Global Voices » Paraguay

Paraguay: A Look Inside Aché Indigenous Communities

Silvia Viñas — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:08:15 +0000

For much of their history, the Aché indigenous people in Paraguay have been struggling to preserve their territory. Now, the Aché are using citizen media to preserve their language and their culture. The blog Aché Djawu [es] (”The Aché Word”) and several Twitter accounts [es] provide a glimpse inside six Aché indigenous communities.

After a genocide that reduced their population to 350 during the 20th century, the Aché have been slowly growing into six communities with approximately 1500 members in Northern and Eastern Paraguay.

This year, the Aché Djawu (”The Aché Word”) project was selected as one of the newest Rising Voices grantees. Rising Voices director Eduardo Avila explains:

The purpose of the project is to identify several young people from each of the six Aché communities to take part in intensive skills-building workshops in the use of blogs, digital photography and video, as well as social networking, as a way to preserve and promote their language and culture.

In the following video, Marciano Chevugi from the Aché Chupa Pou community invites netizens to visit the blog and follow the community on Twitter. Chevugi also thanks everyone that is supporting them in rescuing and protecting their culture. (Note: Chevugi starts speaking in Aché for a brief moment and then speaks in Spanish. The Spanish section of the video has been subtitled into English by Eduardo Avila)

The blog plays an important role in documenting the history of these Aché communities. A post [es] from April 29, 2012 tells a brief history of the Aché community of Chupa Pou. In the post Chevugi explains that the community was founded on May 9, 1979 by a group of Aché and a Divine Word missionary. Chevugi also writes that the community currently has 8600 hectares of natural forests along the Jejui Guazu river in the Canindeyu Department:

[…] hoy la comunidad tiene 120 familias, en total 600 habitantes, cuenta con escuela y colegio; 220 alumnos en total, hoy una nueva construcción de puesto de salud dentro de la comunidad que sera equipada de primeros auxilios, también esta dentro de la liga de fútbol de Ygatimi, con el club 20 de enero. En el agricultura cada familia hace para su auto consumo y renta, la comunidad cuenta con pequeña parcela de 25 hectáreas mecanizada para ingreso de la comunidad.

[…] today the community is made up of 120 families, with a total of 600 inhabitants. It has a school with 220 students in total, and a new health center inside the community which will be equipped with first aid [supplies]. The community is also part of the Ygatimi football league, with the ‘20 de enero' team. In terms of agriculture, each family produces for their own consumption. The community has a small plot of 25 hectares developed to produce the community's income.

The blog also showcases the stories of individual members of these communities. The post “Cho Mbywangi” [es] , for example, is a short self-introduction by an important female community leader:

Me llamo Margarita Mbywangi vivo en la comumidad Kuetuvy, trabajo en área de salud. Soy líder de la comunidad, me gusta mucho rescatar la cultura Aché, hacer el parto y jugar con los niños y escuchar la historia y la vida de la gente.

My name is Margarita Mbywangi. I live in the Kuetuvy community, [and] I work in health. I am a community leader, [and] I really like rescuing Aché culture, helping women give birth, playing with the children, and listening to the history and life of the people.

In 2008, Margarita Mbywangi was the first indigenous person to become Minister of Indigenous Affairs in Paraguay.

Furthermore, several indigenous participants took part in an earlier project capturing life and tradition in their communities through photographs. The following photograph by Francisco Kandeg shows a “traditional Aché game”:

Photo: Francisco Kandegi, Puerto Barra.

You can see more photos in Aché Djawu's Flickr account.

Paraguay: How the Media Silenced the Chaco

Silvia Viñas — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:42:35 +0000

“The media flew over the drama and didn't land over the human stories that were waiting below.” Carlos Rodriguez from the blog Rescatar [es] writes about the media's lacking coverage of the floods that hit the Paraguayan Chaco.

‘Mujeres Construyendo': Empowering Women, One Blog at a Time

Kathryn Morgan — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:00:34 +0000

“Una bloguera es, ante todo, una mujer valiente, que se atreve y se compromete. ¿Por qué? Porque a través de su blog se expresa, dice lo que piensa, siente, lo que es. Si tiene miedo de hablar o darle cuerpo a sus ideas, enfrenta ese miedo y lo supera.”

