By Ben Dangl Originally published on July 16, 2012 in TowardFreedom.com Each bullet hole on the downtown Asunción, Paraguay light posts tells a story. Some of them are from civil wars decades ago, some from successful and unsuccessful coups, others from police crackdowns. The size of the hole, the angle of the ricochet, all tell…
By Ben Dangl Originally published on August 7, 2012 at TowardFreedom.com Rain or shine, every Thursday in Asunción, Paraguay, activists gather to protest the right-wing government of Federico Franco which came to power in a June 22 parliamentary coup against left-leaning president Fernando Lugo. These weekly protests represent a new spirit and strategy of protest in…
By Ben Dangl Originally published on JULY 25, 2012 at TowardFreedom.com In a July 22nd speech marking the one month anniversary of the parliamentary coup that overthrow left-leaning Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, the former leader denounced that a motivating interest among the coup-plotters was a sought-after deal between Paraguay and the Montreal-based mining company, Rio Tinto Alcan. “Those who…
Written by Benjamin Dangl Saturday, 02 May 2009 Workers and activists gathered in the central plaza of Asunción, Paraguay on May 1st to commemorate International Workers Day. Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo marked the day by raising the minimum wage by 5%, half of what many of the unions present were demanding. But another piece of…
By Benjamin Dangl Wednesday, 01 August 2007 Two soldiers in Paraguay stand in front of a camera. One of them holds an automatic weapon. John Lennon’s “Imagine” plays in the background. This Orwellian juxtaposition of war and peace is from a new video posted online by US soldiers stationed in Paraguay. The video footage and…
Written by April Howard and Benjamin Dangl Wednesday, 17 October 2007 Source: EXTRA! Ciudad del Este, Paraguay When we arrived in Ciudad del Este, we were petrified. After all, we were in the Paraguayan city known in the American press as a “Jungle Hub for World’s Outlaws” (L.A. Times, 8/24/98), and a “hotbed” “teeming with…
Written by Benjamin Dangl and April Howard Wednesday, 20 February 2008 Source: NACLA Report on the Americas Blanca Ovelar Now that much of Latin America has shifted to the left, Paraguay remains a key Washington ally. The country’s political landscape continues to be dominated by the Colorado Party, which has been in power for 61…
Written by April Howard & Benjamin Dangl Friday, 11 April 2008 Candidates Blanca Ovelar, Fernando Lugo & Lino Oviedo Fernando Lugo, a bearded, left-leaning bishop is expected to win Paraguay’s historic presidential election on April 20th, upsetting a 60-year rule by the right wing Colorado Party. While escaping the heat of the Paraguayan sun by…
Written by Benjamin Dangl, The Nation Tuesday, 18 July 2006 While hitchhiking across Paraguay a few years ago, I met welcoming farmers who let me camp in their backyards. I eventually arrived in Ciudad del Este, known for its black markets and loose borders. Now the city and farmers I met are caught in the…
Written by Benjamin Dangl Wednesday, 16 November 2005 G.W. Bush and Evo Morales The recent shift to the left among Latin American governments has been a cause for concern in the Bush administration. The White House has tried in vain to put this shift in check. Presidential elections in Bolivia on December 18th are likely…