Moulaye Ndiaye. Photo by Jesus Cisnes from lasprovincias.es. Published with permission.

In its blog [es], and on its Facebook [es] wall, the Movement Against Intolerance seeks the help of those who witnessed the assault, asking them to make contact with the organisation so that the case can remain open, as the police have been unable to find the aggressor who escaped into the night. There has also been a large civilian mobilisation [es] which still continues, and the residents of the town of Buñol say they are horrified at this tragic event.

Ángel Galán, coordinator of the Movement Against Intolerance [es], and Salva La Cruz, spokesperson for cear.es [es],

At the scene of the attack in Buñol. Photo by Sara Serano, used with permission.

have tried to help Moulaye. In the following entries they analyse the dilemma faced by immigrants in the light of the recent healthcare reform that doe snot cover costs for undocumented immigrants:

Moulaye tiene 39 años y vive desde hace 6 años en España en situación irregular; lo que hace que con el nuevo decreto Ley 16/2012(BOE 24 de abril de 2012) se le haya intentado cobrar la asistencia sanitaria recibida. Los redactores de este decreto piensen que los inmigrantes irregulares que no pagan impuestos se aprovechan del sistema sanitario.

Moulaye is 39 years old and has been living in Spain for 6 years without papers; this means that with the new decree Law 16/2012 (BOE 24th April 2012) there has been an attempt to charge him for the healthcare which he has received. Those responsible for this decree think that irregular immigrants who do not pay taxes are taking avantage of the healthcare system.

Según Medicos del Mundo la reforma es contraria al derecho internacional público y a los tratados suscritos por España.

Para Mónica Garcia de Red acoge ”las personas en situación irregular contribuyen, a través de sus impuestos indirectos al sostenimiento de la sanidad pública.”

According to Doctors of the World [es] the reform contravenes both public international law and the treaties to which Spain is party.

Mónica Garcia of the Acoge Network [es] considers that “people in an irregular legal situation contribute through their indirect taxes to the maintenance of the public health system.”

El pasado 23 de febrero de 2013 se anunció la muerte de una mujer boliviana tras ser rechazada dos veces en centros de salud por no tener papeles. Se ha abierto una petición en change.org para pedir explicaciones.

On February 23rd 2013 the death of a Bolivian woman after being turned away from health centres on two occasions because she lacked papers [es] came into public knowledge. A petition has been launched on change.org to demand explanations.

According to Caritas [es], ”once again we confirm that it is not only the circumstances brought about by the economic crisis, but the structures by which the system of social protection is being reconfigured and fortified, which leaves out those groups who are most impoverished and excluded from society”:

Moulaye dice que ahora no piensa más que salir adelante. No le guarda rencor a la persona que le agredió. Solo quiere agradecer a los que lo han ayudado: los ciudadanos, las ONGS, el Alcalde de Buñol que le ha pagado el collarín y la faja ortopédica. Dice que quiere que lo ayudan a tener papeles. Según Ángel Galán, coordinador de Movimiento contra la Intolerencia de Valencia, le han dado una residencia provisional por medidas excepcionales, pero sin sentencia firme se le complicará su situación.

Moulaye says that for now he is thinking only about getting on with his life. He bears no grudge towards the person who attacked him. He only wants to thank those who have helped him: the town's residents, the NGOs, the Mayor of Buñol who paid for his neck and back brace. He says that he wants them to help him get his papers. According to Ángel Galán, coordinator of the Movement Against Intolerance in Valencia, he has been given provisional residence for exceptional reasons, but without a firm judgement his situation will become more difficult.

Lo que es cierto es que la Ley de Extranjeria deja claro que para renovar los permisos de trabajo, como minimo se tiene que cotizar seis meses a la seguridad social o en otros casos excepcionales. Lo que hace que los inmigrantes que se encuentran en paro no van a poder renovar su tarjeta de residencia y volverán a ser ilegales.

Moulaye Ndiaye se desespera sabiendo que puede volver a ser “ilegal” con su discapacidad.

What is certain is that the Immigration Law makes it very clear that in order to renew a work permit, a minimum of six months’ social security payments must have been made or in other exceptional circumstances. This means that immigrants who find themselves unemployed will be unable to renew their residence permits and will become undocumented once more.

Moulaye Ndiaye is filled with despair at the knowledge that he could become ‘illegal’ once again with his disability.

Written by Papa Balla · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [es] · comments (0)
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President Chávez had been suffering from cancer since 2010 and had undergone various treatments on the island of Cuba on at least 4 occasions. After winning the elections on October 7th 2012, which secured his mandate from 2013 to 2019, he announced in December that he had to return to Cuba for another operation. More than 80 days later, during which he did not appear in front of the cameras, his health worsened as a result of respiratory complications and the advance of the cancer.

Twitter users reacted immediately to Maduro's announcement.

@marujatarre [es] writes:

@marujatarre: Muere el hombre y comienza la leyenda, eso es inevitable.

@marujatarre: The man dies and the legend begins, that is inevitable.

Hugo Chávez Frías, photo by Bernardo Londoy under Creative Commons licence (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Mardi (@mardicienta) [es] displays gratitude towards Chávez:

@mardicienta: No me alcanzará la vida para agradecerte lo que hiciste por nosotros, mi comanche. Tu siembra florece eternament en esta Revolución de amor!

@mardicienta: I will never be able to thank you enough for all that you did for us, my comrade. Your seed flowers eternally in this Revolution of love!

While @LaDivinaDiva [es] declares:

@LaDivinaDiva: y ojala todos entendamos q son timepos de bajarle 2 a confrotaciones innecesarias y tratemos de resolver en paz y armonia las diferencias

@LaDivinaDiva: and let's hope that we all understand that this is a time to forget unnecessary confrontations and that we try to resolve our differences in peace and harmony

Hugo Chávez governed Venezuela from 1999 until 2013. He won 4 presidential elections and developed a new Constitution. His method of governance was known around the world for its anti-imperialist ideology which was critical of the United States, although his country continued to be a supplier of oil to the US.

He also drove various proposals for regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean. At home, he dedicated a considerable part of his public policy to favour the country's poorest classes through social investment funded by the money brought by high oil prices during his years of government.

In Venezuela discussion of the political polarisation which has divided Venezuelans between pro- and anti-Chavez for all these years is inevitable, making it more complex to understand many of the things which happen due to the constant presence of two competing perspectives. Despite this, the President's death is a time of national mourning.

Written by Luis Carlos Diaz · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [es] · comments (8)
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According to the Havana Times, Cuban citizens can now apply for passports to travel out of the country for up to 24 months, without seeking special permission from the government. The new regulations eliminate the previously required “exit permit” and “letter of invitation” and relaxes rules for health care and sports professionals and those who migrated illegally. In addition, the grounds for repatriation have been expanded.

For years, leaving the country, whether temporarily or permanently, has been the subject of dozens of posts in the Cuban blogosphere. The implementation of the long-awaited migration reform could put an end to the emotionally tormenting decision to stay or to leave Cuba.

In August 2012, the author of “Los otros ojos de Eva” [Eva's other eyes] made reference [es] to the “internationalist missions,” government projects to provide aid to other countries, primarily in sectors such as education and health which also represent an economic relief for Cuban professionals. However, Melisa Cordero also reminds us of the enormous human cost of years of separation for families:

La niña apenas tiene cinco años y tú te asomas en la cuna a las tres de la madrugada e intentas grabarte sus detalles. El viaje será pronto. Cruzarás en Atlántico y la extrañarás de inmediato, a cada segundo y hasta en los sueños, y te parecerá verla cada vez que un niño africano, negrito y sucio, se te acerque en una consulta. (…) Las dudas te corren el cuerpo, estás indecisa y tu familia: sí muchacha, vete, nosotros te la cuidamos, y tu marido con el rostro compungido y sin decir palabra y el refrigerador medio vacío y las necesidades golpeándote la conciencia. El viaje será pronto. La comisión médica es sabia, pero tú no sabes si, cuando la niña crezca, te agradecerá los juguetes y el televisor de plasma y el microwave y la ropa que tiene de más, o te reprochará todas las horas de ausencias.

The little girl is barely five years old and you approach her cradle at three o'clock in the morning and try to record her features in your memory. The journey will be soon. You will cross the Atlantic and you will miss her immediately, throughout every second and even in your dreams, and you'll think you see her every time an African child, black-skinned and dirty, approaches you during a consultation. (…) Doubt will rush through your body, you are hesitant and your family: yes girl, go on, we'll look after her, and your husband with his sad face and without a word and with the fridge half empty and their needs beating your conscience. The journey will be soon. The medical committee is wise, but you don't know whether, when the little girl grows up, she will thank you for the toys and the plasma TV and the microwave and the clothes she's got too many of, or whether she will reproach you for all the hours of absence.

In another article (which is fiction), the author narrates [es] a father's departure from the port of Mariel:

Mi padre se fue en una balsa, una balsa construida con poliespuma y corcho, con lágrimas de noche, después de la comida, cuando era difícil conciliar el sueño con unos pocos granos de arroz en el estómago. Mi padre se fue por el Mariel, arrastró el bote por la acera y después por la calle de la escuela y pasó enfrente de la carnicería que estaba en huelga. Mi padre se tiró al mar, se empujó él mismo sobre las olas y se perdió en el horizonte dejándonos un puesto vacío en la mesa y las esperanzas de volver a llenar, muy pronto, las cazuelas. Mi padre se fue una tarde, hace algún tiempo, quizá un poco más y aún no hemos descubierto, exactamente, en qué lugar del Caribe lanzarle las flores.

My father left on a raft, a raft made from Styrofoam and cork, with tears at night, after the meal, when it was difficult to fall asleep with just a few grains of rice in your stomach. My father departed from Mariel, he dragged the boat along the pavement and then along the street by the school and in front of the butchers which was on strike. My father threw himself into the sea, he pushed himself over the waves and was lost on the horizon, leaving us with an empty place at the table and the hope that the saucepans would, very soon, be full once again. My father left one afternoon, some time ago, maybe a little longer and we still haven't found out, exactly, in which part of the Caribbean to lay flowers.

Since January 14 2013, Cuban citizens will be able to apply for passports at the offices of the Identity Card and Population Registry as well as at Immigration and Naturalisation to travel out of the country without being required to seek permission from the government.

Offices of Immigration and Naturalisation during the first day of the migration reform. Photo: courtesy of Jorge Luis Baños

According to a report from the Havana Times [es], which quotes the Office of Immigration and Naturalisation, a total of 195 sites have been set up for this purpose.

According to this digital magazine [sp], “it is estimated that the historical reform will benefit a large number of Cubans who, as long as they can finance their journey and obtain a visa for the destination country, will be able to travel abroad with far greater ease.” However, “this will not imply a massive exodus from the island. The vast majority of countries require an entry visa for citizens of the largest of the Antilles.”

