Tag Archives: political coup

Brazilian Indigenous Activists Join Peruvian Comrades Fighting ‘Genocide Bill’

Opponents warn that the proposed legislation is “a naked land grab by the oil and gas industry” that critically imperils Peru’s uncontacted tribes.

By Brett Wilkins. Published 6-13-2023 by Common Dreams

Brazilian and Peruvian Indigenous leaders speak out against a proposed bill that critics say threatens unconctacted tribes during a June 13, 2023 press conference at the Peruvian Congress. (Photo: AIDESEP/Twitter)

A delegation of Indigenous leaders from Brazil is in Peru this week to join forces with their counterparts there who are fighting to stop proposed legislation many critics call the “genocide bill” due to fears its passage could result in uncontacted tribes being wiped out by fossil fuel companies and other rapacious resource extractors.

Members of the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (UNIVAJA), a coalition of tribes from the Amazon region, joined the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP) and the Regional Organization of Eastern Indigenous Peoples (ORPIO) on Tuesday during a joint session of Peru’s Congress ahead of a Wednesday meeting of a congressional decentralization committee debating 3518/2022-CR, a bill that would modify a law protecting uncontatced tribes.

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Ecuador’s Right-Wing President Dissolves Congress to ‘Stave Off Impeachment’

The head of the Andean nation’s largest Indigenous rights group accused President Guillermo Lasso of launching a “cowardly self-coup” and pushing the country toward an “imminent dictatorship.”

By Brett Wilkins. Published 5-17-2023 by Common Dreams

Guillermo Lasso’s inauguration in 2021 Photo: Asamblea Nacional del Ecuador/flickr/CC

Days before Ecuadorian lawmakers were expected to vote on removing him from office, Guillermo Lasso, Ecuador’s deeply unpopular right-wing president, dissolved the country’s National Assembly, a move progressive critics called a bid to avoid impeachment.

For the first time ever, Lasso invoked Article 148 of the Ecuadorian Constitution, which gives presidents the power to dissolve the legislature under certain circumstances, including legislative overreach and a “severe political crisis and domestic unrest.”

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Israeli Government Accused of ‘Assassinating Democracy’ With Proposed Judiciary Overhaul

“It is not necessary to send the Proud Boys to storm the Capitol to attempt a coup,” said one former Israeli ambassador. “Abusing a tiny legislative majority to crush the judiciary and the nature of Israel’s democracy is also a coup.”

By Brett Wilkins.  Published 1-5-2023 by Common Dreams

Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin, seen here in 2008, has proposed sweeping judiciary reforms widely condemned in his country and beyond. Photo: Reuven Kapuchinski,/Wikimedia Commons/CC

Israeli liberals and critics around the world sounded the alarm Thursday over a plan by Israel’s new far-right government to dramatically limit the power of the country’s judiciary, in part by allowing a simple parliamentary majority to overturn Supreme Court rulings.

On Wednesday, Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin—a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party—released a set of proposals he said were aimed at “strengthening democracy, rehabilitating governance, restoring faith in the judicial system, and rebalancing the three branches of government.” Continue reading

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Amid coup, countercoup claims – what really went down in Peru and why?

Clashes on the streets of Peru.
Ernesto Benavides/AFP via Getty Images)

 

Eduardo Gamarra, Florida International University

Peru has a new president following the ouster of former leader Pedro Castillo at the hands of the country’s Congress.

His removal followed an attempt by Castillo to cling to power by dissolving a Congress intent on impeaching him. Castillo’s opponents accused him of attempting a coup – a charge his supporters similarly levied in regards to his removal from office. The day ended with the former president in detention.

The Conversation asked Eduardo Gamarra, an expert on Latin American politics at Florida International University, to explain the wider context of Peru’s political crisis – and what could happen next. Continue reading

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Turning White House Into a ‘Fortress’? Federal Agents to Install ‘Non-Scalable’ Fence Just Before Election Day

“Does this feel like preparation for a peaceful transfer of power?”

By Kenny Stancil, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 11-2-2020

This additional fencing was put up during the George Floyd protests. Photo: Nick Confessore/Twitter

Federal authorities are reportedly planning to erect a “non-scalable” fence around the entire perimeter of the White House on Monday as law enforcement officials, including 250 national guardsmen put on standby, prepare for possible protests in the aftermath of Election Day.

