South and Central America
Truckers strike brings Brazil to brink of collapse
By Gabriel Lemos, 28 May 2018
The Temer government has granted authority to the military to exercise police powers throughout the country, in a bid to break the strike.
So far from God, so close to the United States…
The second Mexican presidential debate and the crisis of bourgeois rule
By Rafael Azul, 24 May 2018
This second debate indicates, more clearly than the first, that there is nothing here for Mexican workers.
Argentina: Buenos Aires police attack striking transit workers
By Rafael Azul, 24 May 2018
Helmeted riot police, equipped with batons and full-body shields and firing rubber bullets, invaded the subway tunnels.
Argentina to make new IMF agreement amid growing social discontent
By Eric London, 10 May 2018
An estimated 75 percent of Argentinians oppose the move, which takes place alongside broadening strikes among teachers and other workers.
Argentina: Government responds to peso crisis with panic selling of dollar reserves and interest rate increase
By Rafael Azul, 8 May 2018
The Argentinian ruling class, under pressure from Wall Street, is fearful of another situation like the 2001-2002 crisis.
São Paulo’s high-rise fire collapse tied to city’s homeless crisis
By Gabriel Lemos, 7 May 2018
The real cause of the spectacular fire and building collapse was the negligence of the state and the huge housing crisis in one of the most unequal cities in the world.
Mexican ruling class working out response to López Obrador’s lead in election polls
By Don Knowland, 7 May 2018
Heated charges and political maneuvers dominated Mexico’s electoral campaign last week as the “left” bourgeois candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador kept a 20 point lead in the polls.
First presidential debate
Mexican presidential candidates call for increased police and military activity
By Rafael Azul and Don Knowland, 3 May 2018
The debate took place in the wake of the grisly killing of three film students by gang members in Jalisco.
US election meddling in the age of the Internet
How Google, Facebook and Twitter are manipulating the Mexican presidential elections—Part 2
By Alex González and Andrea Lobo, 1 May 2018
The US military-intelligence apparatus is integrating the largest technology and Internet companies to tighten the US stranglehold over Latin America.
US election meddling in the age of the Internet
How Google, Facebook and Twitter are manipulating the Mexican presidential elections—Part 1
By Alex González and Andrea Lobo, 28 April 2018
The United States is now engaged in advanced efforts to exploit data on every voter in the country, as well as user data from Google and the social media companies, to influence the elections of its southern neighbor.
Washington announces plans to pressure Nicaragua after largest demonstrations in 40 years
By Andrea Lobo, 26 April 2018
Fearful of the growth of social opposition to IMF diktats in Central America, US imperialism is ramping up its efforts to contain the situation and advance its own reactionary agenda.
Demonstrations grow in Nicaragua after Ortega suspends pension cuts
By Andrea Lobo, 24 April 2018
Nearly 30 are dead and protests swelled yesterday even as the government announced it was temporarily canceling pension cuts.
Mexican government to deploy federal troops against immigrants on its southern border
By Michael Anders, 18 April 2018
The anti-democratic decision proves that the Mexican government is a pawn of the Trump administration.
Brazil’s ex-president Lula turns himself in to police after supreme court ruling
By Miguel Andrade, 10 April 2018
The Brazilian attorney general’s office demanded his immediate arrest out of fear he would “manipulate the masses” and destabalize the country.
Ahead of Mexican elections, social media companies, corporate press launch censorship operation
By Alex González, 5 April 2018
The #Verificado2018 campaign was launched to allegedly protect voters from Russian meddling in the upcoming July 1 general elections.
Brazil: São Paulo teachers strike against pension reform
By Gabriel Lemos, 26 March 2018
The claim that “there is no money” to meet teachers’ demands is rooted in the parasitic interests of the banks and corporations that dominate the Brazilian state.
Peru’s president and former Wall Street financier resigns amid corruption scandal
By Armando Cruz, 23 March 2018
There was a consensus among the ruling elite that the 79-year-old former Wall Street operator had become a destabilizing factor for capitalism in Peru.
Mass protests in Brazil against death squad assassination of Marielle Franco
By Miguel Andrade, 21 March 2018
While clearly serving to intimidate political opposition, Franco’s execution is being exploited by the security forces as a justification for even greater repression.
Odebrecht-related bribe revelations threaten to wipe out Peruvian political establishment
By Armando Cruz and Cesar Uco, 14 March 2018
The revelations have led many to question the political future of all the figures involved, the most visible faces of the Peruvian political class for over a generation.
Mexico’s leading presidential candidates genuflect before bankers
By Don Knowland, 13 March 2018
Supposedly left populist candidate López Obrador assured bankers he will not undermine their interests if elected.
