Venezuela
Venezuelan military on high alert for Colombian invasion President Maduro put the country’s armed forces on high alert and called on the people to be ready to defend their homeland from an attack from Colombia. Maduro has consistently warned that Colombian President Duque is trying to create conditions to justify an attack on Venezuela
Red Cross Chief: Aid Program to Venezuela Not Being Funded to Destabilize the Country The aid goal of addressing the immediate food and medicine needs of 650,000 people has reached only 50,000 because of lack of international funding.“I cannot imagine any other explanation except political will for the creation of this situation on the ground” and rejected the idea that the Venezuelan government is blocking access to aid.
Venezuelan students march in defense of democracy, peace and national sovereignty On November 21, thousands of Venezuelan students from different public and military universities, in a civic-military union, flooded the streets of the capital Caracas to celebrate the University Students’ Day as well as the achievements made by the Bolivarian Revolution in the last 20 years. President Maduro announced a number of socio-economic initiatives to support the young Venezuelans, which were previously requested as proposals by the university leaders. These included the approval of 200,000 new scholarships and an increase in the monthly stipend for university and secondary education students.
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Cuba
Declaration of Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “Our America confronts escalating attacks by imperialism and oligarchies” The most recent events in the region confirm that the U.S. government and reactionary oligarchies as responsible for the dangerous political and social upheaval and instability in Latin America and the Caribbean. The legitimate protests and massive popular mobilizations taking place on the continent, particularly in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil, are caused by poverty and growing inequality in the distribution of wealth; the certainty that neoliberal formulas aggravate the exclusionary and unsustainable situation of social vulnerability; absent or inadequate health care, education and social security; attacks on human dignity; unemployment and the restriction of labor rights; privatization, higher prices, cutbacks in public services, and increased citizen insecurity
Cuba found to be the most sustainably developed country in the world, new research findsThe Sustainable Development Index calculates its results by dividing a nation’s “human development” score, obtained by looking at statistics on life expectancy, health and education, by its “ecological overshoot,” the extent to which the per capita carbon footprint exceeds Earth’s natural limits.
Audio recording of whole Conference “The Cuban Revolution at 60” (Halifax, October 31–November 2)
Manufacturing the Enemy: the Media War against Cuba By Keith Bolender There is not just an economic blockade against the island but an information one which is just as damaging to Cuban society and its efforts to advance itself. Cuba’s friends must therefore fight a constant battle against the demonisation of the revolution and engage constantly in an arena which Bolender describes as “where myth replaces history and facts become immaterial to rational discussion”. This book is therefore an important resource in that struggle.
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Bolivia
How a Mass Bot Network Spins the Coup in Bolivia Controlling the message is crucial in shaping public understanding and opinion on any issue or event. People are far more likely to support a “revolution” or an “uprising” than a “coup.” And “advanced interrogation techniques” are much more palatable than “torture.” Corporate media across the political spectrum refrained from using the word “coup” to describe the events in Bolivia.
This is the Map of Power That “Built” the Coup in Bolivia Latin American and European researchers built a map that reflects how a network of US government agencies, private corporations, foundations, non-governmental organizations and the media were ‘essential’ to get Evo Morales out of power.
Members of Argentine Delegation in Bolivia Tell the Coup Repression They Recorded Disappearances, murders, arbitrary detentions, rapes, torture and hospitals that refuse to take care of those wounded by the repression were some of the events recorded during the first day of work. They were held and kicked at the airport by a pro-coup mob. Then the Minister of Government of Añez, Arturo Murillo, came out to threaten them publicly: “Be careful, we are watching you.”
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Nicaragua
Yes, there is freedom of the press in Nicaragua One of the many false charges waged against the Sandinistas is the alleged lack of press freedom in Nicaragua. Yet despite these claims of a total control of the media by the government, the opposition press circulates freely and openly, publishing sensationalist, selective and, more often than not, fake stories designed to inflame tensions and stoke anti-Ortega sentiment.
NicaNotes: Food Sovereignty Takes a Leap Forward Thanks to the Sandinista revolution, 80% of Nicaraguan land is now controlled by small and medium scale farmers. Nicaragua’s agricultural sector is so strong that Nicaragua produces 90% of its own food. Small family business and cooperatives make up 94% of all economic and social entities and the majority of products, including food, circulate in what is known as the popular economy.
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Delegations: Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba
Sandino Vive! Delegation to Nicaragua February 13-23, 2020
Food sovereignty delegation to Venezuela January 3-12, 2020
Organic Growers Association Cuba Agroecology Tour, January 7-16
Tour of Worker Cooperatives in Cuba, January 11-20
Cuba: The People, Government and US Policy Feb 28- March 8 Witness for Peace
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Sites to Follow Venezuela, Bolivia:
Chicago ALBA Solidarity 