NBC News White House Correspondent Geoff Bennett was the first to report on the latest White House fence construction plans. CNN confirmed the news, citing an unnamed source “with knowledge of the matter.” Continue reading

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A feminist blueprint for saving democracy in the US – and beyond

If Trump refuses to step down after the election, we’ll need to unite, mobilise and resist. Feminists from Belarus to Sudan can show us how.

By Yifat Susskind  Published 10-29-2020 by openDemocracy

A group of women link arms, shielding protestors from armed security forces who stand ready to detain them. Thousands of women, many dressed head to toe in white and holding flowers, line the streets in “chains of solidarity”.

These are the “Women in White”, who have mobilised in unprecedented numbers in Belarus, calling for the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko after his disputed re-election this August. Continue reading

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Unions Representing Hundreds of Thousands of Workers Prepare for General Strike If Trump Subverts Election Results

“Paired with people in the streets, a strike could help stop a GOP coup.”

By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 10-30-2020

Protests during Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017. Photo: Ted Eytan/flickr/CC

Dozens of labor unions have resolved to consider a general strike after Nov. 3 should President Donald Trump refuse to accept the results of the election or sabotage the counting of ballots, with organizers calling a work stoppage “the most powerful tool the movement has” to protect democracy.

The 100,000-member Rochester-Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation in New York was the first union federation to adopt a resolution this month stating that it would prepare for and hold “a general strike of all working people, if necessary, to ensure a constitutionally mandated peaceful transition of power as a result of the 2020 presidential elections.” Continue reading

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How to stop a coup in America

Here are ten ways to make sure democracy is respected in the US Presidential Election.

By    Published 9-18-2020 by Waging Nonviolence

Photo: Ted Eytan./flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0.

We have a president who has openly said he might not respect the outcome of our election. We have to be ready if he claims victory before votes are counted, tries to stop counting, or refuses to accept a loss.

Some days I feel confident it will happen. A poll showed over 75% of Democrats think this is possible—and a shocking 30% of Republicans do too! Continue reading

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Police in Bolivia Pepper Spray Journalist ‘On Purpose’ During Live Coverage of Anti-Coup Protests

“I hate to be the story because we are here to report on what is happening to the people in the amazing country,” said Al-Jazeera English senior correspondent Teresa Bo. “I hope it helps denounce that such practices cannot be tolerated. Not here not anywhere.”

By Jon Queally, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 11-16-2019

Teresa Bo, a senior correspondent for Al-Jazeera was sprayed directly in the face—clearly “on purpose,” she says—while covering anti-coup demonstrators in the city of La Paz, Bolivia on Friday, November 15, 2019. (Photo: Al-Jazeera/Screenshot)

Becoming part of the story she was seeking to cover, international news correspondent Teresa Bo was assaulted by Bolivian state security forces on Friday—shot directly in the face, while on camera, with tear gas or pepper spray.

Perpetrated while she was reporting for Al-Jazeera English in the city of La Paz—where ongoing streets protests erupted this week after a coup forced the resignation of the nation’s president Evo Morales—the attack on Bo, which occurred while she was giving an on-camera account of the protests, was caught on film. Continue reading

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As Bevin Refuses to Concede, Critics Warn Kentucky GOP ‘Totally Gearing Up to Steal’ Gubernatorial Election

“Pay attention. They’re going to try to steal the Kentucky election right out in the open, in front of everyone.”

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 11-6-2019

President Donald Trump and Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin greet supporters as they arrive at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., Aug. 21, 2019. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Dale Greer)

Kentucky’s Senate President Robert Stivers suggested Tuesday night that the close race between Gov. Matt Bevin and Democratic challenger Andy Beshear could ultimately be decided by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature, sparking warnings that the GOP could attempt to “steal” the election.

“There’s less than one-half of 1 percent, as I understand, separating the governor and [Beshear],” Stivers, a Republican, told reporters after Beshear declared victory. “We will follow the letter of the law and what various processes determine. Continue reading

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