Free speech is enshrined in the constitution. But in reality, those with power and influence can stifle critical debate and reporting. It’s time to overhaul the system, says Rafael Spuldar
On the ground: Sao Paulo
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CATEGORY: Americas
Brazilian indians go online to demand their rights are protected
Brazil’s indigenous peoples are increasingly using the internet to fight for their rights, says Rafael Spuldar
“Crime-inducing” miniskirts banned in Mexican border town
Ciudad Acuña, a tiny town on the Mexican side of Del Rio, Texas, has been in the news regularly because of drug-related violence. The town, resides in the state of Coahuila, which has been dominated by the ultra-violent Zetas. A competing...
Brazilian schoolgirl threatened with death for Facebook page exposing school problems
A thirteen-year old Brazilian girl claims she has faced death threats through a Facebook community page she created to denounce problems in her school. Isadora Faber created Diário de Classe (or “Classroom Diary”) in July 2012 to “show the truth about public schools,” as she writes on the page description, leading her to become an internet celebrity and a teen champion of free speech through new media. Isadora filled the page with updates on life at Maria Tomázia Coelho School in Florianópolis — capital of the southern state of Santa Catarina — addressing problems in the school including exposed wires, damaged doors, transparency issues and improper teaching practice. On 17 February, Isadora alerted her 581,000 subscribers to a message published on Diário de […]
Ruling on satirical site highlights Brazil’s takedown culture
In an appeal on 20 February, a judge ruled that a banned blog that criticised Brazil’s most influential daily newspaper should remain offline. The case has been deemed by critics as an example of judicial and financial harassment by big Brazilian...
Yoani Sánchez: Living the life
In this Index on Censorship magazine interview from 2011, the celebrated Cuban blogger talks to Nick Caistor and Amanda Hopkinson
Cuban dissident faces protests during Brazil tour
Cuban dissident and blogger Yoani Sánchez is having a hard time on her visit to Brazil, facing demonstrations by pro-Castro protesters. One of the most prominent free-speech Cuban activists, Sánchez arrived in Brazil on Sunday (17 February) for a round of conferences and events in the northeastern state of Bahia and federal capital Brasília. On Monday 18 February, Sánchez was at Feira de Santana (in Bahia) where she would attend a presentation of a documentary about the Cuban regime, but the violence of the protestors caused the event to be cancelled. The demonstrators accused Sánchez’s blog Generación Y of spreading anti-Cuban propaganda. Some of the protesters went as far as denouncing her as a representative of imperialism and a CIA agent. Senator […]
Mexico City topples statue of a former Azerbaijani dictator
Until a couple of months ago, few in Mexico City knew who Heydar Aliyev was, and even fewer of those were aware that a marble and bronze statue erected in his honour sat smack in the middle of Reforma Avenue, one of Mexico’s most recognised streets. A plaque standing before the statue detailed the former president of Azerbaijan’s “loyalty to the universal ideals of world peace”. But the presence of the dead dictator sparked controversy in Mexico City. The conflict over how Mexico City accepted $5 million dollars from Azerbaijan to build the statue, as well as a park, has been brewing since November. The agreement to build the statue was reached by the leftist government of the Partido de la Revolucion […]
Mexico City topples statue of a former Azerbaijani dictator
Until a couple of months ago, few in Mexico City knew who Heydar Aliyev was, and even fewer of those were aware that a marble and bronze statue erected in his honour sat smack in the middle of Reforma Avenue, one of Mexico’s most recognised streets. A plaque standing before the statue detailed the former president of Azerbaijan’s “loyalty to the universal ideals of world peace”. But the presence of the dead dictator sparked controversy in Mexico City. The conflict over how Mexico City accepted $5 million dollars from Azerbaijan to build the statue, as well as a park, has been brewing since November. The agreement to build the statue was reached by the leftist government of the Partido de la Revolucion […]
Report calls Brazil the “the country of thirty Berlusconis”
A report issued by world-wide non-profit organization Reporters Without Borders denounced Brazil's ever-worsening landscape for journalists --- citing violence and legal harassment against media professionals, as well as the heavy concentration of...