Americas News

On November 3, close to a hundred demonstrators protested the US blockade of Cuba at San Francisco's Federal building. The action was timed to coordinate with the UN's 185 to 2 vote to condemn the US economic war against Cuba. After music and speeches, the demonstrators marched to, appropriately, United Nations Plaza and held another rally in front of the statue of Simon Bolivar, a hero of South America's liberation struggles.

An anonymous communiqué reads: On January 18, as strong winds raged, 30+ anti-racists attacked the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in San Francisco. We thoroughly painted the walls, smashed the windows, and breached the building to wreak havoc inside.... We join all prisoners and ICE detainees who continue to fight by way of hunger strikes, escapes, and riots against repression and neglect from the State. We see you, we hear you, until every prison door and border wall is open. Solidarity means attack!

Two decades is a long time and a lot has happened in the movement for global justice since the first Independent Media Center was established in preparation for the World Trade Organization protests that began in Seattle on November 30, 1999. The global IMC network exploded on the scene in cities around the world within a few years of N30. It didn't come easy, though. Volunteers have been arrested, jailed, maimed, and even killed by state forces. While the network has contracted in the intervening years, Independent Media Centers continue to make major contributions supporting worldwide struggles for justice.

Chilean high school students began to protest a fare hike on the subway system of Santiago by jumping turnstiles en masse on October 6. Protests against economic inequality quickly spread across Chile and escalated to huge public demonstrations and work strikes. In response, Chilean president Sebastián Piñera directed police and military to use violence against protesters. Thousands have been arrested and injured, including hundreds who have lost sight because the Chilean military is targeting protesters' eyes. Actions in solidarity with the people of Chile have been held around the world, including several in San Francisco.

The Amazon is burning at an unprecedented speed. Ranchers and cattle farmers are burning territory, clearing it, and creating pastures for cattle and big agriculture to take over and buy their property. On August 30, San Francisco's Montgomery Street, normally the home of plundering corporations, became the venue of Amazon peoples' worship and demands to save their world, and ours. Montgomery Street was quickly sealed off with a street-wide banner at the 300 building, site of the Brazilian consulate.