Tag Archives: Latin America

Lajeado, Brazil: City Hall Launches Peace Pact

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from Informativo (translation by CPNN)

Lajeado will promote a pact for peace. The project, still without a defined name, involves several secretariats, including Health, Education, Security, Social Assistance and Sport and Leisure. They will formulate a set of strategies to reduce crime and promote a culture of peace, based on actions throughout society. The initiative is inspired by similar action already developed in the city of Pelotas, in the southern part of the state.


Mayor Marcelo Caumo. Foto by Lidiane Mallmann/arquivo O Informativo do Vale

According to Mayor Marcelo Caumo, the Department of Labor, Housing and Social Welfare made a diagnosis on several points during 2018. “The diagnosis addressed youth learning, aggression against women, drug use and violence in general. Besides investing in repression, which we have been doing with great constancy, we must invest in prevention,” he says.

Caumo explains that, based on the data compiled, we sought methodologies that have already been applied in other municipalities combining both repression and prevention and producing positive results.” We got information from Pelotas where the response was very positive.” The first phase of the project is the internal survey that will be done by several municipal secretariats. “After the beginning of the work, other entities will be involved, such as federal, state and municipal police forces, prosecutors, judiciary, business entities and the community in general,” said the mayor.

Today is an internal work meeting, in which the team will make a presentation to the City Hall about the pact. On that occasion, the municipality will review projects that already exist related to the promotion of peace and reduction of violence.

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(Click here for a Portuguese version of this article)

Questions related to this article:

 

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

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Culture of peace

Mayor Marcelo Caumo points out that the objective is to implement strategies capable of promoting an environment of peace, preventing violent and criminal attitudes and actions in the municipality. “We will make a comprehensive diagnosis of the situation of violence in Lajeado, including perceptions and indications not reported in criminal statistics, such as petty thefts or bullying, which do not always appear in official indicators.”

According to the head of the municipal Executive, the objective is to point out alternatives to solve issues of violence. For this, the integration of various organizations will be sought, to make their action more effective. “We will measure violence in the municipality, including previously unreported situations, and then we will identify and prioritize coping strategies.”

Results in the city of Pelotas

Recently, the municipality of Pelotas, which implemented the project 16 months ago, presented the results in reducing crime rates. Since the creation of the program, there has been a 36% reduction in homicides, 38% in vehicle thefts and 33% in robberies.

“These are very positive numbers that we want to see happen in Lajeado too,” comments Marcelo Caumo. “It is important to emphasize that the methodology of this project is to act to prevent violence, which involves health, education, culture and social assistance. In the medium and long term we hope to reduce the need to repress violence.

The creation of the peace pact in Lajeado has a contract of R $ 230 thousand, with an expected duration of 12 months with the support of consultants. The contract includes bi-weekly meetings for follow-up, in addition to permanent contact with the working group. The draft includes the values ​​of travel, travel, food and lodging.

To know more

On November 21, 2018, the consultant and executive director of the Instituto Ciudad Segura, Alberto Kopittke, was in Lajeado to present the project “Pact for Peace”, developed in cities like Pelotas, Niterói, Fortaleza and 20 other municipalities in the metropolitan region of Ceará. The methodology, based on evidence (evidence of effects and outcome of actions), is concerned with preventing violence from the gestation of the child to actions aimed at young people with violent behavior. The goal is to act early to prevent more serious problems in the future.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Guatemala: Two key elements to overcome the crisis

. .DISARMAMENT & SECURITY. .

Excerpts from a document by Bernardo Arévalo in Nomada (translation by CPNN)

A peace agreement was signed, but nothing changed

The empty shell that is the Guatemalan State and its lack of agency for peace, has meant that our country lacks a comprehensive political strategy for reconciliation. Therefore it is necessary to navigate the ambiguities, complications and paradoxes generated by the unsatisfactory transactions that may be found in any negotiating process.


FOTO: IMAGENESMY.COM

The recommendations of the Commission of Historical Clarification (CEH) [in 1999] would have been a good starting point. It was based on a social process for justice, memory, reparation and non-repetition that could facilitate a social dialogue on the interpretation of history. It provided hope for reconciliation, a new imaginary of coexistence and unity. However, within five years after its presentation, it had become clear that the political will necessary for such an effort did not exist.

The United Nations verification report of 2005 urged the political authorities and state institutions to “… sincerely commit themselves to comply with the recommendations of the CEH and with the commitments contained in the Peace Agreements that are still pending. . ” It was a diplomatic way of declaring that the necesssary sincerity was absent. . . It was acknowledged that
“… despite all the efforts made over the last few years to build a culture of peace, the culture of violence continues to be part of daily life” . . .

The document [of 2005], conceived as a strategy to return the spirit of the Peace Accords and its objectives a decade after its signing, included a long list of concrete actions and mechanisms to address issues ranging from the construction of participatory citizenship, strengthening of the rights of women and indigenous peoples and the use of the educational system to promote knowledge and understanding of the armed conflict and its consequences. It was an operational strategy that simultaneously addressed the past and intended to transform the future.

