Check out the trailer for Oliver Stone’s new movie – South of the Border
September 9, 2009
Venezuela to help Nicaragua after U.S. cancels aid
June 14, 2009
(CNN) — Venezuela has promised to give Nicaragua $50 million to replace money that the United States said this week it would withhold from the Central American country, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra said Saturday.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez promised the aid after Ortega learned that the United States was canceling $62 million of aid that was to have come from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S.-government-funded anti-poverty fund set up by former President George W. Bush.
Ortega expressed disappointment in President Barack Obama for the decision. “He expresses good will, but in practice, he has the same policies as President Reagan,” Ortega told a crowd of supporters in Managua’s Plaza of the Revolution. Read the rest of this entry »
The Real News – Past is Present in Latin America
April 25, 2009
Latin American leaders, born out of US backed repression, demand an end to 50 year-old US-Cuba standoff
Last weekend, the leaders of the Americas met with US President Barack Obama for the first time as a group. While no major agreements were signed, long-time Latin America observer Larry Birns believes that the atmospherics were of a nature never before seen in the hemisphere. Signs of improvement in relations between the White House and Cuba, after 50 years of embargo and intervention. The leaders of Latin America have made it clear to Obama that any future progress in relations will require a drastic shift in his government’s policy toward Cuba, and there are signs that Obama will be willing to do so. Until that time, an entire hemisphere lies in wait.
U.S. Pres. Obama shakes hands with Venezuelan Pres. Chavez at the Summit of the Americas
The Huffington Post
The whole world was watching when President Obama shook hands with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Most Americans, along with most people around the world, want the U.S. to try to get along with other countries, treat their leaders with respect, address disagreements through dialogue and negotiation, and look for areas of potential cooperation with countries with which we have disagreements on other issues.
Read the rest of this entry »
Milwaukee signs sister city agreement with Carora, Venezuela
March 25, 2009
Mayor Edgardo Carrasco of Carora Venezuela and Mayor Tom Barrett shake hands after they signed the offical paper work making Milwaukee and Carora sister cities
By Georgia Pabst, Milw. Journal Sentinel, Mar. 24, 2009
Relations between the U.S. and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez may be heated, but that doesn’t mean local citizens and local governments can’t get to know each other and work together, the mayors of Milwaukee and Carora, Venezuela, said Tuesday morning.
With music, handshakes, smiles and gestures of goodwill, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Carora Mayor Edgar Carrasco gathered in the ornate Common Council chambers to sign a sister city agreement designed to advance cultural, economic and educational exchanges between the two cities.
It’s the first time in 10 years that Venezuela has entered into a sister city agreement in the U.S., said Jesus Rodriguez-Espinoza, Consul General for Venezuela in Chicago. Read the rest of this entry »
Campaign to close down School of The Americas
February 25, 2009
Pablo Ruiz: US tax dollars are used to train Latin American soldiers how to oppress their own people
While the US commits 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan, in part to seek out terrorist training camps, many in the US and Latin America are demanding that President Obama shut down what they believe is a terrorist training camp run on US tax dollars, the School of the Americas. One such person is Pablo Ruiz, who spoke to The Real News during his first-ever trip to the US, where, as a survivor of torture carried out by SOA graduates, he is laying out his argument for the immediate closure of the school.
Bio
Pablo Ruiz is a Chilean human rights activist, journalist and former political prisoner who lives in Santiago, Chile. He worked in Chile with the Committee Against Impunity, seeking to bring to trial military who had committed human rights abuses during the dictatorship of General Pinochet. Pablo is spearheading efforts to seek the withdrawal of Chile from the School of the Americas. He works as the Communications Coordinator for School of the Americas Watch’s Partnership America Latina.
From TheRealNews.com.
Venezuela, An Imaginary Threat
February 19, 2009
February 18th 2009, by Mark Weisbrot
US-Latin American relations fell to record lows during the George Bush years, and there have been hopes – both north and south of the border – that President Barack Obama will bring a fresh approach. So far, however, most signals are pointing to continuity rather than change.
Obama started off with an unprovoked verbal assault on Venezuela. In an interview broadcast by the Spanish-language television station Univision on the Sunday before his inauguration, he accused Hugo Chávez of having “impeded progress in the region” and “exporting terrorist activities”.
These remarks were unusually hostile and threatening even by the previous administration’s standards. They are also untrue and diametrically opposed to the way the rest of the region sees Venezuela. The charge that Venezuela is “exporting terrorism” would not pass the laugh test among almost any government in Latin America. Read the rest of this entry
The Chávez Administration at 10 Years: The Economy and Social Indicators
February 15, 2009
February 6th 2009, by Mark Weisbrot, Rebecca Ray and Luis Sandoval
Center for Economic and Policy Research, www.cepr.net
This paper looks at some of the most important economic and social indicators during the 10 years of the Chávez administration in Venezuela, as well as the current economic expansion. It also looks at the current situation and challenges.
* The current economic expansion began when the government got control over the national oil company in the first quarter of 2003. Since then, real (inflationadjusted) GDP has nearly doubled, growing by 94.7 percent in 5.25 years, or 13.5 percent annually.
* During the current economic expansion, the poverty rate has been cut by more than half, from 54 percent of households in the first half of 2003 to 26 percent at the end of 2008. Extreme poverty has fallen even more, by 72 percent. These poverty rates measure only cash income, and does take into account increased access to health care or education.
* Over the entire decade, the percentage of households in poverty has been reduced by 39 percent, and extreme poverty by more than half.
