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Saturday, November 7, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
LATIN AMERICA-SPAIN: New Four-Country Alliance Emerges at Summit
A new alliance of countries provisionally dubbed the "cuadrilátero" (group of four) emerged Tuesday in Ciudad Guayana in southeastern Venezuela, where the leaders of Brazil, Colombia, Spain and Venezuela met to discuss a wide range of topics including security and regional cooperation.LATIN AMERICA-SPAIN: Politically Disparate Leaders Find Common Cause
Less than three months after coming to the brink of a major bilateral conflict, Venezuela’s leftist President Hugo Chávez and right-wing Colombian Alvaro Uribe are meeting Tuesday in Ciudad Guayana in southeastern Venezuela with the leaders of Brazil and Spain, who also represent the leftist end of the political spectrum.DEVELOPMENT: Formal Land Titles Necessary But Not Sufficient
As soon as they purchased land with a collective loan, a group of peasant farmers in San Francisco, in Ecuador's northern Andean department (state) of Imbabura, divided the property into small plots for each family.DEVELOPMENT: Access to Land Essential to Eradicating Poverty, Experts Say
Family farming can be a more efficient means of producing food and promoting development than large-scale agricultural operations, Brazilian expert Edson Teófilo told participants at the International Land Coalition Global Assembly currently underway in this eastern Bolivian city.DEVELOPMENT: Access to Land Essential to Eradicating Poverty, Experts Say
Family farming can be a more efficient means of producing food and promoting development than large-scale agricultural operations, Brazilian expert Edson Teófilo told participants at the International Land Coalition Global Assembly currently underway in this eastern Bolivian city.BOLIVIA: Land Conflicts – Another Source of Tension
"We are demanding legal title to our land. We want to preserve it as we see fit, with its plants, water and animals, and we are going to fight in a constituent assembly for that," Anacleto Supayabe, an indigenous community leader in Bolivia, where land disputes rage, told IPS.BOLIVIA: President Underlines Importance of Resolving ‘Land Question’
Bolivian President Carlos Mesa, who offered to step down early twice this month in order to overcome an acute - crisis of governability", took a break from his problems Monday to inaugurate an International Land Coalition conference in this eastern Bolivian city.COLOMBIA-VENEZUELA: No Concern Over Weapons Purchases
Colombia plans to spend 540 million dollars to modernise and strengthen its air force, a decision that does not at all worry its neighbour, Venezuela, to judge by formal statements by the administration of Hugo Chávez.VENEZUELA: Large Ranches Targeted by Land Reform Efforts
The Venezuelan government announced that parts of a British-owned cattle ranch and an ecotourism/ranch that is famous among birdwatchers will be seized by the government under its agrarian reform programme.AMERICAS: The Tuna Dispute – Environmentalism or Trade Protectionism?
The U.S. market is closed to tuna caught by Latin American fishing boats in the Pacific Ocean due to a 2004 judicial order aimed at protecting dolphins. The region's fishers, however, say the measure is an ''ecological mask'' for what they consider protectionist interests.VENEZUELA: Statements Indicate Chavez May Indeed Be in Somebody’s Crosshairs
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. government has plans to assassinate him and thus trigger chaos that would allow it to intervene militarily and take control of the South American country's huge oil reserves.
The Tuna Dispute – Environmentalism or Trade Protectionism?
Imports of Latin American tuna continue to face a ban in the United States, which claims that its strict rules are to protect dolphins. But the region's fishing industry charges that it is an undue barrier to free trade.LATIN AMERICA: Civil Society Has Role to Play in Conflict Prevention
Latin America and the Caribbean may appear to be the least conflict-ridden region in the world today. Nevertheless, civil society has a role to play in the prevention of conflicts, a task that must not be ignored, according to academics and representatives of non-governmental institutions meeting this week in the Venezuelan capital.LATIN AMERICA: Venezuela Pushes for Hemispheric Social Charter
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez called for the creation of a debtor nations' club, the adoption of a Social Charter by the Organisation of American States (OAS), and the forging of a new socialist model for the 21st century during the 4th Social Debt Summit in Caracas.CARIBBEAN: Small States Find Weight in Numbers When South America Comes Knocking
Quantity, rather than size, is the bargaining chip that the small nations of the Caribbean hold with respect to a South America that is once again knocking at their door, with a view towards boosting regional integration and gaining support in the vote for secretary-general of the OAS.VENEZUELA: Updating of Military Equipment Does not Equal Arms Buildup, Say Analysts
The Venezuelan government is acquiring Russian assault rifles and helicopters, Brazilian planes, Spanish war ships and Chinese uniforms, but analysts agree that this updating of military equipment does not point to an arms buildup.CLIMATE CHANGE: OPEC Members Share Responsibility, Say Venezuelan Experts
The petroleum producing countries should make a greater contribution to fighting global warming, even though the obligations established by the Kyoto Protocol fall primarily on the shoulders of the industrialised oil consumer nations, Venezuelan analysts say.CLIMATE CHANGE: OPEC Members Share Responsibility, Say Venezuelan Experts
The petroleum producing countries should make a greater contribution to fighting global warming, even though the obligations established by the Kyoto Protocol fall primarily on the shoulders of the industrialised oil consumer nations, Venezuelan analysts say.OIL: Venezuela Seeks to Diversify Markets
Venezuelan-born independence hero Simón Bolívar, calling for a South American union, once mused that he envisioned himself with his right hand on the Orinoco river (which runs through Venezuela) and his left on the Río de la Plata (between Argentina and Uruguay).IRAQ-US: ‘Biggest Cultural Disaster Since 1258’, Says Expert
One million books, 10 million documents and 14,000 archaeological artifacts have been lost in the U.S.-led invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq - the biggest cultural disaster since the descendants of Genghis Khan destroyed Baghdad in 1258, Venezuelan writer Fernando Báez told IPS.SOUTH AMERICA: Rains Claim At Least 80 Lives in Three Countries
The unusually heavy rainfall that has pounded Colombia, Guyana and Venezuela over the past few weeks has left more than 80 dead, 100 missing, 100,000 families homeless, wiped out a number of bridges and caused severe damages to roads and highways and tens of thousands of hectares of farmland.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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