Transnational beer corporation creates water crisis in northern Mexico
By Alex González, 10 March 2018
Constellation Brands set up beer manufacturing plants in drought-prone cities and is threatening the region with a water crisis.
US government cuts aid to Puerto Rico by half
By Antonio Castro, 3 March 2018
Amidst a mounting mental health crisis and constant power outages, the US government announced a drastic cut in aid to the island still reeling from hurricane damage.
Peru’s president proposes minimum wage hike in bid to divert impeachment drive
By Cesar Uco, 1 March 2018
The desperate populist appeal comes as the chances of Kuczynski finishing his term are dwindling, while his approval rating has fallen to 19 percent.
Brazilian army general tapped to take over law enforcement in Rio de Janeiro
By Gabriel Lemos, 26 February 2018
Under the pretext of fighting gang violence, nothing less than a path to dictatorship is being opened up in Brazil.
Brazilian army general tapped to take over law enforcement in Rio de Janeiro
By Gabriel Lemos, 22 February 2018
Under the pretext of fighting gang violence, nothing less than a path to dictatorship is being opened up in Brazil.
Honduras turns to online censorship and spyware to clamp down on protests
By Andrea Lobo, 16 February 2018
Since a brutal crackdown has not deterred protests against the regime, it has resorted to an assault on free speech online.
Venezuela warns against US military intervention as domestic crisis deepens
By Bill Van Auken, 16 February 2018
Both Colombia and Brazil have increased military deployments on Venezuela’s borders as US officials continue to signal support for a coup against the Maduro government.
US Secretary of State Tillerson threatens oil sanctions against Venezuela
By Andrea Lobo, 7 February 2018
On his tour of Latin America, Tillerson escalated US threats against Venezuela as part of a broader campaign to undermine Russian and Chinese interests in the region.
Brazil’s political crisis deepens after court upholds conviction of Lula
By Miguel Andrade, 6 February 2018
The unexpected unanimous decision by the appeals court on both the conviction of Lula and the lengthening of his jail sentence unleashed a frenzied run-up on the Sao Paulo stock exchange.
Pope preaches dogma of reaction in Latin America
By Cesar Uco, 5 February 2018
The Pope’s first stop was Chile, where he denounced parishioners as “idiots manipulated by leftists” for opposing a bishop implicated in the cover-up of child sexual abuse.
Why are a million Puerto Ricans still in the dark?
By Daniel de Vries, 2 February 2018
Even as a humanitarian crisis continues to ravage the United States’ largest territory, officials are plotting the privatization of the public electric utility.
Bolivia’s Evo Morales marks 12 years in power amid mounting social struggles
By Tomas Rodriguez, 1 February 2018
The stunning rise in profits generated by the financial sector under the Morales government stands in stark contrast to the conditions confronting the masses of Bolivians.
Brazilian metro workers hold one-day strike over privatization plans
Workers Struggles: The Americas
23 January 2018
A strike by transit workers in the city of São Paulo’s paralyzed subway transport in the city leaving many morning commuters stranded.
Mass protests in Peru over pardoning of Fujimori
By Cesar Uco, 16 January 2018
The deal reached to spare President Kuczynski impeachment in return for the pardoning of Fujimori has only deepened the crisis of bourgeois rule in Peru.
Court suspends Christmas pardon as Brazil’s jail population reaches world’s third highest
By Miguel Andrade, 13 January 2018
The last three years alone have seen 100,000 people thrown into the dungeons created by Brazil’s system of social apartheid.
Right-wing wins Chile election as “left” Broad Front joins the establishment
By Andrea Lobo, 10 January 2018
With only one-fourth of the electorate voting for Piñera, the results reflect overwhelming hostility to the entire establishment and herald a new stage in the political crisis.
Puerto Rico, more than 100 days after Hurricane Maria: The class issues
By Genevieve Leigh, 8 January 2018
The absence of planning for the hurricane and the lack of any significant response to the devastation by the local and federal governments has had deadly consequences.
Peru’s President Kuczynski pardons Fujimori after surviving impeachment
By Armando Cruz, 30 December 2017
Fujimori’s pardon has unleashed a wave of protests, mostly by young people, in the capital and other main cities.
“The government has done nothing”
Months after hurricane, Puerto Rican workers face worsening jobs crisis
By Genevieve Leigh and Zac Corrigan, 28 December 2017
The economic devastation of Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria continues to escalate three months after the storm made landfall in late September.
Trump administration congratulates “re-election” of police-state regime in Honduras
By Andrea Lobo, 23 December 2017
Washington’s announcement arrived as Honduran military police escalated their bloody repression of the nation-wide protests against the electoral fraud.
