Diego Cevallos

'It's inhuman that borders are only open to capital'

The North American Free Trade Agreement has encouraged illegal migration, says Mexican peasant Lucas Benítez, winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, in a conversation with Tierramérica.

Indians Shake Up the Political Scene

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Despite their exclusion from society, indigenous communities in Latin America are gaining ground in the political arena. They have brought down two governments and wield increasing influence at the local and parliamentary levels.

We don't need scientific certainty in order to take action'

By Diego Cevallos and - -

The consequences of failing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on curbing climate change could be very serious, Mario Molina, Nobel laureate in chemistry, says in a dialogue with Tierramérica.

The Conquest of Transgenic Crops

By Diego Cevallos and - -

More than 18 million hectares in Latin America are planted with genetically modified crops. The trend is irreversible, say scientists, who are staking their bets that the region will adopt this new technology rather than condemn it.

Members of the Huaorani indigenous group from the Ecuadorian Amazon. - Hoy newspaper, Ecuador.

Isolated Indigenous Groups Face Extinction

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Native South Americans shunning contact with “civilization” are facing cultural genocide, warns a top United Nations official.

Whales in Search of Safe Seas

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Ecologists are celebrating the approval of the International Whaling Commission’s so-called "Berlin Initiative", which could go a long way towards saving whales, large and small, from extinction.

A 'Laboratory' for an Environmental Citizenry Is Born

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Argentina, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru, from now until 2006, will serve as the laboratory for an experiment whose goal is to create environmental awareness among citizens.

SARS Here to Stay

By Diego Cevallos and - -

So far there have been no fatal victims of atypical pneumonia in Latin America, but the first economic impacts of the disease are being felt in the region. Chilean copper prices have fallen and Brazilian chicken exports have declined.

l-Kadhimain mosque in Iraq - Photo Stock

War Could Wipe Out Ancient History

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Iraq, set in the cradle of Western civilization, holds 10,000 archeological sites with countless secrets still to be deciphered. Experts fear that the war will bury many of them forever.

Environment Under Enemy Fire

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Burning oil wells, contaminated water supplies, horrendous epidemics and destruction by nuclear, chemical or biological weapons are some of the possible environmental impacts of a war in Iraq, say experts consulted by Tierramérica.

Most of the road network is in place. All that is needed is to build some of the interconnections. - Credit: Sergio Dorantes.

The Rocky Road from Puebla to Panama

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Civil society organizations and guerrilla groups threaten to boycott the road construction uniting Meso-America, roads which are to lead to U.S. highways.

Johannesburg Summit an Uphill Climb for Latin America

By Diego Cevallos and - -

The attitude in the region in the run-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development ranges from moderate hope to deep skepticism, but there is unanimous desire to prevent the Johannesburg meet from becoming "Rio minus 10".

Alternative Energy – Still a Distant Dream

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Latin America is far from meeting the target of obtaining 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2010, the proposal it will set forth at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa.

New Ammunition to Fight Abuse of Animals

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Thousands of animals in the Mexican capital suffer torture, abandonment or laboratory testing. There is a new law to protect them, but activists say it is not enough.

The Road from Mexico to South Africa

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Although environmentalists will play a peripheral role at the upcoming Conference on Financing for Development, in Monterrey, Mexico, they are expected to define key aspects there of what will unfold at the Rio+10 Summit in August.

Monarchs without a Throne

By Diego Cevallos and - -

In their annual 5,000-km migratory ritual, not all monarch butterflies reach protected sanctuaries. Many alight in other locations in Mexico, where the silence of the forest takes them in and anonymity protects them.

No Water South of the Río Bravo

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Mexico will have to spend approximately 1.5 billion dollars over the next five years to maintain the water supplies of cities and farmland bordering the United States.

FTAA Cooking Up without 'Green' Ingredient

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Experts warn that issues like labor rights and environmental protection are absent from the bi-continental trade accord, the first draft of which is to be unveiled at the Summit of the Americas in April.

Cities' Toxic Clouds a Tough Enemy

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Bogotá, Mexico City, Lima and Santiago have adopted innovative measures to fight air pollution, but the air-borne toxins continue to make thousands of people ill.

Painting Trade in Shades of Green

By Diego Cevallos and - -

Experts assure that the experience of NAFTA, the only trade accord that contains environmental clauses, can be replicated throughout the western hemisphere