Venezuela: the university contributes to neighborhood life
Posted on the walls of downtown, we saw recently: “Students from the department of social training for civic development, at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela, have the pleasure to invite you, neighbors, to participate in a town hall meeting Saturday, 18 November 2006, at 2 AM, at the corner of Santa Rosa Street. Stop by. We count on your support.” The poster sparked an active interest, with about thirty participants from the Sarria “barrio”, located near the entrance to a shantytown in the center of Caracas.

Bolivian peasants urge the parliament to vote
“Down with corporate agriculture,” protests the native population. In Bolivia, 87% of agricultural lands are in the hands of about 7% of farmers. But things are beginning to change: these peasants have decided to support the president of the republic, marching all the way to La Paz, the country’s capital, united under the banner of organizations like CSUTCB, CIDOB, and MST-Bolivia.

Honduran fishermen protect the environment
“Don’t fish in our waters!” That is the cry of the fishermen from the Bay of Chismuyo, in southern Honduras, in response to increasingly harmful shrimping industrials, with their devastating ecological activities. This new environmental awareness has come about through the environmental education campaign led by the Committee for the Protection and Development of the Fauna and Flora of the Gulf of Fonseca (CODDEFFAGOLF).

Mexico: appeals for the school have mobilized the Popular Assembly
Since the middle of last December, many prisoners have been released in the state of Oaxaca, which has been seen as a great victory in Mexico. What did the authorities find them guilty of? Nothing criminal; only supporting teachers on a strike that was harshly suppressed by the state governor, Ulises Ruiz, and for belonging to the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO).

Mobilizing the Peruvian elite in the fight against poverty
The editorial committee of the journal Quehacer is convinced of the influential power of their readers on public opinion: 30% of them are prominent individuals in the fields of business, politics, society, and religion. The publications that identify themselves as alternative are numerous in Peru, but the distinct feature of the bimestrial edited by DESCO, Center for Research and Promotion of Development, is that it is aimed at everybody: the broad population as well as intellectuals.

Cuba, traveling theatre troupe lays the foundations of a cultural community
Clowns, actors, drummers, dancers, jugglers - standing on stilts or disguised as popular celebrities - stroll down the main street of Cumanayagua, a town in the province of Cienfuegos. It is November in Cuba, and it is the opening of the Eighth “Montagne Biennial”. Along a kilometer-long route, members of the Los Elementos troupe, along with members of other companies, meet more than 1 000 spectators.

Joël Girard, popular philosopher for fair economy in Brazil
Born in France, and currently living in Camaragibe, in the Recife metropolitan area, Joël has become “Brazilianized” over time. Only the occasional use of literally translated French expressions gives away his background. For Benoît, who worked with him, it is difficult to describe this colorful person and his eccentric life story.