Haitian audit report on PetroCaribe corruption deepens crisis of Moïse goverment
By John Marion, 21 December 2017
Funds from the PetroCaribe agreement, intended for public works projects, were instead used to line the pockets of politically connected corporations.
Argentina’s Congress passes social security “reform” after violent crackdown on protesters
By Rafael Azul, 20 December 2017
Mass protests have erupted against the vote in the lower house for pension legislation that will slash benefits for more than 40 percent of the Argentine population.
Puerto Rico governor orders review of official hurricane death toll
By Niles Niemuth, 19 December 2017
The review comes amid growing anger on the island and media reports that the true death toll from Hurricane Maria could exceed 1,000.
Washington and Honduras seek to crush opposition to fraudulent re-election
By Andrea Lobo, 19 December 2017
The Honduran government and the OAS are coordinating with Washington to impose a fraudulent election using virtually the same methods as in the 2009 military coup.
“The poverty is no longer hidden by the trees”
Hurricane Maria exposes the conditions of life for the working class in Caguas, Puerto Rico
By Genevieve Leigh and Zac Corrigan, 18 December 2017
Workers and youth from Caguas, Puerto Rico, spoke to WSWS reporters about life without power, electricity and running water, nearly 100 days after Hurricane Maria.
Peru’s President Kuczynski facing impeachment
By Juan Gonzáles, 18 December 2017
Even as bribery and corruption charges threaten to bring down the president, an attempt is being made to strengthen the Peruvian state.
Top Peruvian businessmen arrested in Odebrecht bribery scandal
By Cesar Uco, 14 December 2017
The Odebrecht scandal has played an increasing role in deepening Peru’s economic and political crises.
Mexico’s Interior Security Law: The ruling class prepares for mass uprisings
By Alex González, 11 December 2017
The Interior Security Law is being advanced to crack down on protests and to prepare for possible military intervention in next year’s presidential elections.
“Brazilian Trump” or “Brazilian Duterte”? Media works to normalize the far-right for 2018 elections
By Miguel Andrade, 17 November 2017
The fascist congressman Jair Bolsonaro has been increasingly presented by the corporate media as “the businessmen’s choice.”
Trump administration moves toward deportation of Central American immigrants
By Bill Van Auken, 8 November 2017
Monday’s decision ends Temporary Protected Status for up to 5,000 Nicaraguans and could be the prelude to the mass deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
Brazil cuts science budget amid mounting yellow fever threat
By Miguel Andrade, 8 November 2017
Brazil’s Science Ministry is facing a 44 percent funding cut by the end of 2017 and another reduction of 15 percent for 2018.
Bernie Sanders tries to quell anger in Puerto Rico
By Rafael Azul, 1 November 2017
With anger against the Trump administration reaching a breaking point, Sanders urged Puerto Ricans to keep their faith in the US government.
CVS and Aetna reportedly in talks for $60 billion merger
By Tom Hall, 31 October 2017
The merger between the CVS pharmacy chain and the insurance giant is reportedly in response to Amazon’s imminent entry into the prescription drug business.
Haitian government in crisis as protests spread
By John Marion, 31 October 2017
Protests against the government of Haitian President Jovenel MoÏse, touched off by this year’s budget, are being met with violence.
Montana company with ties to Trump cashes in from Puerto Rico disaster
By Rafael Azul, 25 October 2017
Whitefish Energy, a tiny Montana company with virtually no experience in infrastructure repair, has secured a $300 million contract to help rebuild Puerto Rico’s electrical grid.
After electoral victory, Argentine president promises “most austere policies”
By Andrea Lobo, 25 October 2017
The results express a deep resentment against the 12-year Peronist rule that began the austerity drive that has only deepened under Macri.
Puerto Rico power blackout the biggest in US history
By Rafael Azul, 24 October 2017
Some 3 million people are without electricity and there are predictions that some remote parts of the mountainous island will not see power restored until next June.
Discovery of dead youth’s body raises specter of forced disappearances in Argentina
By Andrea Lobo, 23 October 2017
The case has created a sense of deep distrust towards the conservative government of President Mauricio Macri and all the official institutions involved.
Thousands continue to suffer in the wake of Mexico’s earthquakes
By Don Knowland, 18 October 2017
The September earthquakes revealed the criminality of the Mexican oligarchy and make a mockery of the president's paean to national solidarity.
Washington threatens to escalate sanctions in wake of Venezuelan regional elections
By Andrea Lobo, 18 October 2017
In response to the defeat of the US-backed right-wing opposition, Washington is preparing to push Venezuela over the brink of default.
