South and Central America
Washington escalates military threats as Venezuela regime change falters
By Bill Van Auken, 14 February 2019
The focus of the attempt to oust the Venezuelan government is a cynical charade over the delivery of USAID relief supplies across the country’s borders.
Mass protests shut down Haiti
By John Marion, 14 February 2019
The protests, now called Pays Lock (Country Lock), have taken on the character of a general strike with the aim of shutting down the country until President Moïse resigns.
Brazil’s Workers Party praises imperialist officials and Brazilian military involved in Venezuela regime change operation
By Miguel Andrade, 9 February 2019
As it feigns opposition to regime change in Venezuela, the PT has sent representatives to meet EU leaders who have been at the forefront of the siege of the country.
Washington issues ultimatum to Venezuela over “humanitarian aid” ploy
By Bill Van Auken, 7 February 2019
Behind the cynical pretense of concern over Venezuela’s social crisis, the Pentagon and CIA are setting the stage for an armed confrontation on the country’s border.
Election of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador signals further shift to US imperialism
By Andrea Lobo, 7 February 2019
The overwhelming victory of Bukele was chiefly an expression of popular loathing toward the traditional ruling parties.
European Parliament backs US-led coup in Venezuela
By Alex Lantier and Alejandro Lopez, 2 February 2019
The European powers’ support for a brazen US coup in Latin America underscores that they are no less ruthless in their assertion of their predatory imperialist interests.
Venezuela’s oil and the geopolitics of the US-backed coup
By Gabriel Black, 31 January 2019
Venezuela’s massive reserves are seen by the United States and its allies as a vital chess piece in the war drive against China.
Lima sewage disaster exposes infrastructure neglect in Peru
By Armando Cruz, 31 January 2019
Seeking to exploit the disaster that affected nearly 2,000 people, “free-market” proponents rushed in to demand the privatization of the public water company, Sedapal.
Germany and EU support US-engineered coup in Venezuela
By Peter Schwarz, 30 January 2019
Berlin and Brussels are backing the Venezuelan coup because they are pursuing their own imperialist interests in Latin America.
Hundreds missing, 58 dead in Brazil mine disaster
By Gabriel Lemos, 28 January 2019
The population of Brumadinho and all of Brazil reacted with anger and revulsion against this tragedy.
US coup bid pushes Venezuela closer to invasion or civil war
By Bill Van Auken, 26 January 2019
Washington is keeping its embassy in Caracas open in defiance of the Venezuelan government, using diplomatic personnel as bait for a potential military confrontation.
090 Anti-Venezuelan attacks in Ecuador
26 January 2019
Washington escalates coup provocations in Venezuela
By Bill Van Auken, 25 January 2019
Secretary of State Pompeo is to speak to the UN Security Council Saturday on Venezuela, a patent propaganda gesture aimed at preparing intervention.
Brazilian Workers Party uses crime wave to back fascistic Bolsonaro on repression and austerity
By Miguel Andrade, 25 January 2019
Under the guise of fighting crime, Bolsonaro and the PT are both seeking to extend the definition to suppress social opposition.
Reports indicate Haitian government involvement in La Saline massacre
By John Marion, 25 January 2019
The massacre in La Saline on November 13—in which 59 people were killed, including young children—rivals the crimes of the Duvalier dictatorship.
Canada’s "diversity" imperialism
By Keith Jones, 25 January 2019
Justin Trudeau, presiding over what has been hailed as the most diverse cabinet in Canadian history, has signed on to Washington’s coup plot against Venezuela.
Fire kills 18 at rehab center in Ecuador
By Cesar Uco, 16 January 2019
The tragedy is a direct consequence of government austerity policies directed at promoting foreign investment at the expense of public health and education.
Bolivia’s Morales and Brazil’s Bolsonaro collaborate in rendition of Cesare Battisti to Italy
By Bill Van Auken, 16 January 2019
Bolivia’s role in what amounted to an extra-judicial rendition is emblematic of the sharp rightward turn of what remains of Latin America’s “Pink Tide” governments.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro increases drive for “pensions’ reform,” more state powers in second week of government
By Miguel Andrade, 15 January 2019
As Bolsonaro prepares unprecedented attacks on the Brazilian working class, the Workers Party (PT) is seeking an accommodation with possible “dissidents” in his cabinet.