Why The Venezuelan Amendment Campaign Is So Important
February 14, 2009
February 11th 2009, by Diana Raby
Next Sunday, 15 February, Venezuelans vote in a referendum on a proposed Constitutional Amendment that will allow for any candidate to stand for the Presidency, or indeed for any elective office, without restriction on the number of terms they may serve. Only the people’s vote will decide whether they are elected and how many terms they serve. Continue Reading
Event – Voting for Change in Latin America
February 10, 2009
Milwaukeeans report back from El Salvador and Venezuela
Monday, March 9, 7pm
UWM Union, Ballroom West
2200 East Kenwood Blvd., Milwaukee
Hear from Milwaukeeans who witnessed the run-up to regional elections in El Salvador held on January 18, where a grassroots progressive party succeeded in winning the largest number of votes in spite of serious allegations of fraud and intimidation from the ruling right-wing party. Learn about the upcoming March 15 presidential election, which has the potential to change the history of this small Central American country and the entire region.
Two other locals were in Venezuela for four months, working and studying Spanish in Milwaukee’s newest Sister City, Carora. They witnessed regional elections that saw progressive forces sweep in most states and municipalities nationwide, and much of the recent campaign to eliminate term limits for elected office. Join us to learn about this important country that is the fifth largest supplier of oil to the United States.
Panelists:
David Somerscales, Representative, SEIU Local 1
Erik Sperling, Writer, Venezuelanalysis.com
Mike Helbick, Latin America Solidarity Committee
Dave Palmer, UWM Grad Student, Dept. of Materials Engineering
Free and open to the public, light snacks and refreshments will be served.
Sponsored by Latin America Solidarity Committee – Milwaukee, Progressive Students of Milwaukee progressivestudents.org and Peace Action WI, 414-964-5158. Send any questions to lascmilw@gmail.com.
Documentaries desde el Sur
January 29, 2009
4th Annual Latin America Solidarity Committee Film Series
April 27-30, 2009
UW-Milwaukee, Bolton 150 Theatre
Enter through UWM Union, 2200 E. Kenwood
Free and open to the public
- All films include English subtitles.
Click here for the flyer
Click here for the poster
Join the event on Facebook
Monday, April 27
6pm – Our Brand is Crisis
2005, 85min. Following members of a political consulting firm to Bolivia, where they’ve been hired to help controversial candidate Gonzalo “Goni” Sanchez de Lozada reclaim the presidency, this film reveals the manipulation and orchestration involved in big-time political campaigning. With only a few weeks before the election, a team of consultants including James Carville work their magic, shaping Goni into the ideal candidate.
Click here for more information about this film
8pm – Posada Carriles: Terrorism Made in the USA
2007, 90min. The result of two years of meticulous research by an investigative team that examined declassified documents and criminal files, and interviewed witnesses and survivors from several Latin American countries, this is a must-see film. The network of terror that the CIA established in Latin America – in which Posada was a key figure – is exposed step by step through the courageous testimonies of victims whose family members were killed by him or under his orders.
Click here for more information about this film
Tuesday, April 28
6pm – Free to Fly: The US-Cuba link
& Who’s Afraid of the Little School Bus?
2004, 33min. Free to Fly is the story of the efforts to maintain links between the Cuban and American people. In 1978, after 16 years of no direct travel, charter flights began between Miami and Havana. School bus documents the Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba that openly disobeys the embargo to take humanitarian aid to Cuba.
8pm – Cocalero
2007, 94min. This Sundance Film Festival
entry documents Aymara Indian Evo Morales’s grassroots political campaign to become the first indigenous president of Bolivia. A former president of the Chapare coca growers union, Morales solicited a groundswell of native political support during the 2002 elections, a telling response to the incumbent administration’s attempts to eradicate the crop with US government backing.
Click here for more information about this film
Wednesday, April 29
6pm – Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
2004, 53min. Cuba rebuilt its quality of life following the collapse of cheap oil, supplied by the former Soviet Union. This fascinating and empowering film shows how communities pulled together, created solutions, and ultimately thrived with a decreased dependence on imported energy.
Click here for more information about this film
7pm – Bloqueo: Looking at the Embargo on Cuba.
2005, 45min. Featuring voices from the streets of Havana, the countryside, and activists supporting the island, Bloqueo lets Cubans speak for themselves about how they have been affected by the blockade, and what it means to live in Cuba today.
Click here for more information about this film
8pm – Who Shot My Brother?
2005, 95min. Filmmaker German Gutierrez was horrified when he received a call from Colombia, informing him there had just been an assassination attempt on his brother Oscar, an activist hated by the establishment but adored by the impoverished majority. In the film, Gutierrez recounts his quest to find the hired gunmen who tried to kill Oscar and expose the roots of violence that have taken hold of his native country.
“Essential viewing for all who wish to understand the conflict in Colombia.”
-Adam Isaacson, Center for Int’l Policy
Click here for more information about this film
Thursday, April 30
6pm – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
2003, 74min. Two independent filmmakers were inside the presidential palace on April 11, 2002, when Venezuela’s president Hugo Chávez was forcibly removed from office by the military. They were also present two days later when, remarkably, he was returned to power due to popular protest and rebellion.
Click here for more information about this film
8pm – Gay Cuba
1996, 57min. An overview of the status of gay people at different stages in the Cuban revolution, by lesbian filmmaker Sonya DeVrees.
Click here for more information about this film
9pm – Butterflies on the Scaffold
1996, 75min. This award-winning documentary is a highly unusual look at how a group of working-class drag queens in a small town have become an integral part of their neighborhood.
Click here for more information about this film
