Global Voices » Silvia Viñas

Update on Colombia Peace Process

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:37:59 +0000

WOLA (Washington Office on Latin America) has published an update on the talks between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The report concludes:

As they pass their six-month anniversary, the talks are proceeding in an atmosphere of increased, though still moderate, optimism. This will grow dramatically if the ninth round makes clear that the agenda has moved beyond the first item, and if the FARC, in its public statements, more explicitly addresses its responsibilities to its victims.

Bolivia's Evo Morales Approved for Re-Election Bid

Silvia Viñas — Sat, 18 May 2013 06:31:13 +0000

Amid a strike by workers seeking better pensions, Bolivian lawmakers approved legislation that allows President Evo Morales and his Vice-President Álvaro García Linera to seek another term in the December 2014 elections.

The country's Constitutional Tribunal (TCP for its initials in Spanish) had cleared the way for Morales’ re-election at the end of April 2013, when it declared [es] that four of the six articles in the law -including the article that allows for Morales’ and Linera's re-election- are constitutional. As Emily Achtenberg explained in the NACLA blog Rebel Currents,

The court ruled that Morales could seek a third consecutive term, even though the 2009 Constitution allows only two, on the grounds that his first election (in 2004) took place under a previous constitution. The ruling dismissed a clause in the new Constitution stating that any prior mandate must be taken into account in computing the allowable term. This transitional provision, the court reasoned, does not apply to Morales because his original mandate did not carry over into the new Constitution (instead, Morales cut his first term short by one year and was re-elected in 2009 under the new Constitutional regime).

Emily also pointed out that critics say the President “should have sought a Constitutional amendment before running for a third term.”

President Evo Morales taking office in La Paz on January 22, 2010. Photo shared on Flickr by Presidencia de la República del Ecuador (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

While Morales’ supporters celebrated the court's decision, others, like Bolivian bloggers Andrés Gómez Vela [es] and Eduardo Bowles [es], criticized it. Andrés said that the court's judges have failed the test in this key issue, while Eduardo wrote that from a legal point of view the decision to accept a third presidential bid is one of the biggest setbacks in the process of the country's democratic constitution. Furthermore, Eduardo warned that the decision could trigger a new period of instability.

Emily in Rebel Currents added,

Based on current polls, which give Morales 60% support in the departmental capitals and 76% in rural areas, a referendum in favor of a constitutional amendment would likely have prevailed. In avoiding the constitutional route, critics argue, Morales deceived not only the then-political opposition, but the Bolivian people, who voted to support the consensus Constitution, including its term limits compromises, by a margin of 61%.

For the upcoming election, Morales has publicly announced that he hopes to achieve an ambitious mandate of 74%, topping his previous votes of 54% in 2005 and 64% in 2009.

However, Bloggings by boz argued that despite his popularity Morales shouldn't run:

Should he run? Probably not. Mistakes or simply bad economic luck in his third term will tarnish his legacy and harm the changes he has already made. Additionally, in running for this third term, Morales is making the same mistakes as Hugo Chavez. He is relying on his personal leadership instead of building up institutions and other ideologically-similar leaders to carry on his work. Any movement or country dependent on a single individual lacks resiliency.

Bolivians will go to the polls to elect a new president in December 2014. In the meantime, netizens are worried about the escalating tension caused by the current strikes and protests, a conflict that could affect President Morales’ chances of winning his third presidential election.

Mothers of Missing Mexicans Go On Hunger Strike

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:53:14 +0000

A group of mothers on a hunger strike commemorated Mothers’ Day outside the attorney general’s office in Mexico City demanding [es] that the Mexican government keep its promise [es] to search for their missing sons and daughters.

According to official reports, more than 26,000 people went missing in Mexico between December 1, 2006, and November 30, 2012, during the administration of former President Felipe Calderón.

The women have maintained the strike since May 9, 2013.

Erwin C. in The Latin Americanist blog quoted one of the mothers participating in the hunger strike:

“We will not leave until our cases have been resolved, the president meets with us and he gathers a working group to tell us when and how they will start to find our missing loved ones,” declared hunger striker Margarita López. López said her “disappeared” daughter, Yahaira Guadalupe Bahena, was kidnapped two years ago by “armed men” and then tortured until she died. López has urged authorities to uncover a mass grave where her daughter was allegedly buried in but her pleas have thus far been ignored.

López was one of the participants in a seven-day hunger strike that took place last November and that ended after Mexico City authorities met with the protesters.

Paris Martínez from the digital publication Animal Político has covered the hunger strike from the start [es]. In one post [es], he introduced readers to some of the mothers participating in the strike, like Nancy Rosete, whose son Elvis Axell Torres Rosete has been missing since December 29, 2010:

Yo decidí participar en la huelga de hambre porque, como víctimas, no contamos con certeza sobre las acciones que realizan las autoridades. Han pasado ya más de dos años y, aun cuando hay supuestos avances en las investigaciones, nosotros no podemos verificarlos.

I decided to participate in the hunger strike because, as victims, we have no certainty about the authorities’ actions. It has been more than two years, and even though allegedly there are advances in the investigation, we cannot verify [these advances].

