Since early June some 500 teachers have been blocking the IEEPO (New State Institute of Public Education of Oaxaca) demanding a negotiating table to discuss education reform, but police have responded with tear gas to evict the protesters.

According to a report released on June 9th by the World Bank, of the six countries in Central America, Guatemala is the least urbanized.

Chile is selling its first bond whose profits will be used specifically to finance projects led by women.

Authorities of the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES) defended a proposal in the Uruguayan Parliament to help eradicate gender-based violence.

Maracaibo was once considered the coldest city in Venezuela due to the its extensive use of air conditioning, but the current rationing of electricity has caused distress to Maracaibo which experiences high temperatures and humidity year round.

In Guatemala, governmental indifference to sex tourism has led to its reputation as a “paradise” for sexually exploitative activity.

As various agreements are reached, the end is in sight for agricultural strikes protesting the increase of neoliberal policies and the government’s failure to fulfill previous promises. However, concurrent strikes by the truck drivers’ union threaten to raise inflation rates and undermine President Juan Manuel Santos’ approval ratings.

The frequency of rape and violence against women is part of the cultural landscape in Brazil.

As Mexico moves forward into the reality of marriage equality, not all levels of government are being cooperative.  The Executive and Judicial branches of the federal government must now step in to protect the marriage rights of same-sex couples all over the country. 

The office of the United Nations (UN) in Bolivia extended its congratulations to the Bolivian government “for bringing into force the Gender Identity Law that permits the transsexual and transgender population of the country to exercise their right to personal identity.”