Stories from Quick Reads and Bolivia
#FLISOL 2013: Hundreds of Latin Americans Installing Free Software
From the Patagonia to Havana, hundreds of computer users across Latin America are choosing freedom over control by installing free software on their computers. On April 27th, groups of free software enthusiasts will be installing free software in dozens of cities across Latin America as part of FLISOL [es], the...
Developing Latin America: A Summary
Desarrollando América Latina (Developing Latin America) has published a video summary of the regional hackathon DAL 2012, where 400 participants and 70 social experts developed 80 applications. Here [es] you can see Global Voices’ coverage of the event.
Bolivia: Book Bill Excludes Copyleft
Bolivian activists are on alert [es] and writing a collaborative proposal [es] on the new Book and Reading Act [es] in the Plurinational Legislative Asemply (Parliament). The bill seeks to encourage the production and reading of texts of various kinds in the country; however, the bill passed by the Lower...
The State of Torture in the World in 2013
On January 23, 2013, an excerpt from the annual report of l'ACAT-France, A World of Torture 2013, makes a fresh assessment of the state of torture in the world [fr]: “A report called A World of Torture in 2013, assesses torture practices that continue to be alarming, from Pakistan to...
Education vs. Reality in Bolivia
On his self named [es] blog, Eduardo Bowles reports [es] on changes to Bolivia's education system. According to the new school programme: “in elementary school there won't be any failed students. According to the new education trends, children should not be educated in a competitive environment”. As part of his...
Bolivia: 2012 Census Initial Data
Bolivian President Evo Morales announced the initial official data from the Census of Population and Housing 2012, carried out last November. According to the results, Bolivia has a population of 10.3, with the two most populated departaments being Santa and y La Paz, each with 2.7 million people. Netizens are...
Bolivia: An Unexpected Brush with the Past
Luis Enrique Ramos, who blogs at Citizen of La Paz [es], remembers his old classmate “el Hernán” [the Hernán], who “was one of those who doesn't attract attention, in fact, most of times, it was as he was invisible”. Ramos tells us how good was “el Hernán” at playing football...
Bolivia: Nationalization and football
From Bolivia, blogger Eduardo Bowles refers to the nationalization of Spanish company Iberdrola [es]: […] amidst a severe credibility crisis and when the bumpings with Chile weren't enough for “beating around the bush”, MAS regime has ordered the nationalization of four branches of Spanish multinational Iberdrola, thus putting an end...
2012 Census is Undergoing in Bolivia
Bolivia holds today, November 21, the National Census of Population and Housing 2012. Citizens are restricted from leaving their homes until 23.59 hrs local time. Media, bloggers and netizens are commenting and reporting via Twitter using #Censo2012 and #CensoBo.
Ibero-America: Free Software Assessment Report 2012
The recently released Free Software Assessment Report 2012 shows the opinion, assessment and preferences of more than 5,000 people from Spain and Latin America. The study published in its fourth edition is promoted by PortalProgramas and supported by a number of experts and collaborators [es]. The report aims to contribute...
Blogging Contest Focuses on Child Development
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has announced its first contest for bloggers, which will focus on issues related to child development.
Bolivia's Ruling Party: A Growing Presence on Twitter?
Global Voices contributor Pablo Andrés Rivero monitors how politicians in Bolivia use Twitter. In his latest report on his blog [es] he shows that members of the ruling party (MAS, Movement for Socialism) have started to participate more on Twitter and are growing their list of followers on that social...
Bolivian Politicians Turned ‘Gangnam Style’
The “Gangnam Style” parody has reached Bolivian politicians. Earlier this week, KwonBanYa, a Bolivian YouTube user, uploaded a humorous version of the Korean rap-pop song featuring prominent political figures.
Amazon: Improving Public’s Perception of the Forest
InfoAmazonia is a platform that brings together organizations and journalists from nine countries of one of the most biodiverse areas in the world to freely provide news and reports of the endangered Amazon region. The website maps deforestation, fires, oil and mining, and calls for public participation through the submission...
Brazil: A Celebration of Bolivian Culture
Global Voices author Yohana de Andrade celebrates the presence of Bolivian migrants in her hometown city, São Paulo, Brazil, in an article she wrote for Future Challenges. Yohana describes one of the cultural demonstrations that the Bolivian community brings to the city: the Feira de Kantuta.
Bolivia: 4 Injured in Clash Between Miners
Clashes between private cooperative miners from the La Paz Departmental Federation of Mining Cooperatives (Fedecomin in Spanish) and unionised miners from the state-run Bolivian Mining Corporation (Comibol in Spanish) are reported from downtown La Paz, Bolivia's seat of Government. The confronted groups are attacking each other using dynamite. Four injured...
Bolivia: Consultation on Hold as TIPNIS Communities Reject Militarization
[…] the consultation process on the Bolivian government’s proposed highway through the Isiboro-Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park (TIPNIS) has ground to a halt. Emily Achtenberg from NACLA blog Rebel Currents reports.
Bolivian Women Lead TIPNIS Struggle
Their protagonism has sparked controversy in a society where patriarchal traditions and attitudes still run deep
Bolivia: Communities Divided in Consultation about TIPNIS Road
Emily Achtenberg from Rebel Currents blogs about the latest developments in the project to build a road through the Isiboro-Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park (TIPNIS): “Last week, the Bolivian government launched a highly contested community consultation process […] Affected communities responded with a range of creative tactics—some in support...
Latin America: Is 2012 the ‘Year of the Woman” at the Olympics?
The Americas Quarterly blog points out that although there is still a lot to do to end gender discrimination at the Olympics, “for the first time in history, every country competing in the London 2012 Olympics will have at least one female athlete, with many – notably in Latin America...
