To commemorate 500 years of resistance to colonialism, Walter Solon Romero produced a series of works on amate, a type of tree bark used by the mayas. Amongst the works is a painting on Taki Onqos, an indigenous movement in the 16th Century that was dismissed as a disease where people were said to dance until they died. In reality it was a movement of resistance against a harsh colonial rule, one that continues to inspire today.   more »

The international "Red Vida" network met in Cochabamba, the site of the first victory against water privatisation, to plan its strategy for the coming year. It dedicated itself to support ongoing struggles against Suez in Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico and Chile and to back communities suffering contamination from mining in Bolivia and Peru.   more »

Walden Bello argues that despite the rhetoric, developed and developing countries are closer to a new trade deal than we would think. Positions on services and access to industrial goods is closer than initially proclaimed, and small concessions by EU and the US to open up restrictions on skilled immigrant labour and to phase out agricultural export subsidies over a long time-table could prompt further movement and a deal that would harm the poor. He urges civil society to stand together to put pressure on Southern governments not to sign up to a bad deal.   more »

The Bolivian Government is negotiating in secret an agreement with the privatised water utility Aguas del Illimani Sociedad Anónima (AISA) that will see the firm escape popular demands for a full and transparent audit. In the secret document obtained by Bolpress, the Bolivian Government also promises not to use any evidence from the audit as proof in any legal processes.   more »

“We can’t allow our dreams to disappear at the hour of waking," wrote Walter Solón Romero. "If we have lost faith in the myths of the past, then we must construct new dreams." Nick Buxton explains why dreams and even the right to madness are vital in the struggle for a fairer world.   more »

According to various newspaper reports, the U.S. military is conducting secretive operations in Paraguay and reportedly building a new military base there. The US have officially denied this, but said the same thing in Ecuador before building an $80 million military base. It is noticeable that the base, if it does materialise, would be within easy striking distance of Bolivia's major gas reserves at a time of growing popular demands for nationalisation.   more »

“I have always painted to say something,” said Solón. “I don’t share the view that art is for art’s sake.” For Walter Solón Romero, art’s very purpose was not just to reflect but to expose a reality that we sometimes prefer not to see. The Fundación continues his work highlighting the reality of poverty and exclusion for many Bolivians, and the need to be involved in the struggle against policies such as unjust trade and privatisation of water that perpetuate this injustice.   more »