Deaths caused by Leptospirosis reported in Puerto Rico
By Benjamin Mateus, 16 October 2017
There is a scarcity of clean water in rural communities, whose residents are resorting to washing and bathing in local rivers and springs.
50 years since the murder of Che Guevara
Including a republication of Castroism and the Politics of Petty-Bourgeois Nationalism
By Bill Van Auken, 14 October 2017
Half a century after the murder in Bolivia of the guerrilla leader, the anniversary has been exploited by various tendencies to lend a left cover to their reactionary politics and mask their own betrayals.
Trump’s photo-op in Puerto Rico
By Rafael Azul, 4 October 2017
Trump, who is proposing the largest tax cut for corporations and the rich in history, complained that the recovery effort was costing too much.
Trump visits Puerto Rico as anger grows over government response
By Rafael Azul, 3 October 2017
In contrast to the indifference of the Trump administration, people across the United States are volunteering to help residents of the hurricane-ravaged island.
Baggage-handlers’ strike at Toronto airport enters third month
Workers Struggles: The Americas
3 October 2017
Some 700 workers are striking against demands by Swissport for a three-year wage freeze, cuts to benefits and tighter control over work schedules.
Puerto Rico faces health catastrophe as Trump tweets “We have done a great job”
By Andrea Lobo, 2 October 2017
Almost two weeks after Hurricane Maria laid waste to much of Puerto Rico, many towns are still cut off from all relief efforts.
Trump to Puerto Rico: Your lives don’t matter
By Eric London, 30 September 2017
The Trump administration’s callous and incompetent response to the social disaster in Puerto Rico expresses the worldview of a financial oligarchy that sees the lives of working people as expendable.
Peru cabinet shakeup exposes crisis of rule
By Armando Cruz, 29 September 2017
The decision to remove and replace some ministries came in the aftermath of a powerful 71-day teachers’ strike.
Puerto Rican people still without aid a week after Hurricane Maria
By Rafael Azul, 28 September 2017
Puerto Rico is already under a 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. Increasingly, the question raised is whether the island will be placed under martial law.
Puerto Rico confronts the devastation wrought by hurricanes and Wall Street
By Rafael Azul, 25 September 2017
Puerto Rico is reeling not only from the catastrophic effects of hurricanes Irma and Maria, but from the predatory ravages of Wall Street.
Dam collapse threatens to kill thousands in Puerto Rico
By Rafael Azul, 23 September 2017
Three days after Hurricane Maria devastated the Island, residents are left without power and basic necessities, while an ongoing dam collapse threatens to inundate tens of thousands.
Death toll in Mexico City earthquake reaches 286
By Don Knowland, 23 September 2017
As in the hugely inadequate response of the US government to the recent hurricanes in Texas and Florida, most rescue and aid efforts after the Mexican quake fell to working class volunteers.
Puerto Rico devastated by Hurricane Maria
By Rafael Azul, 22 September 2017
As in Texas and Florida, the human suffering caused by the hurricane was exacerbated by the absence of any serious evacuation plan and the lack of public resources.
Death toll rises in Mexico City earthquake
By Alex González, 21 September 2017
The working class has mobilized to lead rescue efforts through its own self-sacrifice and solidarity.
More than 140 dead and counting as a magnitude 7.1 earthquake rocks Mexico City
By Andrea Lobo, 20 September 2017
Less than two weeks after an earthquake killed 99 people in southern Mexico, another quake has left widespread death and destruction in the continent's largest metropolis.
Mexico earthquake death toll climbs to 98
By Andrea Lobo, 18 September 2017
This historic event has exposed conditions of staggering inequality, deteriorated social infrastructure and corrupt negligence on the part of the ruling elites.
Corruption crisis engulfs all major parties in Peru
By Cesar Uco, 14 September 2017
The Odebrecht scandal is threatening to put two other former presidents behind bars and to drag down the current head of state, Pedro Pablo Kucsynski.
Strong earthquake shakes Mexico and Central America, killing at least 61
By Rafael Azul, 9 September 2017
By far the most damage was concentrated in Juchitan de Zaragoza, a city of more than one hundred thousand, the third largest in the state of Oaxaca.
Brazil’s ruling circles fear international “isolation”
By Miguel Andrade, 5 September 2017
The ambiguous international strategy being pursued by Brasilia is symptomatic of the crisis of confidence gripping ruling circles.
Venezuela nears default after US imposes sanctions on economy
By Andrea Lobo, 1 September 2017
Amid its worst economic crisis, the new sanctions have pushed Venezuela to the brink of default, which threatens to sink the country’s workers and poor to new depths of misery.
