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Articles by Heather Gies
Covering and Uncovering Latin America’s Media Struggles
This piece appeared in the Winter 2021 issue of NACLA's quarterly print magazine, the NACLA Report. Subscribe in print today! In the January 1969 issue of the NACLA Newsletter, founding Naclista Jon Frappier traced the webs of U.S. media empire in Latin America. Facing saturation in the domestic market, U.S. media corporations began expanding in the 1960s into Latin America’s growing television sector.
Against Forgetting
This piece appeared in the Summer 2021 issue of NACLA's quarterly print magazine, the NACLA Report. Subscribe in print today! On the 45th anniversary of the 1976 military coup in Argentina, leaders in the struggle for memory and justice asked supporters to stay off the streets for the second year in a row.
Dispossession, Resistance, and Solidarity in Central America
This piece appeared in the Winter 2020 issue of NACLA's quarterly print magazine, the NACLA Report. Subscribe in print today! In a 1973 issue on Central America, NACLA published a piece detailing how U.S. aid created, then destroyed, the Central American Common Market.
Dispossession, Resistance, and Solidarity in Central America
In a 1973 issue on Central America, NACLA published a piece detailing how U.S. aid created, then destroyed, the Central American Common Market.
NACLA Report on the Americas
Editor’s note editorial Pages: 233-235 Published online: 27 Aug 2020 First Page Preview | Full Text | PDF (546 KB) | Permissions 0Views 0CrossRef citations Altmetric Around the Region Article Pages: 236-240 Published online: 27 Aug 2020 First Page Preview | Full Text | PDF (3649 KB) 0Views 0CrossRef citations Altmetric Article Pages: 241-245 Published online: 27 Aug 2020 First Page Preview | Full Text | PDF (1312 KB) 0Views 0CrossRef citations Altmetric Article Pages: 246-251 Published...
Solo el Pueblo Salva al Pueblo
The pandemic of the novel coronavirus that began in 2019 has radically reshaped our world. While the effect has been devastating, people have adapted by continuing to craft their lifeways creatively, thereby recasting what it means to engage in political activism and resistance to neoliberal capitalism.
Bailouts Are Coming. Here’s How to Make Them Fair.
If are going taxpayers bail out big business, we need to insist that they keep workers on payroll—and pay them fairly. By Bryce Covert for The Nation Today 5:59 am fb tw mail Print msg wa sms An employee wearing a mask walks through a nearly empty check-in area at Logan International Airport in Boston. (David L. Ryan / The Boston Globe via Getty Images) EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service.
‘Just Keep the Faith’: Workers are Stepping Up to Beat Coronavirus
From hospital wards to bus routes to a ventilator plant in Wisconsin, workers are giving their all. By John NicholsTwitter Today 5:30 am fb tw mail Print msg wa sms A bus driver for Detroit, Michigan's city bus line during the coronavirus pandemic. (Seth Herald / AFP via Getty Images) EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service.
‘Maybe if I Had Papers, It Would Have Been Different’: Undocumented During a Pandemic
The crisis is putting undocumented and migrant communities in the crosshairs. By Heather Gies and John Washington March 25, 2020 fb tw mail Print msg wa sms Bookmark A delivery worker wears protective gloves and a face mask as he rides through traffic, March 23, 2020, in New York. (John Minchillo / AP Photo) EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service.
Radical Cities in Latin America: Past and Present
Even before Hugo Chávez and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva rose to national power and kicked off discussions of a Pink Tide, scholars and activists celebrated the municipal alternative in Latin America, where Porto Alegre’s participatory budgeting and El Alto’s cooperatives set the horizon of possibility.
Victor Jara Iconic Music 'Unbreakable' Despite Brutal Silencing
Norwegian singer-songwriter Pål Moddi Knutsen weathered a time when he “lost faith in music as a weapon,” but uncovering the power of songs once suppressed and the stories behind them opened new doors that drew him to discover that politics, too, can be beautiful, and that music, even if censored, is stronger than silence.
A quiet Trump administration rule change could allow a federal union-busting spree
The Trump administration has proposed a change in rules governing union membership for federal government workers that could embolden federal agencies to discourage staff from joining or remaining in their union. The proposed rule, published in the Federal Register on Friday, would enable federal workers to drop union membership — and opt out of paying membership dues — at any point after their first year of membership.
The U.S. Virgin Islands Becomes The First American Jurisdiction to Ban Common Chemical Sunscreens
A Gorgonian sea fan on a coral reef. (Source: Emily Irving-Swift/Getty Images) Beachgoers in the U.S. Virgin Islands will be slathering on more ecologically friendly sunscreens next year after lawmakers voted to ban common chemical sunscreen ingredients that can damage coral reefs. With the ban, the U.S. Virgin Islands joins a handful of other jurisdictions around the world pioneering action on harmful sunscreens.
