WTF is Going on in Latin America & The Caribbean

EPISODE: The Country is Not for Sale-Economic Development & Employment Zones (ZEDEs) versus National Sovereignty

GUESTS: Beth Geglia, anthropology PhD, and Melinda St. Louis, Director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch

BACKGROUND:

On May 3, Democratic U.S. lawmakers urged the U.S. Trade Representative and State Department to eliminate investor-state dispute settlement provisions from current and future trade deals and to intervene on behalf of Honduras against a U.S. company's nearly $11 billion claim against the country.

In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Trade Representative Katherine Tai, 33 lawmakers said that investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) systems in trade deals constitute a "problematic corporate handout" that violates countries' sovereignty and democratic rights.

ISDS mechanisms enable multinational corporations to sue the governments of foreign trading partners for profits they claim have been forfeited as a result of domestic policies designed to protect workers, consumers, and ecosystems. Such lawsuits challenge meaningful labor, product safety, and environmental standards, and the mere threat of them can even preempt the enactment of robust regulations, placing ISDS at the heart of what critics have called neoliberal globalization's "race to the bottom."

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Senator Warren, Representative Doggett Call for Elimination of Investor-State Dispute Settlement System, Action on Behalf of Honduran Government

Warren Leads Call to End Dispute System “Weaponized” by Corporations Amid Honduras Case

Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR)

Honduras Solidarity Network

Institute for Policy Studies (IPS)

 Latin America Working Group (LAWG)

Public Citizen/Global Trade Watch

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance broadcast in partnership with Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team, CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas.

EPISODE: Guatemalan Political Crisis-June 25 Elections Set as Critics Slam Disqualifications

GUEST: Frank with The Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISQUA)

BACKGROUND:

Campaigning began in earnest last month for Guatemala’s general elections, with political messaging filling the streets, local broadcasts and social media. But less than three months before the June 25 vote, concerns are mounting among national and international observers over the integrity of the process.

At least 30 political parties are set to contest the upcoming elections, with more than 22,000 candidates registered to run for the presidency, congress, regional parliament and councils across the country. But Guatemala’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which governs elections, has blocked several opposition candidates from running on “dubious grounds."

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

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ADDITIONAL LINKS:

The Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala

Thelma Cabrera: “El sistema nos quiere sacar de la jugada, pero ya estamos en la cancha”

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance broadcast in partnership with Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team, CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas.

EPISODE: Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Visits Brazil

GUEST: Camila Escalante, Kawsachun News-Brazil

BACKGROUND:

Russia’s minister of foreign affairs, Sergei Lavrov, arrived in Brasília on Monday for talks with his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, in the latest of a series of bilateral encounters likely to ruffle the US.

Lavrov arrived just as Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, returned from a state visit to China, and both missions are part of a diplomatic reset Lula has pursued since returning to power this year, as he strives to recover Brazil’s international reputation after his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, dismantled Brazil’s established tradition of cooperation. For Brazil, that means rebuilding and maintaining ties with all partners, regardless of geopolitical tensions elsewhere.

Lavrov and Vieira said their talks had also focused on energy and trade. About a quarter of agricultural powerhouse Brazil's fertilizer imports come from Russia, while the two countries engaged in a record $9.8 billion in bilateral trade last year.

Brazil was Lavrov's first stop on a weeklong Latin American tour that will also include Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Kawsachun News

Lula Cozies Up to America’s Enemies

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance broadcast in partnership with Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team, CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas.

EPISODE: Burying 200 Years of The Monroe Doctrine

GUEST: Carlos Ron, Venezuela Vice Minister of Foreign Relations for North America

BACKGROUND:

The Monroe Doctrine, first articulated by U.S. President James Monroe on December 2, 1823, is a United States foreign policy position that opposes European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. It holds that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign powers is a potentially hostile act against the United States. The doctrine was central to American foreign policy for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The doctrine remains in place today as a pillar of U.S. foreign policy towards Latin America & the Caribbean and no longer exclusively applies to European powers.