Venezuela’s Maduro sworn in for second term amid rising social unrest and threats of intervention
By Bill Van Auken, 11 January 2019
Washington, the EU and the so-called Lima Group of right-wing Latin American governments have called Maduro’s second term “illegitimate,” inviting regime change.
Guatemalan establishment indifferent to deaths of US incarcerated migrant children
By Andrea Lobo, 9 January 2019
The reaction in ruling circles not only reflects their disdain for the country’s impoverished masses, but also their efforts to demonstrate loyal submission to the Trump administration.
Bolivian doctors strike ends amid turmoil over Morales’ bid for fourth term
By Cesar Uco, 8 January 2019
The doctors strike is an expression of the larger problem of pervasive poverty in Bolivia and the continuing turn by the MAS government to the right.
Frente Amplio and Piñera government in Chile suppress 36-day dockworkers’ strike
By Andrea Lobo, 22 December 2018
The FA worked alongside its Morenoite satellites and the trade union to isolate the striking workers at a time of growing social unrest in Chile and across the world.
Brazilian GM workers discuss call for rank-and-file committees
By our reporters, 19 December 2018
Brazil has attracted GM investments based on the recent sellouts of autoworkers, including the firing of senior workers, wage freezes and generalized outsourcing.
After 89 days, trade unions sell out historic strike in Costa Rica
By Andrea Lobo, 14 December 2018
It was the longest strike in Costa Rican history, marking a new stage in the growth of the class struggle and revealing that the treachery of the trade unions knows no bounds.
US-Russia tensions mount over warplanes in Venezuela
By Bill Van Auken, 12 December 2018
The flight of the Russian warplanes to Caracas follows the provocative US Air Force overflight of Ukraine the previous week.
Peru’s president prepares to attack workers’ living standards
By Cesar Uco, 5 December 2018
The most important issue discussed at the CADE 2018 conference was a coordinated government-business attack on labor costs.
López Obrador’s rise in Mexico sets stage for explosive class struggles
By Eric London, 4 December 2018
AMLO’s proposed policies, packaged in pseudo-populist verbiage, make clear that the aspirations of his voters will soon be shattered.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador inaugurated as new president of Mexico
By Alex González and Don Knowland, 3 December 2018
Popular illusions in promises by the new president to end decades of poverty and oppression in Mexico will crash against his limited, bourgeois program.
As G20 summit opens, US political establishment brays for trade war and military escalation
By Andre Damon, 1 December 2018
Trump’s trip to the G20 summit in Argentina has been proceeded by demands for trade war and military escalation against Russia and China.
Police repression in Buenos Aires for G20: a dress-rehearsal for dictatorship
By Rafael Azul, 1 December 2018
The G20 has been used as a pretext for police-state measures, including an abrogation of the democratic right to assemble and protest.
World economic slowdown hits Peruvian exports
By Cesar Uco, 27 November 2018
Behind Peru’s mushrooming corruption scandals lies the breakdown of the free market economic model introduced in the 1990s.
After new Mexico City airport is canceled, López Obrador rushes to reassure finance capital
By Alex González, 8 November 2018
The incoming AMLO administration made clear that all investments would be secured, while doing nothing to address the capital’s water crisis.
ISO covers up Workers Party role in Bolsonaro’s victory in Brazil
By Miguel Andrade and Bill Van Auken, 6 November 2018
The ISO views the Brazilian events through the prism of its own support for the Democrats and its cover-up of the reactionary basis of their opposition to Trump.
Washington imposes new sanctions against Venezuela and Cuba
By Bill Van Auken, 3 November 2018
Bolton’s speech on the Trump administration’s policy toward Latin America amounted to a demand for regime change in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
Chilean police attack pensioners’ protest in Santiago
By Cesar Uco, 31 October 2018
Well-armed Carabineros, using tear gas and water cannon, repressed the march organized by the NO + AFP movement last Wednesday in Santiago, Chile.
Bolsonaro’s victory and the debacle of Brazil’s Workers Party
By Bill Van Auken, 31 October 2018
The election of the fascistic former captain as president signals a sharp shift to the right by the Brazilian ruling establishment.
Mexican police shoot and kill 26-year-old immigrant as repression intensifies along Mexico-Guatemala border
By Andrea Lobo, 30 October 2018
Despite the US threats and the militarized operations by the Guatemalan and Mexican governments, thousands of Central American migrants continue to leave.