With regard to journeys towards the United States, an article published by the digital site Café Fuerte [Strong Coffee] points out [es]:

Cuba permitirá que sus ciudadanos puedan viajar como emigrados y acogerse incluso a la Ley de Ajuste Cubano (CAA) en Estados Unidos sin perder sus derechos como residentes de la isla en un plazo de dos años, anunció un alto funcionario gubernamental.

Cuba will allow its citizens to travel as emigrants and even to make use of the Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA) in the United States without losing their rights as residents of the island for a period of two years, a high-level government official announced.

But some citizens, amongst them elite athletes [es], will still have to seek permission to leave the country.

Moreover, the law includes a subsection which has been questioned by several bloggers. Fernando Ravsberg, author of Cartas desde Cuba [Letters from Cuba], points out [es]:

El inciso “H” sin embargo, informa que tampoco podrán viajar “cuando por otras razones de interés público, lo determinen las autoridades facultadas”. Una curiosidad legal que no establece claramente cuáles pueden ser las “razones” ni cuáles son las “autoridades” (…) Semejante vaguedad da un poder absoluto a los funcionarios sobre el ciudadano. La escasez de maestros podría ser considerada una razón de interés público y el Ministerio del ramo puede sentirse la autoridad facultada para impedir el viaje de un educador.

Subsection “H”, however, states that they will also not be able to travel “when for other reasons of public interest, the relevant authorities say so.” A legal curiosity which does not clearly establish what these “reasons” or “authorities” may be (…) Such an ambiguity gives absolute power to civil servants over the citizenry. The lack of teachers could be considered to be a reason of public interest and the Ministry in question may consider itself to be the relevant body to prevent a teacher from travelling.

However, the AP agency has published a report in which it reveals that “according to an anonymous informant, various hospital directors held a meeting on Saturday with the Ministry of Health, and were informed of a resolution which will allow the standardisation of travel for all sector personnel.”

In turn, Manuel Henrique Lagarde commented [es] on the situation of Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez:

A la salida de las Oficinas de Departamento de Inmigración y Extranjería del municipio Plaza de la Revolución en 17 y K en el Vedado, la bloguera, en declaraciones a la prensa extranjera, afirmó que había solicitado la confección de un pasaporte nuevo y que se le había informado que luego de 15 días laborables, el tiempo que demoraba la confección del documento, podría salir del país.

At the exit of the offices of the Department of Immigration and Naturalisation in the municipality of Plaza de la Revolución in 17 and K in El Vedado, the blogger, in declarations made to the foreign press, confirmed that she had requested a new passport and that she had been informed that after 15 working days, the time it would take to produce the document, she could leave the country.

Hundreds of foreign media have reported the news and some users from other nations have celebrated the Cuban migration reform, although they point out [es]:

La tan esperada eliminación de las trabas impuestas durante décadas a los cubanos para salir de su país entró hoy en vigor, pero con un alto precio, cien dólares por pasaporte, el más caro de la región después de Chile.

The long-awaited removal of the obstacles imposed for decades on Cubans trying to leave their country came into force today, but with a high price, 100 dollars per passport, the most expensive in the region after Chile.

Cuban state television broadcast a programme with more details about the migration reform (in Spanish).

Written by Elaine Díaz · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [es] · comments (3)
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Political and military instability has been a constant feature of life in Guinea Bissau, a country which, since its independence from colonial Portugal in 1974, has never seen an elected president reach the end of their mandate. In April 2012, a few days after the second round of the presidential elections, the country was plunged into a new crisis with a military coup d'etat which placed the current “transition government” in power.

Ramos Horta has now been appointed to “consolidate peace”, succeeding the Rwandan Joseph Mutaboba, whose mandate ended at the end of January. His appointment has been praised by international diplomats [pt] and Guinean civil society organisations alike. An article [pt] published in Deutsche Welle (DW) explains why:

Ramos Horta on a state visit to the Maldives, as President of East Timor. Photo by Mauroof Khaleel on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Presidente de Timor-Leste entre 2007 e 2012 e anteriormente ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Ramos-Horta dispõe de experiência diplomática e de influência internacional, algo que poderá ser relevante para voltar a colocar a Guiné-Bissau na agenda política mundial. Foi condenado ao exílio forçado nos Estados Unidos na sequência da invasão indonésia do seu país e durante 24 anos defendeu a causa timorense na Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) e nas capitais mundiais. Em 1996, o seu esforço valeu-lhe o Prémio Nobel da Paz, que partilhou com o bispo de Díli D. Ximenes Belo.

President of East Timor between 2007 and 2012 and former minister of Foreign Affairs, Ramos-Horta has both diplomatic experience and international influence, something which will be important in order to put Guinea Bissau back on the global political agenda. He was condemned to forced exile in the United States following the Indonesian invasion of his country, and for 24 years he defended the Timorese cause at the United Nations (UN) and in the global capitals. In 1996, his efforts were rewarded with the Nobel Peace Prize, which he shared with the bishop of Dili, Ximenes Belo.

While many people consider the appointment of Ramos Horta to be a “good omen”, Nádia Issufo, a Mozambican journalist, suggests that it could represent a “poisoned gift” for the transition government. On her personal blog, Acalmar as Almas [Calming Souls], she points to various organisations representing the international community which have tried to intervene in the current political situation in Guinea Bissau, of which she highlights the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), which does not recognise the current transition government, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which does recognise it:

Está assumido pelo governo de transição guineense que a CPLP não é exatamente bem vinda na negociação da sua crise. A CEDEAO é o parceiro confiado de Bissau. Por exemplo, recentemente o governo de Serifo Nhamadjo disse estar satisfeito com a presença das forças desta organização no país, apesar da Liga dos Direitos Humanos Guineense afirmar que a tal força assiste impávida as violações dos direitos humanos no país.

(…)

A nomeação de um representante da ONU proveniente de um país membro da CPLP, pode parecer inocente, mas em termo práticos isola e sufoca a CEDEAO e obviamente a Guiné-Bissau. Quer queira quer não, de alguma maneira o governo de transição é obrigado a engolir a CPLP, se não desliza com mel, então…

Enquanto a guerra entre a CEDEAO e a CPLP não terminar as chances para uma saída pacífica são mínimas. Sabemos que no fundo a disputa é dominada por Angola, que se quer impor no continente africano ao nível diplomático, e a Nigéria que quer também o posto. Portanto, está um país a afundar-se também em nome de ambições alheias.

It is assumed by the Guinean transition government that the CPLP is not exactly welcome in the negotiation of its crisis. ECOWAS is Bissau's trusted partner. For example, Serifo Nhamadjo's government recently said that it was satisfied with the presence of ECOWAS forces in the country, in spite of claims by the Guinean Human Rights League that these forces were passively observing human rights violations in the country.

(…)

The appointment of a UN representative originating from a member state of the CPLP may appear to be innocent, but in practical terms it isolates and suffocates ECOWAS and of course, Guinea Bissau. Like it or not, in some way the transition government is obliged to swallow the CPLP, if it doesn't slip down easily, then…

As long as the war between ECOWAS and the CPLP continues, the likelihood of a peaceful exit is minimal. We know deep down that the dispute is dominated by Angola, which wants to impose itself on the African continent on a diplomatic level, and Nigeria which also wants that position. Therefore, it is a country which is sinking also under the weight of foreign ambitions.

“Guinea Wants Peace. Photo by Sofia da Palma Rodrigues on the blog Brancon'pelele

The “foreign ambitions” to which Nádia refers are also mentioned by Portuguese political marketing consultant José Paulo Fafe, who comments [pt] on his blog:

Recorde-se que, em 2004, Ramos Horta chefiou a missão da CPLP que “fiscalizou” (sem grande sucesso, diga-se de passagem…) as eleições naquele país, quando sob o olhar cúmplice da comunidade internacional e do governo então chefiado por Durão Barroso, se sucederam as fraudes e as “chapeladas” por todo o território. Esperemos agora que o antigo mandatário timorense “emende a mão” e, pelo menos, não seja à semelhança do chefe da diplomacia portuguesa [Paulo Portas], um porta-voz dos interesses angolanos naquele país. É que para mandarete, já basta o que temos…

It must be remembered that in 2004, Ramos Horta led the CPLP mission to “oversee” (without great success, by the way…) this country's elections, when under the complicit gaze of the international community and the government then led by Durão Barroso, fraud and “ballot-box stuffing” took place all over the country. Let us hope now that the former leader of East Timor “corrects his hand” and, at least, does not resemble the head of Portuguese diplomacy [Paulo Portas], a spokesman for Angolan interests in the country. We've got enough errand boys as it is…

Journalist Helena Ferro de Gouveia, on the blog Domadora de Camaleões [Tamer of Chamaeleons], says that Ramos Horta, “the man who declared that ‘Timor ida deit'” (Timor is a single country), calling for the union of the Timorese people, could be “the right man to prevent the future from deserting Guinea and to help the country to find a way home”, but she points out some of the difficulties which he may encounter:

- A ossatura de um Estado faz-se de dois pilares: o da segurança e o da justiça; na Guiné-Bissau, o pilar da segurança ruiu há muito e o sistema de justiça é inexistente.

- O uso da força pelos militares [substituiu] as instituições do Estado. Sem ajuda externa para acabar com o envolvimento das Forças Armadas na política, é impossível acabar com a chantagem dos militares sobre os políticos, a sua manipulação do poder legislativo e do poder judicial e o deslizar  do país para o tráfico de drogas entre a América Latina e a Europa.

- The frame of a state comprises of two pillars: security and justice; in Guinea Bissau, the security pillar collapsed a long time ago and the justice system is inexistent.

- The use of force by soldiers [has replaced] state institutions. Without external help to put an end to the involvement of the Armed Forces in politics, it will be impossible to stop blackmail by soldiers over politicians, their manipulation of legislative and judicial power and the slide of the country into becoming a point on the drug-trafficking route between Latin America and Europe.

Remaining on the subject of drug trafficking, an editorial on the blog Página Global [Global Page] [pt], dedicated to Lusophone countries, says that this is a “burden which weighs excessively on the Guinean people (…) who are struggling with a crisis caused by corrupt officials and coupists linked to drug cartels”:

A determinação de fazer da Guiné-Bissau um território sobre a posse do narcotráfico é por demais evidente e não será Ramos Horta que conseguirá mudar o curso desses objetivos se a comunidade internacional, a ONU, não der um “murro na mesa” e usar os argumentos e provas que possui para criminalizar em Tribunal Internacional os criminosos e cúmplices que detêm os poderes e a sistemática subjugação do país aos ditames do narcotráfico, dos golpismos e de prepotência. Basta de impunidades.

