Bachelet Tested in Chile as Protests Erupt
Over the past few weeks, news coverage of protests throughout Latin America have focused primarily on Venezuela. However, protests against president Michelle Bachelet in Chile have begun.
Over the past few weeks, news coverage of protests throughout Latin America have focused primarily on Venezuela. However, protests against president Michelle Bachelet in Chile have begun.
Venezuelans remain restless as political chaos affects their country and groups have been divided into supporters of President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition. La Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) has become a microcosm for the nation’s situation as student groups confront one another within the university's walls.
In the largest city in South America, more than 8,000 families are living in temporary tents consisting of plastic sheets and timber.
Last week, Argentina’s president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner faced a general strike from some of the largest unions of the country. Most businesses and services throughout the country were closed including transportation, hospitals, schools, and restaurants.1 With many taxi and bus drivers on strike, those who did not participate could not go to work for the day. Picketers blocked off roads, preventing travel throughout the capital. In other cities throughout the country, such as Córdoba, smaller scale strikes had similar effects.
For awhile there was hope that despite significant challenges, Brazil would be prove to be a successful host of the 2014 World Cup set to begin June 12th, but as the date nears, it seems as if that hope is dwindling.
The Mexican federal police have taken control of 13 towns in southern Mexico in the latest chapter of the missing students’ saga. The 13 towns all lie within a 125-mile radius of the city of Iguala, the site of the initial protest that led to the disappearance of 43 students.
Las escuelas normales rurales son escuelas destinadas a la formación de maestros para las áreas rurales de México, a la que acuden hijos de campesinos y de comunidades indígenas. Surgieron en el espíritu de la revolución mexicana, cuando fue nombrado José Vasconcelos a cargo de la Secretaría de Educación Pública en 1921, bajo el gobierno de Álvaro Obregón. Desde 1927 se legisló para que tuvieran internado y becas para sus alumnos.
The Brazilian Congress returns to work this week after a recess and faces news that the industrial sector has fallen yet again. Congress has been pushing the Senate to vote on tax raises on Brazilian companies in order to avoid a national credit downgrade.1 Since the industrial sector has fallen in many sectors, including automobile and informatics technology manufacturing, this push from congress is necessary in order for the country to evade a full blown economic recession.2
The crowd of students and professors filled a street in Old San Juan, chanting, “¡Somos estudiantes, no somos criminales!”[1] Puerto Rican police officers and a SWAT team made a barrier between the angry, yet peaceful crowd and the rest of the street leading to la Fortaleza, the governor’s mansion.