Global Voices » Paraguay

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”

Paraguay: Digital Magazine Focuses on Young Migrants

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:12:56 +0000

Juan Carlos Rodríguez from Camino al Paraguay [es] shares the digital version of a magazine that focuses on Paraguayan youth who have left the country.

Latin America: Music Blog Loves to Discover New Songs

Silvia Viñas — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:14:17 +0000

The blog Amo descubrir canciones [es] (”I love to discover songs”) reviews music from around the world, with a special focus on Latin America. The blog includes specials with songs by country [es], song covers [es], and songs recommended by readers [es]. The latter category includes a post on “Songs to recommend during a conversation in an elevator” [es].

Paraguay: Referendum Backs Right to Vote Abroad

Belen Bogado — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:47:27 +0000

Update (October 10, 2011)

Paraguayans living abroad will now be able to vote in general elections, after 80% of voters backed the “yes” option in the referendum held on October 9, as BBC News reports.

For the first time [es] in history, Paraguayans held a constitutional referendum on whether citizens living outside the country can vote on general elections.

Paraguay, a country with about 6 million inhabitants, has over 1 million Paraguayans living abroad [es] who left looking to improve their economic status and to find job opportunities.

Politicians' and private organizations’ campaigns for the “yes” were widely spread through TV ads, posters on the streets and also in the blogosphere.

Hugo Estigarribia, a senator for the Colorado party, posted [es] on his blog “The country we want” about the referendum:

Los paraguayos en el exterior realizan un aporte muy importante a nuestro país y continúan siendo tan connacionales como los que vivimos aquí. Tienen derecho a votar y por eso MI VOTO ES POR EL “SÍ” A LA ENMIENDA CONSTITUCIONAL DEL ARTÍCULO 120 DE LA CONSTITUCIÓN DEL PARAGUAY.

Paraguayans abroad contribute widely to our country and remain as nationals as the ones who live here. They have the right to vote and that is why my vote is “yes” to the constitutional amendment of article 120 of the national constitution.

Pa’i Oliva, a well known catholic priest, also posted [es] on his blog about the referendum:

Y si no voto en el referéndum?

Simplemente mostrará que Ud. es libre. Pero, también, que no tiene una libertad muy responsable. (…)

Que Ud. es un desagradecido, pues estos emigrantes envían más de 600 millones de dólares anualmente al Paraguay, que por cierto es la plata mejor repartida por muchas familias a las que alcanza en todo el país. La soja que ingresa más, se queda siempre en pocas manos.

And if I don’t vote on the referendum?

It will simply demonstrate that you are free. But, also, that you do not have a very responsible freedom. (…)

That you are ungrateful, given that these emigrants send over 600 million dollars annually to Paraguay, which, by the way, is the best distributed money for many families throughout the country. Soy, which brings in more (money), stays within few hands.

But not everybody favors the “yes”. The referendum implies that the budget of the superior court of electoral justice will have to increase, especially in case that “yes” triumphs on Sunday.

On Twitter several people expressed their rejection of the constitutional referendum. Jose Abed (@joseabed) tweeted [es]:

Antes de tirar y despilfarrar un dineral en el referendum hay otras cosas mas importantes para solucionar en paraguay

Before throwing and spending a fortune on the referendum there are other things that are more important to solve in Paraguay

Others consider that the real reason to hold the referendum is to increase the electoral subsidy that the political parties usually receive and expand their campaigns to foreign countries. Juanma Fleitas (@jmanuel_fr) tweets [es] about it:

No me extrañaría que los partidos políticos soliciten + dinero p/ las campañas políticas, para acercar sus “propuestas” a los del extranjero

It wouldn’t surprise me if parties ask for more money for their political campaigns, in order to take their “proposals” to those who are abroad.

Diego Javier (@DiegoJavierOS) [es] says that citizens living abroad should not have the right to vote:

Pyos en el exterior ni enterados estan de lo que Pasa en Paraguay. Si alguien se va a beneficiar de esto son los politicos! “Referendum .l.”

Paraguayans abroad are clueless about what happens in Paraguay. If anyone will benefit (out of the referendum) will be the politicians!

Despite these opposing stands, many citizens on blogs and social networks do agree on one thing: that everyone should go vote no matter what their vote is, this is what Anto Strauck @Anto_Strauck tweets [es]:

El 9 de octubre TODOS a votar el referéndum

On October 9 everybody should vote on the referendum

Image by Steve Wilhelm under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

Paraguay: Indigenous Peoples Fighting to Save Their Ancestral Home

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:03:09 +0000

At the Council on Hemispheric Affairs Blog, Research Associate Sean O’ Leary reports that the Ayoreo indigenous people are “fighting for their very survival. These indigenous people are struggling to save their ancestral home in the Chaco region from cattle companies, farmers and religious sects who are moving into the region and clearing the land.”

International Blog Day in Latin America

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:12:30 +0000

Several bloggers in Latin America are sharing their thoughts on blogging during this year's Blog Day, like Juan Edgardo Lezcano [es] from Paraguay and Julio Córdoba [es] from Costa Rica. Furthermore, UNIMERCentroamerica posted a video interview [es] with Costa Rican blogger Cristian Cambronero from Fusil de Chispas [es].

Paraguay: Images of a Weekend in Iturbe

Silvia Viñas — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:57:41 +0000

Cazador de Instantes posts a photo essay of a weekend in Iturbe, Paraguay.

Paraguay: Uncontacted Indigenous Group in ‘Imminent Danger'

Silvia Viñas — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:44:23 +0000

Ryan Seelau from Indigenous News.org reports that “the only remaining uncontacted people in Paraguay” are “in imminent danger”: “the Totobiegosode are being systematically removed from the Chaco forest where they live so that the land can be used for cattle grazing. The destruction of their land, however, is occurring illegally.”

Paraguay: 7 Years Since Supermarket Tragedy

Silvia Viñas — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:40:47 +0000

Seven years ago today, on August 1, 2004, a fire in a supermarket killed over 300 people and left more than 500 injured in what the blog Interparaguay [es] calls the greatest civil tragedy in Paraguay.