While social conservatives push to further criminalize abortion rights in the U.S., women in Latin America are fighting on both sides of the law to save lives. In Latin American countries where abortion is illegal or inaccessible, thousands of women die each year from forced life-threatening pregnancies, unsafe abortions and suicide due to pregnancy.
Abortion is illegal or prohibitively restricted in most of Latin America. While even pro-woman governments and politicians in Latin America struggle against strong opposition to legalizing abortion, women and activists across the continent are safely taking access to chemical abortion out of the clinic and into their own hands.
In the brine under a crust of blindingly white salt in Uyuni, Bolivia, lies nearly 50 percent of the world's lithium reserves. Best known as a tourist attraction, the Salar is gaining fame as batteries made with this scarce element catch the attention of governments and auto-makers world wide. Salt Piles at the Salar de Uyuni
While President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and their appointees emphasize a return to diplomacy in foreign relations, so far they show little inclination to be diplomatic toward leftist governments in Latin America. In fact, recent comments by Obama, Clinton and recent appointees show a continuation of an antiquated analysis and a lack of understanding of recent Latin American social movements and regional integration.
In Paraguay, where 1 percent of the population owns 77 percent of all arable land, corrupt agrarian reform and the booming soybean industry is leading the country towards an industrial agricultural export model that leaves no room for small food producers. While many Paraguayancampesino families have moved into urban peripheries, tenacious farmers have fought not only for their right to land, but also to redefine and recreate the agricultural model based on cooperative, organic and people-friendly alternatives. Campesino Removes Soy Crops
When the U.S. Air Force Southern Command's 10-year usage rights for US Planes at Manta
Copyright Toward Freedom 2019