Without well-defined political actions, there is no reconciliation

But, nevertheless, the result was again disappointing. The Secretariat of Peace was allowed only a marginal role in successive government cabinets, which showed, despite the rhetoric, the low priority assigned to the implementation of the Agreements. The ambitious reparations program, although well designed, did not produce clear results due to quarrels between civil society groups and recurrent personnel changes with each new government. . . .

In fact, twenty years after the signing of the Peace Accords, Guatemalan society had not yet been reconciled. In 2015, the country arrived at a crisis of accumulated political and social tensions: government policies -or their absence- were destroying the few advances in social development indicators that had been registered after the agreements were signed. . . .

From an absent state to a participatory state of corruption

The judicial processes for corruption opened by the Public Ministry [following The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala – CICIG – in 2015], against the corruption networks that involved politicians and entrepreneurs of all levels marked a new stage: the State was no longer simply responsible for omission, but now for commission as well (i.e. corruption).

After the trial of the then President Otto Pérez Molina, the then Vice-President Roxana Baldetti and a good number of officials of his government, Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre assumed the Presidency of the Republic in an interim management marked by two minimum objectives: to allow the electoral elections that were already programmed, and to maintain the functioning of the administration while a new popularly elected president assumed office.

The elections, marked by the political crisis and the fight against impunity and corruption, were characterized by a strong rejection of traditional political parties. The political order established after 1996 was overtaken by a citizen spirit of repudiation of the “traditional politicians” that, together with a judicial dynamic that began to reveal its corrupt compromises, paved the way to victory for a newly created, unknown political party, and the election to the presidency of an improbable candidate whose only merit was his political anonymity, and his only virtue (self-proclaimed) was not to be “… neither corrupt nor thief”.

The new presidential term began with a new president duly elected as a results of the wave of anti-corruption and anti-impunity social protest. The preceding political class, largely corrupt, was rejected by an active citizenship. A judicial system was emerging; despite its limitations and deficiencies, it finally began to show signs of being able to function properly in a democratic state of law. The fight against corruption and impunity seemed to become a new space of convergence within society: a new ‘moral consensus’ beyond ideological, social and cultural positions, emerging as a vector for a conciliation / reconciliation hitherto elusive .

Like the crab: back to authoritarianism

Unfortunately, events moved in the opposite direction. A blanket of impunity covered the structures, modalities and arrangements of widespread corruption that had involved actors in the different spheres of society and that it had been ‘normalized’ by decades of customary practice.

Instead of applauding the punishment of the corrupt and shameless political class during the days of 2015, business actors who had been its partners began to consider the judicial zeal to be excessive, when it began to reveal their own involvement in corruption.

Within the Executive, the situation was no better. At first, President Jimmy Morales had seemed to support collaboration between the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the CICIG [the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala]. However, he explicitly refused to investigate the involvement of his brother and son in an operation which was not large in scope, but which received enormous media coverage. This was a costly political blow to the President, and it was badly handled by his advisors.

A civic coalition emerged around the anti-corruption effort but many
political and business actors migrated towards the constitution of what public opinion has called a “Pact of Corruption.” This included those actors who refused assume the consequences of past acts and others determined to use corruption as a mechanism of cooptation and capture of the State.

This perverse coalition poses new obstacles to the emergence of the ‘moral consensus’ necessary to develop peaceful coexistence in the society. And even worse, it intentionally and maliciously fosters social and political polarization. It attempts to overturn the struggle against impunity by claiming that the CICIG is an instrument of obscure ‘international interests’, that seek to undermine national sovereignty. . .

Political authorities in the Executive and Legislative bodies have taken up the ‘anti-CICIG’ struggle and its polarizing narrative, deploying a campaign aimed at expelling, or blocking the Commission’s capacity for action and resorting to to arbitrary actions that often border on illegality.

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(Click here for the Spanish version of this article)

Question related to this article:

Can a culture of peace be achieved in guatemala?

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In parallel, they have begun to implement authoritarian actions, claiming that they are needed to restore imaginary threats to national security. They are dismantling the institutional transformations that, within the framework of Democratic Security conceptions, had been taking place in the country prior to the signing of the Peace Accords. . .

In sum, Guatemalan society has not find its way to peaceful co-existence and reconciliation due to the absence of a State that assumes the responsibility to mediate between the different needs, interests and perceptions that are inherent in every society The absence of a State that facilitates the emergence of a shared and inclusive vision that cements peaceful coexistence and allows the permanent closure of the cycles of violence and coercion that have characterized our history. For two decades, this situation was explained by the combination of disinterest and inability of the political elites. Today, the highest authorities are actively defending impunity and corruption. Reconciliation, previously an elusive aspiration, has become a goal that is moving further away.

There is light at the end of the tunnel: leadership networks and State rescue

In these conditions, restoring peaceful coexistence to Guatemalan society will require strengthening the social agency for reconciliation, through the establishment of cross-sectoral “coalitions” that cut across the divisions among the various social groups and sectors and between the political system and the society, integrating them into networks capable of building consensus and mobilizing the system into effective transforming action.

