South and Central America
Mass protests in Peru over pardoning of Fujimori
By Cesar Uco, 16 January 2018
The deal reached to spare President Kuczynski impeachment in return for the pardoning of Fujimori has only deepened the crisis of bourgeois rule in Peru.
Court suspends Christmas pardon as Brazil’s jail population reaches world’s third highest
By Miguel Andrade, 13 January 2018
The last three years alone have seen 100,000 people thrown into the dungeons created by Brazil’s system of social apartheid.
Right-wing wins Chile election as “left” Broad Front joins the establishment
By Andrea Lobo, 10 January 2018
With only one-fourth of the electorate voting for Piñera, the results reflect overwhelming hostility to the entire establishment and herald a new stage in the political crisis.
Puerto Rico, more than 100 days after Hurricane Maria: The class issues
By Genevieve Leigh, 8 January 2018
The absence of planning for the hurricane and the lack of any significant response to the devastation by the local and federal governments has had deadly consequences.
Peru’s President Kuczynski pardons Fujimori after surviving impeachment
By Armando Cruz, 30 December 2017
Fujimori’s pardon has unleashed a wave of protests, mostly by young people, in the capital and other main cities.
“The government has done nothing”
Months after hurricane, Puerto Rican workers face worsening jobs crisis
By Genevieve Leigh and Zac Corrigan, 28 December 2017
The economic devastation of Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria continues to escalate three months after the storm made landfall in late September.
Trump administration congratulates “re-election” of police-state regime in Honduras
By Andrea Lobo, 23 December 2017
Washington’s announcement arrived as Honduran military police escalated their bloody repression of the nation-wide protests against the electoral fraud.
Haitian audit report on PetroCaribe corruption deepens crisis of Moïse goverment
By John Marion, 21 December 2017
Funds from the PetroCaribe agreement, intended for public works projects, were instead used to line the pockets of politically connected corporations.
Argentina’s Congress passes social security “reform” after violent crackdown on protesters
By Rafael Azul, 20 December 2017
Mass protests have erupted against the vote in the lower house for pension legislation that will slash benefits for more than 40 percent of the Argentine population.
Puerto Rico governor orders review of official hurricane death toll
By Niles Niemuth, 19 December 2017
The review comes amid growing anger on the island and media reports that the true death toll from Hurricane Maria could exceed 1,000.
Washington and Honduras seek to crush opposition to fraudulent re-election
By Andrea Lobo, 19 December 2017
The Honduran government and the OAS are coordinating with Washington to impose a fraudulent election using virtually the same methods as in the 2009 military coup.
“The poverty is no longer hidden by the trees”
Hurricane Maria exposes the conditions of life for the working class in Caguas, Puerto Rico
By Genevieve Leigh and Zac Corrigan, 18 December 2017
Workers and youth from Caguas, Puerto Rico, spoke to WSWS reporters about life without power, electricity and running water, nearly 100 days after Hurricane Maria.
Peru’s President Kuczynski facing impeachment
By Juan Gonzáles, 18 December 2017
Even as bribery and corruption charges threaten to bring down the president, an attempt is being made to strengthen the Peruvian state.
Top Peruvian businessmen arrested in Odebrecht bribery scandal
By Cesar Uco, 14 December 2017
The Odebrecht scandal has played an increasing role in deepening Peru’s economic and political crises.
Mexico’s Interior Security Law: The ruling class prepares for mass uprisings
By Alex González, 11 December 2017
The Interior Security Law is being advanced to crack down on protests and to prepare for possible military intervention in next year’s presidential elections.
“Brazilian Trump” or “Brazilian Duterte”? Media works to normalize the far-right for 2018 elections
By Miguel Andrade, 17 November 2017
The fascist congressman Jair Bolsonaro has been increasingly presented by the corporate media as “the businessmen’s choice.”
Trump administration moves toward deportation of Central American immigrants
By Bill Van Auken, 8 November 2017
Monday’s decision ends Temporary Protected Status for up to 5,000 Nicaraguans and could be the prelude to the mass deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
Brazil cuts science budget amid mounting yellow fever threat
By Miguel Andrade, 8 November 2017
Brazil’s Science Ministry is facing a 44 percent funding cut by the end of 2017 and another reduction of 15 percent for 2018.
Bernie Sanders tries to quell anger in Puerto Rico
By Rafael Azul, 1 November 2017
With anger against the Trump administration reaching a breaking point, Sanders urged Puerto Ricans to keep their faith in the US government.