A Quiet Trump Administration Rule Change Could Allow a Federal Union-Busting Spree
Thursday, Jul 18, 2019, 2:38 pm BY Heather Gies J. David Cox Sr., president of the American Federation of Government Employees, holds up his fist as he speaks to federal workers before their 35 minute silent protest in the Hart Senate Office Building to call on law makers and President Trump to keep the government open on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019.
A Quiet Trump Administration Rule Change Could Allow a Federal Union-Busting Spree
Thursday, Jul 18, 2019, 2:38 pm BY Heather Gies J. David Cox Sr., president of the American Federation of Government Employees, holds up his fist as he speaks to federal workers before their 35 minute silent protest in the Hart Senate Office Building to call on law makers and President Trump to keep the government open on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019.
Quiet Trump Administration Rule Change Could Allow Federal Union-Busting Spree
The Trump administration has proposed a change in rules governing union membership for federal government workers that could embolden federal agencies to discourage staff from joining or remaining in their union. The proposed rule, published in the Federal Register on Friday, would enable federal workers to drop union membership — and opt out of paying membership dues — at any point after their first year of membership.
Corruption and Crisis in Post-Coup Honduras (Interview)
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A blow but not fatal: 9 months after Janus, AFSCME reports 94% retention
The labor union in the crosshairs of the right wing-led effort to gut public sector unions through a landmark Supreme Court case released new membership data Wednesday showing a decline that experts say could mark the beginning of larger losses, but is far shy of a fatal blow. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) reported a 6 percent loss last year, down from 1,411,877 members, agency fee payers and retirees in 2017 to 1,329,594 in 2018.
El Salvador: Justice demanded for 1982 killing of Dutch reporters
San Salvador - When Saskia ter Laag visited the spot where Salvadoran soldiers shot her brother, Hans, while he reported on El Salvador's civil war 37 years ago, she felt peace, but not closure. In 1982, the Salvadoran military ambushed and killed four Dutch journalists - Koos Koster, Jan Kuiper, Joop Willemsen, and Hans ter Laag - alongside the Salvadoran rebel fighters accompanying them as they headed behind rebel lines in northwestern department of Chalatenango to cover the conflict for...
On Opening Week: Labor Solidarity and the Plight of Minor League Baseball Players
In Minnesota the beginning of the baseball season marks the thawing of multi story snow banks and treacherous icecaked sidewalks. The excitement of championship possibility is palpable as is the promise of warm afternoons lounging in the sunshine enjoying the Minnesota Twins’ open air stadium. As the political environment throughout the country continues to deteriorate more and more people are finding their political voice and are speaking out for things that matter to them.
A Blow But Not Fatal: 9 Months After Janus, AFSCME Reports 94% Membership Retention
Wednesday, Mar 27, 2019, 6:48 pm · edit BY Heather Gies Janus has caused some losses, but has by no means crushed the powerful public-sector union. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) The labor union at the center of the right wing-led effort to gut public sector unions through a landmark Supreme Court case released new membership data Wednesday showing a decline that experts say could mark the beginning of larger losses, but is far shy of a fatal blow.
Cubans approve a new Constitution: What does the vote mean?
Cuban voters ratified a new Constitution on Sunday that legalises the free market in a vote that saw a growing portion of the population express dissent compared with the island's last constitutional referendum in 1976. In Sunday's ballot, 86.85 percent voted in favour of the new Constitution while nine percent voted against it. Spoiled or blank ballots made up 4.15 percent of ballots cast.
Cubans vote on new constitution to replace Cold War-era charter
Cubans will head to the polls on Sunday to vote in a referendum on a draft constitution to update its 1976 charter on the heels of significant economic reforms on the island over the past several years. The new constitution, approved in the National Assembly late last year after a popular consultation, enshrines private property and promotes foreign investment.
Cuba's constitutional referendum: What you should know
Cubans will decide on Sunday whether to accept or reject a draft new constitution that recognises the free market while still enshrining communism as the island's official political ideology. The National Assembly approved the updated version of the Cold War-era 1976 constitution in December after a popular consultation process.
Honduran Teen Fled Gangs at Home Only to Be Murdered While Stranded at the U.S.-Mexico Border
Sixteen-year-old Jorge Alexander Ruiz took off alone in the middle of the night from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to escape pressure to join a gang. Sitting outside the shelter for unaccompanied minors where he was staying in Tijuana, in early December, waiting for a chance to request asylum at the U.S. port of entry, he recalled the menacing words that drove him to catch a 1:30 a.m. bus to Guatemala. “‘You’re going to work for us for free,’” a gang member threatened him. “‘Or you want to die?
