April Howard, Author at Toward Freedom

City of Terror: Painting Paraguay’s ‘casbah’ as terror central

April Howard October 16, 2007 April Howard

Ciudad del Este, Paraguay

When we arrived in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay we were petrified. The U.S. media's portrayal of this city, the center of a zone on the frontiers of Argentina and Brazil known as the Tri-Border Area, left us expecting to see cars bombs exploding, terrorists training and American flags burning. We soon realized that picture painted by U.S. media was inaccurate.

Soy cultivation spells doom for Paraguayan campesinos

April Howard April 17, 2007 April Howard

Rural eastern Paraguay used to be full of jungle, small farms, schools and wildlife. Now it is a green sea of soybeans. The families, trees and birds are gone. The schools are empty. The air is filled with the toxic stench of the pesticides like paraquat and 2,4-D used to protect the soy crops.

Chiquita in Colombia: Terrorism Gone Bananas?

April Howard April 11, 2007 April Howard

What happens when "Business as Usual" clashes with the vocabulary of the "War on Terror"? We got a glimpse of one case this March when the Cincinnati-based Chiquita Brands International, Inc., paid a $25 million settlement to the United States Justice Department for paying off right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia, groups which Washington classifies as "terrorist organizations."

Paraguayan Women Fight to Change Agriculture and Patriarchy

April Howard March 13, 2007 April Howard

The state of Alto Paraná, Paraguay, sits on the triple frontier with Argentina and Brazil, an area which some Paraguayans know as the soy frontier. In the past 30 years, what was once jungle and small farms has become a vast sea of industrial soy plantations. On February 12, I spoke with three women who are working with ASAGRAPA to fight these corporations and the spread of industrial monoculture in Paraguay.

Nationalization Blues in Bolivia, Rock and Roll in Venezuela

April Howard February 14, 2007 April Howard

Evo Morales was arguably elected on the platform of nationalization. A country-wide protest deposed president Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada in 2003, and then kicked former vice-president Carlos Mesa out of the Presidential Palace in 2005.

Regional Elections in Peru Reject Politicians, Traditional Parties

April Howard December 6, 2006 April Howard

A soldier running from angry protesters died instantly when he fell off of a cliff, town offices were burned down, and one mayor escaped to Lima, claiming that his constituency was planning to lynch him. In spite of the Organization of American States' report of a normal election, Peruvian President Alan García called on the armed forces to quell violence across the country during and after regional elections held November 19, 2006.