These abilities that are not totally alien to us. Despite their insufficiencies and limitations, the transformations within the framework of the processes of democratization and peace of the last three decades have allowed the emergence of new social leaderships.

Facing the incompetence of the political system and state institutions, these initiatives of civil society have spurred state action leading to advances in security, in health, in the rights of women, in community development, etc.

This explains how, in the absence of a capable and determined state, we Guatemalans have managed to avoid, even in the context of a crisis of profound governability such as the Black Thursday in 2003 and the civic protest days of 2015, the recourse to violence that would have restored the cycles of repressive violence / vindictive violence that have been recurrent in our history.

But the capacities we have achieved to advance despite the weaknesses and contradictions of the “absent state” are insufficient to confront the “dissociative state”.

The ability to prevent the political and social deterioration that arises today from the cooptation of the State by the ‘Pact of Corrupts’ requires two developments.

The first is the development of leaders with the capacity to build bridges across social, cultural and political divisions and to unify efforts in the pursuit of shared objectives. This leadership must be able to of transcend the dissociative discourse and the artificial polarization that has been created around the fight against impunity and corruption, and the dynamics of fragmentation and distrust that have divided civil society, limiting their capacity for joint action.

We need leaders capable of cooperatively undertaking the construction of a truly shared agenda for change, . . . . the construction of an authentic “social contract”, which goes beyond institutional and legalistic formalities to forge, participatively and inclusively, the great social consensus necessary to build the construction of a nation of justice and solidarity.

The second is the political rescue of the State by these new leaders, through democratic mechanisms and strategies that are viable within the framework of the rule of law.

A rescue that:

– can expel corrupt and criminal networks from the spaces of political control over state institutions,

– can prevent the dismantling of the incipient advances that the country has made in terms of democratization in the last thirty years.

– can transcend the weaknesses and incapacities that marked the will of the political class that assumed the leadership of the State in the framework of the peace process,

– can encourage the emergence of a new political class that allows the State to become the effective manager of well-being and coexistence in society, and that synergizes the efforts of different social and political sectors to promote the establishment of conditions for peaceful coexistence.

Infrastructure power: collaborative relationships between society and authorities

The state that we need does not correspond to the rational-bureaucratic machinery of the Western liberal paradigm of Weberian roots, and certainly not of a State that rests on the capacity to use resources of force to impose the will of those who control it. It is a State that operates fundamentally from what Michael Mann has called “infrastructural power”: the ability to foster and take advantage of the development of collaborative relationships within society and between society and political authorities, as an instrument for the effective fulfillment of its functions.

We need a State conceived as

– the convergence between political and social leadership that works in concert towards common goals,

– that integrates them through an institutional framework, developed and legitimated collectively,

– that takes advantage of the agency capacity of the different social actors -groups, individuals, communities, sectors- coordinating them for common benefit

– a State whose strength does not depend on its ability to act out of society, but on acting with society.

[As of today], reconciliation, as a national process, can not depend exclusively on the political and material resources of the State when its highest political authorities are part of the Pact of Corruption.

Without the will and agency capacity of civil society and communities, the State is not in a position to generate the conditions that make peaceful coexistence viable.

In this sense, a social leadership for reconciliation is a sine-qua-non condition for the effective transformation of horizontal and vertical trust relationships in society.

[In the long run,] however, only the State is in a position to generate the normative and institutional capacities necessary to mediate among the multiple contradictory forces of the different sectors of society and to promote an inclusive society with the preconditions of peace: equality, justice, respect, dignity and a genuine democracy functioning within the rule of law.

The rescue of the State by a political leadership that is capable and democratic is therefore the most important task if we are to create a society of reconciliation in which the different social, political and cultural interests are no longer an obstacle to harmonious coexistence.

Note: This text is part of the document “From the post-conflict to the restoration of authoritariansm: the difficult road towards coexistece in Guatemala”, written by Bernardo Arévalo for FLACSO.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Latin America

Mexico: Government of AMLO will include new subjects in schools

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from Nacion 321

Esteban Moctezuma, Secretary of Public Education [SEP] , said that the subject of civics will be taught in Mexican schools and other changes will be implemented in the curriculum to “include the promotion of values, civility, the culture of peace, international solidarity, respect for human rights, history, culture, art, especially, the music, sports and respect for the environment ”


Video: Presentation of education reform initiative

During the working meeting that took place on January 28 with the United commissions for Education and Constitutional Issues, the head of the SEP said that the union of these matters is what they call “an integral education”.

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(Click here for the original article in Spanish)

Questions for this article:

Where is peace education taking place?

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In addition, he pointed out that if you want a country without violence and a culture of peace, the initiative to reform education presented by the federal government “will create that new Mexican school.” The work is yet to be done, but the law is the framework that will allow us to do it”.

He insisted that the Education Reform approved in the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto did not signify any significant progress, for which he asked the legislators to repeal the reform and “give a new channel to the educational project.”

He indicated that universality, integrality, equity and excellence as basic postulates of public education are added to the traditional principles of education.