The determination to make Guinea Bissau into a territory in the possession of drug traffickers is quite evident and Ramos Horta will not manage to change the course of these objectives if the international community, the UN, doesn't put its foot down and use the arguments and evidence which it possesses to prosecute in an International Tribunal the criminals and their accomplices who are holding onto power and systematically subjecting the country to the dictates of the drug trafficking industry, of the coupists and of arrogance. Enough impunity.

Written by Sara Moreira · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [pt] · comments (6)
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Global Voices Online (GVO): How did the group “We Are All Cousins” come about and what are the organisation's objectives?

Guedes Medeiros (GM): The group “We Are All Cousins” emerged in 2010, and was consolidated with the existence of the radio station “We Are All Cousins”, [which] brought us greater prospects and new ideas: our objective is to promote and sell our culture to the world, we believe that we are capable of publicising São Tomé and Príncipe to the four corners of the globe. As time went on, we realised that we could offer our audience a range of programmes which was not yet available, and that is when the Group bearing the same name as the radio station emerged, made up of young students from disciplines as varied as science and literature.

Alex Dinho ft WK Productions “We Are All Cousins T-shirts”. Photo shared on the Facebook page of the radio station We Are All Cousins

GVO: Could you explain what “We Are All Cousins” means?

GM: [In Portuguese "Somos Todos Primos", STP, or] “We Are All Cousins” means nothing more and nothing less than “São Tomé and Príncipe”, because we are a small country both geographically-speaking and in terms of population, where we all have a kinship connection, we translate this concisely as “Cousins”. We thought this label was the best way to keep alive the idea and the culture that we are a country based around family. Today we believe that with the “We Are All Cousins” project, we have brought more brightness, more life and thus, as has already been said, we unite the people of São Tomé around the globe.

GVO: One of the first actions of your Group was to create an online social community on the platform Ning at the end of 2009, but it closed after a year and a half. What are your thoughts on the experience of developing this online social community?

Guedes Machado Medeiros (24 years old), born in the district of Mé-Zóchi, Trindade, São Tomé and Príncipe. Currently settled in London, after studying electronics and telecommunications in Portugal.

GM: The creation of the blog on the social community Ning was the first step taken by “We Are All Cousins” as a national “brand”. From that point on the network became, without exaggeration, a great success, and when the radio station was launched with the afore-mentioned name, nobody had to ask many questions because they already knew what it was about. We owe all of the success which we have achieved today to that blog, and I must emphasise that the majority of the people who form part of the project “We Are All Cousins Group” today met through the Ning platform.

We had to close the blog because it was costing us 22€ a month and we realised later on that with this amount we could enjoy something bigger than what the Ning platform offered us. It was from there that the idea of creating our “Official Portal” arose.

GVO: Even with the closure of the Ning community, we can see that you never gave up on your objectives. Can you tell us how the radio station “We Are All Cousins” was established?

GM: Unhappy with the closure of the blog mentioned above, we tried to look for an alternative until the Official Portal was launched. Since we are passionate about music and promoting São Tomé's values, we created a “Menu Playlist” on our old blog, where readers could enjoy listening to music in “Off” mode. Leaving the blog behind, as a joke between friends and my brother Ricolve Medeiros, we recorded a video in my bedroom playing at being radio presenters and we posted it on Youtube:

There was significant appreciation of the video from its viewers, and some of those who were closer made contact with us to encourage us to create a “Web Radio”. We considered all the possibilities and we tried to find a mechanism by which we could make these ideas into a reality…

GVO: Contact draws contact and…

That was how our IT genius Hugo Menezes appeared. With the software in his possession, he needed around 2 weeks of investigative work. When he finished his research, I received the best news I have ever received in my life. He contacted me to show me a surprise, that is, the radio station which was already up and running [through the platform Listen2myradio]. From there we have brought together the conditions, although precarious, to keep the radio online until today with our effort and dedication, but because we are all students and we live in different parts of Europe, we go on air more frequently at the weekends, which is when we have more free time.

New official portal accessible at SomosTodosPrimos.net, “where people will be able to enjoy a diverse range of content.”

GVO: Since its foundation, what type of content and programmes has the radio broadcast? What can you say about the radio's audience?

GM: Since we started our radio services we have maintained a diverse programme, 90% of which is made up of a variety of music. Even in these conditions, we have a considerable number of listeners because, for one thing, we use the social network Facebook in our marketing because it is a very powerful tool. To diversify a little our range of programming, we established a small partnership with the National Radio of São Tomé and Príncipe in which they provide us with some recorded programmes which we replay on our radio station. For information, we talk about the situations lived by students from São Tomé in Portugal and other places. We have listeners in São Tomé and Príncipe, Russia, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Great Britain, Taiwan, Macau and many other countries, even though all of the work is still done in an “amateur” fashion.

GVO: We know that you have more ambitious projects, such as “Cousins TV” for example, which has left your listeners and Facebook followers eager and impatient…

Primos TV, coming soon…

GM: We feel that we have a great capacity to give more of what has already been done for our people and all those who appreciate the culture of São Tomé. As a result of this, we have now resolved to include in our project an online TV station which is still being studied and designed. For economic reasons it still hasn't been possible to officially launch the radio station, the online shop and the Cousins TV station which are our biggest ambitions. This is because we don't have the sufficient technical means to develop our work from here on. But while the joy for what we do exists, we've worked with whatever we had. We have some friends who have helped us, such as the artist Mesaro Soares, Ron-nie Cabral, the group STP Rappers who we could even consider to be among our sponsors. We are open to people who want to support us or who want to get to know the project more closely.

GVO: How do you interpret the empowerment of young people in São Tomé and Príncipe through active participation in social media?

GM: Without doubt our young people have begun to have greater access to the internet, and as we have a country [in which] 75% of the population is young, the trend is ever greater, and we hope that with the installation of fibre optics in São Tomé and Príncipe we will have an even higher number of internet users. In my opinion [the use of social media] is satisfactory given the difficulties we face with the telecommunications services in the country.

GVO: To end, what inspiring message would you leave for the young people of this global world, especially those from São Tomé and Príncipe ?

GM: Briefly, I would say: young people are the future of every country and while we are young, we have to begin to plant seeds and to dream big, and above all not let fear condition us. Our future is the reflection of everything that we have done today while we are young.

Written by Mário Lopes · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [pt] · comments (2)
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The group Terraço Aberto (Open Terrace) [pt], created by the Swiss Association for International Cooperation, Helvetas, organises monthly popular assemblies for “reflective, critical and open debate” about the country's socio-economic development, especially in the Northern region, in Cabo Delgado. The 11th meeting which took place in November focused specifically on the subject of “Transparency in (Mega-)Projects for Resource Extraction” [pt]:

A transparência devia existir em todas as fases dos Megaprojectos para facilitar a sua aceitação e o encaixamento harmonioso na sociedade.
Como é que as informações são divulgadas? São suficientes?
O facto de Moçambique fazer parte da “Iniciativa de Transparência na Indústria Extractiva” [ITIE] é conhecido? Sabemos de que se trata e quais são os mecanismos de controlo?
Quais são os benefícios da transparência a todos os níveis?
Somos apenas espectadores ou sabemos o que se passa nos vários níveis e componentes dos (Mega-) Projectos?

Transparency must exist in all phases of the mega projects in order to facilitate their acceptance and harmonious embedding into society.
How is the information made public? Is sufficient information given?
Is the fact that Mozambique forms part of the “Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative” (EITI) known?
Do we know what the initiative is about and what the control mechanisms are?
What are the benefits of transparency at all levels?
Are we just spectators or do we know what is happening at the various levels and components of the (Mega) Projects?

Photo by Terraço Aberto (Public Debate in Cabo Delgado) on Facebook

The presentations made at the opening of the session by the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP) [pt] – about the framing of Mozambique in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) -, by the Catholic University of Mozambique (UCM) [pt] – about the contribution of the universities towards greater transparency in the mega projects -, and by the thematic group Management of Natural Resources and the Environment [pt] were shared on Terraço Aberto‘s [pt] Facebook page.

The contributions made by citizens present during the session were also transcribed for the Facebook page. The questions raised tackled the necessity for the training [pt] and education [pt] of the community, the creation of networks [pt], the social responsibility [pt] of the companies and the way in which the resettlement and compensation [pt] of the population has been carried out, the environmental impact [pt] of the works, the lack of equipment [pt], conflicts of interest [pt], and also the lack of information about the charges and taxes paid by the prospecting companies.

On this last point, Dionísio Nambora from the CIP, began by deploring [pt] the lack of information about the multinational ENI, later adding:

Outras empresas tenho informação que pagam por volta de um milhão de dolares. (…) Olhando para a Kemar por exemplo, tem isenções fiscais para 10 anos, impostos fiscais reduzidos foram e apenas paga 3%, tem isenção no IVA, e outras taxas que tem impactos sérios sobre o ponto de vista de comprimento de acções fiscais. Depois de 10 anos não haverá algum impacto do aparecimento da Kemar.

I have information that other companies pay around a million dollars. (…) Looking at Kemar for example, they have tax exemption for 10 years, their fiscal taxes were reduced and they barely pay 3%, they are exempt from VAT and other taxes which have a serious impact from the point of view of the performance of fiscal shares. After 10 years there will be no impact on the emergence of Kemar.

António Macanis, director of the Programme for Decentralised Finance in Cabo Delgado, questioned how it could be guaranteed that the social funds channelled to the National Institute for Petroleum would benefit local populations, and added [pt]:

temos tantas universidades na Provincia de Cabo Delgado. Porque é que estas náo podem fazer modulos pequenos para poder capacitar as pessoas que estão naquelas zonas, como pequenos empresários para que possam tomar proveito.

we have so many universities in the Province of Cabo Delgado. Why don't they create short modules in order to train the people living in these areas, such as small businesspeople so that they can take advantage of them.

To which the representative of the UCM [pt] replied:

Está comprovado que a maior parte dos países que tem os megaprojectos de Industria Extractiva que o rácio de empregabilidade é menor. Como universidade perguntamos se empregam poucas pessoas, destas quantas são moçambicanas?

It is proven that the majority of the countries which host mega projects run by the Extractive Industry are those where the ratio of employability is lower. As a university, we ask if they employ few people, how many of these people are Mozambican?

Ersílo Zacarias, television presenter, says that [pt] “in the areas where the resources are located, the population is getting poorer and poorer”:

Por exemplo em Tete as pessoas estão a sofrer porque foram tiradas das suas zonas onde tinham riqueza para outras zonas onde não têm o que tinham.

O custo de vida nesses lugares aumenta e a população local continua na miséria. Em Téte encontramos Brasileiros a fazer limpeza enquanto a população local continua mais pobre. Onde está o Governo para fiscalizar isso?

Recentemente em Montepuez, Namanhumbir deparei-me com policia a disparar contra pessoas, que se dizem ser garimpeiros ilegais. Tudo bem, mas nem este polícia conhece quem é o dono desta terra em que vai baleando os nativos.

