Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
Protests are rocking Peru again. It’s a tumultuous saga of political corruption, a de-facto coup attempt, and democracy in turmoil. (To be honest, I’m still trying to wrap my head around what’s going on, who’s in the streets this week, and which demands are coming from whom.) One thing I can say, this type of embroiled upheaval with multiple factions using protest, demonstration, roadblocks, and strikes is becoming more common. In Bolivia, for example, a conservative farm region pulled out all those tactics after the left-wing government arrested their governor over his alleged involvement in the ousting of President Evo Morales in 2019. We’re seeing this pattern of a multi-chapter struggle in Sudan, too, where protesters kicked their 30-year dictatorship out in 2019, but are still organizing to get the military out of power and gain a full civilian-led government. I think one of our tasks as people who follow nonviolent movements is to learn to “read” them over time – not just in the first wave of an uprising.
In other Nonviolence News, Iraqis and Iranians held mass demonstrations on the anniversary of the US-backed assassination of General Soleimani. A transport strike in Tunisia brought the capital to a grinding halt. Half of the United Kingdom’s rail lines have been shut down by strikes. An Indigenous group in Texas is trying to halt the sprawl of SpaceX. Mexican hairdressers are running resistance salons that seek to “cut the patriarchy”. An Argentine artist is using inflated currency as canvases for paintings, realizing that it’s worth more as raw materials than as money.
A favorite story this week? The “Think Twice” Pledge that encourages US residents to learn alternatives to calling the police. Amidst brutality and racist shootings, this approach is likely to save lives. I also enjoyed the report that showed how painting crosswalks with murals protects pedestrians from traffic collisions. These kind of pragmatic, nonviolent solutions always make me feel like another world is not only possible, it’s right at our fingertips.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
Photo Credit: Protesters call for the resignation of President Boluarte in Peru.
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