ENGLISH STILL WITHOUT PROFESSORS WHO SPEAK IT

In an interview with Javier Solórzano, Moctezuma said that they will teach English even before the normal teachers learn that language.

“Obviously you have to teach English in the normal, but we thought and we have been studying a method, in which through a very powerful platform can enable a teacher who does not know English, to coordinate a group that is working with the platform, “the secretary told Solórzano.

He explained that in this way, they could have the ability to teach the language almost immediately, while if “you wait for the normal teachers to learn English” it would take longer to be able to “provide that tool to Mexican children”.
 

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Mexico: Cuernavaca unites for ‘Peace Accord’

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article by Carlos Soberanes in Diario de Morelos

The mayor of Cuernavaca, Antonio Villalobos Adán, has signed the “Peace Accord”, to launch the program Silla Rosa [Rosa’s Chair], headed by the Secretariat of Social Welfare and Values.

“The purpose of the program, presented to civil society, business representatives, human rights defenders and leaders of the city, is to reduce rates of violence against women,” said the mayor.

After recognizing that one of the priorities for the municipal government is to develop an environment without violence and peace, Antonio Villalobos Adán urged all sectors to join in these preventive actions.

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(Click here for the Spanish version of this article.)

Questions for this article:

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

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The “Peace Accord” was signed by municipal authorities, representatives of the United Nations (UN) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Speaking at the City Museum, the mayor stressed the importance of joining the campaign “The culture of peace”, promoted by international organizations so that all families have the right to live within a just and lasting peace, in a state of tranquility and balance.

Meanwhile, peace ambassador Larissa Navarro said that the Silla Rosa program is a symbol of women’s rights and obligations, how to instruct children and their families in peace, with the engagement of men.

In her speech, the Secretary of Social Welfare and Values, Cynthia Pérez Suero, reported that during these 30 days a thorough work has been done to find out the real situation, in order to implement projects and programs in favor of the society.

During the working meeting the representatives of the UN, UNESCO, Mayor Antonio Villalobos Adam and civil society inaugurated the Itinerant Book and signed the “Peace Accordt”.

It should be noted that the document was symbolically signed with “white gloves”, as a rejection of violence.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Bolivia: Evo Morales says the United States seeks to “devastate and impoverish” Venezuela as did to Iraq and Libya

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from RPP Noticias

The president of Bolivia and friend of his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, Evo Morales, said Wednesday that the United States wants Venezuela to be “devastated and impoverished” like Iraq and Libya, by provoking violence through its threats to coexistence in Latin America. .

Through his Twitter account, the Bolivian president wrote. “The US threats against Venezuela are threats to peaceful coexistence in Latin America, they want to provoke confrontation between brothers with war and violence.”

He also accused the US government of seeking that Venezuela “be devastated and impoverished as Iraq and Libya”, referring to interventions in which the United States participated in those countries.

Morales said in another message on the well-known social network that “by failing at the UN to justify a military intervention that allows it to take over Venezuela’s oil, the United States arbitrarily confiscates the money of the Venezuelan people to finance the coup [… ] The United States undermines peace and the right of peoples to dispose of their natural resources, “he added.

(Article continued in the right column.)

(Click here for the original article in Spanish.)

Question(s) related to this article:

What is really happening in Venezuela?

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To this he added. “Latin America is a region of peace, we are once again proposing to build a South American identity in terms of defense and we reject any attempt at intervention, we must promote the peaceful resolution of conflicts and a culture of peace in the continent and the world.” (EFE)

Evo Morales Ayma
@evoespueblo

The economic sanctions of #EEUU against the brother country of #Venezuela, when trying to confiscate the assets of @PDVSA, violate the Charter of the United Nations that recognizes the equality and sovereignty of the States, as well as the self-determination of the peoples.

Evo Morales Ayma
@evoespueblo

The threats of #EEUU against #Venezuela are threats to peaceful coexistence in # AméricaLatina. They want to provoke confrontation between brothers with war and violence. The empire wants Venezuela to be devastated and impoverished as were Iraq and Libya.

Evo Morales Ayma
@evoespueblo

# AméricaLatina is a region of peace, we are once again planning to build a South American identity in terms of defense and reject any attempt at intervention. We must promote the peaceful resolution of conflicts and a culture of peace on the continent and the world.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Jamaica: Tek Sleep an Mark Death with the Venezuela Situation

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from the Jamaica Observer

[Editor’s note: In saying the following below, “We had better “tek sleep and mark death”, the author uses a Jamaican proverb that means to use a simple experience so as to know what to expect in a more dangerous situation. In other words, beware, the same fate could happen to us!]

The Jamaica Peace Council (JPC) joins all peace-loving people in rejecting the orchestration of what seems to us to be a coup d’état in Venezuela by the United States and its allies on January 23, 2019. They opted to endorse the self-appointment of Juan Guaido as president while demanding that Nicolas Maduro step down or face the possibility of a military intervention.

When asked by the media if the US may invade Venezuela, President Donald Trump gave the snide response that, “All options are on the table.” This can only be viewed as a declaration of war against a sovereign nation whose citizens have exercised their democratic right to elect a leader that is not favoured by the Donald Trump Government.