- “¿Quién es una bloguera?”, Mujeres Construyendo

A female blogger is, first and foremost, a brave woman, one who dares and one who commits. Why? Because through her blog she expresses herself, she says what she thinks, what she feels, what she is. If she is afraid to speak of or shape her ideas, she confronts this fear and overcomes it.

- “¿Quién es una bloguera?” [es] (Who is a female blogger?), Mujeres Construyendo

Women make up almost half of Latin America's Internet users. However, in spite of their high web-presence, women are mainly content consumers. Mujeres Construyendo [es], the first platform for female bloggers in Spanish, wants to transform Hispanic women into creators, not just consumers, of internet content.

Its founder, Claudia Calvin, answered some questions about this platform and community of Hispanic female bloggers.

Global Voices: How and when was Mujeres Construyendo created?

Claudia Calvin: Mujeres Construyendo surge como proyecto en el 2008, después de un tiempo de haberme hecho bloguera. Su origen se encuentra principalmente en mis andares por internet y después de descubrir una realidad que llamó profundamente mi atención: que las mujeres de habla hispana que participamos en internet seguimos transmitiendo en este espacio una creencia profundamente arraigada en nuestra cultura. ¿Cuál es? Aquella que nos inculcaron de niñas y en la que nos decían que “calladitas nos veíamos más bonitas”. Descubrí que nuestra participación como blogueras era muy distinta a la participación de las blogueras estadounidenses: ellas en la actualidad representan casi un 60% de los blogueros en su país y las blogueras en internet de habla hispana representamos un escaso 27%. Cuando inicié Mujeres Construyendo, la cifra era más desalentadora aún: 15%.

Busqué afanosamente un espacio de convergencia de mujeres blogueras, un espacio que no fuese un directorio, sino un lugar de convivencia, una comunidad como tal. Al no encontrarla, decidí hacerla, y así es como surge Mujeres Construyendo.

Hablé con unos amigos desarrolladores y lograron darle vida a esta idea que tenía en mi mente. La plataforma Mujeres Construyendo surge como tal en el 2009.

Claudia Calvin: Mujeres Construyendo came about in 2008, after a period of establishing myself as a blogger. It came from my internet browsing and the discovery of a reality that really caught my attention: Spanish speaking women who contribute to the internet continue to transmit a profound belief that is deeply-rooted in our culture. What was it? The belief that has been instilled in us since we were girls, the idea that “the quieter we are, the more beautiful we are”. I discovered that our contributions as bloggers were very distinct to that of American women. They currently constitute almost 60% of bloggers in their country and Spanish speaking female bloggers make up just 27%. When I began Mujeres Construyendo, the figure was even more discouraging… 15%.

I frantically looked for a space where female bloggers could get together, a space that wasn't a directory, but rather a place of coexistence, a community, as it were. After failing to find this, I decided to make it myself, and that is how Mujeres Construyendo came about.

I spoke with some developer friends and they managed to bring the idea I had in mind to life. And so the Mujeres Construyendo platform sprung to life in 2009.

GV: What is Mujeres Construyendo's mission? What does it want to achieve with this female blogging platform?

CC: El objetivo de Mujeres Construyendo es que las mujeres aprendamos a hacer uso de las nuevas tecnologías y las herramientas que brinda internet para empoderarnos, crecer, desarrollarnos. Los blogs son una herramienta de empoderamiento para nosotras: nos permite comunicar lo que hacemos, pensamos, visualizamos y participar en un diálogo central en el nuevo espacio público, que es internet.

Hemos participado más como observadoras y consumidoras de contenido que como proveedoras y en este espacio vacío se está perdiendo una enorme oportunidad para construir una realidad que refleje nuestros intereses y manera de entender y participar en el mundo, tanto en el ámbito de lo social, como lo político y empresarial, y ni qué decir de lo personal y familiar.

Las mujeres vivimos muchos tipos de marginación en el mundo, no necesitamos sumar una más a las existentes: la digital.

CC: The objective of Mujeres Construyendo is for women to learn to make use of new technologies and tools that the internet offers in order to be empowered, to grow and to develop. Blogs are empowering tools for us - they enable us to communicate what we do, what we think, what we see. They allow us to participate in a central dialogue in the new public space, the internet.

