South and Central America
Volkswagen is charged with aiding Brazilian dictatorship in torturing workers
By Armando Cruz, 16 November 2016
Workers were seized on picket lines and brought into VW plants to be interrogated, beaten and tortured.
Sandinista President Ortega gains third term in Nicaragua
By Andrea Lobo, 9 November 2016
Ortega was reelected for another five-year term, despite deepening inequality and increasingly autocratic methods of rule.
Brazil’s high school students continue occupations in face of repression
By Gabriel Lemos and Miguel Andrade, 9 November 2016
The most immediate issue underlying the occupations is a government proposal to freeze education spending for 20 years.
The Latin American pseudo-left in the mirror of the US elections
By Rafael Azul, 8 November 2016
The suggestion that workers, women and youth turn to Black Lives Matter and the SEIU to build an independent workers party has all the elements of a bad joke.
The pseudo-left and Brazil’s municipal elections: A trial run for mass betrayal
By Miguel Andrade, 2 November 2016
The crushing defeat for the Workers Party, amid record abstention rates, has exposed the crisis of the entire political establishment, particularly Brazil’s pseudo-left.
Workers Party suffers major defeat in Brazil’s local elections
By Miguel Andrade, 18 October 2016
The vote, coming barely one month after the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, saw record levels of abstention and spoiled ballots.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
4 October 2016
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Thousands of teachers strike in Brazil as government prepares attack on education
By Gabriel Lemos, 3 October 2016
In addition to cuts in the education budget, teachers protested against President Michel Temer’s proposals for pension and labor “reforms.”
Brazilian teachers speak out on education cuts and social attacks
By our reporters, 3 October 2016
WSWS reporters spoke to teachers during a September 22 rally called by the APEOESP (Sao Paulo’s State School Teachers Union) and the CUT (the Confederation of Workers).
Top Workers Party former minister arrested in Brazil
By Bill Van Auken, 27 September 2016
The fate of ex-finance minister Antonio Palocci sums up the historical trajectory of the Workers Party itself.
US to deport thousands of Haitian workers
By John Marion, 27 September 2016
The policy, announced by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on September 22, is a brutal denial of workers’ rights to live and work where they choose.
Two years since the kidnapping of the 43 Ayotzinapa students in Mexico
By Rafael Azul, 26 September 2016
Two years after the disappearance of the teaching students from Ayotzinapa, Mexico, the Peña Nieto administration continues to shield the real culprits.
Biden meets with Central American leaders on refugee crackdown
By Genevieve Leigh, 24 September 2016
Vice President Biden met with leaders of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala to further draconian US immigration policies against the thousands of refugees fleeing the region.
Brazilian prosecutors charge ex-president Lula as “commander” of Petrobras bribery racket
By Bill Van Auken, 16 September 2016
Coming on the heels of Rousseff’s ouster as president, the charging of Lula further deepens the crisis of Brazil’s Workers Party.
Salvadoran ex-president flees corruption charges for Nicaragua
By Andrea Lobo, 15 September 2016
While US imperialism exploits these corruption scandals, both the Sandinistas and the Salvadoran FMLN are seeking a better deal with Washington.
US triples special operations deployment to Latin America
By Neil Hardt, 14 September 2016
From 2007 to 2014, the US drastically expanded its training programs of Central and South American death squads.
After the impeachment: Brazil’s pseudo lefts shift further rightward
By Miguel Andrade, 13 September 2016
Uniting around the slogan “fora Temer” (down with Temer), the pseudo left groups are attempting to prevent the drawing up of a balance sheet of Workers Party rule.
Thousands of teachers strike as Costa Rican unions suppress struggle
By Andrea Lobo, 7 September 2016
About 5,000 workers marched last week against the government’s austerity measures, even as the union leaderships are sabotaging their struggle.
Brazilian military police attack mass protest against Temer
By Bill Van Auken, 6 September 2016
Sunday saw up to 100,000 people demonstrate in Sao Paulo in opposition to the right-wing government of Michel Temer.
The ouster of Brazil’s Workers Party government
By Bill Van Auken, 3 September 2016
The downfall of the PT marks the end of a political era, posing sharply the need for a new revolutionary leadership in the Brazilian working class.