In 2014 the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean came together and established a treaty declaring the region a Zone of Peace, meaning that dialogue, not war, will be the means by which issues are resolved within and between states. This declaration of war against Venezuela is not only in breach of international law, it is disruptive to the culture of peace that we are creating in our region.

Wars destroy the fabric of nations and create a psyche of violence which manifests itself in spiralling violent crimes across the world and right here at home. Mass murders are now a frequent occurrence in the United States. We must reject the warmongering, dictatorial posture of the United States towards Venezuela.

Let us get the facts straight about what is unfolding. On the January 10, 2019 Nicolas Maduro was inaugurated as the legitimate president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, having been elected by over six million people on May 20, 2018. In that election, over nine million people exercised their right to vote for three candidates, despite the right-wing guarimba violence aimed at preventing them from going to the polls. The right-wing Opposition party had chosen to boycott the polls. The election proceeded in accordance with the Venezuelan Constitution of 1999.

According to the conclusions of the “extensive international technical electoral accompaniment mission”, which oversaw the process, the Venezuela electoral system was perfectly free, fair and transparent. This is contrary to the claim that the elections were fraudulent and that ballot boxes were stuffed. Venezuela has a sophisticated electronic process that does not use ballot boxes. The self-declared “Interim President” Juan Guaido is false and undemocratic. It does not accord with any of the provisions of the constitution. He is being imposed on the people of Venezuela by the United States even though he was not even a candidate in the election last year.

US officials recognised Guaido as president even before he swore himself in. This is not surprising because the US has a history of setting up puppet regimes in Latin America to give their multi-national corporations unbridled access to the rich resources of the countries.

This matter must be taken seriously by the citizens of Latin America and the Caribbean as it contravenes our right to elect governments of our choice. It has implications for all our nations. Picture some relatively unknown individual declaring himself prime minister of Jamaica and receiving the backing of the US, who then tells Prime Minister Andrew Holness to step aside because he is not obeying their dictates. That is the scenario in Venezuela. We had better “tek sleep and mark death” with this Venezuela situation.

We denounce this coup attempt, which has only received support from a small number of US allies, including the Lima Group, and is condemned by rest of the world. We denounce the attempt to instigate civil war in Venezuela by calling on right-wing supporters to take to the streets. We condemn the US for imposing sanctions against Venezuela with the obvious aim of destroying the economy in order to turn the people against Maduro. We condemn the US Government for lobbying the Bank of England to block Venezuela from withdrawing $1.2 billion worth of gold from its assets placed in their trust. We condemn their latest cruel action of freezing the revenue from CITGO stations in the US.

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Questions for this article:

What is really happening in Venezuela?

(continued from left column)

As imperialism bears its fangs, it calls to mind Henry Kissinger’s plot to make Chile’s economy scream prior to the overthrow of Salvador Allende in 1973. The US officials claim to be concerned about the Venezuelan people. How do these actions benefit the Venezuelan people? No, they don’t care about the people. They only care about corporate greed. They are making the people suffer as part of their planned strategy to overthrow a Government that puts the interest of the people first. This is the same cruelty that was displayed during the government shutdown in Washington. The Trump Administration cared nothing about the plight of the federal employees, most of whom live from pay cheque to pay cheque and found themselves unable to pay rent, mortgage, car note, and medical expenses. Some could not even buy food and medication.

We applaud the nations that stood up at the meeting of the UN Security Council on January 26 and obstructed the attempt of the US to obtain endorsement for intervention in Venezuela. We are proud of the representatives of Caribbean and Latin American nations that courageously refuse to support the call for intervention in Venezuela. We applaud the over 180 nations which recognise Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela based on the results of the May 2018 election.

As an organisation dedicated to peace, justice and freedom from interventionism, war and violence, we call on the Trump Administration to stop their regime-change destabilisation tactics in our region. We call on the Trump Administration to withdraw all military bases from the region and to realign its foreign policy to the spirit of the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States (CELAC) Declaration of the region as a Zone of Peace.

The US has no history of promoting democratic governance in the Caribbean. Cuba in 1961, Grenada in 1983, and Honduras in 2009 are examples of their imperialist intervention and paramilitary violence. We say: “No more interference and no more coups!”

We stand with the people of Venezuela in their leadership through the Bolivarian Revolution. They have promoted freedom, dignity, and peaceful cooperation in our region and around the world.

Instead of fomenting coups and wars, we recommend that the US Government turn its attention to the following issues at home:

• There are approximately 553,742 homeless people, including war veterans, many of whom rummage through garbage for food on a daily basis.

• There are an estimated 100 million people living in poverty.

• There are a rising number of homeless deaths in the streets.

• A vast number of US citizens have to work two or three jobs just to survive.

• The super-exploitation and financial insecurity of American workers through short-term contracts with no benefits.

• There’s a resurgence of overt racial discrimination and ascendancy of white nationalism.

• There’s wanton killing of blacks which gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement.