CVS and Aetna reportedly in talks for $60 billion merger
By Tom Hall, 31 October 2017
The merger between the CVS pharmacy chain and the insurance giant is reportedly in response to Amazon’s imminent entry into the prescription drug business.
Haitian government in crisis as protests spread
By John Marion, 31 October 2017
Protests against the government of Haitian President Jovenel MoÏse, touched off by this year’s budget, are being met with violence.
Montana company with ties to Trump cashes in from Puerto Rico disaster
By Rafael Azul, 25 October 2017
Whitefish Energy, a tiny Montana company with virtually no experience in infrastructure repair, has secured a $300 million contract to help rebuild Puerto Rico’s electrical grid.
After electoral victory, Argentine president promises “most austere policies”
By Andrea Lobo, 25 October 2017
The results express a deep resentment against the 12-year Peronist rule that began the austerity drive that has only deepened under Macri.
Puerto Rico power blackout the biggest in US history
By Rafael Azul, 24 October 2017
Some 3 million people are without electricity and there are predictions that some remote parts of the mountainous island will not see power restored until next June.
Discovery of dead youth’s body raises specter of forced disappearances in Argentina
By Andrea Lobo, 23 October 2017
The case has created a sense of deep distrust towards the conservative government of President Mauricio Macri and all the official institutions involved.
Thousands continue to suffer in the wake of Mexico’s earthquakes
By Don Knowland, 18 October 2017
The September earthquakes revealed the criminality of the Mexican oligarchy and make a mockery of the president's paean to national solidarity.
Washington threatens to escalate sanctions in wake of Venezuelan regional elections
By Andrea Lobo, 18 October 2017
In response to the defeat of the US-backed right-wing opposition, Washington is preparing to push Venezuela over the brink of default.
Deaths caused by Leptospirosis reported in Puerto Rico
By Benjamin Mateus, 16 October 2017
There is a scarcity of clean water in rural communities, whose residents are resorting to washing and bathing in local rivers and springs.
50 years since the murder of Che Guevara
Including a republication of Castroism and the Politics of Petty-Bourgeois Nationalism
By Bill Van Auken, 14 October 2017
Half a century after the murder in Bolivia of the guerrilla leader, the anniversary has been exploited by various tendencies to lend a left cover to their reactionary politics and mask their own betrayals.
Trump’s photo-op in Puerto Rico
By Rafael Azul, 4 October 2017
Trump, who is proposing the largest tax cut for corporations and the rich in history, complained that the recovery effort was costing too much.
Trump visits Puerto Rico as anger grows over government response
By Rafael Azul, 3 October 2017
In contrast to the indifference of the Trump administration, people across the United States are volunteering to help residents of the hurricane-ravaged island.
Baggage-handlers’ strike at Toronto airport enters third month
Workers Struggles: The Americas
3 October 2017
Some 700 workers are striking against demands by Swissport for a three-year wage freeze, cuts to benefits and tighter control over work schedules.
Puerto Rico faces health catastrophe as Trump tweets “We have done a great job”
By Andrea Lobo, 2 October 2017
Almost two weeks after Hurricane Maria laid waste to much of Puerto Rico, many towns are still cut off from all relief efforts.
Trump to Puerto Rico: Your lives don’t matter
By Eric London, 30 September 2017
The Trump administration’s callous and incompetent response to the social disaster in Puerto Rico expresses the worldview of a financial oligarchy that sees the lives of working people as expendable.
Peru cabinet shakeup exposes crisis of rule
By Armando Cruz, 29 September 2017
The decision to remove and replace some ministries came in the aftermath of a powerful 71-day teachers’ strike.
Puerto Rican people still without aid a week after Hurricane Maria
By Rafael Azul, 28 September 2017
Puerto Rico is already under a 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. Increasingly, the question raised is whether the island will be placed under martial law.
Puerto Rico confronts the devastation wrought by hurricanes and Wall Street
By Rafael Azul, 25 September 2017
Puerto Rico is reeling not only from the catastrophic effects of hurricanes Irma and Maria, but from the predatory ravages of Wall Street.
Dam collapse threatens to kill thousands in Puerto Rico
By Rafael Azul, 23 September 2017
Three days after Hurricane Maria devastated the Island, residents are left without power and basic necessities, while an ongoing dam collapse threatens to inundate tens of thousands.
Death toll in Mexico City earthquake reaches 286
By Don Knowland, 23 September 2017
As in the hugely inadequate response of the US government to the recent hurricanes in Texas and Florida, most rescue and aid efforts after the Mexican quake fell to working class volunteers.