El Salvador elections: Nayib Bukele takes strong lead
San Salvador, El Salvador - Early results in El Salvador's presidential elections show a big lead for Nayib Bukele, who presented himself as an alternative to the traditional parties that have long dominated the country's polarised politics. The 37-year-old former public relations executive and ex-San Salvador mayor held 53.4 percent of Sunday's vote, with 80 percent of ballot boxes counted. Carlos Calleja, of the conservative Nation Republican Alliance (ARENA), followed with 31.8 percent.
Salvadorans head to polls to elect new president
San Salvador, El Salvador - Salvadorans headed to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president in the small Central American country where insecurity, a poor economic outlook, and high-profile corruption scandals top voters' concerns.
El Salvador's presidential hopefuls skirt talking about violence
San Salvador, El Salvador - Insecurity and violence are top concerns among Salvadoran voters as they head to the polls on Sunday to choose their next president, but days ahead of the election, candidates have hardly confronted the topic of gang violence head-on. "It's an issue that all the candidates have avoided," Carlos Rodriguez, a deputy public defender with the office of El Salvador's Human Rights Ombudsman, told Al Jazeera.
Will AMLO Respond to the Central American Exodus With Compassion-Or Militarization?
As thousands of Central Americans continued to join an exodus headed toward Mexico and the United States, government officials from the region met in San Salvador on January 15 to discuss the details of a foreign assistance plan Mexico ambitiously claims will address the root causes of migration by funding job-creation and poverty-reduction in Central America and southern Mexico.
Will AMLO Respond to the Central American Exodus With Compassion-Or Militarization?
Mexico’s new progressive president says he has a just immigration plan. But critics say it’s flawed. U.S. funding for the region continues to support state security forces with track records of human rights abuses and violent repression of social movements.
'Migration isn't going to stop': Salvadorans join new caravans
San Salvador - Alex Gonzalez decided to flee El Salvador at the last minute. Waking up from nightmares of being chased and killed reflecting his real-life fears of becoming a victim of gang violence, he packed a small bag and left home the same day to join the latest caravan of migrants and refugees headed north from Central America.
Disaster Averted: How Unions Have Dodged the Blow of Janus (So Far)
Public-sector unions defied the Right’s attempt to crush them—and were transformed in the process. Janus could also spark a labor surge. "It might generate a higher level of union activism. If that happens, what they’ve intended to do here may backfire." Months after the Supreme Court’s June 2018 Janus v. AFSCME decision, public-sector unions are not teetering on the brink of collapse, as their detractors may have hoped. The consensus is that good preparation softened the initial blow.
Facing a U.S. Asylum Bottleneck, Central Americans Find Work in Tijuana Instead
Fifty-one-year old Hector Baca left Honduras with the migrant caravan eager to find work. Whether exceptionally industrious or just plain lucky to have had a decent job fall in his lap almost immediately in Tijuana, he is one of hundreds of Central Americans now working or actively seeking a job south of the U.S. border to set up a life in Mexico—at least for now. The sun is barely up, and Baca already has a steady stream of buyers lining up at the cart where he sells coffee and bread.
Born Into Rebellion: How Dignidad y Resistencia Merge Music and Liberation
Four young women don red and white huipiles and black ski masks as they command the attention of over 7000 attendees at the inaugural International Artistic, Political, Sporting, and Cultural Gathering of Women who Struggle earlier this Spring in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. Armed with a trio of instruments and powered mics, Dignidad y Resistencia launches into corridos about revolt, independence, and oppression in the style of musica norteña.
The kids aren't alright — when being young is a crime in El Salvador
When Daniel Alemán walked free after spending over a year behind bars on trumped-up extortion charges in El Salvador, his family handed him a soccer ball. He had an unfinished game waiting for him from the day police plucked him from his favorite pastime near his home in territory controlled by a faction of the Barrio 18 street gang. But for his safety, the 23-year-old never returned home. Now, his family wants to get him out of the country.
The kids aren't alright — when being young is a crime in El Salvador
When Daniel Alemán walked free after spending over a year behind bars on trumped-up extortion charges in El Salvador, his family handed him a soccer ball. He had an unfinished game waiting for him from the day police plucked him from his favorite pastime near his home in territory controlled by a faction of the Barrio 18 street gang. But for his safety, the 23-year-old never returned home. Now, his family wants to get him out of the country.