We have been more involved as observers and consumers of content than providers. We are missing out on a great opportunity to construct a reality that reflects our interests and way of understanding and participating in the world, in a social sense, as well as a political and business sense, not to mention the personal and familial.

Women deal with many types of marginalisation in society, we don't need to add digital marginalisation to those that already exist.

GV: Why is it important for women to have a blog?

CC: Como mencionaba anteriormente, los blogs son una herramienta de empoderamiento en la medida en que posibilitan que las mujeres puedan comunicarse, expresar, proponer y dialogar en internet y con ello contribuir a la definición y construcción de una realidad que refleje sus intereses y visión. Las voces de mujeres en la blogósfera son importantes porque son el reflejo de la mitad de los habitantes del planeta y en el medida en que sean actores sociales, políticos, voten, consuman, tomen decisiones y vivan de manera cotidiana los diversos contextos de su entorno (desde violencia, hasta crisis económicas, pasando por desastres naturales o guerras) su voz es importante. Son actores de la vida cotidiana y su visión y mirada cuentan, valen, reflejan una circunstancia. Su silencio resulta -sin que ellas mismas los sepan- cómplices de realidades sexistas o que marginan y en la medida en que paulatinamente vayan apareciendo y expresando su voz…irá cambiando el entorno. El silencio jamás ha sido socio del empoderamiento.

CC: As I mentioned before, blogs are tools of empowerment insofar as they make it possible for women to be able to communicate and express themselves, make suggestions and converse on the internet. They are tools with which women contribute to the definition and construction of a reality that represents their interests and vision. Women's voices, in the blogosphere, are important because they reflect half of the planet's inhabitants. Their voices are important in the sense that they are social players, politicians, they vote, they act, they make decisions and everyday they live through different environmental contexts (from violence, to economic crises; from natural disasters, to wars). They are players in everyday life and their vision and perspective counts, they are valued, they reflect a situation. Their silence, although they themselves are unaware, acts as an accomplice for a sexist reality, or it means they are marginalised. As long as their voices continue to gradually appear and be expressed, this environment will keep changing.

GV: How many women have a blog on Mujeres Construyendo?

CC: La comunidad de Mujeres Construyendo está constituida por la plataforma Mujeres Construyendo (www.mujeresconstruyendo.com) y las redes sociales a través de las cuáles se conecta su comunidad. La suma de personas conectadas a esta propuesta y a este espacio suma hoy cerca de 9 mil personas.

CC: The community of Mujeres Construyendo is made up by the Mujeres Construyendo platform (www.mujeresconstruyendo.com) and the social networks that connect this community. The total sum of people connected today is around nine thousand.

GV: What is the profile of the women who blog on Mujeres Construyendo?

CC: Cabe decir que participan hombres y mujeres en nuestra plataforma. Somos un espacio incluyente y consideramos que no se puede hablar de equidad partiendo de un principio de exclusión, por ello, las voces masculinas son bien recibidas. La mayoría, estamos hablando de más del 96%, son mujeres. Su perfil es principalmente urbano, de entre 25 y 45 años, en su mayoría de México, España, Argentina, Venezuela y Estados Unidos. Quiero destacar a una de nuestras blogueras más activas, y que inclusive ha sido entrevistada en televisión: Bertha, una extraordinaria mujer de 82 años que nos enseña que no hay edad para seguir aprendiendo y que las herramientas digitales son poderosas y permiten a las personas seguirle dando sentido a su vida.

CC: I should say that both men and women use our platform. We are an inclusive space and we don't believe that you can talk about equality while at the same time exercising a principal of exclusion, so male bloggers are also welcomed. The majority, we're talking more than 96%, are women. Their profile is mainly urban, from 25 to 45 years of age, and mainly from Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Venezuela and the United States. I want to focus on one of our most active bloggers, who has even been interviewed on television. Bertha, an extraordinary 82 year-old woman who shows us that there's no age limit to learning and that digital tools are powerful and they can continue to give meaning to people's lives.

GV: What will 2012 bring for Mujeres Construyendo?

