Stories about Latin America from May, 2010
Puerto Rico: Tensions arise at the student strike
It has been over 20 days since the students of the largest campus (in Río Piedras) of the state-run University of Puerto Rico (UPR) paralyzed the academic operations in order to protest against a $100 million budget cut and the proposed elimination of certain registration and fee waivers [EN]. Ten...
Colombia: Indigenous Communities of Cauca Caught in Middle of Clashes
In Colombia, the indigenous communities of Cauca have been caught in the middle of clashes between guerrilla forces and the army, but has not received much media attention writes Albeiro Rodas of the blog Colombian Passport.
Mexico: High Temperatures in the Capital
Mexico City has been experiencing high temperatures, writes Daniel Hernández of Intersections, with some reports of 50 C temperatures inside some Metro stations.
Chile: Thoughts About the Earthquake and Reconstruction Process
The 2010 Global Voices Citizen Media Summit sought to engage Chilean bloggers through a blogging competition organized in collaboration with the organization OCD Iberoamérica. Here is a look at 4 of the 5 Chilean blogger finalists. The winning post will be featured in another GV post.
Mexico: The Popularity of Local Wines
Lesley Téllez of the Mija Chronicles blogs about the increasing popularity of Mexican wine with more and more producers entering this market.
Costa Rica: Day Should Honor All Communicators
May 30 will be Day of the Journalist in Costa Rica. However, Adriana Vargas writes that the day should honor the work of all communicators [es] because of their contributions to the spreading of news.
Mexico: Fear and Intimidation in Electronic Media
The drug-related violence taking place in northern Mexico is being seen in citizen media. Through warnings and threats sent through blogs and emails, many residents are heavily impacted by the violence.
Colombia: The Displaced People of Ituango
Due to paramilitary and guerrilla hostilities, the people in the surrounding areas of the Colombian town of Ituango have had to abandon their lands and seek shelter in the town. Bloggers from the town write about the situation.
Cuba: Higher Calling
Commenting on Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino's recent work as a mediator for the Ladies in White, Iván's File Cabinet says that religious leaders “should not speak just in the name of God. He should also speak out in the voice of those who don’t have one.”
Puerto Rico: Bloggers Meet
Bloggers, journalists, entrepreneurs, and activists participated yesterday in the Second Blogger Meeting in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Speakers talked about blogs as a business tool, the role of women in the blogosphere, blogging for social activism, moblogging, the Caribbean blogosphere, and open source software.
Colombia: A Look at Twitter Use Around the Country
Over the course of two months, the community site Twitter Colombia analyzed 3 million Tweets from 20,000 users in the country, as way to take a snapshot of the use of this microblogging tool.
Video: Kids News Network turns to web
Through the Kids News Network in different countries throughout the world, children now have the opportunity to watch TV news magazines which are specifically geared towards them, also giving them a space to voice their opinions and find out about current events.
GV Summit: Day One Finished, Day Two Underway!
You may have missed out on the fumbling around with the translation headsets, but if you weren't able to join us for the first day of the Global Voices 2010 Citizen Media Summit in Santiago Chile, you definitely have not missed out on the global conversation!
Cuba: Legal Process
Laritza's Laws & Cuban Legal Advisor blogs about the legal process surrounding the “trial of independent journalist Dania Virgen Garcia.”
Cuba: Health Care Standards
Iván's File Cabinet looks at the pros and cons of health care in Cuba.
Colombia: A Day Without Cars in Medellín
The city of Medellín recently celebrated the Day Without Cars, where motor vehicles were prohibited from the streets of the Colombian city. As a way to raise awareness about the effects of vehicles on the environment, many enjoyed the break, but it also affected some sectors of society.
Mexico: Citizen Journalism in the Middle of Drug-Trafficking Violence
Monterrey and the Mexican State of Nuevo León is currently caught up a wave of drugtrafficking-related violence that is affecting the daily lives of the residents, who are using citizen media to write about this situation.
Technology for Transparency, Civic Engagement and Accountability in Latin America
Latin America has a long history of corruption, organized crime, and impunity. However, the region also has a mature civil society and dozens of technology projects that are poised to disrupt the status quo if they are able to attract more offline participation.
Ecuador: Social Groups March in Celebration of Labor Day
Like many countries around the world, Ecuadorians commemorated International Worker's Day on May 1st. This day has historically been a day where workers in the country have pushed for better working conditions, ever since it was officially made a national holiday in 1915.
South Africa:2010 FIFA World Cup theme song raises interesting views
As is the norm with any major tournament especially the World Cup, the 2010 World Cup has its song out approximately a month to the event. The song features world renowned Latino female singer Shakira along with South Africa’s own Freshly Ground. The song has raised interesting views from bloggers.
Brazil: Internet use for accountability, transparency and civic engagement: What is civil society doing?
Brazil's Technology for Transparency movement is young - all four case studies we reviewed were launched in the past year. Cultural, technical, and financing obstacles abound, but a soon-to-be-implemented Freedom of Information Law may help automate much of the time-consuming work.
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