For example in Tete, people are suffering because they were removed from the areas where they had wealth to other areas where they do not have what they had before.

The cost of living in these places increases and the local population continues in poverty. In Tete we find Brazilians cleaning while the local population gets poorer. Where is the Government to control this?

Recently in Montepuez, Namanhumbir I came across a policeman shooting at people, who it was said were illegal prospectors. Ok, but this policeman doesn't know who owns the land where he's shooting at the natives.

Meanwhile, for Ismael, an economist, the mega projects also have a positive impact [pt]:

Olhemos Pemba em 2005 e vejam Pemba em 2012. Algumas despesas destas empresas e seus trabalhadores criam um impacto indirecto. Já há pessoas que compraram motas e outros bens que não era notável antes. (…) Por exemplo fala-se da terra. Quem está a vender a terra aqui. somos nós os Moçambicanos. Só que mais tarde reclamamos que não temos terra ora isto mais aquilo. A iniciativa dos petróleos, dos grandes negócios é bem vinda mas cabe a nós seguir o ritmo de desenvolvimento.

Look at Pemba in 2005 and look at Pemba in 2012. Some of the expenditure of these companies and their employees has an indirect impact. There are already people who have bought motorcycles and other goods which weren't notable before. (…) For example, let's think about land. Those who are selling land here are we Mozambicans. It is only later on that we complain that we don't have land and this, that and the other…. The initative of the oil companies, of the large businesses is welcome but we must keep up with the rhythm of development.

Alberto Domingos, UP Montepuez, suggests [pt] that more must be done in terms of social responsability, with the creation of offices for District Services of Economic Activities:

Se por exemplo se impusesse como condição que cada uma destas empresas pudesse construir uma Escola, Estradas, portos, um hospital ou uma outra infraestrutura o benefício seria mais sentido pela população local.

If for example the condition could be imposed that each of these companies should build a school, roads, ports, a hospital or some other infrastructure, the benefit would be felt more greatly by the local population.

Photo by Terraço Aberto (Public Debate in Cabo Delgado) on Facebook.

On a final note, a participant in the session who was not identified, questioned [pt] the lack of debate and information, both from the media and politicians – “who is responsible for controlling the activities of the mining companies and of the other mega projects which are being undertaken?” Public debates such as the ones provided by Terraço Aberto point without a doubt to new responses [pt]:

É possível atingir um nível em que a sociedade civil é a essência de governação participativa impulsionada pela integração com o governo e o sector privado. Tudo isso, por uma comunidade transparente e inclusiva.

It is possible to reach a point at which civil society is the essence of participative governance driven by integration with the government and the private sector. All this, for a transparent and inclusive community.

Another participant, Jorge Tadeu, suggested [pt] that the debate should not end when the terrace closed, and that more citizens should take up the commitment [pt] of the young lady Lucia Jofrice, inspired by the public debate and its participants:

a lista é enorme e inclui entre outras entidades publicas e privadas, sociedade civil, a mim propria e a ti que nao estamos a exercer a cidadania na plenitude apesar de conhecermos e termos as ferramentas necessárias.

the list is long and includes, amongst others, public and private entities, civil society, the me and the you who are not fully exercising our citizenship despite knowing about and having the necessary tools.

Written by Sara Moreira · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [pt] · comments (3)
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The majority of the protestors were of Latin American and African origin, and live in the city where they are fighting to obtain the same rights as native Brazilian citizens. They are men, women and children who have fled poverty and insecurity in their countries of origin and who hope to make a new home for themselves in Brazil.

However, this dream frequently turns into a nightmare and these people end up facing many problems; it is difficult for them to obtain full access to justice due to their status as foreigners, especially when they are in an irregular legal situation. Some of these individuals, especially Bolivians, end up falling into networks which exist to exploit irregular foreign workers, making them work in slave-like conditions: with excessive working hours, salaries far below the legal minimum, lack of basic security and hygiene norms, and filthy and overcrowded accommodations.

“I am a citizen of the world”. Photo by Juliana Spinola copyright Demotix (02/12/2012)

The blog Pandora gives a good description [pt] of this silent yet violent situation experienced by many foreigners:

É muito difícil encontrar, na grande maioria dos bairros da capital paulista, imigrantes de origem boliviana. Porém, a cada dia que passa, o número de pessoas com traços indígenas e falantes de um espanhol mais arrastado que o normal só aumenta na cidade, quase que na surdina. Isso ocorre porque, normalmente, esses imigrantes se encontram nos bairros centrais da cidade – principalmente onde as roupas são mais baratas – enclausurados em fábricas, em condições insalubres de trabalho, ou vendendo seu artesanato em feiras. Esse é o panorama de mais de 200 mil bolivianos, imigrantes legais e ilegais, que vivem na cidade de São Paulo.

In the vast majority of São Paulo's districts, it is very difficult to find Bolivian immigrants. However, with each day that passes, the number of people in the city with indigenous features and a slower Spanish than usual continues to rise, almost in secret. This situation occurs because, usually, these immigrants are found in the central districts of the city – mainly where clothes are cheaper – locked up in factories in unsafe working conditions, or selling their craftwork at markets. This is the situation of more than 200,000 Bolivians, both regular and irregular immigrants, who live in the city of São Paulo.

The fact is that although Brazil is a country which was built using the strength of immigrants, the last great wave of foreigners to settle in the country did so at the beginning of the 20th century. Since then, numerous economic shocks caused the process to be reversed and Brazil came to be a country of emigrants. This situation led Brazilian politicians to lay aside the task of updating legislation relating to immigration, which dates to the era of the dictatorship, hindering the implementation of an agreement to allow the free movement of people and merchandise between member states of MERCOSUR, just like in the Schengen Area in the European Union.

“Migration broadens your vision of the world”. Photo by Juliana Spinola copyright Demotix (02/12/2012)

On this subject, the website O Estrangeiro (The Foreigner) republished an enlightening interview [pt] with the coordinator of the Centre for Human Rights and Immigrant Citizenship (CEDIC), Paulo Illes:

No Brasil especificamente, o Estatuto do Estrangeiro é extremamente discriminativo, notadamente pelo fato de ser produto dos anos de chumbo [o período mais repressivo da ditadura militar do Brasil], quando o estrangeiro era tratado como uma ameaça para a segurança nacional e neste quadro jurídico arcaico, marcado pelo autoritarismo e falta de democracia, toda a responsabilidade no tratamento ao migrante é da alçada da Polícia Federal.

In Brazil specifically, the Foreigners’ Statute is extremely discriminatory, primarily due to the fact that it is a product of the ‘years of lead', [the most repressive period of the military dictatorship in Brazil], when foreigners were treated as a threat to national security, and in this archaic legal framework, characterised by authoritarianism and lack of democracy, all responsibility for the treatment of migrants lies with the Federal Police.

The emphasis placed by governments in the South American bloc on economic factors to the detriment of civil rights shows a little-discussed side of MERCOSUR, which in reality is a customs union rather than a political one. Brazil, for example, fears that once its borders are fully opened to its partners in the bloc huge numbers of citizens of the poorer countries will enter its territory, overburdening its institutions and economy.

“We have the right to choose where to live”. Photo by Juliana Spinola copyright Demotix (02/12/2012)

But this is not all. The Brazilian government is also concerned that the establishment of a system of free movement of people and merchandise may expose the country to security risks which it does not yet feel ready to confront. One example is the possible arrival of criminals who may take advantage of more flexible immigration legislation in neighbouring countries in order to settle in Brazil.

The case of Bolivia is even more complicated, since it is an associate not a member state of MERCOSUR, and its border is considered an important route for drug traffickers. Once inside Brazil, these new ‘immigrants’ would find a huge market for their products, not to mention the fact that they could use Brazilian ports and airports as platforms to export drugs to Europe and the USA.

Immigrants in Brazil take to the streets demanding their rights and improvements in immigration laws. Immigrants’ March in São Paulo. Photo by Juliana Spinola copyright Demotix (02/12/2012)

The path to establishing itself as a state of social justice is still long for Brazil, although it is an inevitable one. If the country wants to maintain peace in its cities and good relations with its neighbours, it will be obliged to think about integration and respect for the identities of migrants who have entered the country legally. At the same time, it is fundamental for it to maintain strict control over who enters the country: being a country which is fair and receptive to immigrants does not mean sheltering criminals.

Protests such as the Immigrants’ March show a step in the correct direction: making themselves known amongst native Brazilians, showing their faces, their accented Portuguese, where and how they live, their working conditions, and strengthening immigrant associations in order to demand their rights with regard to the law. And, finally, promoting awareness as Roque Patusso, coordinator of the Centre of Support for Immigrants (CAMI) points out in an interview [pt] published on the blog Bolívia Cultural:

Um dos avanços conquistados é uma consciência mais crítica do próprio imigrante, de que ele é o sujeito capaz de mudar alguma coisa. O que percebemos é que aumentou o número de pessoas na marcha, mas também a consciência das pessoas quanto aos seus direitos. Esse é o objetivo da marcha, conscientizar.

One of the most significant advances made is a more critical awareness in the immigrant himself, in which he is the agent capable of changing things. What we see is an increase in the number of people on the march, but also a greater awareness amongst these people with regard to their rights. That is the objective of the march, to raise awareness.

Written by Richard de Araújo · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [pt] · comments (2)
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The Brazil of immigrants and emigrants
Like all the European ex-colonies in America, Brazil has received various waves of immigration from many parts of the world. The first began with the Portuguese occupation of Brazilian territory in the XIV century, followed by the importation of slave workers from Africa and after the abolition of slavery in 1888, the substitution of the African workforce with European immigrants. Since then, Brazilian society has changed radically as a result of these immigration flows, giving each state its own ethnic and cultural characteristics.

Vila Maria, São Paulo, 2008. Photo by Leo Caobelli on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

As for the first Brazilian emigrants, they initially migrated to neighbouring countries, but it did not take long for them to reach the USA, Europe and Japan. Amongst the reasons for leaving the country were the poor prospects for social ascension, unemployment and rampant inflation which affected Brazil in the 1980s. At the same time, there was the existence of established social networks which facilitated the settlement of these emigrants in countries such as Japan (where the dekasegis settled) and Portugal. The number of Brazilians seeking better living conditions abroad has increased exponentially since that time and today they total around 3 million, including both regular and irregular migrants.

