Chileans have had a troubling history with dictatorship, corruption, and violence. Beginning in 1974, a year after General Augusto Pinochet rose to power in a coup that was backed by the United States.
Several months ago, on August 1, 2017, Indigenous rights protester Santiago Maldonado went missing. His disappearance did not escape the public eye as it led to massive protests in Argentina demanding the government provide answers for what happened to Maldonado.
On August 1, 2017, activist Santiago Maldonado was detained by Argentine police at an indigenous rights rally in Patagonia and has not been seen since. According to José Miguel Vivanco of the Human Rights Watch Organization (2017), Maldonado was visiting a Mapuche Indigenous community to stand in solidarity with their opposition to the extradition of an indigenous leader.
The Communications and Transport Secretary in Mexico has proposed a regional rail project, the Tren Transpeninsular (TTP), to connect major beach resort areas and several major archeological sites in the Yucatan Peninsula. A GSPIA capstone class taught by Marcela González Rivas, Policy and Planning in Development Countries, is working with a local non-profit in Mexico, Foro para el Desarrollo Sustentable, who has been hired to conduct a preliminary assessment of the potential social impacts of the TTP.
The Communications and Transport Secretary in Mexico has proposed a regional rail project, the Tren-Transpeninsular (TTP), to connect major beach resort areas and several major archeological sites in the Yucatan Peninsula. The capstone class is working with a local non-profit in Mexico, Foro para el Desarrollo Sustentable, who has been hired to conduct a preliminary assessment of the potential social impacts of the TTP.
On September 22nd and 23rd, the United Nations held its first annual International Conference on Indigenous Villages. Indigenous representatives from around the world gathered in New York City to discuss indigenous rights in order to bring equality to a group of people that have been oppressed and discriminated against since colonization. The indigenous population of the world totals 370 million people, which constitutes 5% of the total world population and they represent about one third of people living in poverty.1
October 13th is nationally recognized as Columbus day, marking the day Christopher Columbus discovered the new world in 1492. This encounter, as students learn as early as elementary school, changed the course of American and Latin American history. This year, many cities across the US have protested this holiday demanding that instead of lauding Columbus, we use this day to recognize the indigenous people whose land Columbus allegedly invaded.
Amidst all the political chaos happening in Brazil, it’s easy to forget that outside of the bustling metropolis’ lies a completely different side of Brazil. Brazil is home to one of the largest uncontacted indigenous populations in the world, whose sole protector against invasion and subsequent modernization is the organization known as FUNAI, the National Indian Foundation. While the Amazon region of Brazil remains largely untouched, both the national government and large and small corporations have been trying to make their way into the region, mostly using force.
On October 12, 2015, more than 5,000 people marched through the streets of Santiago, Chile.
