Integration and Development Brazilian-style

Millions of Homes in Mexico Suffer from “Energy Poverty”

By Emilio Godoy
Energy poverty afflicts millions of homes in Mexico, with many social, economic and environmental impacts for the country.

When It Comes to Fracking, Argentina Dreams Big

By Daniel Gutman
Since a US Energy Information Administration (EIA) report announced in 2011 that Argentina had some of the world’s biggest shale oil and gas reserves, the dream of prosperity has been on the minds of many people in this South American nation where nearly a third of the population lives in poverty.

Mega-Projects Have Magnified Corruption in Brazil

By Mario Osava
It cannot be categorically stated that corruption has increased in the country in recent years, because there is no objective information from earlier periods to compare with, according to Manoel Galdino, executive director of Transparency Brazil.

No Trace of the Nicaraguan Interoceanic Canal

By José Adán Silva
Less than three years from the projected completion in Nicaragua of a canal running from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean, there is no trace of progress on the mega-project.

Gold Mine Aggravates Tensions in Brazil’s Amazon Region

By Mario Osava
The decline of this town is seen in the rundown houses and shuttered stores, and the few people along the streets on a Sunday when the scorching sun alternates with frequent rains at this time of year in Brazil’s Amazon region.

Brazilian Dam Causes Too Much or Too Little Water in Amazon Villages

By Mario Osava
The Juruna indigenous village of Miratu mourned the death of Jarliel twice: once on October 26, when he drowned in the Xingu River, and the second time when the sacred burial ground was flooded by an unexpected rise in the river that crosses Brazil’s Amazon region.

Barefoot Solar Warriors Take On Gender Injustice and Climate Change

By Stella Paul
On a summer morning in 2008, Magan Kawar decided to leave her village for a job. The very next day, her parents-in-law excommunicated her.

Expansion of Renewable Energies in Mexico Has Victims, Too

By Emilio Godoy
The growing number of wind and solar power projects in the southern Mexican state of Yucatán are part of a positive change in Mexico’s energy mix. But affected communities do not see it in the same way, due to the fact that they are not informed or consulted, and because of how the phenomenon changes their lives.

Energy Access Builds Inclusive Economies and Resilient Communities

By Manipadma Jena
Jaipal Hembrum runs three one-man home enterprises - a bicycle repair shop, a tiny food stall and a tailoring unit in Kautuka, a remote village in eastern India. Sewing recycled clothes into mattresses late into the evening, the 38-year-old father of three girls says two light bulbs fed by a solar power system have changed his life.

Corruption Brings Down an Empire: Odebrecht in Brazil

By Mario Osava
People in Brazil have been overwhelmed by the flood of news stories about the huge web of corruption woven by the country’s biggest construction company, Odebrecht, which is active in dozens of fields and countries.

Argentina’s Never-ending Environmental Disaster

By Daniel Gutman
Is it possible to spend 5.2 billion dollars to clean up a river which is just 64-km-long and get practically no results? Argentina is showing that it is.

Riverbank Populations Displaced by Dams in Brazil Miss Old Way of Life

By Mario Osava
“Now we have internet and TV. Before, we didn't even have electricity, but it was better,” said Lourival de Barros, one of the people displaced by the hydropower plants which have mushroomed aorund Brazil, mainly since the 1970s.

Ordinary Citizens Help Drive Spread of Solar Power in Chile

By Orlando Milesi
Chile, Latin America’s leader in solar energy, is starting the new year with an innovative step: the development of the country´s first citizens solar power plant.

China’s Billion-Dollar Re-entry in Sri Lanka Met with Public Protests

By Amantha Perera
Beragama is a typical Sri Lankan rural village, with lush green paddy fields interspersed by small houses and the village temple standing at the highest location. Despite being close to the island’s second international harbour and its second international airport, Beragama appears untouched by modernity.

Native Seeds Sustain Brazil’s Semi-Arid Northeast

By Mario Osava
In his 76 years of life, Raimundo Pinheiro de Melo has endured a number of droughts in Brazil’s semi-arid Northeast region. And he remembers every one of them since 1958.“The worst one was in 1982 and 1983, the only time that the river dried up,” said Pinheiro do Melo, who has lived near the river since 1962. “The one in 1993 was also very bad,” he told IPS, because neither Bolsa Familia nor Networking in Brazil’s Semi-Arid Region (ASA) existed yet, which contribute to a less traumatic coexistence with droughts like the current one, which has dragged on for five years.

Anti-Fracking Movement Alarmed at Trump’s Focus on Fossil Fuels

By Emilio Godoy
Earl Hatley, a descendant of the Cherokee/Delaware tribe, has witnessed the consequences of using hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” on his native land to produce shale gas.

No More Mass Deaths from Drought in Northeast Brazil

By Mario Osava
The drought that has plagued Brazil’s semiarid Northeast region since 2012 is already more severe than the 1979-1983 drought, the longest in the 20th century. But prolonged dry spells no longer cause the tragedies of the past.

Feminism Helps Villagers Coexist with Drought in Northeast Brazil

By Mario Osava
“The vegetable garden changed my life,” said Rita Alexandre da Silva, in the village of Primeiro do Maio where 65 families have obtained land to grow crops since 1999, in this municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, in Northeast Brazil.

Developmentalism and Conservation Clash Out at Sea

By Emilio Godoy
“We don’t have access to marine areas, because most are protected areas or are in private hands. We indigenous people have been losing access to our territories, as this decision became a privilege of the state,” complained Donald Rojas, a member of the Brunka indigenous community in Costa Rica.

Subway Will Modernise – and Further Gentrify – Historic Centre of Quito

By Mario Osava
Success can kill, when it comes to cities. Spain’s Barcelona is facing problems due to the number of tourists that it attracts. And the historic centre of Ecuador’s capital city, Quito, a specially preserved architectural jewel, is losing its local residents as it gentrifies.

Coal Entrenches Poverty, Drives Climate Change: Report

By Lyndal Rowlands
Coal power does more to harm the world’s poor than to help them, even before the devastating impacts of climate change are taken into account, according to a recent report published by 12 international development organisations.
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