The current situation: the return of Brazilians
With the current economic crisis, many of these emigrants are now returning to Brazil, and particularly to the states of São Paulo, Paraná and Minas Gerais. The blog Geo-Conceição [pt] presents some interesting statistics in relation to these immigrants:

(…) 65% dos imigrantes são, na verdade, brasileiros que retornaram ao país. São os chamados “imigrantes internacionais de retorno”. Em 2000, os brasileiros que voltavam para casa representavam 61% do total de imigrantes.
O maior número de brasileiros retorna principalmente dos Estados Unidos, Japão, Portugal, Espanha, Paraguai e Bolívia. Alguns dados sobre a imigração de retorno chamam atenção, como o fato de 84,2% dos imigrantes dos Estados Unidos serem de brasileiros voltando ao país. No caso do Japão, esse percentual chega a 89,1% e no de Portugal, a 77%.

(…) 65% of immigrants are, in reality, Brazilians returning to the country. They are the so-called “international return immigrants”. In 2000, Brazilians returning home represented 61% of the total immigrant population.
The majority of Brazilians return primarily from the United States, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Paraguay and Bolivia. Some of the data on return migration is surprising, such as the fact that 84.2% of immigrants from the United States are Brazilians returning to the country. In the case of Japan, this proportion reaches 89.1% and where Portugal is concerned, 77%.

Some sectors of Brazilian society are attentive to this return movement. For example, the Brazilian Support Service for Micro and Small Businesses (SEBRAE) has said that it has signed an agreement [pt] with the MRE (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to establish a partnership to assist Brazilians who are returning to the country:

O Sebrae em Minas Gerais e o Itamaraty [MRE] firmaram nesta sexta-feira (23) uma parceria de auxílio a brasileiros que vivem no exterior e pretendam abrir e gerir um negócio próprio quando retornarem ao Brasil. Com a atual crise econômica nos Estados Unidos e em países da Europa, a expectativa é de que aproximadamente 500 mil dos cerca de 3 milhões de emigrantes retornem ao país dispostos a tocarem seus próprios empreendimentos.

The SEBRAE in Minas Gerais and the Itamaraty (MRE) signed this Friday (23rd) a partnership to offer support to Brazilians who live abroad and intend to open and run their own business when they return to Brazil. With the current economic crisis in the United States and in European countries, the expectation is that approximately 500,000 of the around 3 million emigrants will return to the country ready to start up their own enterprises.

In a recent declaration [pt], minister Moreira Franco of the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic (SAE), stated that laws on immigration are anachronistic and hinder the absorption of skilled workers who lack opportunities in their countries of origin.

É claro, conforme destacou Moreira Franco, que a educação é a melhor ferramenta para o País alcançar o desenvolvimento necessário. Mas esse é um caminho mais demorado. Por isso, ele salientou a importância de o Brasil aproveitar este momento de grande oferta no cenário internacional.

It is clear, as Moreira Franco emphasised, that education is the best tool in order for the country to reach the required level of development. But this is a slower path. That is why he stressed how important it is for Brazil to make the most of this moment of strong supply [of skilled workers] on the international scene.

The minister's statement is paradoxical, as one of the long-standing demands of the lower classes in Brazilian society has been precisely better access to education. Consistently present among these demands has been the granting of scholarships to students from poor backgrounds, the valorisation of the teaching profession through clear career plans as well as decent pay and cheaper books.

The list is long, and taken together with what has been said previously, shows the extent to which Brazil has wasted its own population. The minister considers that urgent alterations of the laws which govern work visas for foreigners and special programmes for their integration in a new country – including learning the Portuguese language – would not be necessary if a plan was formulated to facilitate foreigners’ return while simultaneously increasing investment in education for young people in Brazil.

Celebration of Oktoberfest by the German community in Rio Grande do Sul. Photo by Pedro Rocha on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

By entering into this race for foreign brains, Brazil comes to compete with countries like Australia and Canada, especially Quebec [fr], which have programmes designed to attract highly-skilled immigrants to cover the deficit caused by their ageing populations. Their case is quite different to that of Brazil, which still has a relatively young and numerous population of around 200 million, and without large demographic gaps as in these countries, besides the 3 million emigrants living abroad who wish to return to their country.

Professor of International Relations Oliver Stuenkel of the Fundação Getúlio Vargas ponders [pt] what scenario the future will bring:

O número crescente de pessoas do exterior em busca de emprego mudará a forma como o Brasil se relaciona com estrangeiros. Visitantes do exterior são bem quistos no Brasil, pois são poucos, ricos e não costumam ficar por muito tempo. No futuro, os imigrantes virão em maiores números, serão relativamente pobres, e terão a intenção de se instalar no Brasil. [...] Embora possa levar décadas para que imigração ao Brasil chegue às proporções conhecidas na Europa, resta a ver quão bem o Brasil lidaria com uma nova onda de imigração, e os desafios que a acompanham.

The rising number of people from abroad looking for work will change the way in which Brazil relates to foreigners. Visitors from abroad are well-loved in Brazil, as they are few in number, rich and do not usually stay for long. In the future, immigrants will come in greater numbers, they will be relatively poor, and they will intend to settle in Brazil. [...] Although it may take several decades for immigration to Brazil to reach levels seen in Europe, it remains to be seen how well Brazil will manage a new wave of immigration, and the accompanying challenges.

One possible scenario is that Brazil will replicate the same erroneous policies which prompted those 3 million Brazilians to emigrate: concentrating income in the hands of sections of society which are uncommitted to social justice. Another scenario is that the country will have learnt the lesson of the “years of lead” [the most repressive period of the military dictatorship in Brazil, from 1968 to 1974] and will pay attention to the debt which it owes both to those Brazilians who have emigrated and to those who remain in Brazil, above all with regards to access to education, and consequently, the right to decent work.

Written by Richard de Araújo · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [pt] · comments (1)
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The head-to-head was held in a public audience-style atmosphere where the participants, some of them students, asked the candidates questions. The debate opened with the lack of opportunities for recent graduates, which led on to discussion of equal conditions for women, tax cuts, the cases of bankruptcy of automotive companies in Detroit, energy and finally, immigration. The vast majority of these topics are important in states which have still not decided which candidate to vote for on November 6th, the day of the election.

During the hour and a half dedicated to the debate, the grudge between the two candidates was

Mitt Romney and Barack Obama during the second debate. Screenshot from video.

obvious judging by the crossing of glances, their occasional physical approaches, and even in their exhanges of words. When Romney asked Obama if he had checked his pension fund, the latter responded: “No, but it's not as big as yours.” In the final moments of the debate, Romney made a mistake when he stated that President Obama had not classified the attacks on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya as an “act of terror,” at which point the moderator Candy Crowley confirmed that Obama, in fact, had made such a pronouncement.

Twitter saw high levels of activity surrounding the debate. According to reports, more than 100,000 tweets were registered per minute when the subject of immigration was raised. The Latinos did not hold back with their observations, as in the case of Richard Molina Gómez (@Richgomez18):

@Richgomez18: Que desorden ese debate presidencial en USA. Le han dado mucho mas tiempo a Obama en su intervención

@Richgomez18: What a mess this presidential debate in the USA. They've given Obama much more time for his speech

Even in the middle of a day of qualifying matches for the World Cup in Brazil 2014, many didn't want to miss the presidential debate, like Juan Muñoz (@Jmmunoz69):

 @Jmmunoz69: En cuanto termine este partido d #Chile – #Argentina veré el debate presidencial d los EEUU entre Romney y Obama q por lo q leo es chistoso

@Jmmunoz69: As soon as the #Chile – #Argentina match finishes I'll watch the US presidential debate between Romney and Obama, from what I read it's pretty funny

Miss Behaved (@youngvictoria16) noted the contrast in Obama's performance in comparison with the first debate:

 @youngvictoria16: Vi 10 minutos del debate presidencial en USA. Parece que Obama resucito

@youngvictoria16: I watched 10 minutes of the presidential debate in the USA. It seems like Obama has come back to life

Jennyfer Cohen (@JennyferCohen) made the following statement:

 @JennyferCohen: #debatepresidencial Obama mucho mejor que el anterior.

@JennyferCohen: #presidentialdebate Obama much better than in the last debate.

Similarly, Yoryna (@Yorynaperalta) emphasised Obama's efforts:

@Yorynaperalta: Me esta gustando todo lo que estoy leyendo del #debatepresidencial, al parecer esta mas agresivo que el otro! #Obama se activó! :D

@Yorynaperalta: I'm liking everything I'm reading about the #presidentialdebate, it seems he's being more aggressive than in the last! #Obama has livened up! :D

Ma Ximena Rodriguez (@MariaXimena) defends Obama's administration:

@MariaXimena: Es fácil criticar a Obama que está gobernando y decir lo que “yo voy a hacer”cuando Romney no ha sido presidente! #debatepresidencial

@MariaXimena: It's easy to criticise Obama who's in government and say what “I'm going to do” when Romney hasn't been president! #presidentialdebate

The debate went beyond US borders and some Twitter users like Fabiola De León (@FabiolaMarina35) wished for a similar debate in their countries of origin:

@FabiolaMarina35: Me detuve en mi faena laboral para ver el debate presidencial de Obama y Rommey joooo políticos y futuros candidatos en Panama aprendan!

@FabiolaMarina35: I paused in my work to watch the presidential debate between Obama and Romney, ohhh politicians and future candidates in Panama, learn from them!

Hiddekel Morrison (@IngMorrison) spoke about the topic of China during the debate:

 @IngMorrison: Romney acusó a Obama de tener acciones en empresas Chinas, se puso tenso ese tramo del debate presidencial EEUU. Campaña sucia?

@IngMorrison: Romney accused Obama of having shares in Chinese companies, this part of the US presidential debate got tense. Dirty campaign?

Carlos Salomón (@carlossalomon) suggests that Romney came out badly on a controversial topic:

 @carlossalomon:  Obama va ganando el debate presidencial,solo un error cambiaría el resultado,Rommey esta muy mal,la ley arizona lo hundió.

@carlossalomon: Obama is winning the presidential debate, only a mistake will change the result, Romney is doing very badly, the Arizona law brought him down.

Finally, Sebastián Reina (@_sebastianreina) posed the following question:

 @_sebastianreina: ¿Quién ganó el debate presidencial gringo? MSNBC dice que Obama, Fox dice que Romney, por supuesto, ¿a quién creerle? ¿CNN?

@_sebastianreina: Who won the Yanks’ presidential debate? MSNBC says it was Obama, Fox says it was Romney, of course, who are we to believe? CNN?

In actual fact, CNN declared Obama to be the winner in its most recent survey carried out two hours after the debate. Equally, experts in Forbes granted victory to the Democrat candidate, which gives rise to the expectation of a change in voter preferences over the coming days. The next and final debate will take place in Boca Raton, Florida, on October 22nd.

Written by Robert Valencia · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [es] · comments (1)
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Considered as one of the only spaces in Luanda dedicated to theatre, the association always remained open to the promotion and development of theatre and of the imagination. Just like other historical buildings surrounding it, the theatre is now about to disappear, letting the curtain fall definitively, to give way to modernisation.

