Tens of thousands in Argentina recently marked the 34th anniversary of the nation's bloody military dictatorship, flooding into the historic Plaza de Mayo with cries of nunca más, or never again. On March 24, 1976 the military ceased power and instituted one of Latin America's darkest chapters of terror. During the 1976-1983 junta, the military disappeared more than 30,000 people.
"'Where is Luciano Arruga?'" His mother, Monica Alegre, struggles to answer this question, responding with hopelessness and despair in her eyes, the look of a mother who has lost her child. Luciano Arruga is a 16-year old boy who was forcefully disappeared on January 31, 2009.Demanding Justice at Police Station
Worldwide, industrial mono-culture farming has displaced traditional food production and farmers, wreaking havoc on food prices and food sovereignty. This is particularly true for the global south, where land has been concentrated for crops destined for biodiesel and animal feed. In response, peasants and small farmers organized actions in more than 53 countries on October 15 for International Food Day as an initiative of Via Campesina, one of the largest independent social movement organizations, representing nearly 150 million people globally.
The increasing export of genetically modified crops is part of a regional trend with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay now adopting a soy-based economic model. Argentina has made a radical shift toward soy, which has displaced cultivation of many grains and vegetables and even its beef production, the nation's diet staple and renowned around the world. Once a highly industrialized nation and agriculturally diverse, Argentina now uses more than half of its total arable land for monoculture soy. March Against Soy
Lucio Urtubia could be described as a modern day Robin Hood, a man who stole from the rich to give to the poor. Lucio, a 76-year old Spanish anarchist and retired bricklayer carried out bank robberies, forgeries and endless actions against capitalism. His actions helped to fund liberation movements in Europe, the US and Latin America.Lucio Urtubia
Argentina has often been described as the bread basket of the Southern Cone, with plenty of fertile land for grains and cattle. In fact, the economy is based on agro-exports. But with soy production taking over massive tracks of land, producing food crops for domestic consumption has become an increasing challenge for the resource rich South American nation. With world food prices soaring, soy critics worry about Argentina's ability to feed its own people at affordable prices. At a Farmer Road Blockade in San Pedro
Copyright Toward Freedom 2019