Far-right candidate Bolsonaro elected as Brazil’s president
By Miguel Andrade, 29 October 2018
Bolsonaro’s election expresses the breakdown of Brazil’s democratic order and the opening of a new stage of class struggle in Latin America’s largest country.
Argentine workers and students march against “hunger budget”
By Rafael Azul, 27 October 2018
Tens of thousands took to the streets of Buenos Aires to repudiate the austerity measures demanded by the IMF and the Argentine government.
Who is responsible for the rise of the fascistic Bolsonaro in Brazil?
By Bill Van Auken, 20 October 2018
An array of pseudo-left groups, many of which were involved in founding the PT, are advancing a vote for this right-wing capitalist party against Bolsonaro.
US, Mexican and Guatemalan governments harass caravan of Honduran refugees
By Andrea Lobo, 18 October 2018
Thousands of refugees are fleeing rampant violence and poverty imposed by the economic plundering and political meddling of US imperialism.
Peru: Fujimori and other right-wing politicians detained for links to Odebrecht scandal
By Cesar Uco and Armando Cruz, 18 October 2018
For more than 12 years, Odebrecht won contracts and projects in Peru by paying off top officials and businessmen.
Washington presses Central America to militarize and turn away from China
By Andrea Lobo, 15 October 2018
With immigrants as the initial target, the militarization is ultimately aimed at suppressing any challenge from below and turning Central America into a battlefield in US wars against other “great powers.”
Argentine teachers facing massive pay cuts strike for 48 hours
By Andrea Lobo, 12 October 2018
Teachers face losing a quarter of their real wages this year, while Macri’s austerity policies threaten to cut funding for public education by up to 40 percent in real terms.
The far-right threat in Brazil and the role of the Workers Party
By Bill Van Auken, 10 October 2018
The stunning 46 percent vote for the fascistic former army captain Bolsonaro is the end product of decades of betrayals by the Workers Party and its pseudo-left accomplices and apologists.
Fascistic candidate Jair Bolsonaro places first in Brazilian presidential election
By Miguel Andrade, 8 October 2018
With 46 percent of the vote, Jair Bolsonaro came in first, facing a run-off election with PT candidate Fernando Haddad, who came in a distant second.
López Obrador promises Truth Commission in disappearance of Ayotzinapa students
By Don Knowland, 1 October 2018
Any new investigation will inevitably face limits, including the role of the army in the events and its coverup.
Brazil’s Workers Party leader covers up far-right threats to next government
By Miguel Andrade, 1 October 2018
The Workers Party is courting the Brazilian military, presenting itself as the force best suited to its interests.
Argentina’s Macri responds to fourth general strike with yet another IMF package
By Andrea Lobo, 28 September 2018
The trade union bureaucracies, most of which had agreed to a truce with the Macri administration during the beginning of his term, are seeking to contain growing social anger.
26 September 2018
Costa Rican public-sector strike enters third week
By Andrea Lobo, 25 September 2018
The response of the ruling class to a coming economic avalanche has been to prepare the largest economic plundering of the working class in Costa Rican history.
Brazil election campaign preparing rise of right-wing government
By Miguel Andrade, 24 September 2018
With the military expressing its readiness to intervene, the PT is pitching its appeal to the Brazilian ruling class and international finance capital.
Refugees fleeing crisis in Venezuela confront poverty in Peru
By our reporters, 24 September 2018
It is estimated that since 2014 nearly 2.5 million Venezuelans have fled their country to escape a collapsing economy.
Peru: Pseudo-left promotes anti-corruption protests to cover for anti-worker policies
By Armando Cruz, 17 September 2018
The pseudo-left has adapted itself to President Vizcarra’s proposals, praising his preparedness to "listen" to the people.
Brazil’s Workers Party drops Lula as candidate for president
By Miguel Andrade, 12 September 2018
Faced with a legal deadline, the PT substituted ex-São Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad for the jailed former president.
Washington bullies Central American countries for adopting “One China” policy
By Andrea Lobo, 12 September 2018
Having respected the “One China” policy since 1979, US measures against countries pursuing the same course constitute a remarkable level of imperialist bullying and hypocrisy.
US officials met with Venezuelan military to discuss coup plot
By Alexander Fangmann, 10 September 2018
Washington’s involvement in yet another Latin American coup plot makes plain the hypocrisy of the claims of Russian “meddling” by sections of the American bourgeoisie and media.