In an article for Le Monde newspaper, the journalist Christophe Châtelot says that [pt]:

Um importante centro da cultura angolana, vai desaparecer, como tantas casas antigas do centro da capital. Os arranha-céus, esses, crescem como cogumelos e deslocam para os subúrbios, a toque de bulldozers selvagens e de bastonadas da polícia, os musseques, essas favelas angolanas sem água nem eletricidade em que se amontoa a maior parte dos 6 a 7 milhões de habitantes de Luanda.

An important centre for Angolan culture will disappear, just like so many other old houses in the centre of the capital. The skyscrapers, on the other hand, grow like fungus and move into the suburbs, accompanied by savage bulldozers and police beatings, to the ‘musseques', those Angolan favelas without water nor electricity in which the majority of Luanda's 6 to 7 million inhabitants crowd together.

Elinga Theatre, photo by Stef Meaow published on the site Buala under CC licence(BY-NC-SA)

The building was built in the 19th century, a ‘living’ symbol of the passage of the Portuguese through Angolan lands, and was declared a historical monument by the Angolan Minister for Culture. However, in April this year this status was rescinded in order to make way for the Elipark building project, which will comprise a car park, offices and a hotel.

The threats to demolish the building which houses the theatre have given rise to negative reactions on the social networks. On his blog “Morro da Maianga”, journalist Reginaldo Silva emphasised [pt]:

Uma batalha antiga do “gangue do betão armado” que está prestes a ser ganha. Um decreto da ministra dá o dito pelo não dito ao dizer que já não há mais história naquele edifício. Acabaram-se as histórias por ali. Agora história é outra. Por este andar (…) a baixa histórica de Luanda vai desaparecer completamente dentro de 20 anos ou menos. Espero ainda estar vivo para apagar a luz e fechar a porta.

An ancient battle of the “armed gang of concrete” which is about to be won. A minister's decree goes back on its word by saying that there is no longer any history in this building. That kind of history has come to an end. Now history is something else. At this rate (…) Luanda's historical downtown area will completely disappear in 20 years or less. I hope to still be alive to turn off the light and close the door.

Photo shared on the Facebook page of the Elinga Theatre.

One of the Elinga Theatre's founders, actor Orlando Sérgio, speaking to the newspaper Público, said that [pt] “the building and the way in which it was experienced have given a unique feel to the city's downtown area, so, some day, Luanda will be just like so many other cities”.

The director and playwright José Mena Abrantes, in a note on Facebook, tells the story and trajectory of the Elinga Theatre:

O grupo Elinga-Teatro (do umbundo ‘elinga', que significa acção, iniciativa, exercício) foi criado no dia 21 de Maio de 1988. A sua existência inscreve-se, no entanto, numa linha de continuidade iniciada com o grupo Tchinganje (1975/76) e prosseguida com o Xilenga-Teatro (1977/80) e com o Grupo de Teatro da Faculdade de Medicina de Luanda (1984/87).

De comum entre todos, a presença do mesmo director artístico, a activa participação de um núcleo de actores (…) e, acima de tudo, um mesmo projecto de teatro, voltado para o resgate e promoção da cultura angolana a todos os níveis, incluindo um tratamento moderno dos seus valores tradicionais, e para a difusão de um repertório teatral universal.

De um propósito vincadamente interventivo do ponto de vista político, em que o teatro foi utilizado principalmente como instrumento de mobilização e consciencialização popular (Tchinganje), passou-se a uma etapa em que começou a ser dada ênfase a uma função expressiva mais elaborada (Xilenga e grupo de Medicina), até à fase actual, em que a pesquisa de linguagens novas e a experimentação se tornaram dominantes (Elinga).

The Elinga Theatre group (from the umbundo ‘elinga', meaning action, initiative, exercise) was created on May 21st 1988. Its existence, however, follows in a long line which began with the Tchinganje group (1975/76), succeeded by the Xilenga Theatre (1977/80) and the Theatre Group of the Luanda Faculty of Medicine (1984/87).

Common to all of these initiatives is the presence of the same artistic director, the active participation of a nucleus of actors (…) and, above all, a single theatre project, aimed at rescuing and promoting Angolan culture at all levels, including a modern treatment of its traditional values, and at spreading a universal theatrical repertoire.

From a pronouncedly proactive purpose from a political standpoint, whereby the theatre was used primarily as an instrument of popular mobilisation and awareness-raising (Tchinganje), it then moved into a phase in which the emphasis began to fall on a more elaborate expressive function (Xilenga and the Medicine group), right up to the current phase, in which the investigation of new languages and experimentation became dominant (Elinga).

Internationally recognised, the Elinga has performed plays in 8 countries including Mozambique, São Tomé, Spain and Portugal. Nothing suggested that the theatre and, as a consequence, the cultural hub where numerous events linked to art and culture are held, were to be wrapped up.

In 2009 the Theatre's members had already received an eviction order from the Provincial Housing Board, in which it was stated that the rental contract on the space had come to an end. At that time the plan to reorder the Luanda Marginal and to build a five-star hotel was still in progress.

Contained within an “old house” which always needed work, the old building and cultural heritage site of the Angolan people also had an area dedicated to art, music concerts and dance. Numerous plays were performed at the Elinga, plays which will be remembered forever, such as “The Wardrobe and the Bed”, a comedy about the mistakes made in love and friendship.

At the current time it is not known where the new home of the Elinga will be, and a farewell to the theatre's magic seems ever nearer.

Written by Vania Negrao · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [pt] · comments (2)
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On October 5th Judge Pedraz's decision [es] to close the case against eight people detained as a result of the 25-S demonstrations in the area surrounding Congress because he could see no indications that a crime had been committed was made public. The Judge's writ criticises politicians, referring to ”the perceived decline of the so-called political class.” Amongst other things, in Judge Pedraz's decision we can read:

El hecho de convocar bajo los lemas de rodear, permanecer de forma indefinida …, exigir un proceso de destitución y ruptura del régimen vigente, (…)  e iniciar un proceso de constitución de un nuevo sistema de organización política, económica o social en modo alguno puede ser constitutivo de delito, ya no solo porque no existe tal delito en nuestra legislación penal, sino porque de existir atentaría claramente al derecho fundamental de libertad de expresión (…).

“The fact of organising, under the slogan of surrounding, remaining indefinitely…, demanding a process of dismissal and breaking off with the current regime, (…) and initiating a process of creating a new system of political, economic or social organisation can in no way constitute a crime, not only because no such offence exists in our penal legislation, but because should it exist, it would clearly threaten the fundamental right of freedom of expression (…)”.

These words have not been at all well received in government circles, where the Congress

September 25th protest in Madrid. Photo from the Facebook page «15M: Marcha Bruselas.»

spokesperson Rafael Hernando, in declarations made to Europa Press [es] described the order as “indecent and unacceptable,” and said of the judge that “although he intends to come across as an anarchist ‘pijo', in reality he is a judge with all the attendant responsibility” (pijo means big-headed, vain, snobby). He also holds him responsible for “any act of intimidation, harassment or aggression which may take place against any representative of national sovereignty.”

This outburst has prompted a great deal of response on the social networks, where the hashtags #pijo, #25s and #hernando became Trending Topics that very afternoon, and on #pijoacrata [posh anarchist], we can read tweets like these:

@GonzoBrios: César, los que vamos a morir acatamos tus resoluciones y no las cuestionamos, pero eres es un #PijoÁcrata.

@GonzoBrios: Cesar, we who are about to die obey your resolutions and do not question them, but you are a #PoshAnarchist.

@jcmisanz: Si eres capaz de decir 3 veces sin respirar “Decadencia de la denominada clase politica” eres un auténtico #PijoAcrata Que lo sepas #25s

@jcmisanz: If you're capable of saying “Decline of the so-called political class” 3 times in a row without breathing, you're a true #PijoAcrata Just so you know #25s

@ROMANSVQ: Wayoming en El Intermedio ha dado en el clavo al dar la definición de #pijoacrata: el pijo que no cree en Dior

@ROMANSVQ: Wayoming on ‘El Intermedio’ has got it just right in giving the definition of a #PoshAnarchist: a posh bloke who doesn't believe in Dior [a play on the Spanish 'Dios' for God]

The deputy tried to clarify his words on his Twitter page:

@Rafa_Hernando: La valoracion como acrata pijo del juez Pedraz no es un insulto personal sino la descalificacion d un grave e irresponsable auto

@Rafa_Hernando: My description of Judge Pedraz as a posh anarchist is not a personal insult but the disqualification of a serious and irresponsible writ

This provoked even more responses from internet users:

@LuciaMOdriozola: El #pijoacrata no era el juez, sino el auto. Pues si llega a ser un descapotable…

@LuciaMOdriozola: So the #PoshAnarchist was the writ not the judge. Imagine if it had been a convertible… [play on the word 'auto', which can mean both 'writ' and 'car' in Spanish]

Rafael Hernando, after insulting a deputy on September 12th. Screen grab from a YouTube video

It is not the first time that the deputy Rafael Hernando has made the headlines for his unorthodox behaviour. In 2005 he almost assaulted Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba [es] in the corridors of Congress shouting at him “You don't say that to my face,” and it was only the intervention of two colleagues which prevented him from doing so. On September 12th, he appropriated the words of the writer Ortega y Gasset to insult the IU [Izquierda Unida, a left-wing party] deputy Alberto Garzón, saying: «(…) one does not come to this Parliament to play a clown, nor a tenor, nor a wild boar. I regret having to repeat to you today, in the same terms, this reference,” as one can see in this YouTube video [es].

Some internet users interpreted Hernando's comments as a threat against Judge Pedraz, recalling events which took place with Baltasar Garzón, whose persecution by certain far right groups and animosity from the most reactionary sectors of judicial power have succeeded in removing him from his career as a judge:

@rafagutterman: El facherio irá ahora a por el Juez Pedraz, al igual que hicieron con Garzón. #PIJOÁCRATA#abortemosalPP#aPPorEllos#25s#7Oyovoy

@rafagutterman: The right will now go for Judge Pedraz, just like they did with Garzón. #PIJOÁCRATA#abortemosalPP#aPPorEllos#25s#7Oyovoy

JJM also sees certain parallels between the two judges in his comment on eldiario.es:

Máximo respeto a las decisiones judiciales – siempre que hagan lo que ellos quieren. Al que no se deja instrumentalizar, o es un “pijo ácrata” (qué esfuerzo dialéctico, no le habrá visto pinta de ‘togaflauta') o se le monta un proceso por prevaricación.

Greatest respect for judicial decisions – as long as they do what they want them to. Those who don't let themselves be manipulated are either “posh anarchists” (what a dialectical effort, he must not have seen him as a ‘togaflauta') or are prosecuted for prevarication.