CC: Empezamos el año con el pie derecho, estrenando nueva casa y nuestro nuevo sitio nos permite interactuar mejor, conocernos y convivir de manera más cercana. Detrás de esto hay trabajo y compromiso y queremos consolidarnos como un espacio central para que las mujeres participen, tengan voz y con ello contribuir con nuestro grano de arena no sólo a su empoderamiento, sino al fortalecimiento de la democracia. Queremos incrementar el número de blogueras participando y vinculadas a nuestra comunidad, estamos trabajando en ofrecer herramientas a las blogueras que les permitan fortalecer su presencia y cumplir sus objetivos, sean estos personales, familiares, profesionales. Detrás de este trabajo hay alianzas y proyectos que podrán ver en un futuro muy cercano y del que con gusto les platicaremos en su momento.

Muchas gracias por su interés en conocernos y ojalá a través de Global Voices más mujeres se animen a sumar su voz a nuestra comunidad. Juntas podemos hacer una diferencia.

CC: We're going to start the year off on the right foot. Opening a new house and our new site will allow us to interact, get to know each other and live together in a closer way. Behind this there is work and dedication and we want to consolidate it into one central space so that the women who participate have a voice with which they do their bit, not just towards their own empowerment, but also towards strengthening democracy. We want to increase the number of female bloggers who participate within and are linked to our community so we are working on offering tools to the female bloggers that enable them to strengthen their presence and achieve their goals, whether these be personal, familial or professional. Behind this work there are aliances and projects that will be seen in the very near future, about which we'll talk about nearer the time.

Thank you very much for your interest in getting to know us and hopefully through Global Voices more women will be encouraged to add their voice to our community. Together we can make a difference.

Claudia is also a blogger [es] and she tweets under @LaClau [es]. You can follow Mujeres Construyendo on Facebook [es], Twitter, [es] YouTube [es], and LinkedIn [es].

Intercontinental Cry Will Launch Spanish Edition

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:23:14 +0000

Ahni announces the upcoming Spanish edition of Intercontinental Cry [es], which will go live on March 31, 2012. “The main objective of IC Espanol is, of course, to provide Spanish readers with the same news that our English readers have come to expect from us; what I consider to be essential news on the global indigenous movement.” Find out about more languages on the IC Translation Project Facebook page.

Ibero-American Blogging Competition Asks Teens: “What are you reading?”

Silvia Viñas — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:17:26 +0000

The Organization of Ibero-American States invites teens ages 12 to 15 to enter a blogging competition about reading. The sign up [es] deadline is May 31, 2012, and judges will consider blog posts written until July 31. The winner from each participating country will receive an iPad. Visit the official website [es] and follow the hashtag #questasleyendo [es] (”what are you reading”) to find out more about the contest.

Brazil: Dispute Over the Falklands Opens Debate on Economic Perspectives

Alex Higson — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:56:52 +0000

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages except when otherwise noted.]

The 30th anniversary of the start of the war that led Argentina and Britain into battle over the Falkland Islands and the recent public statements by Argentine president [en] Cristina Kirchner have sent us back in time to evaluate those events from a new perspective, and thus shine a light on the current implications for Brazil as the largest economy in Mercosur.

Along these lines, Professor of International Relations Gilberto Rodrigues, draws attention to the new geopolitical design within which the dispute over the Falklands now finds itself:

Passadas três décadas, a Argentina segue reivindicando com barulho a soberania sobre as Ilhas Malvinas (“Las Malvinas son Argentinas”) e os britânicos continuam fleumáticos e impassíveis nas Ilhas Falkland. Porém, fatos novos entram em cena e estão alterando o equilíbrio de forças políticas e diplomáticas nesse embate.

Three decades on, Argentina is still making loud claims to the sovereignty of the Malvinas (“Las Malvinas son Argentinas”) and the British continue to be phlegmatic and impassive about the Falkland Islands. However, new information is coming to light and is altering the balance of political and diplomatic forces in this confrontation.

Historic map of Johnston (1893), shared by Douglas Fernandes on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

This is indeed a new era, and a lot has changed since 1982: the Berlin Wall fell, taking with it the Iron Curtain that separated capitalists from Marxists, the world split up into economic blocs (the EU, Mercosur, NAFTA) and the British victory in the Falklands War cemented the United Kingdom's alliance with the USA, its greatest ally.

