Strike paralyzes Buenos Aires
In a 24-hour strike on August 8, thousands of workers in
major Argentine cities idled factories, paralyzed
transportation, and left hospitals on emergency service only.
Police dispersed strikers at five downtown squares in Buenos
Aires, attacking some with truncheons, and detained 53 union
activists who were setting up soup kitchens to feed striking
workers. Bus, train, subway, and air transportation were
sporadic due to the walkout. According to the Associated Press,
between 80 and 90 percent of workers stayed off their jobs in
other large cities.
It was the fourth general strike the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) has called against the austerity policies of Argentine president Carlos Menem, which have led to massive layoffs and unemployment exceeding 17 percent. The strike was called after the government announced cuts in family allowance benefits and new taxes on widely used meal vouchers.
Mexico gas blast kills 17
A chain of explosions at the state-owned PEMEX Cactus natural
gas plant near the town of Reforma, Chiapas, killed at least 6
workers and injured 30 on July 26. Local officials put the
number of those killed to 17. The facility is the largest
natural gas plant in Mexico and one of the biggest in Latin
America. The explosion flattened two plants that produce 30
percent of the country's natural gas. On Feb. 16, 1995, an
explosion at another gas plant killed nine workers and injured
many more. The Cactus plant had five serious accidents in the
last 20 years, with the worst disaster in November 1984 in San
Juanico that killed 410 people.
The explosion came as PEMEX announced a hefty profit increase. The New York Times reported the deadly catastrophe under the headline "Blast Mars Pemex's 22% Earnings Gain."
Colombia farmers in revolt
Small farmers protesting the eradication of their coca crops
in Colombia's southern region of Putumayo have maintained a
tense standoff with government forces since two farmers were
killed and 26 people wounded in clashes in late July. The
conflict flared up after military police hurled tear gas into a
crowd of 8,000 people trying to take control of the airport at
Puerto Asi's in Putumayo, near the border with Ecuador. The
farmers are angry because Colombian authorities began burning
and spraying fields where coca was grown without offering the
farmers support other than promises of low-interest loans to
plant other crops.
Washington has been pressuring the Colombian government with threats of economic sanctions, alleging President Ernesto Samper has not taken harsh enough measures against cocaine trafficking. The White House "decertified" the Colombian government's antidrug program March 1, opening the possibility of sanctions. These could include tariffs of as much as 50 percent on goods imported from Colombia and cancellation of flights to Miami or New York by Avianca, the main Colombian airline.
Paris pushes social cuts
The French government announced plans August 7 to slash
spending on social programs by $12 billion. The prime
minister's office said it had set this "unprecedented" objective
to achieve a spending freeze in 1997. Paris says this is
necessary meet the Maastricht criteria for the European Union
common currency. French budget minister Alain Lamassoure, said
the cuts would mean a reduction of 6,500- 7,000 public sector
workers. Last fall, hundreds of thousands took to the streets
to protest similar cuts, pushing back the government's plans.
The Financial Times of London reported nervousness in big-
business circles that this year's cuts will spark similar
protests.
Chechens ruin Yeltsin inaugural
In the largest rebel offensive in five months, fighting
continued between Chechen guerrillas and Russian occupation
forces in the capital city of Grozny. Chechen forces, which
have been fighting for their nation's independence for three
years, took control of the city August 7. They captured two
major militia stations, key roads, a rail terminal, and the
central telephone exchange, and besieged the fortified
headquarters of the Russian-installed authorities. The Moscow
daily Izvestia reported that Grozny was practically controlled
by pro-independence forces. According to Russian military
officials, the Chechen fighters were aided by local sympathizers
and defectors from police units of the pro-Moscow government.
Moscow resumed its assault on Chechnya less than a week after Russian president Boris Yeltsin was re-elected June 16, breaking the election campaign cease-fire. Ending the unpopular war was a cornerstone of Yeltsin's campaign, which was backed by Washington. Moscow was put on the defensive by the Chechen counterblow, which put a severe tarnish on Yeltsin's August 9 inauguration. "The Russians should know that the war is not over," rebel leader Modlavi Udugov declared on television.
Israeli gov't OKs settlements
On August 2 the Israeli government lifted a four-year freeze
on expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Newly elected prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his
government was implementing its policy of "consolidating and
developing the settlement enterprise." Nabil Abu Rdainah,
spokesperson for Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat, responded,
"This decision is a violation of the agreements. They are
endangering the whole peace process." Palestinian legislator
Hatem Abdel-Kader said the decision "means that the people will
no longer accept the peace process and will express their
frustration on the streets."
Workers win strikes in S. Africa
After a week-long strike in Johannesburg, 80,000 South
African textile workers returned to work August 7 having won a 9
percent pay raise. Miners also returned to work at the
Rustenburg platinum mines, the world's largest, after Anglo
American corporation dismissed all 28,000 workers. The strikers
were demanding repayment of their income tax and unemployment
fund contributions. The average level of wage settlements per
year increased in 1995 for the first time since 1992. Annual
rounds of wage talks are in full swing for other industries.
Clinton signs Iran sanctions
Under the banner of fighting "terrorism," U.S. president
William Clinton signed legislation August 5 imposing economic
sanctions on companies that make $40 million or more in new
investments in Iranian or Libyan oil and gas development. The
law, which requires the president to impose two from a list of
seven sanctions including denial of U.S. markets, has drawn
sharp criticism from governments in Europe.
Italian, German, French, Spanish, British and Austrian oil companies all have large investments in Libya, a major supplier of light crude oil for European consumers. The French firm Total has been active in both Libya and Iran. Bonn and Paris immediately condemned the measure and government representatives at a June meeting of the European Union declared the right to retaliate if Washington tried to punish companies doing business with Iran or Libya.
Texas court shifts voting districts
A federal court redrew nearly half the congressional
districts in Texas August 7, ordering new elections in November.
The court ruled that three predominantly Black and Latino
districts were drawn with too much weight given to race. It
decreed new district boundaries, seven in Houston and six in
Dallas, and threw out the June primary election results. Nearly
one-third of the state's voters could be affected. Two months
earlier, in a blow to voting rights, the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled as unconstitutional the 12th Congressional District in
North Carolina, a majority Black voting district.
- MEGAN ARNEY
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