Articles by Julie Varughese

Anti-imperialist organizations taking part in the Workers’ Summit of the Americas gathered June 12 in Tijuana at the Mexico-United States border in solidarity with the Sandinista, Cuban and Bolivarian Revolutions, in repudiation of the U.S./OAS-organized Summit of the Americas / credit: Kawsachun News / Twitter

3 Counter Summits Called on Public to Stand Against Biden Administration’s ‘Failed’ Summit of the Americas

Julie Varughese June 15, 2022 Julie Varughese

Many people on the left had followed the actions of the People's Summit for Democracy, the well-publicized counter event to the Summit of the Americas the Biden administration hosted last week. What some may not know is anti-imperialists held two other summits: One coalition of mainly Los Angeles-based organizations hosted actions in the city prior to the start of the People's Summit while another coalition organized the Workers' Summit of the Americas June 10-12 in Tijuana, Mexico, reports TF editor Julie Varughese.

How the 2021 national strike looked in Buenaventura, Colombia / credit: Black Agenda Report

Threats and Voter Intimidation Hush Colombians In Run-Up to Second-Round Presidential Election Season

Julie Varughese June 6, 2022 Julie Varughese

Observers of the first-round presidential elections in Colombia shared with Toward Freedom irregularities they encountered in Buenaventura, a predominantly Afro-descendant city on the Pacific coast. This comes as it appears a left-wing candidate who faces death threats is surging in a recent poll against his social-media-savvy competitor, reports TF Editor Julie Varughese.

Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro (right) announced in March Afro-Colombian activist Francia Márquez as his vice-presidential running mate on the Pacto Histórico ticket / credit: Twitter / Francia Márquez

Polls Put Left-Wing Candidates Facing Death Threats In the Lead to Win Colombia’s First-Round In Historic Presidential Election

Julie Varughese May 27, 2022 Julie Varughese

Onlookers say Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez's popularity might explain a surge in death threats against the Colombian candidates for president and vice president, respectively. The ticket is striking: Petro is a former guerilla-turned-elected-official while Márquez is an award-winning Afro-descendant activist. The pair have inspired people in the country, which has been torn apart by decades of paramilitary violence, partly due to being tied politically, militarily and economically to the United States, reports TF editor Julie Varughese.

Left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro (bottom left on the mic) addressing a crowd in Colombia / credit: Gustavo Petro

Colombian Presidential Candidate Gustavo Petro May Clinch a Win for the Left—But Will He Seek the Support of Afro-Descendant Francia Márquez?

Julie Varughese March 13, 2022 Julie Varughese

Many say the upcoming Colombian presidential election looks to be the most consequential in decades. Everyone Toward Freedom spoke to agreed militant-turned-politician Gustavo Petro is the strongest candidate on the left. But what role can Afro-descendant presidential candidate Francia Márquez play in building out a popular base of support for left-wing politics in conservative Colombia? TF Editor Julie Varughese reports.