Mexican government prepares crackdown against striking teachers
By Clodomiro Puentes, 1 September 2016
As Mexican teachers continue their struggle, union officials are collaborating with the political forces that helped bring about the right-wing education “reform.”
Brazil’s impeachment crisis provokes split in Morenoite PSTU
By Miguel Andrade, 31 August 2016
The split reflects the deep crisis and broad realignments taking place throughout the Brazilian pseudo-left due to the debacle of the Workers Party (PT) government of President Dilma Rousseff.
Socialist Equality Party (US) 2016 Congress Resolutions
For the unity of the working class in the United States and Latin America
27 August 2016
This resolution was passed by the Fourth National Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US), held from July 31-August 5 in Detroit, Michigan.
Brazilian students return to the streets over classroom censorship laws
By Gabriel Lemos, 26 August 2016
New “schools without parties” laws would allow the firing of teachers for teaching anything from history to evolution to sex education.
Venezuela opens border with Colombia in order to alleviate growing social tensions
By Alexander Fangmann, 20 August 2016
The border, which has been largely closed since last September, is being opened gradually in order to stem anger arising from shortages of medicine and other basic necessities.
UN admits role in 2010 cholera outbreak in Haiti
By John Marion, 19 August 2016
The statement from the office of the secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, follows five years of stonewalling in which the UN denied any responsibility for the deadly outbreak.
Lopez Obrador reaches out to Mexican ruling elite
By Don Knowland, 18 August 2016
Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador announces that if he wins the presidency in 2018 he will not investigate or prosecute prior office holders and their accomplices for corruption.
Brazilian Senate votes to proceed with trial of Workers Party president
By Bill Van Auken, 12 August 2016
The Brazilian Senate’s vote to move ahead with a trial of ousted President Dilma Rousseff came amid a drive to introduce sweeping austerity measures.
Rio Olympics overshadowed by social crisis
By Rafael Azul, 5 August 2016
The Rio Olympic Games open in the midst of social crisis.
A week before Rio games, protesters extinguish Olympic flame
By Bill Van Auken, 30 July 2016
The Olympics are being held in a Brazil wracked by political and economic crisis as well as mounting social unrest.
Cuba shuffles heads of ministries in response to economic slowdown
By Alexander Fangmann, 19 July 2016
Just days after outlining austerity measures, including reductions in energy consumption and imports, the Council of State announced that several ministers would be replaced.
Report exposes deaths in US immigrant detention centers
By Khara Sikhan, 15 July 2016
Immigrant detainees in the US face substandard medical and mental health treatment with fatal consequences.
Brazil’s interim president vows to carry through “unpopular” austerity measures
By Bill Van Auken, 7 July 2016
The agenda of the interim government is to place the full weight of the country’s economic crisis onto the backs of the working class and poor.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
5 July 2016
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Government’s “plan for safe El Salvador” fuels death squads
By Andrea Lobo, 28 June 2016
El Salvador's state and gang violence and its strong relation with stagnant poverty, have led one-fifth of Salvadorans to emigrate.
The Oaxaca massacre and the eruption of class struggle in Mexico
By Neil Hardt, 25 June 2016
The resurgence of class struggle expressed in the protests of Mexican teachers is part of a growing radicalization of workers internationally.
The Venezuelan working class at a crossroads
By Neil Hardt, 16 June 2016
The pro-capitalist, bourgeois nationalist policies of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela have produced a social catastrophe for Venezuelan workers.
Wall Street’s candidate wins elections in Peru with support from pseudo-left
By Armando Cruz, 16 June 2016
Decisive in the narrow victory of the former IMF official was the unconditional support granted by the Broad Front of the Left (Frente Amplio).
Mexico’s national teachers strike enters second month
By Don Knowland, 16 June 2016
Efforts by teachers to roll back the regressive federal education reform face increasing government repression.
Strikes and demonstrations spread in Venezuela amid deepening food crisis
By Neil Hardt, 14 June 2016
There is fear of social revolution in both the pro-Maduro “Chavista” faction of the ruling class and the opposition, led by the Democratic Unity Roundtable.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
31 May 2016
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Wave of budget cuts throughout Latin America
By Neil Hardt, 27 May 2016
The cuts are an intensification of anti-working class policies already implemented by the so-called “pink tide” governments.