This polemic arises in parallel with the controversy provoked by the declarations of the government delegate to Madrid, Cristina Cifuentes, who would like to «modulate» the right to protest [es] (supposedly in order to avoid disturbances to residents of Madrid). Besides, the Euro deputy Mayor Oreja became a trending topic [es] when he said that he believes that it is “foolish for all problems of public order to be televised with television cameras, because they incite people to protest,” and President Rajoy expressed his “recognition for the majority of Spaniards who do not protest,” which also provoked a new avalanche of tweets [es].

With this state of affairs, it is hardly surprising that many Spaniards believe that their liberties are threatened by some politicians who do not like criticism and whose only option appears to be to silence them by force if necessary. As Félix Población says in his blog Diario del Aire:

Front page of the Financial Times on September 27th. Image from the Facebook page «Asamblea virtual»

Cabe la posibilidad, también, de que al emplear el término modular doña Cristina haya querido utilizarlo (…) con la intención acaso de que sean convocadas en Los Monegros o cualquier otro despoblado ámbito de la geografía patria.

A tales emplazamientos no podrían acceder, por supuesto, los medios informativos, según prescripción de Mayor Oreja, de modo que se estimulara así la mayoría silenciosa que tanto valora Mariano Rajoy (…) y toda reivindicación fuera equiparable con un clamor en el desierto.

It is also possible that in using the term modulate, Cristina meant to use it (…) with the intention perhaps that protests would only be called in Los Monegros or some other deserted area of the national territory.

Of course, the media would not be able to access these places, according to the orders of Mayor Oreja, and in this way the silent majority which is so appreciated by Mariano Rajoy would be encouraged (…) and any complaints would be like a cry in the desert.

The behavior of the police during the protests held between September 25th and 29th has attracted severe criticism because of the violence used to suppress protestors, the vast majority of whom were peaceful. This has been reported upon by international media sources such as Aljazeera, the BBC, the Guardian, Euronews [fr] and the Financial Times (see image). The people have not been discouraged, however, with more protests already scheduled for October 13th.

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

Written by Lourdes Sada · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [es] · comments (0)
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The debate began with an energetic Biden and a Ryan questioning the Obama administration's role in recent clashes in Egypt and Benghazi, Libya, where the United States ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed. At the end of the debate, some experts stated that Biden's steely posture could boost the Democrats’ campaign which was seriously affected by President Barack Obama's poor performance in the debate on October 4th.

The social networks recorded the smallest details of the debate. Vice-president Biden uttered colloquial phrases such as “Malarkey” which means “nonsense,” in answer to the criticisms that Ryan made of the Obama administration's response to the attacks on the American diplomatic body in Libya.

Joe Biden and Paul Ryan. Photo taken from the video of the debate on YouTube.

In the same way, the constant laughs and gestures made by the vice-president throughout the transmission gathered him around 500,000 mentions on Twitter. Users highlighted the work of the ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz as moderator of the debate, making her name a trending topic. However, the volume of mentions on the social networks only reached half the number of those made a week ago during the Obama-Romney head-to-head, according to the company Bluefin: Last night's debate got 3.7 million mentions, compared to 11.2 million during the first presidential debate.

In spite of being considered an electrifying and historical debate because this was the first time that two Catholic candidates were to come face to face, some Hispanic users resented the fact that issues such as immigration failed to get a mention. Indeed, it was expected that the two candidates would touch upon this issue, as Aissa García G (@AissateleSUR) reveals:

@AissateleSUR: La curiosidad me atrapa. Debatiran Biden Y Ryan sobre tema migración? Sabemos que tienen posturas encontradas #debate #videpresidencia #EU

@AissateleSUR: I'm curious. Will Biden and Ryan debate the issue of migration? We know they have opposing views #debate #videpresidencia #EU

But, after the debate, users such as Fabian Núñez (@FbianNunez) expressed their objections that the issue of immigration, amongst others, had not been mentioned.

@FbianNunez: Es triste que no se hablara de Latinoamérica ni se tocara el tema de inmigración en el debate de esta noche. #destino2012 #debate2012

@FbianNunez: It's sad that they didn't talk about Latin America or the issue of immigration in the debate tonight. #destino2012 #debate2012

Roberto de Vries (@doctordevries) questions the work of Raddatz in this respect:

@doctordevries: #psicopolítica La moderadora no preguntó nada sobre los latinos ni los problemas de inmigración en el debate Biden/Ryan

@doctordevries: #psicopolítica The moderator didn't ask any questions about the latinos or about the problems of immigration in the Biden/Ryan debate

Lat-Am-Hoy (@LatAmhoy) makes the following statement:

@LatAmhoy: inmigración sigue ausente del debate presidencial en EE.UU

@LatAmhoy: immigration remains absent from the US presidential debate

Armando Avellaneda (@Arravellaneda) states:

@Arravellaneda: Migración y América Latina, grandes ausentes en debate de candidatos a vicepresidentes de Estados Unidos

@Arravellaneda: Migration and Latin America, significant absences in the debate between vice-presidential candidates in the United States

Rebe (@rbk_oceguera) wrote the following:

@rbk_oceguera: El debate fue interesante y muy dinámico. Faltó la referencia obligada para el voto latino a cuestiones de migración.

@rbk_oceguera: The debate was interesting and very dynamic. The reference to questions of migration which is essential for the latino vote was missing.

Aina Ruiz de Azúa (@ainagonzalez) showed her discontent with the debate:

@ainagonzalez: Vaya debate vicepresidencial :( what a vice presidential debate :( dont like it at all !

Others such as Jónatan Sark (@JonatanSark) took the debate with humour:

@JonatanSark: Por cierto, ABC, CBS, NBC y FOX emiten el Debate Vicepresidencial. La CW emite el piloto de “The Beauty and The Beast”, puro oportunismo.

@JonatanSark: By the way, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX are broadcasting the Vice-presidential Debate. CW is showing the pilot of “The Beauty and The Beast,” pure opportunism.

Jordi Perez Colome (@jordipc) alleges that, if it wasn't for Obama's weak performance in the previous debate, this debate would not be considered important:

@jordipc: Hoy es el debate vicepresidencial: Biden-Ryan. Si Obama no lo hubiera hecho tan mal, tendría menos peso. A las 3am aquí http://www.c-span.org/Debates/Events/VP-Biden–Rep-Ryan-Debate-in-Kentucky/10737434293/ …

@jordipc: Today is the vice-presidential debate: Biden-Ryan. If Obama hadn't done so badly, it wouldn't matter as much. At 3am here http://www.c-span.org/Debates/Events/VP-Biden–Rep-Ryan-Debate-in-Kentucky/10737434293/ …

The second presidential debate will be held next Tuesday 16th October, in which it is hoped that President Obama will come back with greater force, as a result of Governor Mitt Romney's recovery in the last few days.

*Photo taken from a video of the debate, which can be viewed in full here.

Written by Robert Valencia · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [es] · comments (0)
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The movement known as 25S, organised by the Plataforma En Pie [es] and the Coordinadora 25S [es], brought thousands of people together to protest in front of the Spanish Parliament in Madrid on September 25, 2012. One of the aims of surrounding the Congress was to expose, through a peaceful gathering full of symbolism, the considerable rift created between the citizens and their representatives and the need for a truly democratic system.

People from all over the country came together during a whole day of activities with communal meals and marches through the city centre, which terminated in the surrounding of the Congress. They were not alone; a police deployment without precedent [es] in the age of democracy in Spain prevented access to all streets neighbouring the Congress, which were also completely barricaded with fences.

The atmosphere became tense, just as predicted, with police charges coming soon after. From 9pm, they became more frequent until the demonstration was completely dispersed. Just as on previous occasions, although to a greater extent, the riot police used rubber bullets, truncheons and tear gases in their confrontations with citizens. 35 people were detained and 64 injured, one seriously [es].

Once again, the social networks were the most commonly used means of sharing impressions, slogans and material

Promotion of the practices of citizen journalism during the protests.

about the events. Indignation about the police brutality continues to be one of the most commented and criticized aspects. A multitude of videos [es] show arbitrary arrests, the intimidation of journalists [es], and protestors being hit and chased, including inside Atocha train station [es]. Besides home videos, devices allowing events to be streamed such as Toma la Tele played an important role.

It is important to note the reaction of spontaneous support displayed on the net which has transformed the manager of a local bar into a hero. He prevented the police from entering his establishment where a group of protestors who were being chased had found refuge. Another widely circulated video on the Internet shows evidence of police infiltrators dressed as citizens. The video goes on to show a scene in which the riot police hit an individual and he identifies himself as a policeman shouting: “I'm a colleague, damn it.” This phrase later became a hashtag on Twitter. Amnesty International Spain announced that it will request an investigation by the Interior Ministry [es] to clarify what the infiltrators were doing there and whether their intention was to break up the protest. The police were also criticised for not wearing their identification badges. 

@amnistiaespana: Estamos recopilando informacion sobre el #25s y solicitaremos una investigación al Ministerio del Interior,anuncia @_estebanbeltran

@amnistiaespana: We are gathering information about #25s and we will request an investigation from the Interior Ministry, announces @_estebanbeltran

Many people spoke out to condemn the police abuse [es] which took place that day while the president of the Spanish government, Mariano Rajoy, praised the police's actions and declared himself to be proud of the “majority” of Spaniards who did not go out to protest [es]. Ana Botella, mayoress of Madrid, suggested after the events that the government was too permissive in authorising the protestors. The government's delegate in Madrid, Cristina Cifuentes, compared the protest to a coup d'etat and called for a change in legislation on protests.

Alberto Casillas, manager of a bar, is the hero of 25S for protecting protestors from the police. Photo by El Diagonal, taken under CC Licence.

A day later, thousands of people returned to the same place, in front of the Congress, in condemnation of their treatment by the authorities the day before and as proof of the fact that they are not scared. They repeated the same type of protest on Saturday 29th, for a third time. They announced that they will not stop until the government resigns. In Italy, Brussels and Portugal a movement similar to #29S was organised in solidarity with those Spaniards who question legislative power.

Written by Elena Arrontes · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [es] · comments (6)
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The consulting firm Oliver Wyman, which assesses the solidity (or lack thereof) of the main Spanish banks, made public its conclusions: the banks will need 52 000 million euros to get out of the precarious situation which the property bubble and poor administration have left them in.

How is it possible for banks to have gotten into this situation? The explanation can be found in the fact that the bulk of the estimated funds will have to be shared out between BFA/Bankia (26,400 million euros), Catalunya Caixa (7,800 million), Novacaixagalicia (6,400 million) and Banco de Valencia (3,000 million).

These banks and savings banks which now find themselves in this predicament have traditionally been controlled by politicians, who have used them not only to place friends and relatives [es] of doubtful merit in positions of great responsibility and high salary, but also as a personal piggy bank to finance all kinds of hideous monumental projects [es].