• There’s a vast community of people still living in tents and make-shift abodes under bridges more than 10 years after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

• The harsh conditions still being faced by Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria which claimed the lives of an estimated 4,600 persons.

• Recall the poisoning of the rivers and streams by mining companies which sparked the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.

• The increasing number of mass shootings as the interest of gun lobbyists is placed above the safety of the citizens.

These are just a few of the issues that the US Administration should address at home if it really cares about people. In clear Jamaican parlance, we say, “Clean up yuh own yard and stop faas in other people business.”

 
This piece was submitted by the Jamaica Peace Council. Send comments to the Observer or jamaicapeacecouncil@gmail.com.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

US attack on Venezuela: alternative media coverage

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An analysis by CPNN

For the most part the major mass media supports the attack on Venezuela led by the government of the United States. They give the headlines to the US and EU charges against Venezuela, and imply that the Chinese and Russian refusal to go along with the American initiative at the UN Security Council is simply a revival of the Cold War.

According to the news agency of the United Nations, some other countries also gave reasons to oppose the US initiative during the Security Counil meeting, as described below.

Meanwhile, the website Common Dreams carries a statement from 70 intellectuals opposing the US initiative.

Here are the remarks at the UN Security Council from the representatives of South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Cuba, Bolivia and St Vincent and the Grenadines:

JERRY MATJILA (South Africa) emphasized that, in any country, political parties choose the provisions on which to conduct elections.  Recalling that Venezuela held presidential elections in May 2018 on the basis of its national laws, he voiced deep concern over the “clear attempt […] to circumvent the country’s constitutional legal mechanisms which govern its elections”.  Any grievances or disputes should be resolved in a peaceful manner through the proper mechanisms, without external influence.  Echoing calls for the swift de-escalation of tensions to prevent violence, and for the relevant actors to commit to inclusive and credible political dialogue, he urged the international community and United Nations entities to work with Venezuela and its neighbours to assist those in need.  South Africa stands against any attempt at undue constitutional change of Government in Venezuela, he stressed, warning that the Council must never be an instrument that validates such attempts.

ANATOLIO NDONG MBA (Equatorial Guinea) appealed to Venezuelans to arm themselves with courage and wisdom to overcome this crisis.  The solution, aside from being peaceful and democratic, must be in accordance with the Venezuelan Constitution.  The situation in Venezuela is an internal matter and does not pose a threat to international peace and security, and the Security Council must be cautious in that regard.  The main focus of the United Nations and the Council should be on encouraging the parties to negotiate the differences that are “pushing them to the edge”.  The international community “should not put fuel” on the situation, but rather, facilitate a dialogue.  External interference will only exacerbate tensions.  Recalling the suffering caused by foreign interventions in the Middle East and Africa — “only to change a regime and without any consideration of what could happen afterwards” — he said Equatorial Guinea acknowledges, respects and adheres to the constitutional order of Venezuela.  He expressed hope that all parties will resolve their differences through dialogue, calling on Secretary-General António Guterres to use his diplomatic experience to mediate this crisis.

PAUL OQUIST KELLEY (Nicaragua) reiterated his Government’s full solidarity for the legitimately elected President, Mr. Maduro.  The situation in Venezuela does not represent a threat to international security, he added, strongly urging that the sovereign decisions of the country’s people be respected.  The interest and insistence of the United States to include the subject of Venezuela in the agenda of the Security Council is another form of interventionist action into another nation’s internal affairs.  Its clear objective is to impose a change of Government and replace the constitutional Government of President Maduro through a coup d’état.

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Question(s) related to this article:

Free flow of information, How is it important for a culture of peace?

What is really happening in Venezuela?

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These actions do not contribute to a political solution, which belongs to the Venezuelan people as the ones to exercise their right to self-determination, he said.  What characterizes the situation in Venezuela are the brazen attempts to destroy prior achievements made in health, education, housing and reducing poverty.  Nothing should hinder the peace zone of Latin America and the Caribbean and therefore any threat of military aggression is condemnable.  Venezuela is defending non-interventionism and the multilateral order based on independence, sovereignty and the equality of States.

ANAYANSI RODRÍGUEZ CAMEJO (Cuba) said the Caribbean is the stage for threats that are incompatible with the region’s zone of peace, recalling that the 2014 proclamation signed at the second summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) enshrined a duty to uphold the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, notably to refrain from interference in internal affairs, and respect for sovereignty and equal rights.  The current United States Administration appears to have “dusted off the Monroe Doctrine”, and in a fresh extension of imperialism in the region, gone so far as to say that all options are on table.  The region is like a lawn during a drought — a single spark could set off an uncontrollable fire that damages the interests of all, she said, calling it a “tinder box”.  She rejected statements by the United States delegation made today, seeking to exploit the Council to illegitimately campaign against Mr. Maduro’s constitutional leadership.  The main threat to the region is the bullying by the United States and its allies, she said, calling it a flagrant affront to the popular will of Venezuelans.

