Peruvian national protests July 2008

Unrest continues in Peru even after the government agreed two repeal two contested Free Trade laws and the indigenous mobilization in the Amazon came to a temporary halt.

On July 1, police attacked an ongoing road blockade being held by campesinos protesting mining concessions near their communities. In the resulting violence, a campesino was killed and the police commissioner received a head wound. Protesters swarmed the hospital to prevent the police commissioner from leaving for treatment at a specialized facility for 10 hours, until the government agreed to negotiate on their demands.

In response to the June 5 massacre of indigenous protesters in Bagua, the nation’s largest labor union called a general strike for July 7-9. The protesters are demanding the resignation of the cabinet, the repeal of all presidential Free Trade decrees and an independent investigation into the Bagua Massacre. The government has declared the strike illegal, authorized the military to take action against protests, and offered $7 to anyone who shows up for work.

Supporter of Ousted Honduran President June 28 2009

The President of Honduras has been kidnapped by the military, in apparent collusion with the conservative Congress and Supreme Court. The coup occurred on the same day as a scheduled non-binding referendum on whether the people of El Salvador wanted a new constitution.

Zelaya was awakened by armed soldiers in the middle of the night and hustled off to Costa Rica. Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas was also abducted by security forces, and the ambassadors of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua were apparently beaten when they tried to interfere. Rodas is still missing.

Although most media outlets are reporting that the conflict between President Manuel Zelaya and the Congress/Court centered on Zelaya’s proposal that a new Constitution allow presidents to run for a second term, it seems much more like a power grab by a right-wing elite threatened by Zelaya’s left-leaning policies.

“Zelaya took a substantial turn from traditional Honduran politics by moving dramatically to the left,” said analyst Heather Berkman.

The current Constitution was written during the Reagan era of US-sponsored dirty wars in Central America.

Although the United States has now joined the rest of the international community in condemning the coup, it was one of the last nations to do so.

An estimated 25,000 protesters took to the streets Sunday demanding the return of Zelaya and attempting to carry out the referendum in spite of police and military violence. The government has imposed a curfew and cut off power and telephone service to nearly the entire capital city.