As José Mata [es] says on Twitter:

Protests from 25th-29th September in Madrid. Photo from the Facebook page of Redes Quinto Poder.

@JMataMata: “HEMOS vivido por encima de VUESTRAS posibilidades”. Comentaba un político consejero de una Caja de Ahorros. #rescate #cajas #bancomalo

@JMataMata: “WE have lived beyond YOUR means”. Commented a politician-director of a Savings Bank. #bailout #banks #badbank

Anibal Fernández‘s [es] tweet gives an idea of the general sentiment:

‏@anibalochevi: y xq lo hayan hecho mal unos señores q x cierto ahora estan gobernando hemos de pagar el #rescate el resto(todos)? pues no me parece bien

‏@anibalochevi: so because some men, who by the way are now in government, have done things badly, the rest of us (everyone) have to pay for the #bailout? I don't think it's right

The banks, in turn, are responsible for inflating the property bubble by financing businesses in the sector which have paved the country with bricks (nourished, in turn, by the uncontrolled loans which were granted to them by the German banks [es]). Later, these same banks took it upon themselves to grant mortgages so that these properties would sell. The urgency to sell them and to make fast money meant that loans were given to people with unstable jobs who would find it hard to meet the payments throughout the long periods covered by the mortgages – 20 or 30 years, or even more. And not just for a flat: on many occasions the banks convinced people to increase their loan to buy a second holiday home.

This behaviour has had two consequences: the first is that by creating an almost fictitious demand, house prices in Spain have shot up [es], becoming some of the most expensive in the EU. The second, is that when the property bubble burst, the banks found themselves with a large proportion of their capital invested in constructions which are now practically unsellable and with a considerable number of loans which are unlikely to be paid back, families who used their own flat as a guarantee for their mortgage and who now find themselves in the street when the bank seizes these properties.

Cristóbal Montoro, Minister of Finance, by Forges. Image from the blog of Izquierda Unida-Almuñécar

Now, these same banks turn to the government – to all Spaniards – to shore up their assets. Between 2010 and 2011, the Spanish governments injected 11,000 million euros into these banks, money which is now considered lost, which has provoked an increase in the deficit as the Minister for Finance, Cristóbal Montoro, has admitted [es]. Now, so that it can continue to inject the money which the banks need according to Oliver Wyman, Spain will have to ask for a bailout of its banks from Europe, which means that the state will be responsible for repaying this European loan and in order to deal with this debt and its interest, it will have to issue public debt which is what will use up a considerable proportion of the general budget in 2013. For this reason, the government has drastically reduced the budget for health, culture, education…

As Vicenç Navarro [es], professor of economy and political science, explains on the blog Rebelión [es]:

El ciudadano normal y corriente, que no ha tenido ninguna responsabilidad en la creación de la burbuja inmobiliaria, es el que tendrá que pagar el pato y la deuda. Es una situación profundamente injusta, pues es ahora el Estado el que garantizará que la deuda de tales bancos se pague a sus acreedores. Es difícil diseñar un sistema más injusto.

Lo justo hubiera sido que fueran los bancos los que pagaran por sus errores y absorbieran las pérdidas. O al menos que se pactara entre el acreedor y el deudor la absorción de las pérdidas. En cambio, a partir de ahora, es el acreedor –nacional o extranjero- el que sale siempre ganando, y nunca perdiendo. Y si no se le puede pagar privadamente, que sea el ciudadano medio el que le pague a través del Estado.

Esto es lo que se llama rescate al sistema financiero. Y como parte de esta deuda privada la tiene la banca extranjera (y de una manera muy marcada la banca alemana) tal rescate financiero es, como ha ocurrido en Grecia, Portugal e Irlanda, un rescate a la banca alemana (y en menor medida a la francesa). Y, de nuevo, si la banca no paga la deuda privada que tiene, la pagará el Estado español. Es la socialización de las pérdidas, haciendo al Estado responsable de la deuda bancaria.

The ordinary citizen, who has no responsibility for the creation of the property bubble, is the one who will have to carry the can and the debt. It is a profoundly unjust situation, since it is now the State which will guarantee that these banks’ debts are repaid to their creditors. It would be difficult to design a more unjust system.

The fair thing would be for the banks to pay for their errors and to absorb their losses. Or at least for the absorption of the losses to be agreed between the banks and their creditors. Instead of this, from now on, it is the creditor – national or foreign – who always comes out winning and never losing. And if he cannot be repaid privately, it is the average citizen who will repay him via the State.

This is what is called the bailout of the financial system. And since a part of this private debt is held by foreign banks (in large part German), such a financial bailout is, as has occurred in Greece, Portugal and Ireland, a bailout of German (and to a lesser extent French) banks. And again, if the bank does not pay the private debt which it has, the Spanish state will pay. It is the socialisation of the losses, making the State responsible for the bank's debt.

As utopiacarmona [es] comments:

Dicho en otras palabras, el estado se ha convertido en en el principal asegurador de las pérdidas de la especulación financiera, y utiliza todos los mecanismos y recursos a su alcance, incluyendo nuestro dinero y nuestros derechos, para que la banca no pierda ni un sólo euro de lo que apostó, y eso que se supone que es una economía de libre mercado. Libre, para que la gente normal pierda, libre, para que los bancos ganen siempre.

Put in other words, the state has turned into the primary insurer for the losses of financial speculators, and uses all the mechanisms and resources in its reach, including our money and our rights, so that the bank doesn't lose a single euro of the money it bet, and that is supposedly what being a free market economy means. Free, so that normal people lose, free, so that the banks always win.

And La Clave [es] sums it up in a few words:

Privatizan las Ganancias y Socializan las perdidas.

They privatise the gains and socialise the losses.

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

Written by Lourdes Sada · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [es] · comments (1)
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With its dense, wet forest, Cabinda was always the most disputed of all the provinces in a country whose territory is located far away from the province. The oil extracted in the enclave represents nearly 70% of the crude oil exported by Angola and corresponds to more than 80% of Angolan exports, putting the country in second place in the production of oil in Africa, just behind Nigeria.

The borders of the nation

The majority of the Angolan population says that Cabinda is part of Angola, but others defend the opposite position.

Construction of a road between Cabinda and Malongo, “land of oil” [pt]. Photo by mp3ief on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

International relations expert Eugénio Costa Almeida defends the position that [pt],

Cabinda é parte integrante da República de Angola, mas também tenho sempre afirmado que, pela sua especificidade cultural e económica, Cabinda deve gozar de um Estatuto especial dentro da Pátrio angolana. Ganharíamos todos, sem qualquer dúvida.

Cabinda is an integral part of the Republic of Angola, but equally I have always affirmed that, due to its cultural and economic specificity, Cabinda must enjoy a special Status within the Angolan motherland. We would all benefit, without a doubt.

The journalist Orlando Castro, who has published several works on the territorial dispute, such as the 2011 book “Cabinda – Yesterday's protectorate, today's colony, tomorrow's nation”, and a tireless defender of Cabindan rights on his blog Alto Hama, believes that, just like East Timor in the past, Cabinda is an oppressed territory and one which has a right to independence:

Cabinda é um território ocupado por Angola. E, tanto a potência ocupante, como a que o administrou (Portugal), pensaram, ou pensam, em fazer um referendo para saber o que os cabindas querem. Seja como for, o direito de escolha do povo não prescreve, não pode prescrever, mesmo quando o importante é apenas o petróleo.

Cabinda is a territory occupied by Angola. And, both the occupying power and that which governed it (Portugal) thought, or are thinking, about holding a referendum to find out what Cabinda's inhabitants want. Be that as it may, the people's right of choice does not lapse, cannot lapse, even when the topic in question is just oil.

The pro-independence movement Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), continues to fight [pt] for a solution to bring independence to this oil-rich territory. In an interview for Deutsche Welle, Stéphane Barros, representative of the FLEC in Portugal, declared:

O povo de Cabinda não está interessado numa pacificação militar. O que se pretende agora é uma solução política que passe por um processo internacional, credível e democrático, porque a vontade do povo de Cabinda deve ser ouvida e respeitada”, defendeu o representante da FLEC em Portugal

The people of Cabinda are not interested in military pacification. What they intend now is for a political solution to be achieved by an international process, credible and democratic, because the will of the people of Cabinda must be heard and respected”, the FLEC representative in Portugal advocated.

During the elections in August, the Cabindan National Movement, one of various organisations which is fighting for independence from exile, entertained the idea of boycotting the elections. For Bartolomeu Capita, one of the movement's representatives, “there was no advantage whatsoever for the people of Cabinda to get involved in these elections. They don't concern us, we are not Angolans and we don't want to be”.

The party in power, MPLA, managed however to guarantee its re-election in the province with 59.4% of the votes [pt], a victory which Stephan Baptista, on Club-k.net, attributes [pt] to various reasons, including the fact that the majority of the population is based in the periphery, Maiombe, and is favourable to Angolan sovereignty, while the intellectuals of the “docile opposition” are a minority and are in the city, as well as the strong presence of “members of the defence and security forces, the majority party's lifeline in Cabinda”.

Images of Cabinda

Woman in Cabinda. Photo by Dom Bosco Angola on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

While “speaking about Cabinda today is something which displeases the political powers in Angola and Portugal, as well as national and global economic strength”, as Orlando Castro maintains, on the other hand the Angolan state press describes the province as a vision of paradise.

The surroundings of Cabinda are characterised by an abundant vegetation and views over the Atlantic Ocean. It is not known exactly how many inhabitants this Angolan province has, as no census has been carried out to date, but it is estimated that the population is around 400 000, with a particular culture which has lost some of its traditions in recent years.

Few pages have been created on the social networks to publicise the reality of the humble people who give life and joy to this mysterious region, but those which do exist, such as the Facebook page created [pt] by José Sambo, give a glimpse into Cabinda's beauty.

A video-report [pt] shared on the blog Cidade de Cabinda presents various traditions, practices and costumes of the province. In Cabinda, a number of dialects are spoken, including Fiote, Ibinda and Kikongo and the official language is Portuguese. Cabinda is the territory of a people who feel foreign in their own land and who are still fighting today for their independence.

As universidades e os hospitais não dispõem de instalações condignas. A cidade e as vilas sem água potável, sistemas de esgotos, drenagem e saneamento de água contrastam com o renascer das cidades angolanas e as mansões, moradias, participações privadas, obras feitas e contas chorudas e prédios de luxo que crescem como cogumelos em Luanda e no estrangeiro.

The universities and hospitals do not have the appropriate facilities. The city and the villages without drinking water, sewage systems, drainage and water treatment contrast with the renaissance of Angolan cities and the mansions, villas, private interests, completed building projects, accounts full of money and luxury apartment blocks which are sprouting like mushrooms in Luanda and abroad.

Written by Vania Negrao · Translated by Eleanor Staniforth · View original post [pt] · comments (2)
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