Teachers in widespread walkouts in Mexico
By Don Knowland, 19 May 2016
The strike is in opposition to a 2013 law that gave new powers to the government to monitor, test and fire teachers en masse.
Maduro government imposes state of emergency in Venezuela
By Bill Van Auken, 17 May 2016
While the Venezuelan president said that the decree was aimed at “international and national threats,” the most pressing challenge to his government comes from the working class.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
17 May 2016
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Brazil’s impeachment and the fall of the Workers Party
By Bill Van Auken, 14 May 2016
The sharp turn to the right in Brazil and the immense dangers confronting the working class were prepared for over a decade by the politics of the Workers Party.
Brazil Senate vote ousts Workers Party President Dilma Rousseff
By Bill Van Auken, 12 May 2016
The government being formed by Michel Temer has been brought to power to carry out a frontal assault on the Brazilian working class.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
10 May 2016
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Leader of Brazil impeachment drive sacked over corruption
By Bill Van Auken, 6 May 2016
The removal of Eduardo Cunha, second in line of succession to the presidency, raises the specter of a constitutional breakdown.
May Day 2016: The US-China conflict and the political crisis in Latin America
By Bill Van Auken, 5 May 2016
Bill Van Auken, Latin America editor of the WSWS, delivered the following speech to the International Online May Day Rally.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
3 May 2016
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Workers Struggles: The Americas
26 April 2016
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US backs police purge in Honduras
By Andrea Lobo, 23 April 2016
The purge in the National Police is in line with increased militarization and more repressive measures in Honduras.
Thirteen Mexican oil workers reported killed with toll rising at Pemex plant
By Bill Van Auken, 22 April 2016
The plant was turned over to Mexichem as part of the government’s privatization drive, and workers reported that safety and maintenance had been neglected.
Brazil’s impeachment crisis and the debacle of the Workers Party
By Bill Van Auken, 19 April 2016
The vote to proceed with the impeachment of Rousseff marks the end of a political era and the opening up of a new period of intense class struggle in Latin America’s largest country.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
19 April 2016
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Brazilian congress votes to impeach PT President Rousseff
By Miguel Andrade, 18 April 2016
The PT’s inability to counter the reactionary alliance of forces with a “there will be no coup” campaign leading up to the vote is an indictment of the party and its politics.
Ecuador earthquake kills hundreds
By Tom Eley, 18 April 2016
Hindered by an absence of earthmoving equipment, desperate residents dug through debris with their hands, as those trapped under rubble called out for help.
Eighteen teachers jailed as police crack down on protests in Mexico
By Neil Hardt, 18 April 2016
Thousands of teachers mobilized across the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guerrero, Michoacán and Veracruz against President Peña Nieto’s education reform plan.
New testimony exposes Mexican government’s complicity in Ayotzinapa massacre
By Neil Hardt, 16 April 2016
Previously unreported testimony shows that federal police were involved in the September 2014 attacks that resulted in the disappearance of 43 student teachers.
FMLN government escalates repression amid civil war-level violence in El Salvador
By Andrea Lobo, 14 April 2016
While most of the violence terrorizing Salvadoran communities is linked to the government, FMLN in power has consistently used it to justify greater austerity and militarization.
Mexican Nissan workers in two-day strike
By Shannon Jones, 5 April 2016
The walkout by more than 5,000 workers brought production to a halt at the Nissan plant in the industrial City of the Valley of Cuernavaca.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
5 April 2016
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The Brazilian “More Doctors” program’s dilemma
By Pablo Gomes, 4 April 2016
The Brazilian government’s solution to the lack of health care in the small towns and rural areas was to “import” doctors from overseas, mainly Cubans.
Mexican government obstructs investigation into disappearance of the Ayotzinapa 43
By Don Knowland, 4 April 2016
The Mexican government is threatening to shut down an investigation by independent experts of the disappearance of the student teachers and seeks to buy off their parents.
