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Saturday, November 14, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Indigenous Rights
BOLIVIA: Summit Cancelled Due to Social Unrest
A meeting between Presidents Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Cristina Fernández of Argentina and Evo Morales of Bolivia was called off because of violent protests by anti-government demonstrators in the southern city of Tarija, while clashes between miners and the police left two dead and 30 injured in the western province of Oruro.
CHILE-PERU: Preserving Potatoes More Important than Age-Old Dispute
Policies to get small farmers involved in saving, preserving, producing, marketing and genetically improving potatoes should take precedence over the age-old dispute between Chile and Peru about where potatoes originated, experts from both countries say.BRAZIL: Biodiesel to Bring Electricity to Amazon Villages
Oil from native tucuma, ouricurí and murumurú palm trees will be used to provide electricity to isolated communities in the depths of the Brazilian Amazon, which are too remote to supply with power by conventional means.COLOMBIA: Indigenous Groups in Danger of Disappearing
The Permanent People’s Tribunal warned in its final statement on Colombia of "the imminent danger of physical and cultural extinction faced by 28 indigenous groups," adding that 18 of the communities have less than 100 members, "and are suspended between life and death."Q&A: 'Guam Matters, Not Guamanian Rights'
In this second of a two-part interview, IPS spoke with Julian Aguon - whose homeland of Guam is soon to receive thousands more U.S. troops - regarding the island’s economic problems, why Guam matters to Washington and the value of solidarity links between activists who are divided by oceans, yet united in a cause.
Q&A: ''Guam Remains Functionally a US Colony''
The tiny island of Guam - officially an unincorporated territory of the United States - is soon to be inundated with thousands more U.S. military personnel as the world’s superpower realigns its forces. In this first of a two-part interview, indigenous Guamanian activist Julian Aguon spoke with IPS on issues surrounding the build-up.PERU: Social Rebellion Spreads Nationwide
The Peruvian capital, faced with rapidly rising cost of living, was the epicentre of protests calling for fulfilment of social and wage agreements signed by the government. Although only one violent incident occurred, some 200 demonstrators were arrested.
RIGHTS-CAMBODIA: Locals, Lawyers Prepare for Battle Over Land
In thick forest in the north-east Cambodian province of Ratanakiri, a team of lawyers uses a global positioning satellite handset to mark the location of traditional spirit forests and gravesites belonging to local Jarai villagers.
ENVIRONMENT: Indians Close Ranks Against Dams in the Amazon
Indigenous communities in Bolivia and Brazil have declared an emergency in response to the construction of the Madera River Hydroelectric Complex, which Brasilia is pursuing even as independent research efforts try to measure the impacts of what will be one of South America's largest energy projects.AUSTRALIA: Indigenous Voices Lacking in Gov’t Intervention
While the Australian government insists that important progress was made in the first year of its controversial "emergency response" in the Northern Territory - ostensibly to protect indigenous children from abuse - activists are calling for affected communities to be consulted.POLITICS-BOLIVIA: Volatile Loyalties, Deep Divisions
The governing party in Bolivia is reeling from its latest electoral defeat, and beginning to doubt the popularity of President Evo Morales, who is putting his office, the vice president's and those of provincial governors up for ratification in a recall referendum to be held on Aug. 10.PERU: Mining Companies Venture into the Amazon
The conflicts surrounding extractive industries in Peru could shift from the mountains to the jungles due to the rising number of concessions granted for the Amazonian regions of San Martín, Madre de Dios and Amazonas, and which are being strongly opposed by the local indigenous communities.
PARAGUAY: Fourteen Years in the Wilderness
Indigenous Enxet people are still waiting for the restitution of their ancestral lands, nearly three years after the Paraguayan state was convicted by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of usurping territory and violating basic rights. Meanwhile, they endure overwhelming poverty.ECUADOR: Constituent Assembly Shakeup Highlights Divisions
The resignation of the head of the constituent assembly that is rewriting Ecuador’s constitution, a popular figure who up to now has been close to President Rafael Correa, highlighted discrepancies within the government.BOLIVIA: Uncertain Political Future in Wake of Autonomy Votes
The political future in Bolivia is unpredictable following the autonomy referendums in the provinces of Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija, whose governors interpret the triumph of the pro-autonomy position as a vote of confidence and a victory over President Evo Morales.CANADA: Apology Must Be Backed By Action, Native Leaders Say
In a long-sought acknowledgement of the federal government's role in creating Canada's racist residential school system as part of its cultural assimilation policies, Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered a formal apology to Canadian First Nations in the House of Commons in Ottawa last week.
ENVIRONMENT-US: "Water Is Alive, It Hears Our Words"
Native Americans and others completed a 10-day "Walk for the Water" this week along the Chattahoochee River, which some estimates say will dry up completely by 2025 due to pressure from the rapidly growing city of Atlanta.MEXICO: Murder of Indigenous Reporters Fuels Hatred, Division
No one has been brought to justice for the murders of two young indigenous reporters in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca in April, a case that has mobilised social activists and drawn condemnation from UNESCO.RIGHTS-CHILE: Growing Outcry Over Filmmaker’s Arrest
There is growing international alarm over the arrest of Chilean filmmaker Elena Varela, who was taken into custody by police a month ago while working on an investigative documentary on the conflicts between lumber companies and the Mapuche indigenous people in southern Chile.INDIGENOUS PEOPLE: Japan Officially Recognises Ainu
In a historic breakthrough Japan's Diet has unanimously passed a resolution pressing the government to recognise the Ainu as indigenous people.BOLIVIA: Two More Steps Towards Provincial Autonomy
Bolivia’s leftist government responded cautiously to the approval of two new regional autonomy statutes, this time in the northern provinces of Beni and Pando, while the rightwing opposition celebrated their victory.« Previous Page — Next Page »
The planet's roughly 350 million indigenous peoples took notable steps on the international stage in the last decade. They got the world's governments to agree to create a body to represent them at the United Nations, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and to appoint a special rapporteur responsible for their human rights. In 2007 a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was approved by the UN. Yet the living conditions of most "tribal", "aboriginal", "native" or "first" peoples remain precarious. IPS, with its network of contributors at the UN and linked to indigenous communities worldwide, is committed to tracking the world community's efforts to do justice to the rights and aspirations of these peoples, with a special current focus on Latin America's 40 million rural indigenous peoples.
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