She voiced unwavering support to the Bolivarian revolution, the union of the Venezuelan people and their democratic Government.  She condemned in the strongest terms, attempts, through a coup d’état, to install a lackey Government to United States interests.  She supported Venezuela’s right to chart its own future.  She decried unilateral coercive measures, calls for a military coup to topple Venezuela’s Government, warnings that the use of military might is an option, the 4 August attempt to assassinate Mr. Maduro, actions by a group of countries, the shameful role of OAS and attempts to apply a worthless policy of regime change, which has been frustrated, time and again, by the resistance of the Venezuelan people.  She advocated respect for the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, expressing Cuba’s unwavering support for the principles of sovereignty, non-use of force or the threat thereof, and non-interference in domestic affairs.  History will judge those who push for a coup d’état, she cautioned.

GARETH BYNOE (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) said his county has been monitoring developments in Venezuela at the bilateral and multilateral levels and expressed deep concern over the unfolding events.  Stressing his Government’s adherence to the principles of non-interference, non-intervention and sovereignty, along with respect for human rights and democracy, he emphasized the need for meaningful dialogue among all stakeholders.  “We are undoubtedly living in an unpredictable era and must reject all attempts to aggravate dangerous situations or engender change of democratically elected leaders,” he said.  The history of Latin America and the Caribbean is indelibly scarred by military interventions and imposition of dictator Governments.  The need to triumph over its lingering remnants drives the countries in the hemisphere “to be viscerally abhorrent to any semblance of its re-emergence”.  Constitutionally, Venezuela has an elected President in Mr. Maduro, but an unconscionable crusade against the legally elected President, orchestrated by OAS, aims to erect a parallel unelected Government.  OAS has abdicated its role of arbiter.  Venezuela is not a threat nor represents a danger to international peace and security.  History teaches that rejection of dialogue is often the precursor to unilateralism and war, he said, an option that cannot be allowed in the region’s zone of peace.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America, United Nations,

Mexico: Teachers from more than 800 schools trained in culture of peace

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from Notimx

With the objective of sensitizing Mexican teachers about the importance of the process of peaceful conflict transformation within the classroom and school, the Secretary of Education of the State of Mexico, through the Council for School Coexistence ( Convive), has launched the program “Learning to live together in a culture of peace”.


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Questions for this article:

Where is peace education taking place?

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As the central axis of this program, Convive has developed a series of manuals for teachers, students and parents at all educational, which provide theoretical and practical tools for the strengthening of harmonious coexistence .

In this regard, Elizabeth Ozuna Rivero, Director General of the Council, explained that the program follows the educational policy of Governor Alfredo Del Mazo Maza, who positions the education sector as one of the determining factors for the welfare of society. In the first stage of the program the principals of the primary schools of the regions of Toluca, Atlacomulco, Metepec and Valle de Bravo were trained, representing a coverage of 876 schools, both public and incorporated.

It is intended that by 2019, all schools in the state will have this material that will strengthen the teaching task to promote a culture for peace.

In addition, training sessions will be conducted for school leaders in each of the regions of the State of Mexico.

(Click here for the original article in Spanish)

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

UNESCO Awards Jose Marti Prize to Roberto Fernandez Retamar

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from Prensa Latina

UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay awarded the Jose Marti International Prize to the outstanding Cuban intellectual Roberto Fernandez Retamar, diplomatic sources announced Monday.

The award, proposed by an international jury, was given to Fernandez Retamar, one of the most prestigious voices of Cuban literature, with a deep Marti vocation and conviction, said a diplomatic statement.

‘President for four decades of the cultural institution Casa de las Americas, Fernandez Retamar has contributed permanently, from this prestigious center, to the promotion of peace, solidarity, human rights and equality among Latin American and Caribbean nations, values recognized by this Award’, said the statement.

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(Click here for a Spanish version of the article)

Questions related to this article:

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

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The outstanding essayist has a trajectory of excellence in the cultural field, and has dedicated a considerable part of his work to the study, teaching and dissemination of the Apostle Jose Marti’s values and ideals.

The decision, according to the jury, recognizes the Cuban intellectual’s work ‘to advocate for justice, the protection of children, the ethical development of peoples, the recognition of the dignity of each man and woman and the importance of combating racism.

The UNESCO Jose Marti Prize was established by the Executive Board, at Cuba’s initiative, in November 1994, which implied recognition of the universality and validity of the Cuban National Hero’s ideals.

The award is designed to encourage and reward a particularly meritorious activity which, in accordance with Marti’s ideas and spirit, has contributed to the unity and integration of Latin American and Caribbean countries, as well as to the fostering of a culture of peace and the cohesion of countries.

The prize-giving ceremony will be held on the occasion of the Fourth International Conference for World Balance, to be held from January 28 to 31 at the Havana Convention Centre.