On May 13, Martínez reported [es] for Animal Político that, “aside from a brief exchange of comments by deputy attorney general Ricardo Garcia Cervantes -on the day the protest began- no authority has come to ask about [the protesters'] demands or to start a formal dialogue.“

Mothers and family members of the disappeared held demonstrations on May 10, Mothers’ Day in Mexico. Martínez shared a video [es] that shows the mothers on hunger strike commemorting Mothers’ Day while chanting “They took them alive, we want them back alive!” and “Where are they? Where are they? Our children, where are they?”:

In another video [es], Martínez interviewed mothers and other family members of the missing on the fourth day of the hunger strike. Erica, one of the mothers on hunger strike, holds a sign which reads: “Four days on hunger strike and there are no answers. We want our sons and daughters to appear. Justice!”

She says that they are feeling the effects form the lack of food, that temperature decreases at night, and that they don't feel safe. Erica adds that citizens have been helping them.

Another protester affirms that they are not going anywhere: “We are not here for just one person, we are here for one common goal, which is the search of the missing”:

On Wednesday, May 15, Martínez reported [es] that a group representing the protesters will visit Los Pinos — the official residence and office of the President of Mexico — to present their written demands to President Enrique Peña Nieto, “so that he explains the lack of concrete actions in the search for their sons and daughters.”

Over 3,000 Participate in Data Journalism MOOC

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:20:40 +0000

More than 3,000 students are participating in the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas‘ second Massive Open Course (MOOC) in Spanish: “Introduction to Data Journalism.” The course began on May 13, but registration is still open.

Rios Montt Testifies in Genocide Trial

Silvia Viñas — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:29:11 +0000

On the 26th day of the historic Genocide trial against former de facto head of state Efrain Rios Montt and his Head of Intelligence Jose Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez, the prosecution and defense gave their closing statements and the main accused, Rios Montt, finally declared.

James Rodriguez shares a photo essay of the day in MiMundo.org.
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Let's Talk About Blogs

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:58:55 +0000

1. What do you have in mind when creating a new post? Your personal style? Other blogs? Your experience? Your readers?

2. How do you save your content or remember ideas? Notebooks? Favorites? Pinterest?

3. When publishing a post, do you check the grammar or just publish? …

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Photos of Modern-Day El Salvador

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:00:12 +0000

These are not pictures for tourism purposes — these are pictures to educate and illustrate issues facing modern day El Salvador.

Tim's El Salvador Blog links to a collection of photos on Global Eyes Media. The project by Jeff Hammond, Noah Bullock, and Doriana Westerman, “focused on documenting Salvadoran themes that institutionalized poverty and inequality in the country.”

Costa Rican Blogger (Almost) Meets Obama

Silvia Viñas — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:39:10 +0000

While Laura [Chinchilla] was talking, at one point he [Obama] turned and looked toward my direction. I took the opportunity and put on my best smile and raised my hat as a greeting. With my other hand I was holding his book over my chest. And you know what? He saw me. He said hello with his eyes. Either that or he was very amused with my hat.

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Freedom of the Press in Colombia

Silvia Viñas — Sat, 04 May 2013 01:42:01 +0000

Colombians commemorated World Press Freedom Day showing their outrage over the May 1 attack against journalist Ricardo Calderón from Semana magazine. Calderón was investigating corruption among military officers [es]. On Twitter the hashtag #NoNosCallarán [es] (we will not be silenced) is trending in Colombia.

Internet Freedom Camp in Lima, Peru

Silvia Viñas — Fri, 03 May 2013 20:32:19 +0000

Are you in Lima? Would you like to do something to preserve the Internet? Sign up for the 2013 Internet Freedom Camp: two days of free culture and activism in Lima [es].
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Guatemala: State of Siege After Anti-Mining Protests

Silvia Viñas — Thu, 02 May 2013 23:25:47 +0000

State of siege in San Rafael Mine in Guatemala. Photo shared by James Rodriguez in the MiMundo.org Facebook page

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Campesino Resistance in Honduras

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:06:00 +0000

Chavelo’s voice was quiet but unwavering as [he] expressed his gratitude that we traveled all the way from the U.S. and Canada with the human rights and solidarity organization Rights Action to hear his story. [...] Chavelo recounted briefly how he ended up in the prison, emphatically stating that, “I have been in prison for five years for a crime I did not commit. I am not a thief or an assassin. I never took anything from anyone.”

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Data Journalism Handbook Now in Spanish

Silvia Viñas — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:21:47 +0000

The International Journalists’ Network, IJNET, recently announced the release of the Spanish translation [es] of The Data Journalism Handbook, “a free, open-source book that aims to help journalists use data to improve journalism.”

Both the original English version and the Spanish translation are freely available online under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license, which means that they can be freely downloaded, shared and built upon.

Nobel Laureates: On with Ríos Montt Trial

Silvia Viñas — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:35:01 +0000

“If this case does not move forward, survivors of Guatemala’s genocide are being victimized all over again,” says Nobel Peace laureate Jody Williams, co-founder of the Nobel Women’s Initiative. “They have taken a huge risk in testifying, and many have been harassed, intimidated and threatened. To annul the case would turn the clock back on justice—and would be a victory for impunity.”

Nobel Peace laureates are calling on Guatemalan authorities to proceed with the case against Efraín Ríos Montt. The trial against the former dictator and his former intelligence director was declared invalid last week.

Visiting World's ‘Most Dangerous Country’

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:18:48 +0000

Every day I wake up, shivering with fear, hoping I’ll make it to see the light of another day here in Honduras. I live behind doors enforced with triple bolt locks and I barely dare to go out on the street. [...]

If that’s what you want to hear, there you have it.
But the truth is quite different.

Blogger Carin Steen argues that “the most dangerous country in the world” is actually not that dangerous for tourists.