In terms of the two economic blocs to which the two countries belong, the European Union is facing its worst crisis since its creation and announced that the dispute over the Falkland Islands is a bilateral issue [en]. Domestically, the United Kingdom is struggling to contain public unrest over policies of cutting public spending. Politically, London is fighting to quell the outcries of the Scottish, who are prepared to go to a referendum to decide if Scotland will or will not continue to be one of the kingdoms that make up this “united kingdom”.

Mercosur is currently experiencing prosperous times due primarily to the growth of the Brazilian economy (which, as Global Voices reported [en] at the end of 2011, has already overtaken that of the United Kingdom), which has been reflected in trade with other members of the bloc. It was in this context that Argentina won the support of its neighbours and managed to get those countries then to close their ports to vessels flying the Falklands flag, amongst other forms of boycott.

"They were, are and will be Argentine". Photo by Brian Allen on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

In her speech at the last Mercosur summit meeting, the Argentine president referred to the global cause of the Falklands issue. Alexandre Rocha reproduced the news on his blog:

“As Malvinas não são uma causa argentina, mas uma causa global, pois nas Malvinas estão tomando nosso petróleo e nossos recursos de pesca”, afirmou a presidente argentina, Cristina Kirchner, após o anúncio tomado na cúpula do Mercosul, nessa terça-feira. “Quero agradecer a todos a imensa solidariedade para com as Malvinas, e saibam que quando estão firmando algo sobre as Malvinas a favor da Argentina também o estão fazendo em defesa própria”.

“The Falklands are not an Argentine cause, but a global cause, since the Falklands are taking our oil and our fish stocks”, stated the Argentine President, Cristina Kirchner, after making the announcement at the Mercosur summit on Tuesday. “I would like to thank everyone for their immense solidarity regarding the Falklands, and know that when you are signing something about the Falklands in favour of Argentina you are also doing it to protect your own interests”.

It seems that Cristina Kirshner has counted on her country's importance within the South American bloc, especially for Brazil, the country with which it has extremely strong trade links. Ironically, when you put in perspective the evolution of Argentine–Brazilian relations it is clear that the Falklands War was the driving force that encouraged the two countries to grow closer as well as the subsequent creation of Mercosur. Lucas Kerr de Oliveira, a political science PhD student, explains:

40th Mercosur Summit. Photo by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Com o embargo europeu aos produtos argentinos, o Brasil passou a comprar grandes quantidades de carne, trigo e outros produtos produzidos por aquele país. O processo de aproximação resultou em um acordo nuclear bilateral, para fins pacíficos; passo fundamental para acabar com as desconfianças mútuas no plano político-militar. Este tratado foi seguido de uma série de tratados bilaterais no período dos Presidentes Sarney e Alfonsín, que resultaram na criação do Mercosul.

With the European embargo on Argentine products, Brazil began to buy large quantities of meat, wheat and other products from them. The process of the two countries growing closer resulted in a bilateral nuclear agreement, with peaceful aims; this was a fundamental step towards putting an end to mutual mistrust in the political-military field. This treaty was followed by a series of bilateral treaties during the period of the Sareny and Alfonsín presidencies, which resulted in the creation of Mercosur.

Brazil's support of Argentina after the Falklands War didn't just pay dividends through commerce, but also transformed what was previously a rivalry into a strong alliance, which made significant reductions in defence spending possible. Once the Brazilians no longer feared an “Argentine invasion”, they were able to redirect those resources to the Amazon region.

Once part of Mercosur, this unity led also to the sale of military equipment to Argentina, particularly aeroplanes produced by the Brazilian firm Embraer, which began recently to include Argentine parts, as Michel Medeiros from O Informante (The Informant) blog notes:

A Embraer Segurança e Defesa assinou nesta quarta-feira contrato de parceria com a empresa argentina FAdeA, que será responsável pela produção de spoilers –superfícies móveis de controle de sustentação na asa– e portas do trem de pouso, entre outras peças do KC-390.

On Wednesday Embraer Defense and Security signed a partnership contract with Argentine firm FAdeA, which will be responsible for the production of spoilers – moveable plates for wing control support – and undercarriage doors, amongst other KC-390 parts.

Brazil's alignment with Argentina has caused problems for David Cameron's government's strategy of increasing its presence in the emerging country. In that respect, the Ronaldo-Livreiro blog quotes an interview with Peter Lee, an expert on defence from King's College London, for whom the recent visit of British politician William Hague to Brazil “forms another part of this strategy”.

