Global Voices

English

The world is talking, are you listening?

Rodrigo Reque Mejía, owner of the blog Puro Papo [es], compares the Bolivian government's newly created Ministry of Communications with the fictitious Ministry of Truth in Geroge Orwell's 1984 novel. His concerns have to do with potential Internet censorshio, among others.

Luis Cuello in El Quinto Poder, describes how [es] Television Nacional de Chile, the State's television channel, played the latest of ads by Hidroaisen campaign during the night news (prime time in Chile).  He asks readers whether this is the right approach, considering that thousands have repeatedly protested in past weeks against this project.

The blog “Locavore del Mundo” [someone who eats locally grown foods around the world] discusses how rural Salvadorian families are struggling to secure food for themselves, not particularly because they lack access to nutritious food, but rather because they are having to sell it to cover expenses that once they did not have, such as cell phone costs, and because of rising unemployment in the countryside.

The Latin America News Dispatch writes about the Uruguayan Congress’ decision to uphold a 1986 amnesty law that “prevents the prosecution of military officials from the 1973-1985 dictatorship for crimes against humanity.” Hours after the Congressional vote, 8,000 Uruguayans marched in Montevideo in a “March of Silence,” an annual walk to remember their disappeared and murdered relatives (photo gallery here).

Juan Arellano, author of the blog Globalizado [es] and Global Voices Spanish Editor, shares his impressions about the World Internet Day Seminar [es], a 3-day event held in Lima, Peru. In detail, he shares interesting reflections on the first [es], second [es] and third day [es] of the conference.

In the blog CARPE DIEM [es], Luis Figueroa describes [es] how the approval of President Colom´s divorce by Guatemalan courts may actually be a “violation of a norm.” The granted divorce now allows his wife, Sandra Torres, to run for the presidency in the upcoming September, 2011 elections.

Pepe Flores [es], writer for ALT1040 [es], reflects on how President Felipe Calderon has used Twitter since he first joined. He points that the Presidency sees sees this medium as a way to inform citizens [es], but not to initiate or participate in conversations that are critical of his performance.