The event’s scientific agenda includes several issues of special impact on UNESCO’s mandate, including intercultural dialogue, peace, access to education and culture for the exercise of human rights, and solidarity and integration in Latin America and the Caribbean.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Bolivia: #NiUnaMenos demands prevention to stop violence against women

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article by Nona Vargas in El Deber

EL DEBER spoke with the organization #NiUnaMenos, a movement that has raised the fight against sexist violence and that, in Bolivia, demands more help from the State to prevent the epidemic of feminicide and rape


They wear a purple ribbon on their wrists to identify with the global feminist movement. The militants of #NiUnaMenos arrive the streets with banners and crosses with the names of the last women who fell victims of the macho violence. They have a lot of work to do. More than 100 women die every year in Bolivia as victims of femicide. More than 16 girls and women are raped every day while state actions are weak in the face of the repeated action of violent men who scream, beat and kill women for no apparent reason. Their violence is not justified in any case.

EL DEBER spoke with the main leaders of #NiUnaMenos in Santa Cruz, an organization that emerged three years ago in La Paz and that today has a presence throughout the Bolivian territory with a directory in each district. Their objective is to help and advise the thousands of women who are desperate and dominated by fear when their partners, closest relatives or any stranger attacks them for the mere fact of being women.

Eva Morales takes the floor to remind us that the fight against sexist abuse is a matter not only of women, but also of men, because of the patriarchal system of oppression that has been established in the country for decades not only affects women but also men.

“The purple ribbon means ‘take my hand’, that is, any woman who sees another woman with this tape can know that she has someone to help her if she is a victim of violence.”

#NiUnaMenos is a global movement that has arisen to combat the proliferation of murders of women for reasons of gender. In Bolivia. It began its activities two and a half years ago in order to unite women victims of violence, family members and activists. “We seek to dignify and support those who have suffered any type of violence.”

A national committee coordinates departmental and national actions to mobilize women. As an independent civic organization, it has no links with political parties and its task is focused on the struggle of women against violence.

“We have no commitments and for that we are free to denounce any type of event that affects women,”

Morales considers that the key is in prevention, for which #NiUnaMenos requires concrete budgets in municipalities and governorates to combat violence through education and training. “That is why we are calling for an orange alert in the department and for the Minister of Justice to present himself so that he can see with us the situation of violence against women.”

Since March 2013, Bolivia has a Law to Combat Violence against Women, but the reality is that more and more women are being abused, raped or killed.

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(Click here for the original article in Spanish)

Questions related to this article:

Protecting women and girls against violence, Is progress being made?

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“We can clearly say that the crime of violence against women is finally defined. And only since 2008 that we have data from the Office of the Prosecutor on this type of crime. This is an advance, given that the Bolivian state never had data about the abuses. Due to international pressure, the Government has been forced to systematize the information on these cases in order to make visible the number of women affected. Santa Cruz is the first department in number of femicides, then comes La Paz and, thirdly, Cochabamba. But the official data of those women who denounce the abuses, in fact, are many more.

__ The case of a young girl raped by a “pack” of young men has shocked Bolivia. The relatives of the aggressors justify their children and accuse the victim. How do you see this case?

This clearly shows the degree of information and awareness that our families have.

Although they are people with an acceptable level of education, they demonstrate prejudice, misinformation and discrimination against a young woman. Violence has to do with the abuse of power. It has to do with the concept that we have of power. When does an act of violence occur? When someone does abuse their power. These young people come from affluent families and, as such, have access to certain privileges. Sexist violence has to do with the power that has been granted to man in cultural, symbolic, political and economic terms.

This culture of machismo and patriarchy has given men the belief that they are superior to women. Both men and women suffer from this belief and its consequences. It we do not dismantle this culture based on deeply rooted and traditional beliefs and practices, we will not be able to stop violence against women. Today we are identifying more and better these acts of violence, and that is why the figures are increasing, but before there were the same number of cases, only that they were not reported, but kept quiet.

__ And this comes from when we are kids .
..
So it is. We can trace the machista practices from the first years of childhood.

A study conducted in La Paz revealed that 70% of families use violence as a practice to discipline their children. Bolivia is a violent society where families use violence for abuse and punishment. Of every 10 women, eight suffer some type of violence at some point in their lives. Of every 10 women who have a partner, seven suffer some type of abuse. We have a violent culture in families and it also translates into public bodies such as the Police, the Prosecutor’s Office and the Judiciary.

__ Holding off the aggressors is not a guarantee …

Definitely. In fact, not even a legal complaint can guarantee that justice will be done. In many cases, women who make the complaint ask for actions that the law does not require such as forensic exams, witnesses and lawyers. The State is not prepared to offer these. The whole process of justice is inadequate; leading to revictimization and violation of rights.

__ How do you see the action of the State?

Weak, very weak. If we want to reduce violence, we need to work on prevention policies at all levels of the State.

We need violence prevention programs that also include men. Because violence against women is not a matter only of women; it is a matter of men and women. That means working with girls and boys, youth and adolescents to create a new generation that frees itself from the patriarchal and macho culture. Let both men and women be liberated. Because men also suffer from this system, because they can not express their emotions freely. The man who has a cultural belief that he is “the head of the house”, that he has to solve all situations and support the family: these are beliefs that must be unstructured from the collective imagination and our cultural practices, because we are all responsible for everything. The best way to prevent violence is to promote a culture of peace.
 

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY