Awasqa Editors’s Organisations
Articles by Awasqa Editors
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“Re-encuentro con la Pachamama” in Bolivia: An Environmental Response to the Climate Crisis?
Bolivia’s government marked the Day of Mother Earth—adopted internationally in 2009 through a UN resolution, thanks to Evo Morales’ stewardship—by launching an event called “Re-encuentro con la Pachamama.” The event was called forth by Bolivia’s Vice President David Choquehuanca, former foreign minister (2006-2017) and Aymara union and campesino organizer in the 1980s, whose leadership was…
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On Earth Day: The Fight Against Climate Disaster Investors
As we celebrate Earth Day and world leaders prepare to meet virtually for the Summit on Climate, advocates have fast-tracked their efforts to tackle investors who continue to pour billions into climate disaster. This strategy is proving to be effective as the culprits on fueling human rights and environmental violations are identified and targeted with…
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Indigenous Women Walk More Than 1000 Miles to Protect Mother Earth
The Movimiento de Mujeres Indígenas por el Buen Vivir [Indigenous Women Movement for “Well-Being”] have been walking in the Southern Cone since March 14 to defend Mother Earth. Traveling north for 1200 kilometers (746 miles) and south for 1900 kilometers (1180 miles), women representing 36 indigenous nations in Argentina organized to walk across the country…
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Ecuador: Indigenous Party and Organizations Call to Boycott Presidential Elections
FROM THE EDITORS: Ecuador is again in turmoil. The only indigenous party, Plurinational Unity Movement Pachakutik (MUPP) List 18, born from popular resistance in the 1990s, and most national indigenous organizations have publicly called people to void their vote, “Vote Null,” in the next round of presidential elections set for April 11. (Voting is compulsory…
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Brazilian Court Calls for $1 Million Daily Fine to End Illegal Mining in Indigenous Lands
A federal court in Brazil has ruled that unless illegal miners or garimpeiros are removed from Yanomami lands in the next 10 days, government institutions in Brazil will be fined $1 million reais (close to $182K in US dollars) until they comply with this order. This story has significant consequences on how Amazon forests are…
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Ecuador’s Water Rights Presidential Candidate
Ecuador’s first round of presidential elections took place on Sunday, February 7, leaving three finalists for the second round (yet to be defined, by a vote count): a self-appointed socialist, Andrés Arauz Galarza; an indigenous environmentalist, Yaku Pérez; and a banker, Guillermo Lasso. Yaku Pérez has shown in the days following the election that there…
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Elections Significance for Indigenous Peoples in Bolivia, Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, USA
The significance of democratic elections in 2020 for indigenous peoples go beyond electoral results. Wavering between the need for sovereignty/self-determination and democratic participation, indigenous people are finding themselves in places of power denied to them historically. After hundreds of years of noncitizenry, indigenous plurinational states are now shaping democracy. Below we summarize some of the…
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Guatemala: Freedom for Anastasia Mejía and Petrona Siy
FROM THE EDITORS: Awasqa joins the international call about the unjustified detention of the Xol Abaj Radio and TV’s director, Anastasia Mejía Tiriquiz, who has been in prison since September 22 in Guatemala. We have translated below a communiqué of Guatemalan organizations that are demanding her freedom, as well as that of the social leader…
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October, month of continental resistance
Across the continent Indigenous and Black peoples found themselves in multiple acts of resistance and decolonization this past October 12 weekend, in unanimous rejection of European conquerors ravaging the continent of Abya Yala since the 15th century. The month of October has become a symbol of resistance against the Spanish, English, and French empires that…
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Manufacturing Critical Geography for Social Struggle and Resistance
Interview with Gabriela Ruales, member of the Critical Geography Collective in Ecuador How was the Critical Geography Collective (Colectivo de Geografía Crítica) formed and what role do you play in accompanying indigenous peoples in the defense of their territories and against extractivism? The Colectivo de Geografía Crítica emerged in 2013, approximately 2012-2013, and was created…