South America

The run-off election to determine who will follow Michelle Bachelet as Chilean president is due to take place on the 17th of December.  In the first round, former president, Sebastian Piñera, candidate for the right wing grouping Chile Vamos, obtained around 36% of the vote, while Alejandro Guillier, the candidate… »

The former presidential candidate for Frente Amplio (Broad Front) has said that Sebastian Piñera, former president and candidate for Chile Vamos, has crossed a line and is a “risk” for the country. The fight for votes opened a new chapter.  This time it was Beatriz Sanchez who condemned the Chile… »

While a small team of Pressenza editors is in Santiago to cover the Chilean elections, we had the chance to meet Mario Aguilar, the President of the Chilean Teachers’ Association, the largest trade union in Chile. Mario, whose background is as a teacher of Physical Education, was first an activist… »

There are few moments when in the midst of what appears to be the hopeless political situation of a dehumanised society something unexpected happens, something that shows that at least some people have managed to wake up from the hypnotic dream induced by the prevailing system. It happened in Bolivia,… »

This week I have been closely following the experiences of Tomás Hirsch, the Humanist Party candidate for Congress Deputy in the 11th district of Chile because his wife and my good friend, Juanita Vergara, invited me back in May to come down to Santiago for the elections, already sensing six… »

A team of Pressenza editors is currently in Santiago, Chile to cover the general election taking place on Sunday 19th November.  We had the chance to interview Tomás Hirsch from the Humanist Party, an integral part of the Broad Front coalition.  He explained how it is possible and necessary to… »

On Saturday, 28th of October, more than 25 organisations and collectives developing projects and actions to overcome violence and discrimination, contributing to the construction of a culture of peace, took part in the 6th Nonviolent Initiatives Fair, the final act of “Nonviolent October“, in Carolina Park, Quito. »

By SEBASTIÁN ORTEGA 11 September 2017 for openDemocracy The Indigenous Territorial Emergency Law, which restrains legal evictions and prevents native communities from losing their ancestral lands expires in November. There are about 1500 communities in danger. This article is being been published as part of the partnership between Cosecha… »

Photos by Javier Martínez Argentina is shaken by the forced disappearance of Santiago Maldonado, which occurred on August 1st in the province of Chubut, in Argentine Patagonia, while participating in a protest of the Mapuche indigenous community Pu Lof in Resistencia de Cushamen. Since August 2, demands to know his… »

By ¡PACIFISTA! 25 August 2017 in association with DemocraciaAbierta-openDemocracy This Sunday, more than a thousand delegates of the Farc will gather in Bogotá to discuss its future, including the new political party’s name and what it will stand for. “Excited to return to… »