Global Voices

English

The world is talking, are you listening?

Puerto Rico (U.S.)

Historian and blogger Ivonne Acosta comments in Sin mordazas [ES] on the Department of Education's prohibition of chess in public schools in Puerto Rico, and the immediate denial of the Secretary of Education after the public uproar.

Environment

Ethiopia

semantic Eritrea discusses Ethiopia's Ogadeni problem: “Back in 2007, Ogadeni rebels overpowered the defenses of a petrol company. This shocked the companies in the region and the Ethiopian government.”

Sudan

Lessons from Sudan on how to fix a referendum: “For not only has registration failed to begin (the stipulated date was July of this year), it is still not fully clear who is eligible to vote and what defines eligibility.”

Ethiopia

Konobusiness blogs about the controversial visit by Ethiopian Prime Minister to Columbia University: “The intensity of the crowd, both pro and anti-Zenawi, caught police officers off guard as they were not wholly prepared for the number of people arriving.”

Brazil

Though September 21 is a national day to celebrate trees in Brazil, SOS Parque Água Branca [SOS White Water Park, pt] blog called it the “Day of the Dead Tree” this year, criticizing the implementation of a reform project to this green area in the city of Sao Paulo where reportedly trees are being criminally killed [pt].

Puerto Rico (U.S.)

Public policy expert and blogger Sergio Marxuach recently commented that Puerto Rico's recession [ES] has already lasted 54 months, and that there seems to be no end in sight. His post is in response to the NBER's announcement that the US recession ended on June 2009, after 18 months: the longest since the 1929 Depression.

El Salvador

Voices from El Salvador explains the new Anti-Gang law in El Salvador. The post concludes with these questions: “does imprisoning gang members really treat the root of the problem?  Will the harsher penalties imposed under the new law be enough to deter individuals from joining gangs?”

Mexico

In an interview for Vivir México [es], Pepe Flores asked Yalí Noriega –from Amnesty International Mexico [es]– about the state of human rights of indigenous women.

Guatemala

Photography blog Antigua Daily Photo shares images of a Tuk Tuk Taxi protest in Antigua: “It turns out, the tuk tuk taxi drivers were protesting the high number of traffic citations they are given by the Antigua Guatemala transit police. They felt they are being targeted unfairly by the transit police.”