Mounting turmoil in emerging markets
By Nick Beams, 6 September 2018
The plunge in emerging market currencies is a product of the strengthening of the dollar and the increase in US interest rates, which is sucking capital back into American markets.
Argentine government announces “emergency” measures to face deepening recession and growing unrest
By Andrea Lobo, 5 September 2018
In his speech Monday, President Macri declared that the market had supported Argentina for two years and warned that “poverty will increase.”
The burning down of Brazil’s national museum: A capitalist crime against the heritage of humanity
By Bill Van Auken, 4 September 2018
The devastating fire, entirely predictable and preventable, is emblematic of the criminal policies pursued by capitalism in Brazil, throughout Latin America and worldwide.
Anti-Venezuelan pogrom in northern Brazil highlights official promotion of the country’s far-right
By Miguel Andrade, 28 August 2018
At least 1,200 Venezuelans were chased to the border, after dozens of Brazilians torched a camp where Army soldiers were screening migrants.
Puerto Rico’s teachers hold one-day strike
By Shelley Connor, 24 August 2018
Puerto Rico teachers began the school year with a one-day protest against privatization and crumbling schools.
Venezuela’s Maduro government imposes capitalist shock therapy
By Bill Van Auken, 22 August 2018
Aimed at staving off an economic collapse, the plan places the full burden of the crisis on the backs of the Venezuelan working class.
Argentina on the brink of financial meltdown
By Cesar Uco, 22 August 2018
Following the collapse of the Turkish lira, Argentina has undertaken mega-devaluations, threatening an economic collapse.
Fascists stage pogromist march against Nicaraguan migrants in Costa Rica
By Andrea Lobo, 22 August 2018
Fascist thugs marched on Saturday in several major parks and avenues armed with knives, bats and Molotov cocktails to attack Nicaraguan migrants.
Leaked tapes confirm collusion of Peruvian justice system with drug cartels and state corruption
By Armando Cruz, 21 August 2018
The new scandal is yet another blow to a political and state establishment already massively discredited after the revelations of the Lava Jato scandal.
Presidential slates chosen for Brazil’s general elections: a warning to the working class
By Miguel Andrade, 18 August 2018
Whatever the result of the elections, the Brazilian political system will swing violently to the right, deepening the class war austerity measures initiated by the Workers Party’s (PT).
Facebook censors Telesur and Venezuela Analysis
By Andrea Lobo, 17 August 2018
As the Trump administration escalates its onslaught against Venezuela, technology corporations are stepping up censorship of sites critical of US policy.
Peru’s President Vizcarra calls for referendum amid corruption scandals
By Cesar Uco, 14 August 2018
In his speech to the nation, Vizcarra admitted that “the judicial system has collapsed” and the country faces “serious corruption of public administrative institutions.”
Latin American elites respond to trade war with desperate “roadmap” for regional trade bloc
By Andrea Lobo, 9 August 2018
The escalating trade-war measures between the major global economies are accentuating the rabid competition between Latin American ruling elites for investments and trade.
Mass strike erupts in Buenos Aires after two school workers die from gas explosion
By Andrea Lobo, 7 August 2018
While teachers saw the tragic event as evidence of the need to unite their struggles with other workers, the trade unions are seeking it to channel them behind bourgeois politics.
Venezuelan President Maduro charges right-wing opposition backed by Colombia with supposed assassination attempt
By Alexander Fangmann, 6 August 2018
Following explosions which occurred at a military parade in the Venezuelan capital, the government claims it has arrested some of those responsible, vowing “ruthless punishment” and “no forgiveness.”
Facebook deletes 87 accounts linked to Brazilian right as WhatsApp restricts messaging
By Miguel Andrade, 3 August 2018
Facebook, acting in deep coordination with the state and US imperialism, aims to legitimize police-state measures against social unrest and political opposition.
General strike and ongoing protests in Panama against electricity rate hike
By Andrea Lobo, 19 July 2018
As militancy grows among construction workers, teachers and the public sector as a whole, the trade unions are struggling to contain social opposition against new rate hikes and social austerity.
Ecuador’s government negotiating Julian Assange’s fate with the UK
By Bill Van Auken, 12 July 2018
The statements by Ecuador’s president and foreign minister come amid growing signs of Quito’s bowing to pressure from Washington.