Puerto Rico devastated by Hurricane Maria
By Rafael Azul, 22 September 2017
As in Texas and Florida, the human suffering caused by the hurricane was exacerbated by the absence of any serious evacuation plan and the lack of public resources.
Death toll rises in Mexico City earthquake
By Alex González, 21 September 2017
The working class has mobilized to lead rescue efforts through its own self-sacrifice and solidarity.
More than 140 dead and counting as a magnitude 7.1 earthquake rocks Mexico City
By Andrea Lobo, 20 September 2017
Less than two weeks after an earthquake killed 99 people in southern Mexico, another quake has left widespread death and destruction in the continent's largest metropolis.
Mexico earthquake death toll climbs to 98
By Andrea Lobo, 18 September 2017
This historic event has exposed conditions of staggering inequality, deteriorated social infrastructure and corrupt negligence on the part of the ruling elites.
Corruption crisis engulfs all major parties in Peru
By Cesar Uco, 14 September 2017
The Odebrecht scandal is threatening to put two other former presidents behind bars and to drag down the current head of state, Pedro Pablo Kucsynski.
Strong earthquake shakes Mexico and Central America, killing at least 61
By Rafael Azul, 9 September 2017
By far the most damage was concentrated in Juchitan de Zaragoza, a city of more than one hundred thousand, the third largest in the state of Oaxaca.
Brazil’s ruling circles fear international “isolation”
By Miguel Andrade, 5 September 2017
The ambiguous international strategy being pursued by Brasilia is symptomatic of the crisis of confidence gripping ruling circles.
Venezuela nears default after US imposes sanctions on economy
By Andrea Lobo, 1 September 2017
Amid its worst economic crisis, the new sanctions have pushed Venezuela to the brink of default, which threatens to sink the country’s workers and poor to new depths of misery.
Growing signs of constitutional breakdown follow repeal of corruption charges against Brazil’s President Temer
By Miguel Andrade, 22 August 2017
The Workers Party attacks Temer’s government not as an opponent of capitalism, but as a defender of the interests of a “national bourgeoisie.”
Nationwide strike by educators set in Chile
Workers Struggles: The Americas
8 August 2017
Chile’s College of Professors is set to strike against right wing, pro market, changes to the country’s educational system.
Washington’s sanctions against Venezuela and the dead-end of Chavismo
By Eric London, 2 August 2017
Nearly 20 years after the election of Chavez, Venezuela remains one the most unequal countries in the world, with poverty the predominant fact of life for the working class.
Election of constituent assembly in Venezuela takes place amid intensified violence and US threats
By Andrea Lobo, 31 July 2017
The conflict between the rival sections of the ruling class is reaching a breaking point.
Lessons from the Pink Tide period
Jacobin defends bourgeois rule and US imperialism in Latin America
By Eric London, 27 July 2017
Jacobin magazine’s spring edition, titled By Taking Power, addresses “both the accomplishments and the shortcomings” of Latin America’s Pink Tide.
Brazilian president threatened with ouster over corruption charges
By Miguel Andrade, 25 July 2017
Michel Temer faces the threat of being placed on trial as the Brazilian ruling establishment is increasingly torn by bitter internecine warfare.
Killing continues in Colombia as FARC disarms
By Carlota Duran, 21 July 2017
The world’s oldest guerrilla group is preparing to transform itself into a new bourgeois party in alliance with the Colombian Stalinists.
Argentina’s Left and Workers’ Front (FIT): “Podemos in diapers”
By Andrea Lobo, 20 July 2017
Amid a mounting social and political crisis, the FIT’s renewed electoral alliance for Argentina’s upcoming legislative elections is a political trap for workers and youth.
“The rich have all the resources and the money but still so many are struggling”
Leader of group of deported US veterans in Mexico speaks out
By Norisa Diaz and Renae Cassimeda, 18 July 2017
Thousands of veterans have been deported following minor crimes often linked to trauma incurred during their military service.
Venezuelan government moves against dissenting chavistas
By Alexander Fangmann, 4 July 2017
Hours before the Supreme Court stripped the dissenting attorney general of her powers, a helicopter piloted by a police officer mounted a suspicious attack on the court.
Conference on Central America outlines plans for militarization and escalating assault on immigrants
By Andrea Lobo, 19 June 2017
Discussion of the desperate social conditions in the countries comprising the Northern Triangle of Central America was virtually excluded from the summit, mentioned only as a lure for investments.
Growing fissures in Maduro government as Venezuelan protests continue
By Bill Van Auken, 16 June 2017
The emergence of dissidents in the Maduro government is part of a bid to fashion a new national unity government with the aim of heading off a revolt from below.