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Facebook

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Twitter

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Latin America Policy Forum: Burying 200 Years of the U.S. Monroe Doctrine

Simon Bolivar Institute

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance broadcast in partnership with Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team, CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas.

EPISODE: Reject U.S. Imperialism! Make Our Americas a Zone of Peace

GUESTS:  

Ajamu Baraka, Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team

Margaret Flowers, Co-Founder and Director of Popular Resistance & Host of the podcast Clearing the Fog

BACKGROUND:

On Tuesday, April 4, The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP), along with key partner organizations, launched an effort to activate the popular movements in our region in support of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) 2014 call to make the Americas region a “Zone of Peace.” This campaign will be informed by the Black Radical Peace Tradition. With its focus on the structures and interests that generate war and state violence—colonialism, patriarchy, capitalism and all forms of imperialism—the fight for a Zone of Peace is an attempt to expel all of these nefarious forces from our region.

FOLLOW OUR GUESTS:

Ajamu Baraka: Facebook Twitter

Black Alliance for Peace: Website Facebook Twitter

Margaret Flowers: Facebook Twitter

Popular Resistance: Website Facebook Twitter

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Black Alliance for Peace Zone of Peace Campaign

Black Alliance for Peace Zone of Peace Press Conference and Campaign Launch

CELAC/Zone of Peace (2014)

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance broadcast in partnership with Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team, CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas.

EPISODE: Argentina Celebrates 40 Years of Democracy and Human Rights

GUEST: Franco Metaza, Director-General for Foreign Affairs of the Argentina National Senate.

BACKGROUND:

Last week, Argentina celebrated 40 years of democracy and human rights by hosting the Third World Forum of Human Rights (March 20-24) scheduled in tandem with its National Day of Remembrance for Truth & Justice. The Forum closed with a march and rally on March 24 which marked 47 years since the US-backed military coup that overthrew the democratically elected government on March 24, 1976, and installed the bloodiest dictatorship in the history of #Argentina remained in power until 1983.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Franco Metaza: Twitter

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

III Foro Mundial de Derechos Humanos

Day of Remembrance for Truth & Justice

Argentina commemorates victims of military dictatorship on the 47th anniversary of US-back Coup

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance broadcast in partnership with Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team, CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas.

EPISODE: Mexico’s Fourth Transformation and Why the U.S. Wants to Stop It 

We thank The Mexico Solidarity Project for participating in this episode as a special broadcast partner.

GUEST: Kurt Hackbarth, Writer, Journalist and Activist

BACKGROUND:

"Although the 4T has not fulfilled everyone’s expectations, it has, in four years, created a governing movement that is taking control of its energy resources (including the nationalization of lithium) and is adopting a role of regional leadership in Latin America: two sins the United States has not historically forgiven anywhere." No, AMLO Is Not Undermining Mexican Democracy by Kurt Hackbarth

You can find this article and many others on Mexico by Kurt at Jacobin.com

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Kurt Hackbarth

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

The Mexico Solidarity Project

Twitter:

Website

No, AMLO is Not Undermining Mexican Democracy

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Challenging the US Narrative on Mexico (April 13, 2022 with journalist Alina Duarte)

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance broadcast in partnership with Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team, CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas.

EPISODE: Colombia-Total Peace and the Fight to Free All Political Prisoners

GUESTS:  

Anthony Dest, Colombia Freedom Collective

Ajamu Baraka, Black Alliance for Peace National Organizer & BAP Haiti/Americas Team

BACKGROUND:

In April 2021, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Colombia to demand change. They rejected decades of state violence and deepening inequality. Over the course of three months, the largest protest in Colombian history spread to over 800 municipalities throughout the country. The months-long protests played a huge role in creating the conditions for the election of Gustavo Petro and Francia Marquez.

Changes are afoot in Colombia, and the inauguration of President Gustavo Petro and Vice President Francia Marquez on August 7, 2022 marked an important shift away from decades of political repression. However, more than 300 people accused of participating in the 2021 protests still remain incarcerated and/or are facing harsh sentences on trumped-up charges.