As for Britain's position with regards to the islands, Peter Lee still believes that:

Falkland Islands Flag. Photo by Liam Quinn on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

[…] para que tenhamos uma mudança na posição britânica necessitaríamos uma ação econômica coordenada do Mercosul e da Unasul. Nisto o Brasil terá que fazer seu próprio cálculo de custo-benefício na relação com a Argentina, o Mercosul e o Reino Unido. Mas, ainda que houvesse uma política coordenada, não acho que teria êxito e, além disso, em nível comercial e econômico, todos perderiam. O que o Mercosul fez até agora foi a parte mais fácil porque na verdade o acordo de não permitir barcos de bandeira das Malvinas só afeta poucos barcos que também podem navegar com a bandeira inglesa, de modo que foi uma decisão mais simbólica que substantiva.

[…] in order for there to be a change in Britain's position there would need to be coordinated economic action from Mercosur and UNASUR. In this respect, Brazil will have to make its own cost-benefit analysis in relation to Argentina, Mercosur and the United Kingdom. But, even if there were a coordinated policy, I don't think it would be successful and, furthermore, on a commercial and economic level, everyone would lose out. What Mercosur has done up until now has been the easiest part because really the agreement not to let in ships bearing the Falklands flag only affects very few ships that can also sail with an English flag, which means that the decision was more symbolic than significant.

What is certain is that the current interest in the Falklands has some interesting features, such as national credibility – since wars have already been waged for the islands – proximity to Antarctica, and the existence of oil reserves. In this sense, the Argentines, British and Brazilians foresee a period of economic growth for the islands along with oil exploration, as Professor of Political Science Israel Aparecido Gonçalves indicates in his Real Política Brasileira (Real Brazilian Politics) blog:

[…] há uma perspectiva de forte impacto na economia local. Claro, o governo argentino está preocupado com a escassez do petróleo no mar do norte. A descoberta e exploração de petróleo na região, trará (novamente) relevância às esquecidas ilhas, que por um longo período da história só gerou gastos e produziu lã.

[…] there is the prospect of a major impact on the local economy. Of course, the Argentine government is worried about the lack of oil in the North Sea. The discovery and exploration of oil in the region will make these forgotten islands, which for a long stretch of history only generated costs and produced wool, relevant (again).

Argentina's integration in Mercosur and the United Kingdom's participation in the EU may have reduced the likelihood of new military conflict, but not economic conflict. Brazil's support of the Argentine cause seems advantageous, but not risk free. If, on the one hand, it wishes to see British competitors for oil exploration on the South American coast pushed aside, the country also seems to have found a privileged position amongst UK investors.

It is now time for Brazilian diplomats to pay close attention to how the issue continues to unfold, especially as this new stage in the dispute is just beginning.

Paraguay: An Interview on the Land Conflict in Alto Parana

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:45:58 +0000

Landowners are opposing review of land titles in the department of Alto Paraná “to determine if the lands are ‘ill-gotten,' whose title deeds could be forged or faked or simply seized from the times of the Stroessner dictatorship” Ignacio Cirio explains. Upside Down World published a translation of Cirio's interview [es] with Magui Balbuena of the National Council of Organizations of Rural and Indigenous Workers on the conflict in Alto Paraná.

Paraguay: Displaced Indigenous Community to Return to Land

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:20:17 +0000

Intercontinental Cry re-posts a report by Amnesty International: “After living next to a major highway for nearly two decades without access to water, regular food supplies or even land to cultivate–the Enxet community of Yakye Axa can finally return to a normal way of life on their ancestral lands in southeastern Paraguay. Amnesty International reports.”

Paraguay: Learn the Correct Use of Social Networks, a Resolution for 2012

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:21:40 +0000

Global Voices contributor Belén Bogado [es] suggests adding “learning how to use social networks correctly” to your list of new year's resolutions. She gives some local and international examples of the bad use of social networks to encourage her readers to be careful with what they share online.

Latin America: Museum Releases Digital Archive of 20th-Century Art

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:36:22 +0000

The International Center for Arts of the Americas (ICCA) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has released a digital archive of 20th-century Latin American and Latino art, which, “is now available, free of charge, to the research and teaching community as well as to the public at large.” Culture magazine Ñ [es] briefly interviewed Mari Carmen Ramírez, the project's director.

Paraguay: Children use Computers as Instruments in Christmas Orchestra

Juliana Rincón Parra — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:46:51 +0000

The children of Caacupé in Paraguay were part of a unique Christmas concert: they played Silent Night using their special “one laptop per child” program laptops as musical instruments. They learned how to play music on their XO computers during their “Vacations with Technology” program.

Latin America: Youth Unemployment

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:22:56 +0000

Bloggings by boz looks at youth unemployment in Latin America, concluding that “with growth projections decreased for 2011 and 2012, the current situation for youth unemployment is almost certainly getting worse. That could have major economic, political and social implications moving into 2012.”

Paraguay: Photos of the Pilgrimage to Caacupé

Silvia Viñas — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:34:44 +0000

Yluux published a photo essay [es] on the pilgrimage to the city of Caacupé on December 7 and 8: “hundreds of thousands flock [to the city] from all over the country to pay homage to the Virgin of Caacupé.”

Latin America: Social Networks Bring Recognition to Primary Recyclers

Betsy Galbreath — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:46:26 +0000

[All links lead to Spanish language pages except when otherwise noted]

“Being aware of the value of social networks, we will take advantage of them. So if you're one of our followers, you'll notice we're on Twitter”. With this statement, the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Recyclers (Red LACRE in Spanish) celebrates the 500 followers gained on its site in three months of work since they opened their account @redlacre. They are celebrating, but they want more, because the challenge is to reach 1,000 soon and keep going in order to extend this network of contacts that allows them to promote the value of their work much easier.

But what is a primary recycler? They are the people whose business is to gather, choose, recover, transform, market and reuse solid wastes from the primary source, making it their main source of income. In our countries, we commonly call recyclers by different names. For example, in Chile and Argentina they are known as cartoneros, in Mexico pepenador, and in Nicaragua buzo [translator's note: all terms loosely translate to “waste picker”], among other names they would like to do away with, so that they can be recognized as primary recyclers or simply recyclers (reciclador in Spanish and catador in Portuguese).

Recyclers in Guatemala, by Exequiel Estay, Facebook Red Lacre, used with permission.

They have been organizing across the continent since the early 90s and now have a formal network, Red LACRE, which consists of 15 countries and 4 more will soon join. The purpose of their movement is to be recyclers “with inclusion”, that is, each country guarantees that it will allow and formally recognize their work. The key to realizing this objective is enhancing visibility via the Internet and social networks, among the best tools they have to help advance their goals more rapidly.

These networks also allow us to understand better what a recycler is and how valuable his work is. We find that in Wikipedia, on October 23, 2011, (according to their site), the term “Primary Recycler” appears, where we are given some key points to better understand this profession.

Se distingue además de cualquier otro tipo de reciclador, por ser quien trabaja directamente en donde se depositan los residuos, lo que comúnmente se conoce como basura. Por ello, la selección de los residuos sólidos, los hace desde el lugar de disposición primaria y los transportan hacia el lugar donde se realiza la selección fina y enfardado, para una venta posterior. Se entiende por selección fina la separación de distintas calidades de materiales, lo que le permite el acceso a mejores rangos de precio.

“They are also distinguished from any other type of recycler, because they work directly where waste is deposited, what is commonly called trash. The sorting of solid waste is made at the first site of deposit, then transported to another area for secondary sorting and wrapping for later sale. Secondary sorting is understood as separating out various qualities of materials, which allows for access to better price ranges”.

Conversation in 140 characters

Embroidered Logo for the Recyclers of Chile. Photograph by Chilean Recyclers, imaged used with permission

Looking at the Twitter accounts of the recyclers who are organized through their network, we see a kind of raising-awareness and education campaign to learn about their work.

Statements like “we live off of recycling” or “RedLacre fights to formalize our work and improve current labor conditions” are repeated in their messages, as well as other messages that give more hard facts that enable us to gauge the impact of this work, such as “Did you know that the number of people who live off of recycling in Latin America is more than 4 million?” or “We help save municipal budgets. We recycle waste from your neighborhood and create jobs”.