Growing signs of constitutional breakdown follow repeal of corruption charges against Brazil’s President Temer
By Miguel Andrade, 22 August 2017
The Workers Party attacks Temer’s government not as an opponent of capitalism, but as a defender of the interests of a “national bourgeoisie.”
Nationwide strike by educators set in Chile
Workers Struggles: The Americas
8 August 2017
Chile’s College of Professors is set to strike against right wing, pro market, changes to the country’s educational system.
Washington’s sanctions against Venezuela and the dead-end of Chavismo
By Eric London, 2 August 2017
Nearly 20 years after the election of Chavez, Venezuela remains one the most unequal countries in the world, with poverty the predominant fact of life for the working class.
Election of constituent assembly in Venezuela takes place amid intensified violence and US threats
By Andrea Lobo, 31 July 2017
The conflict between the rival sections of the ruling class is reaching a breaking point.
Lessons from the Pink Tide period
Jacobin defends bourgeois rule and US imperialism in Latin America
By Eric London, 27 July 2017
Jacobin magazine’s spring edition, titled By Taking Power, addresses “both the accomplishments and the shortcomings” of Latin America’s Pink Tide.
Brazilian president threatened with ouster over corruption charges
By Miguel Andrade, 25 July 2017
Michel Temer faces the threat of being placed on trial as the Brazilian ruling establishment is increasingly torn by bitter internecine warfare.
Killing continues in Colombia as FARC disarms
By Carlota Duran, 21 July 2017
The world’s oldest guerrilla group is preparing to transform itself into a new bourgeois party in alliance with the Colombian Stalinists.
Argentina’s Left and Workers’ Front (FIT): “Podemos in diapers”
By Andrea Lobo, 20 July 2017
Amid a mounting social and political crisis, the FIT’s renewed electoral alliance for Argentina’s upcoming legislative elections is a political trap for workers and youth.
“The rich have all the resources and the money but still so many are struggling”
Leader of group of deported US veterans in Mexico speaks out
By Norisa Diaz and Renae Cassimeda, 18 July 2017
Thousands of veterans have been deported following minor crimes often linked to trauma incurred during their military service.
Venezuelan government moves against dissenting chavistas
By Alexander Fangmann, 4 July 2017
Hours before the Supreme Court stripped the dissenting attorney general of her powers, a helicopter piloted by a police officer mounted a suspicious attack on the court.
Conference on Central America outlines plans for militarization and escalating assault on immigrants
By Andrea Lobo, 19 June 2017
Discussion of the desperate social conditions in the countries comprising the Northern Triangle of Central America was virtually excluded from the summit, mentioned only as a lure for investments.
Growing fissures in Maduro government as Venezuelan protests continue
By Bill Van Auken, 16 June 2017
The emergence of dissidents in the Maduro government is part of a bid to fashion a new national unity government with the aim of heading off a revolt from below.
Massive abstention in Puerto Rican statehood referendum
By Rafael Azul, 13 June 2017
The vast majority of Puerto Rican voters failed to participate in Sunday’s plebiscite on the island’s political status.
Peruvian pseudo-left bitterly divided over launching of new party
By Armando Cruz, 7 June 2017
The divisions over the launching of “Nuevo Peru” center on the best political means for diverting the rising militancy of the working class.
Puerto Rican governor proposes austerity budget
By Rafael Azul, 5 June 2017
The budget slashes education, pensions and social services in line with the dictates of Wall Street.
Amid deepening crisis, Temer turns to Brazil’s military
By Gabriel Lemos, 3 June 2017
The growing reliance on the military coincides with the government’s attempt to push through the deeply unpopular labor and pension “reforms.”
Manuel Noriega and US militarism
By Bill Van Auken, 31 May 2017
The December 1989 US invasion of Panama and toppling of Noriega set the pattern for the escalating series of US wars and interventions that were to follow.
Brazil’s president forced to rescind order calling out the army against protesters
By Bill Van Auken, 26 May 2017
Temer’s about-face on a decree giving the army policing powers came amid a wave of criticism of the measure as illegitimate and renewed calls for the president’s ouster.
Vulture capitalists fight over pickings from bankrupt Puerto Rico
By Rafael Azul, 22 May 2017
The country is already one of the most socially unequal US territories, with half the population under the poverty line and the official rate of unemployment at 11.5 percent.
Brazil’s markets plummet amid corruption charges against president
By Bill Van Auken, 19 May 2017
The worst fall in share prices since the 2008 global financial meltdown was prompted by fears that the government will be unable to push through attacks on pensions and labor laws.
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