinshasa, ruminated on a more silent, less telegenic disaster facing the country: the doubling of food prices in the same week.

The effects on trade

So many countries of the developing world import a large percentage of the foodstuffs necessary to feed their populations. Rising prices means problems grow quickly. Even for food exporters, rising prices has touched a nerve. In Korea, one of the world’s most prolific rice producers, a Netizen argues that rice should be withheld from free trade talks, allowing the country to do as it seems fit with its strategic commodity.

Sometimes protectionism won’t be enough, however. As the price of rice has increased throughout Southeast Asia’s rice growing nations, governments were forced to plea for calm and pray that domestic prices would soon begin to fall. The situation is doubly bad for rice importers like the Philippines, where the poor have felt the brunt of the price increase. Indonesia, another importer, has canceled its imports due to high prices. Cambodia and Vietnam have abandoned exports. Bloggers in Malaysia report rumors of rice shortages. The Government of Brunei could move to subsidize food staples like cooking oil, flour, milk, eggs and chicken.

Milk in Japanese supermarket

For decades food prices in Japan have been in stasis, which is strange for a country that imports almost every staple other than rice. Not any longer. Price increased for the first time in more than two decades. The same goes for milk products, which consumers been paying for at the same rate for three decades. Beer, cooking oil, and soy sauce also experienced increases.

A silent killer

In Bangladesh, where people spend as much as 80% of their salaries on food, high prices for rice have hit the middle class. It’s much worse for the poor, as media reports confirm several hunger deaths. The country’s military chief raised the ire of many when he suggested people replace rice by eating potatoes.

In Tajikistan, where people already faced a winter-long energy shortage, it looks like more than 260,000 people are in need of immediate food assistance. Worries persist that this number could grow to 2 million by winter.

Talk about globalization. In Yemen, the prices of staples have risen while the cost of certain electronic goods have dropped. Kuwait has also seen price increases, no thanks to the falling U.S. dollar.

In Burkina Faso, where people felt the government sat on its hands as prices in some sectors increased more than 40% since the beginning of the year, riots sparked in several cities throughout the country in late February, resulting in plenty of property damage and more than 300 arrests.

At about the same time in Cameroon, anger over rising prices and falling wages sparked three days of violent confrontation with the military. Anger was also fed by President Paul Biya's attempt to change the constitution so he could sit for a third term.

The story is far from over. We’ll keep posting updates – so please check our Special Coverage page on the Global Food Crisis 2008 often.

Photo by Andrea SF and used under a Creative Commons license.

Prices and shortages of food can be seen across Latin America, as many people are becoming desperate with the situation. Blame is being placed on the farmers and blame is being placed on the government for their failure to act or failure to act insufficiently. Bloggers are writing about what they are seeing around them, while others are writing about possible solutions.

One of the places where the crisis has already spilled out onto the streets in the form of protests and counter-protests is Argentina. Gabriela Peralta of La Corresponsal [es] laments that hunger is being seen across the country:

Dá ganas de gritarlo a los cuatro vientos. ¡Hay hambre! Maldita sea. Hay hambre mientras en nuestro país se dan el lujo de guardar los granos para cuando las retenciones no sean tan altas. Hay hambre mientras en nuestro país se especula con que la cosecha les queme los tiempos al sector agrario para poder obtener ganancias no coparticipables. Hay hambre mientras se incendian del Delta del Paraná para trasladar el ganado fuera y dedicarse en exclusivo a la soja. Hay hambre mientras la soja consume campos que tarde o temprano serán incultivables…hay hambre, mientras derrochamos riqueza.

Central America is also feeling the pressure of rising food prices, hunger and a lack of solutions. Julia Ardón of Costa Rica wonders what will become of many people during this crisis [es]:

Resulta impresindible entender qué significa eso tan mentado de “soberanía alimentaria”, y mientras en la tele se anuncian problemas de abastecimiento de alimentos y especialmente de arroz en el mundo…¿ qué vamos a comer por acá? ¿ acaso papeles? ¿ engrapadoras? ¿ sopa de juguetitos de plástico made in China? ¿ spagetti de cables telefónicos? ¿ O comida congelada gringa? eso sí…quien la pueda comprar…para luego tener los problemas de salud y obesidad que tienen los gringos…? Y entonces La Caja tenga que comprar más medicinas y no pueda por las patentes de los medicamentos…¿ No era que el TLC nos iba a beneficiar mucho? Y ya el otro día también él mismo andaba anunciando que venían dos años de vacas flacas…y a mi no me importó porque ando con el telele de convertirme en vegetariana…

In El Salvador, Ayutuxtepeque of Hunnapuh [es] writes about some of the current proposed strategies of the government, and some additional ones that could be taken to alleviate the situation:

Las medidas que actualmente está anunciando el gobierno para enfrentar la crisis alimentaria son sencillamente insuficientes e ineficientes. Pretender que con repartir granos mejorados y otros pocos incentivos, la producción agrícola va a incrementarse, es un sueño de locos. No es con medidas aisladas, atomizadas y de plazo incierto como se resolverán las cosas. Reconstruir nuestro aparato productivo agrícola no es comida de hocicones.

Por ello continuaremos insistiendo en lo que hemos señalado en innumerables ocasiones. La reactivación del aparato productivo nacional, es urgente y requiere de una estrategia integral de corto, mediano y largo plazo. El gobierno debe comprometerse en esto con seriedad y por ello debe promover que esta estrategia deje de ser un mero plan de gobierno para convertirse en una Política de Estado. Es decir que se continúe su implementación independientemente de quien llegue al gobierno, para ello se necesita del consenso de las otras fuerzas políticas y de amplios sectores sociales. (…) Ya no estoy seguro de si tenemos tiempo para hacerlo, pero hay que empezar de inmediato. En todo caso, lo peor es no hacer nada, o conformarnos con medidas aisladas e insuficientes, que no servirán de mucho.

Some bloggers, such as Esteban Grinberg from Argentina, even put forth some possible concrete solutions to the crisis. He writes at Un Todo un Poco [es] about more state involvement to control prices:

Que pasaría si el gobierno interviniese activamente en la producción de granos y carnes en la Argentina? Por ejemplo, el día de mañana el gobierno crease algo como la MVF (Mataderos Vacunos Fiscales) o la PFF (Plantaciones Frutiferas Fiscales). Una empresa así, que no tenga intención de exportar su producción, sino vender al mercado interno a un precio rentable, pero no en dolares, permitiría por un lado recaudar un poco más pero además tener una herramienta de control de precios de ciertos productos mucho más eficiente que los acuerdos actuales, de difícil control y ejecución. Porque hay una realidad, como van a hacer los gobiernos actuales para controlar el creciente aumento de precios de los alimentos, que producto del crecimiento mundial y de la utilización de algunos cereales en la creación de biodiesel, todo indica que van a seguir aumentando? Por supuesto esta propuesta es totalmente estatista y contraria a cualquier ideología pro mercado, pero bueno, el mercado por las razones que fuese, esta haciendo aumentar el precio de los alimentos. Y por mas que algunos piensan distinto, no creo en la teoría que el Mercado va a arreglar todo por arte de magia..