On January 16, Julio David González Arango, an Indigenous land defender involved in peaceful resistance to a mining operation in Guatemala, was shot in his home. The next day, two other defenders – Juan Eduardo Donis and Pablo Adolfo Valenzuela – received text messages saying that “they would be next.” Tragically, this incident is all too familiar to activists and human rights …
Averting a Coronavirus-Induced Ethnocide in Latin America
This year August 9th – International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples – comes at a critical moment. Far from hospitals and news cameras, indigenous people in Latin America are contracting COVID-19 and dying without access to the means needed to protect themselves. The pandemic has yet to reach its peak in the region and the virus is spreading from urban …
Feminist leadership in action
Tamsin Smith interviews Damaris Ruiz, Yohanka Valdes, and Maritza Gallardo Lopez, from Oxfam’s Latin America & Caribbean (LAC) Regional Women’s Rights and Gender Justice group. They share five ways they are bringing feminist learning into the centre of our organization. Formed five years ago, the LAC Regional Women’s Rights and Gender Justice group comprises Oxfam staff and members of feminist …
In the name of love: Act to end intimate partner violence
‘When someone starts hurting us “in the name of love” it’s time to change partners.’ As we mark the 16 days of activism against gender based violence Catalina Ruiz explains how Oxfam in Bolivia is campaigning against violence in relationships. A few months ago, in Bolivia, Oxfam brought together young activists from across the country as part of a campaign …