Political prisoners from the 2021 National Strike are currently on a hunger strike in four prisons around the country. Despite numerous promises from the Petro administration to address their situation, the prisoners continue to face dire conditions. The only demand that would bring an end to the hunger strike: a response from the national government regarding the December 2022 proposal emerging from political prisoners in Palmira for the creation of a “Table for Dialogue” (mesa de diálogo).

Last week, two hunger strikers in Jamundí sewed their mouths shut to refuse even water. As the strike enters its eighth day, various other hunger strikers are facing health complications.

FOLLOW OUR GUESTS:

Anthony Dest

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089157999945

https://twitter.com/AnthonyDest

Ajamu Baraka

https://www.facebook.com/ajamu.baraka

https://twitter.com/ajamubaraka

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Black Alliance for Peace

Colombia Freedom Collective

Colombian Peace Caravan: Bringing the Hope of “Total Peace” to Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Territories

Hunger Strike by Political Prisoners Enters Eighth Day

December 2022: Political Prisoners in Palmira Go On Hunger Strike 

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Colombia Erupts Against Neoliberalism

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance broadcast in partnership with Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team, CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas.

EPISODE: The Devastating Effects of Militarization on Puerto Rico and Her People. How One Activist is Promoting Health Justice for Vieques & Culebra.  

GUEST: Monisha Rios, Puerto Rican psychologist, social worker and disabled US veteran. Founder and director of Centro Solidario de Puerto Rico.

NOTE: Full visual presentation can be viewed here:

BACKGROUND:

The U.S. has been overtly and covertly intervening in Puerto Rico's internal affairs since 1898. Like the Spanish, British, Dutch, and the French, the U.S. understood the strategic value of the Puerto Rican archipelago, which would give their expanding empire a military advantage toward enforcing the Monroe Doctrine, thereby securing its established intent to dominate the Western Hemisphere. 

A new wave of militarization began soon after the change of colonial ownership, the implications of which would devastate the island municipalities of Culebra and Vieques. Culebra was militarized in 1901 and expelled the Navy in 1975. Vieques was militarized in 1941 and expelled the Navy in 2003.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Monisha Rios - https://www.facebook.com/monishaamie

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Episode illustration by Indi Maverick

Centro Solidario de Puerto Rico is a fiscally sponsored project of Alliance for Global Justice Make a tax-deductible donation here:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Ending US Colonialism of Puerto Rico

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: The War Against Puerto Rico Continues

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance broadcast in partnership with Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team, CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas.

EPISODE: Peru - More than Statistics

In today’s episode, WTF host Teri Mattson shares some of the key findings of the Preliminary Report of the International Mission of Solidarity and Human Rights Delegation which arrived in Peru on February 7, 2023 and deployed its work in the country until the 13th of the same month. Teri was one of 19 human rights observers comprising the delegation.

Episode photo courtesy of Manuel Ortiz (@manuortize)

Links to the photo albums mentioned in the episode can be found below

FOLLOW:

Teri Mattson

https://www.facebook.com/teri.mattson.3/

https://www.instagram.com/terimattsontoo/

https://twitter.com/hey_ter

Derechos Humanos sin Fronteras-Cusco

https://www.facebook.com/derechossinfronteras.pe

https://www.instagram.com/derechossinfronteras/

https://twitter.com/dhsfcusco 

Misión de Solidaridad Internacional y Derechos Humanos

https://www.facebook.com/MisionDdhh

https://www.instagram.com/misionddhh/

https://twitter.com/MisionDdhh

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Peru National Protest Advances to Lima  

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Live from Peru-National Strike, Day 40

Plaza 2 de Mayo, Lima (February 9, 2023 - Marcos Sierras, Photographer)

Juliaca to Cusco - Manuel Ortiz, Photographer (@manuortiz and @globalexchange)

Short Delegation Synopsis (Lima & Cusco Visits)

Mision de Solidarida Internacional y Derechos Humanos

Preliminary Report: Peru February 2023 (Spanish)

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance broadcast in partnership with Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team, CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas.