The following article gives a good overview of the massive extractivism taking place in Brazil (falsely reported as “industrialization”). It points out that the products of Brazil’s mines and other exploitive projects are, in fact, destined for export rather than to provide any domestic benefit. This shows how even one of the world’s most praised [...]

This article from the Guardian shows why indigenous movements have fought so hard for Peru’s new law requiring extractive industry to consult with affected indigenous communities, why industrial interests have so consistently opposed, and why mining companies pushed so hard for the recent decision that excluded millions of indigenous Peruvians from that law’s protection. Note, [...]

Even as Guatemala’s high courts go back and forth regarding the genocide trial of former president Efrain Rios Montt, indigenous Guatemalans are facing a new wave of repression as they continue to defend their lands from big infrastructure “development” and other exploitive  projects backed by multinational corporations. From Upside Down World: During the internal armed [...]

Damocracy the movie has been released, chronicling the struggles of communities a world apart to defend their rivers from monster dams masquerading as “clean” energy: the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu River in Brazil and the Ilisu Dam on the Tigris River in Turkey. Watch it here. The 34-minute documentary is an excellent primer [...]

From Upside Down World: Written by Clayton Conn In 2001 and 2002 townspeople and ejidatarios of San Salvador Atenco, Mexico successfully halted a plan proposed by then President Vicente Fox to expropriate more than 1,100 hectares of their farmland and territory for the construction of an International Airport. Now in 2013, the deceased plan has [...]

This article examines the connection between resource extraction, big infrastructure (particularly dams and mines) and genocide of indigenous peoples in Guatemala. Even for those of you who don’t read the full article, an excerpt of particular note is: Rocael is only 21 years old, yet talks as if he were an old man. He doesn’t [...]

From Weekly News Update on the Americas: Hundreds of campesino, indigenous and African-descended Hondurans demonstrated in Tegucigalpa on Mar. 6 after marching 200 km from the northern town of La Barca to protest new laws on mining and the Special Development Regimes (RED), better known as “model cities” [see Update #1160]. … The march started [...]

The Toronto-based  group Environmental Defence has released government cables showing that the Canadian government has been pursuing a deliberate strategy to influence U.S. media outlets in favor of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. From Common Dreams: Nearly 1,000 pages of heavily-redacted emails released to Toronto-based Environmental Defence group, reveal an “elaborate strategy” that includes [...]

From Daily Herald Mexico is putting up wind power turbines at a breakneck pace and the expansion is pitting energy companies against the Indians who live in one of the windiest spots in the world. The country is posting one of the world’s highest growth rates in wind energy, and almost all of it is [...]

On July 17, Brazil’s Office of the Solicitor-General (AGU) issued Decree 303/2012, which dramatically scales back indigenous rights that are guaranteed by the country’s constitution.  The law contains a provision that would permit the construction of “strategic” infrastructure projects such as roads, hydroelectric dams and mines in indigenous territory without consulting the affected peoples and [...]