Central America

Rafael de la Rubia, international spokesman for the World March for peace and non-violence, wanted to celebrate the International Day for Human Rights. He is doing so from El Salvador, where he is currently with the World March Base Team. In a press release, he proposes that the right to peace be considered a human right.

Different residents from the communities of San Marcos walked with the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. The residents made their concerns known to the Base Team of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence about acts committed by the transnational company Union Fenosa in the department of San Marcos in Guatemala.

Manuel Zelaya criticized the position of various governments, among them the United States, for supporting the efforts to “whitewash” the coup d’etat of June 28. In a letter to presidents of the Americas, to the OAS and to the UN, Zelaya referred to the countries that recognized the election carried out in Honduras under the de facto regime.

During November 156 new members joined the movement of local authorities
demanding the elimination of all nuclear weapons by 2020. As of December
1st Mayors for Peace counts 3,396 member cities and municipalities in
134 countries and regions. This latest sharp increase of members is an
encouragement for Mayors for Peace.

The Obama administration is moving further away from its stated support for the reinstatement of the ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Porfirio Lobo, a wealthy landowner, emerged victorious with 55 percent of the vote. Zelaya’s supporters boycotted the election, and many Latin American countries have refused to recognize its outcome.

(PL) Some 110 candidates for mayor and 55 candidates for congress will withdraw from elections set for next November 29 in Honduras as a protest against the military coup, announced one of the withdrawing candidates today. A candidate for the legislature until today, Alfredo Montalbán explained that the decision was adopted by candidates opposed to last June’s coup d’etat.

Between the months of May and August 2010 distinguished long-distance swimmer from the Dominican Republic Marcos Díaz will be crossing between all the various continents in a UN-supported campaign aimed at raising awareness against poverty. The swimmer spoke at the United Nations on the challenges posed by the initiative.

Rodrigo Carazo Odio, the former president of Costa Rica and founder of the Universidad de la Paz (University for Peace), dedicated to the instruction of professionals and academics in global peace policies and strategies, endorses the *Charter for a World without Violence* drafted by the Nobel Peace Laureates.
Costa Rica, has not had an army since 1948.

From 25 to 31 October, Jamaica will be the seat of the V Ministerial Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean on Agriculture and Rural Life in the Americas. This Summit’s priority will be to encourage a reassessment of agriculture and the rural environment, in the face of development challenges and to favour urban-rural integration for improved development in those countries.

Rural and indigenous movements, along with teacher, student and worker organizations declared their rejection of the agreement, which could be signed on 30th October, between the Governments of Panama and the United States to reinstall military bases. The project falls under Plan Colombia, now the Mérida Initiative, designed by the North American Government.