Stories about Spanish from November, 2011
Peru: Conga Mining Project Suspended in Wake of Public Pressure
Protesting residents have managed to temporarily suspend operations of the Conga gold mining project, but protests continue all the same in support of the project's definitive cancellation. At the heart of the conflict is the defense of some 20 lagoons and their ecosystems, which would be seriously degraded by the execution of this mining project.
Latin America: A Conversation With Santiago Hoerth about Open Technology
Juan Arellano chats with Santiago Hoerth, founder and coordinator of Código Sur, about his organization, issues related to neutral Internet exchange points (IXP) and free networks, and the current state of free software in Latin America.
Bolivia Holds its First ‘PressCamp’
The first PressCamp Bolivia [es] will be held on December 3, 2011 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. With a similar dynamic to BarCamp conferences, participants at PressCamp Bolivia will discuss online journalism, creative commons, and citizen journalism, among other subjects. Hugo Miranda provides more information in his blog [es].
Chile: Mapuche Protest Militarization and Project to Build Airport
On November 23, Mapuche protested against the militarization of their communities and a project to build an airport south of Temuco, in southern Chile, in a territory they claim as their ancestral land. Montserrat Nicolas, from the blog Curvas Políticas, shares a video [es] with speeches and testimonies by Mapuche...
A Book on Citizen Journalism
The digital media outlet Periodismo Ciudadano [es] has published a book on the evolution of citizen journalism [es] titled “Periodismo ciudadano: evolución positiva de la comunicación,” which is freely accessible in PDF format. The book includes case studies from all over the world.
Puerto Rico: Blogger Exposes Misleading Commercial
Puerto Rican blogger Ed Morales gave a first hand account of the shooting of a Fiat commercial that shows actress and singer Jennifer López driving around her old neighborhood in the Bronx, New York. In fact, as Morales demonstrates with photos, López was never there.
Mexico: Guadalajara Hosts 25th International Book Fair
Guadalajara is hosting the 25th International Book Fair from November 26 to December 4, 2011. Álvaro López writes about the fair in Vivir México [es], and says he wishes Mexico had more readers and fewer TV viewers.
Latin America: A Conversation with Carolina Botero about Intellectual Property
Juan Arellano chats with Carolina Botero, one of the Latin American representatives of Creative Commons, about intellectual property in the region, how indigenous communities can make use of it, and piracy.
Mexico: Government Considers Legal Actions Against Citizens Demanding ICC Probe
The Mexican government has rejected war crime allegations and threatened to use legal actions against citizens that filed a complaint at the ICC against the President, top government officials, and drug gang leaders involved in Mexico's Drug War.
Guatemala: Survivors’ Testimonies Help Define Genocide in Online Documentary
Mike shares Spanish-language documentary “Our Voice, Our Memory: The genocide in Guatemala,” which is available in full on YouTube. He adds: “The documentary […] uses survivor and expert testimony to explain the concept of genocide, demonstrating how the atrocities committed by the Guatemalan military against indigenous Maya communities satisfy the...
Venezuela's Slow Internet
Luis Carlos Díaz blogs [es] about Venezuela's slow internet broadband, reporting that Venezuela ranks 163 out of 174 countries in download speed. Luis Carlos argues that Venezuelan netizens are settling for too little, and that anyone who aspires to the presidency for the 2012 elections should add this issue to...
Venezuela: World Meeting of Body Art Takes Over Caracas
This year, Caracas hosted The World Meeting of Body Art and some of its most striking expressions were shared through citizen media. Among these creations, indigenous peoples of Venezuela were given a special space to showcase their artistic expressions on the human skin.
Video: Plural+ 2011 Awards Young Filmmakers
Youth from around the globe were awarded in New York for their thought-provoking short films showing their proposals for making society more peaceful and multicultural by addressing the topics of diversity, migration and social inclusion.
Ecuador: Preserving and Protecting Natural Medicines
Ecuador's indigenous communities hold traditional knowledge of natural medicines and therapeutic use of plants. This documentary by iosphera shows the importance of preserving this knowledge from biopiracy for the future of these communities. (via cinealoido)
Mexico: Massive Civil Lawsuit at ICC Seeks Drug War Justice
23,000 Mexican citizens have asked the International Criminal Court to investigate heads of drug cartels, President Felipe Calderón and other top officials for crimes against civilians in Mexico's ongoing Drug War.
Latin American Students March for Education
Inspired by the student movements in Colombia and Chile, students across the continent marched on November 24, 2011 to demand free, high-quality education. El Ciudadano [es] links to the Facebook events organized in each country; Kena Lorenzini posts pictures of the Chilean protests in her blog, and Mike shares pictures...
Chile: Report Examines Media Coverage of Indigenous Peoples and their Struggle
The Instituto de la Communicación e Imagen (ICEI) has released a report analyzing how Chilean media covers indigenous peoples and the “indigenous conflict.” Ryan Seelau in Indigenous News explains “the data revealed, among other things, that Indigenous issues tend to be underreported and that Indigenous voices are underrepresented in the...
Costa Rica: Environmental Activists Denounce Repression
Diego Molina in Dame un campo [es] summarizes the experiences shared by environmental activists and lawyers during a conference on “Criminalization of the social-environmental protest” held in the University of Costa Rica. Participants denounced the repression they face as a consequence of their activism.
Spain: Controversies in the General Elections
The PP (Popular Party) of Spain won the recent general elections with an ample majority. Chris Moya tell us about some of the controversies at the voting centers.
Paraguay: Insecurity and Corruption
Juan Edgardo Lezcano Benitez [es] blogs about insecurity and corruption in Paraguay. He says that the increasingly serious situation “makes it lawful to take any sort of actions to ‘defend what's ours’ because the institutions in charge are not properly fulfilling their role”
Nicaragua: The Poor State of Roads in Nueva Guinea
Ronald Hill [es] denounces the poor state of roads in Nueva Guinea, “the largest, most densely populated municipality and biggest economic hub of the Autonomous Region of the Southern Atlantic” in Nicaragua.