Massive abstention in Puerto Rican statehood referendum
By Rafael Azul, 13 June 2017
The vast majority of Puerto Rican voters failed to participate in Sunday’s plebiscite on the island’s political status.
Peruvian pseudo-left bitterly divided over launching of new party
By Armando Cruz, 7 June 2017
The divisions over the launching of “Nuevo Peru” center on the best political means for diverting the rising militancy of the working class.
Puerto Rican governor proposes austerity budget
By Rafael Azul, 5 June 2017
The budget slashes education, pensions and social services in line with the dictates of Wall Street.
Amid deepening crisis, Temer turns to Brazil’s military
By Gabriel Lemos, 3 June 2017
The growing reliance on the military coincides with the government’s attempt to push through the deeply unpopular labor and pension “reforms.”
Manuel Noriega and US militarism
By Bill Van Auken, 31 May 2017
The December 1989 US invasion of Panama and toppling of Noriega set the pattern for the escalating series of US wars and interventions that were to follow.
Brazil’s president forced to rescind order calling out the army against protesters
By Bill Van Auken, 26 May 2017
Temer’s about-face on a decree giving the army policing powers came amid a wave of criticism of the measure as illegitimate and renewed calls for the president’s ouster.
Vulture capitalists fight over pickings from bankrupt Puerto Rico
By Rafael Azul, 22 May 2017
The country is already one of the most socially unequal US territories, with half the population under the poverty line and the official rate of unemployment at 11.5 percent.
Brazil’s markets plummet amid corruption charges against president
By Bill Van Auken, 19 May 2017
The worst fall in share prices since the 2008 global financial meltdown was prompted by fears that the government will be unable to push through attacks on pensions and labor laws.
University of Puerto Rico students protest austerity measures
By Rafael Azul, 16 May 2017
Striking students occupying the main campus of the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras are defying a court order to end their protest.
The Last Day of Oppression and the First Day of the Same: The Politics and Economics of the New Latin American Left
The pseudo-left’s appraisal of the “pink tide”: A recipe for further betrayals
By Eric London, 9 May 2017
Jeffrey R. Webber’s 2017 book is an agglomeration of the worst threads of Latin American petty-bourgeois radicalism. It is worth studying as a textbook of everything socialism is not.
May Day 2017
The fight for socialist internationalism in Latin America
By Bill Van Auken, 5 May 2017
The overall impact of Castroism, and, even more decisively, that of the revisionist tendencies which promoted it, was to hold back the socialist revolution.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
Anger grows among US telecom workers
By our reporters, 3 May 2017
The World Socialist Web Site urges workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature by e-mailing reports to comments@wsws.org .
Brazilian demonstrators speak out during first general strike in 21 years
By our reporters, 2 May 2017
Amid the worst economic crisis in a century, with a record 14.2 million unemployed, demonstrators welcomed the general strike.
Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism 1910–1950—a significant exhibition
By Gary Alvernia, 28 April 2017
The radicalization of Mexican artists led to the creation of powerful and engaging works that expressed the faith of the artistic community in the revolution of the masses.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
Brazilian general strike set for Friday
25 April 2017
The World Socialist Web Site urges workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature by emailing information to comments@wsws.org.
US media warns of “Russian meddling” in Latin America
By Alex González, 17 April 2017
The claim Russia is looking to increase its influence in Latin America is part of a broader effort to prepare public opinion for war with Russia.
Eleven percent of Chile marches against for-profit pension scheme
By Armando Cruz and Cesar Uco, 11 April 2017
Two million people demonstrated against the for-profit Pension Fund Administrators, a pension scheme adopted under the rule of dictator General Augusto Pinochet.
Mexican president calls criticism of military “inadmissible and unacceptable” in speech before 32,000 soldiers
By Alex Gonzalez, 6 April 2017
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto adressed an audience of 32,000 members of the Armed Forces to condemn criticisms of the military.
National strike in Argentina as opposition to austerity grows
By Rafael Azul, 6 April 2017
Argentina’s trade union bureaucracy has collaborated with the government, facilitating the imposition of attacks on wages, jobs and democratic rights.
San Diego Latino Film Festival—Part 2
Conditions in Latin America, treated concretely…and more abstractly
By Kevin Martinez and Toby Reese, 6 April 2017
Films from Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia and the Dominican Republic were shown at the festival, including a tense political drama, a dialogue-free drama and two documentaries.
Colombian government ignores warnings, mudslide kills hundreds
By Andrea Lobo, 4 April 2017
The disaster in Mocoa has killed over 250 people in one of the most impoverished areas of the country.