The drive to impeachment and the dangers facing the Brazilian working class
By Bill Van Auken, 1 April 2016
The attempt to oust Rousseff and the PT over corruption is driven by the demand of Brazilian and foreign capital for an acceleration of ongoing attacks on workers’ living standards.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
29 March 2016
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Obama hails Macri’s attacks on Argentine workers
By Rafael Azul, 24 March 2016
Obama’s trip is aimed at cementing closer military and economic relations with the right-wing Macri government.
Obama in Cuba
By Bill Van Auken, 22 March 2016
Obama’s “human rights” masquerade is aided and abetted not only by the slavish US media, but also by the Castro government itself.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
22 March 2016
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Castro government welcomes Obama, US corporate heads to Cuba
By Alexander Fangmann, 21 March 2016
Leading a delegation of over 1,000 US politicians and business executives, Obama’s visit represents a substantial move to bring Cuba under the direct sway of US imperialism.
Argentina: President Macri’s first 100 days
By Rafael Azul, 19 March 2016
The antidemocratic and austerity measures enacted by the Macri administration are in continuity with those of the Videla junta 40 years ago.
Millions join protests in Brazil demanding ouster of Workers Party government
By Bill Van Auken, 15 March 2016
The mass demonstrations came as new figures showed the country’s economy sliding deeper into depression.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
15 March 2016
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Peña Nieto joins Mexican ex-presidents in denouncing Trump
By Bill Van Auken, 8 March 2016
The right-wing representatives of the Mexican bourgeoisie fear that Trump’s campaign will interfere with their collaboration with Washington.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
8 March 2016
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Workers Struggles: The Americas
1 March 2016
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Bolivians reject fourth term for Evo Morales in constitutional referendum
By Neil Hardt, 24 February 2016
The “no” vote, which prevents Morales from running in 2019, took place in the midst of escalating social and geopolitical tensions in the impoverished Andean country.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
23 February 2016
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Obama to make March trip to Cuba
By Bill Van Auken, 19 February 2016
Emphasizing Obama’s intention to meet with “dissidents” and “entrepreneurs,” the White House made clear that the trip is part of a policy aimed at restoring US control over Cuba.
Coup threatened in Venezuela amidst deepening economic crisis
By Eric London, 15 February 2016
In the midst of skyrocketing inflation, food scarcity and economic stagnation, the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable is maneuvering for the removal of Maduro.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
2 February 2016
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World Bank documents growth of “ninis” in Latin America: Youth neither working nor in school
By Kevin Martinez, 1 February 2016
At least 20 million young people in Latin America and the Caribbean are neither studying nor working despite the region being touted as a economic “success story.”
Workers Struggles: The Americas
27 January 2016
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Workers Struggles: The Americas
26 January 2016
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Brazilian government represses Sao Paulo fare hike protests
By Armando Cruz, 25 January 2016
The fare hikes are part of a year-long attack on the living standards of the population, designed to placate the international banks.
Supreme Court to rule on Obama immigration program
By Bill Van Auken, 20 January 2016
The court’s announcement came amid rising anger and fear over the roundup and deportation of Central American refugees.
Workers Struggles: the Americas
19 January 2016
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Pentagon calls for “pivot” to target Latin America
By Bill Van Auken, 13 January 2016
The calls from within the military envision a struggle with China over domination of the hemisphere.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
12 January 2016
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Workers Struggles: The Americas
5 January 2016
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Workers Struggles: The Americas
22 December 2015
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Workers Struggles: The Americas
15 December 2015
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A reply to discussion on the Venezuelan elections
By Bill Van Auken, 14 December 2015
The burning question posed in Latin America is that of revolutionary leadership: the building of new parties based on the struggle for the political independence of the working class.
The Venezuelan elections and the dead end of Latin America’s “turn to the left”
By Bill Van Auken, 11 December 2015
The defeat suffered by the ruling chavistas in Venezuela is part of a growing crisis of the so-called “left” bourgeois parties throughout Latin America.
Maduro government suffers steep electoral losses to Venezuelan right
By Bill Van Auken, 8 December 2015
The election results will drive the Maduro government further to the right, while opening up a crisis within the chavista movement.
Chilean military exercises fuel tensions with Bolivia and Peru
By Cesar Uco, 8 December 2015
The exercises took place under conditions in which both Peru and Bolivia have won favorable rulings from the International Court of Justice in territorial disputes with Chile.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
8 December 2015
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