Nicaragua sees bloodiest clashes yet after months of protest
By Bill Van Auken, 11 July 2018
Sandinista President Daniel Ortega publicly rejected calls for early elections as security forces and armed government supporters forcibly dismantled protesters’ barricades.
Mexican president-elect López Obrador embraced by Mexico’s business titans
By Don Knowland, 6 July 2018
Now that AMLO has won the election, he and Mexico’s most powerful business heads are going out of their way to promise they will work together for the “greater good.”
Mexico’s election deals devastating blow to old ruling parties
By Don Knowland, 3 July 2018
The sweep by López Obrador and his MORENA-led coalition is a debacle for the PRI, which governed the country from 1929 to 2000, and again for the last six years.
Less than 100 days before elections, half of Brazilians support no candidate
By Miguel Andrade, 3 July 2018
With just a 3 percent approval rating for current president Michel Temer, there is widespread distrust in the entire political system, which is moving sharply to the right.
Massive victory for Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexican elections
By Rafael Azul, 2 July 2018
The large support for AMLO and his Morena party is the product of widespread hostility to poverty, inequality, corruption and the militarization of society.
US financial board spars with Puerto Rican authorities over how best to pillage island
By Genevieve Leigh, 2 July 2018
Wall Street demands a fresh round of budget cuts as the social crisis on the US territory deepens.
Vice-President Pence threatens immigrants, Assange, and Venezuela during Latin America tour
By Andrea Lobo, 2 July 2018
Facing a popular outcry against inhumane treatment of immigrants, Pence pressed for policies that will only exacerbate the desperate conditions pushing thousands to flee north.
Leadership of Argentina’s Partido Obrero maintains silence on ties to right-wing Russian nationalism
By Bill Van Auken, 29 June 2018
As more information emerges about the right-wing connections of the Russian Stalinist introduced as a “comrade” in “refounding the Fourth International,” the leadership of the PO has maintained complete silence.
Far-right candidate elected as Colombia becomes NATO “global partner”
By Andrea Lobo, 27 June 2018
Parallel to the rise of far-right forces in Europe and the US, the coming to power of Iván Duque represents a stark warning for workers in Colombia.
Lopez Obrador maintains large lead in Mexican presidential election polls
By Don Knowland, 27 June 2018
Morena and its coalition could sweep Congress, and threaten the continued viability of other parties.
Argentine workers stage massive general strike against Macri’s austerity policies
By Rafael Azul, 26 June 2018
Total work stoppages shut down municipal transit, banks and airports throughout Argentina Monday.
Peru’s new president Vizcarra joins with Fujimorista opposition to impose austerity
By Armando Cruz, 25 June 2018
The Vizcarra-Villanueva government intends to impose the new cuts to government spending and new taxes on the working population being demanded by international finance.
Parents of 43 disappeared Mexican students demand reopening of investigation
By Rafael Azul, 12 June 2018
A panel of judges found that the original investigation of the Ayotzinapa case was incomplete and fraudulent.
Workers Party in Argentina seeks to “refound” Fourth International in alliance with Stalinism
By Eric London and Bill Van Auken, 7 June 2018
The attempt to create an international tendency based on suppressing the lessons of the history of the Fourth International can result only in the betrayal of the working class.
Death toll rises as volcanic eruption buries entire towns in Guatemala
By Andrea Lobo, 5 June 2018
When such natural disasters strike a society built on capitalist exploitation and extreme inequality, the poorest and most vulnerable always pay the heaviest price.
Petrobras chief resigns as Brazilian truckers end strike
By Miguel Andrade, 4 June 2018
The truckers' blockades were supported by an overwhelming majority as an act of resistance against the economic suffering endured by hundreds of millions of Brazilians.
At least eight dead after shooters fire on mass Mother’s Day demonstration in Nicaragua
By Andrea Lobo, 2 June 2018
The violent crackdown on what was likely the largest single demonstration since 1979 is a growing sign of escalation.
Argentina’s Socialist Workers Party (PTS) denounces Brazilian truckers strike
By Eric London, 1 June 2018
The PTS labeled the strike as right-wing, solidarizing itself with the government’s repressive measures.
Brazilian truck drivers reject union-government attempt to shut down strike
By Eric London and Miguel Andrade, 30 May 2018
The government has sought to block the spread of social unrest with a ruling Tuesday that a planned strike by oil workers is illegal.
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.
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