Strike continues at Peru’s largest copper mine in defiance of government
By Cesar Uco and Armando Cruz, 27 March 2017
The Cerro Verde miners strike has now entered its third week, despite a government decree declaring the action illegal.
US Senate passes resolution calling on Trump to escalate regime-change in Venezuela
By Alexander Fangmann, 15 March 2017
Seizing on the economic crisis gripping Venezuela, the bipartisan resolution is part of an effort to oust the government of Maduro.
Amid Mexico talks, Trump calls deportations a “military operation”
By Bill Van Auken, 24 February 2017
The president’s provocative statement came as his secretaries of State and Homeland Security were in Mexico attempting to secure the collaboration of the Peña Nieto government.
Tensions mount in Chilean copper miners strike
By Cesar Uco, 16 February 2017
The walkout at Escondida, the largest copper mine in the world, follows a similar strike at Las Bambas, neighboring Peru’s largest mine.
Report reveals widespread torture of minors in Mexican prisons
By Alex Gonzalez, 15 February 2017
In Mexico, 57 percent of adolescents in prison are tortured, according to a report released by the National Center for Human Rights.
In face of US threats, Mexican president calls for “national unity”
By Clodomiro Puentes, 14 February 2017
Peña Nieto’s appeal has been echoed by everyone from billionaire Carlos Slim to the pseudo-left groups orbiting the Morena party.
Top Peruvian politicians implicated in Brazil’s “Lava Jato” corruption scandal
By Armando Cruz, 8 February 2017
Among the major figures that may be targeted by prosecutors is the current Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.
“Left populism”: An attack on socialism by the Argentine pseudo-left
By Andrea Lobo, 8 February 2017
The pseudo-left FT-CI advocates “left populism” to subordinate the interests of Latin American workers to the more affluent sections of the middle class.
Italian court sentences ex-Latin American dictators for Operation Condor
By Cesar Uco and Bill Van Auken, 1 February 2017
While convicting the ex-military rulers of Peru and Bolivia, the court absolved a confessed Uruguayan torturer residing in Italy, the one defendant it had the power to punish for his crimes.
Protests in Mexico continue against gas price hike, water privatization
By Clodomiro Puentes, 31 January 2017
Protests against the Mexican government continue under conditions of rising inflation and increasing concern over the impact of the Trump presidency in the US.
Rescue attempts abandoned for seven buried Peruvian miners
By Cesar Uco, 24 January 2017
There are thousands of informal mines in Peru, with miners risking their lives working for third parties under extremely dangerous conditions.
Mexican protests continue as consumer prices rise
By Rafael Azul, 12 January 2017
Sections of the Mexican ruling class are posturing as opponents of the gasolinazo subsidy cut.
Mexican government, trade unions mobilize against protests to pave the way for Trump
By Rafael Azul and Eric London, 10 January 2017
In response to mass demonstrations against gasoline subsidy cuts, the government and trade unions are policing popular anger in order to lay out the welcome mat for Trump.
Over 100 inmates killed in wave of Brazilian prison massacres
By Miguel Andrade, 10 January 2017
Overcrowding and systematic abusive detentions expose inmates to harassment by organized crime and many forms of oppression by authorities.
Strikes spread in Mexico, thousands of police deployed to capital
By Neil Hardt, 6 January 2017
The trade unions and the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) are being mobilized to strangle the growing movement against cuts in gas subsidies.
Protests against gas price hikes spread across Mexico
By Eric London, 5 January 2017
The Mexican government’s decision to cut gas subsidies has provoked widespread demonstrations, road blockades and gas station occupations, sparking fears within the ruling class of a social explosion.
Venezuelan government backs off of demonetization scheme after mass rioting
By Bill Van Auken, 21 December 2016
The government abruptly withdrew 100 bolivar notes from the economy after the measure touched off violent protests that left four dead and hundreds arrested.
Aquarius: Personal resistance and isolation in Brazil
By Miguel Andrade, 13 December 2016
Filmed prior to Brazil’s impeachment crisis, Aquarius has since become an artistic point of reference (and a target) in the continuing political turmoil wracking the country.
Colombian government signs revised peace deal with FARC
By Andrea Lobo, 29 November 2016
The government’s unpopularity has been deepened by its attempt to employ the discredited leadership of the FARC as a left cover.
The political legacy of Fidel Castro
By Bill Van Auken, 28 November 2016
Castro’s legacy cannot be evaluated solely through the prism of Cuba, but must take into account the impact of his politics internationally and, above all, in Latin America.
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