With a New Year comes resolutions and it’s no different here at the Latin America Working Group office. U.S. policy towards our Latin American neighbors is, as usual, in need of a few New Year's resolutions. Will you join us in making these goals a reality? Check out the short video below to get an idea of exactly what we’ve got up our sleeve for 2013.
What does food justice mean to you? Have you ever wondered why, if the world produces enough food for everyone, there are close to 1 billion people left hungry? In Latin America alone, small farmers are undermined by mining and large-scale monoculture farming, not to mention harmful regional trading policies. When these small farmers and indigenous and Afro-Latino communities try to organize against these trends, they are met with violence and injustice. If you would like to help these communities in their quest for justice please consider registering for this year’s Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, D.C. on April 5th-8th where we will explore what it means to have food justice for the entire world.
Article 30 from the UN Declaration of Human rights states “No one can take away your rights.” Today, we will be celebrating International Human Rights Day and the 64th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Do you know what the 30 articles of Human Rights are? Just in case you need a refresher, watch the video below directed by Ani Boghossian, in honor of International Human Rights Day.
I know you have a lot going on. Whether it’s that big project at work or a 20-page paper for school, making dinner or getting the car fixed (or in my case, the bike!), free time is hard to come by.
But sometimes, we just need to take a break from everyday life, and do something that inspires us, rejuvenates us, and teaches us something we didn’t know before. For activists—especially those of us who are in it for the long haul—we need to renew our energy so we can continue our important work for justice and human rights.
That’s why we’re so excited to invite you to join us in Washington, DC on March 23-26th for Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2012, where you will hear women and men from across Latin America and the United States talk about the most pressing issue of our time: Economic Justice and Our National Priorities.
We need your help to support hundreds of indigenous families in Guatemala who are facing violence, homelessness, and starvation as a result of a brutal displacement.
by Vanessa Kritzer and Lisa Haugaardon March 17, 2011
Momentum is building fast in Washington to approve the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Colombia. Just today there were two hearings in Congress about it! But we cannot let this unfair agreement move forward.
by Lisa Haugaard, Mavis Anderson, and Jennifer Johnsonon March 31, 2010
We know you want to see a just U.S. foreign policy to Latin America.
We're working on it. But we need your help. We need you to stay active and keep those calls and letters coming. And we need you to generously support our work, with a non-tax-deductible gift to the LAWG for our advocacy efforts. Or give a tax-deductible gift to the LAWGEF for our educational work.
Although we rarely remember to celebrate it in the United States, today many of our partners in countries like Colombia, Mexico, and Guatemala are participating in marches, teach-ins, and even parties. Why? Because there are so many strong and brave women to honor and there's still so much more education to be done before we see equal rights and an end to violence against women in Latin America.
When the crisis in Haiti began, we were glad to know we could count on
you to join in raising the resources to help those in immediate need.
Going forward, we're going to need your voice to make sure that our
government and the international community take the necessary steps to
support Haiti as it begins the long road to recovery. Please start with
this urgent action from our friend Hayley Hathaway at the Jubilee USA Network:
In the wake of Haiti's unimaginable tragedy, one obvious and simple
step toward a just recovery is for the international community to
cancel Haiti's $1 billion debt.
Like us, you must be hearing the tale of loss and destruction coming from
Haiti and wondering what you can do to help. Here at the LAWG, we will
be working to encourage a generous response from the U.S. government to
this devastating earthquake, including for long-term reconstruction.
But right now, the most important action we can all take is to contribute to one of the many caring organizations providing relief.
I have just returned from Honduras, and I can tell you, there is no
possible way that there are the basic conditions for free and fair
elections on November 29th.
The democratically elected President, Manuel Zelaya, is back in
Honduras! During the past three days, thousands of people have been
gathering in the streets outside the Brazilian Embassy--where Zelaya is
currently staying--to show their support. But the Honduran security
forces have used tear gas and violence to break up this demonstration.
What does this mean for a concerned activist in the United States like you? If you were ever going to act, now is the time!
The situation in Honduras has only escalated since last week. Civilians in the streets of Tegucigalpa and throughout the country side continue to face brutal repression by military officials. Civil liberties remain gravely affected, including freedom of the press. We need you to contact your elected officials, and urge them to send the right message to the coup government currently in Honduras: Coups will not be tolerated.
by The Latin America Working Groupon July 10, 2009
The coup deposing democratically-elected President Manuel Zelaya that
took place in Honduras on June 28, 2009 has been condemned by the
Organization of American States and governments from around the
world --including the United States. Now the U.S. government needs to
stay on the right side of history and make its message unmistakable.
Will you take action to help ensure that the White House stands firmly
for democracy in Honduras and our Congress joins the deafening chorus
signaling, in no uncertain terms, that coups are a ghost of the past
and will not be tolerated?
*Please call your congressional representative. Tell her/him to support the Delahunt-McGovern House Resolution on Honduras!
We're working 'round the clock to promote a more just U.S. policy in
Latin America. But to make sure our voices are heard in the new
administration and Congress, we need to build a grassroots movement
that's BIGGER, LOUDER, and MORE EFFECTIVE.
by Lisa Haugaard and Travis Wheeleron November 12, 2008
Yes, friends, it is a moment of hope. But change never comes easy, and change in U.S. foreign policy is especially hard to come by. If we want to see foreign policies we can believe in, we need to organize to make any part of our dreams come true.
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