Similar conversations do not only revolve around explaining the work, but also begin to paint a picture of the characteristics of the countries involved and the specific scenarios that make up the realities in each country. Add to this the comments made with reference to this profession:

Alvaro Alaniz (@alaniz_a): En Brasil, las latas de Coca Cola tienen la imagen e historia del pdte de una cooperativa de recicladores de Rio. INCLUSION!

Alvaro Alaniz (@alaniz_a): In Brazil, the Coca Cola cans have the image and story of the president of a cooperative of recyclers in Rio. INCLUSION!

Exequiel Estay Tapia (@RECICLADORESYA): recicladores chilenos luchando por una inclusión en el anteproyecto de ley de residuos…inclusión verdadera YAAAAAAAA

Exequiel Estay Tapia (@RECICLADORESYA): Chilean recyclers fighting for inclusion in the draft solid waste laws, true inclusion NOW.

Francisco Pollak (@panchopollak), también refiriéndose a Chile: Hoy conocí tres historias de los llamados “cartoneros” convertidos en recicladores y emprendedores. La materia prima es voluntad.

Francisco Pollak (@panchopollak), also referring to Chile: Today I learned the stories of three so-called “cartoneros” transformed into recyclers. Their will is their raw material.

PLACC (@cclimatico): Recicladores de Perú se formalizan y crean pequeñas y medianas empresas #cambioclimatico #Gestiónderesiduos.

PLACC (@cclimatico): The recyclers of Perú organize and create small and medium businesses #climatechange #wastemanagement.

CiViSOL (@civisol), sobre Colombia: Por inclusión simulada de recicladores la Corte suspendió la licitación de aseo de Bogotá. Esta es la historia >larepublica.co//archivos/ECON…

CiViSOL (@civisol), about Colombia: Because of the deception involving inclusion of recyclers, the Court suspended the bidding for waste removal in Bogotá. This is the story > larepublica.co//archivos/ECON… [es]

Friends with benefits

Facebook is another social network where we find a strong presence of the different recycle cooperatives that exist on the continent. Here we see how the traditional bulletin board has moved to the computer screen and this large virtual community has become a coordinator of actions, and promoter of experiences and identities.

Photographs, videos and links add information such as hours of operation, grant requirements, course dates, and a series of data useful to the public about the work of all the groups and its members.

Image of Inside Out Montevideo. Photograph by Jorge Meoini, used with permission

The page for the Network has more than 700 friends and from there one can access other groups such as the Recycling Dream Cooperative of Montevideo Uruguay (Cooperativa Reciclando Sueños de Montevideo Uruguay.) This group shares on its wall the experience of a group of recyclers whose faces were photographed to appear on billboards in various areas of the city, as part of the international project Inside Out (financed by the TED award).

According to the artists who created the work, Magdalena Gurmendez y Agustín Fernández, the images are a way of providing recognition of the vital work the recyclers perform in the city.

La tarea de clasificación de residuos es uno de los primero pasos en la cadena del reciclaje, por lo general esta tarea se realiza en pésimas condiciones de trabajo -recorriendo la ciudad en carros para buscar en los contenedores-, pero el trabajo en cooperativas permite una dinámica distinta, trabajar bajo techo, con residuos pre-clasificados…

“The job of sorting waste is one of the first steps in the recycling chain, and in general this work is performed in dreadful work conditions — traveling the city in carts looking in dumpsters — but working in cooperatives provides a different dynamic, working indoors, with pre-sorted waste…”

In conclusion, this fight for inclusion gets its strength through social networks. There, the workers gain a new space, from the streets to the heart of social networks, to no longer be invisible, to garner understanding of their work as a profession and how it should be formalized. The Internet is at the service of recycling, of the environment and of the generation of new economies, so that with a click, we rediscover this work that we usually don't even see.

Gerardo Espíndola Rojas is Product Manager of Red Mi VOZ. Read more about our partnership with Mi VOZ [en].

Paraguay: Insecurity and Corruption

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:57:35 +0000

Juan Edgardo Lezcano Benitez [es] blogs about insecurity and corruption in Paraguay. He says that the increasingly serious situation “makes it lawful to take any sort of actions to ‘defend what's ours' because the institutions in charge are not properly fulfilling their role”