The kids aren't alright — when being young is a crime in El Salvador
When Daniel Alemán walked free after spending over a year behind bars on trumped-up extortion charges in El Salvador, his family handed him a soccer ball. He had an unfinished game waiting for him from the day police plucked him from his favorite pastime near his home in territory controlled by a faction of the Barrio 18 street gang. But for his safety, the 23-year-old never returned home. Now, his family wants to get him out of the country.
The kids aren't alright — when being young is a crime in El Salvador
When Daniel Alemán walked free after spending over a year behind bars on trumped-up extortion charges in El Salvador, his family handed him a soccer ball. He had an unfinished game waiting for him from the day police plucked him from his favorite pastime near his home in territory controlled by a faction of the Barrio 18 street gang. But for his safety, the 23-year-old never returned home. Now, his family wants to get him out of the country.
The kids aren't alright — when being young is a crime in El Salvador
When Daniel Alemán walked free after spending over a year behind bars on trumped-up extortion charges in El Salvador, his family handed him a soccer ball. He had an unfinished game waiting for him from the day police plucked him from his favorite pastime near his home in territory controlled by a faction of the Barrio 18 street gang. But for his safety, the 23-year-old never returned home. Now, his family wants to get him out of the country.
The kids aren't alright — when being young is a crime in El Salvador
When Daniel Alemán walked free after spending over a year behind bars on trumped-up extortion charges in El Salvador, his family handed him a soccer ball. He had an unfinished game waiting for him from the day police plucked him from his favorite pastime near his home in territory controlled by a faction of the Barrio 18 street gang. But for his safety, the 23-year-old never returned home. Now, his family wants to get him out of the country.
The kids aren't alright — when being young is a crime in El Salvador
When Daniel Alemán walked free after spending over a year behind bars on trumped-up extortion charges in El Salvador, his family handed him a soccer ball. He had an unfinished game waiting for him from the day police plucked him from his favorite pastime near his home in territory controlled by a faction of the Barrio 18 street gang. But for his safety, the 23-year-old never returned home. Now, his family wants to get him out of the country.
The kids aren't alright — when being young is a crime in El Salvador
When Daniel Alemán walked free after spending over a year behind bars on trumped-up extortion charges in El Salvador, his family handed him a soccer ball. He had an unfinished game waiting for him from the day police plucked him from his favorite pastime near his home in territory controlled by a faction of the Barrio 18 street gang. But for his safety, the 23-year-old never returned home. Now, his family wants to get him out of the country.
Once lush, El Salvador is dangerously close to running out of water
As the sun comes up through a thick morning fog, Teresa Serrano joins other women from her community gathering around a natural spring nestled in the rolling hills of the Cabañas region. Here, in remote north-central El Salvador, they bathe, wash clothes, and prepare food. Today, Serrano waited until dawn to fetch water, but when the worst dry spells hit, she and her neighbors trek to the spring even earlier in the day.
Once lush, El Salvador is dangerously close to running out of water
ByHeather Gies Photographs byJane Hahn Published November 2, 2018 • 15 min read San SalvadorAs the sun comes up through a thick morning fog, Teresa Serrano joins other women from her community gathering around a natural spring nestled in the rolling hills of the Cabañas region. Here, in remote north-central El Salvador, they bathe, wash clothes, and prepare food.
Our food system is built on exploitation. Now farmworkers are saying “no more”
For Rosalinda Guillén, everything begins with food — and that means paying close attention to the treatment of workers at the foundation of the food system. Standing recently on the steps of city hall in Bellingham, Washington, Guillén urged local lawmakers to defend the rights of undocumented farmworkers living and working in Whatcom County, home to 1,702 farms sprawled over more than 115,000 acres.
Our Food System Is Built on Exploitation. Now Farmworkers Are Saying “No More.”
For Rosalinda Guillén, everything begins with food—and that means paying close attention to the treatment of workers at the foundation of the food system. Standing recently on the steps of city hall in Bellingham, Washington, Guillén urged local lawmakers to defend the rights of undocumented farmworkers living and working in Whatcom County, home to 1,702 farms sprawled over more than 115,000 acres.
Our Food System Is Built on Exploitation. Now Farmworkers Are Saying “No More.”
For Rosalinda Guillén, everything begins with food—and that means paying close attention to the treatment of workers at the foundation of the food system. Standing recently on the steps of city hall in Bellingham, Washington, Guillén urged local lawmakers to defend the rights of undocumented farmworkers living and working in Whatcom County, home to 1,702 farms sprawled over more than 115,000 acres.
Unions can protect workers from deportation. Here’s how
After more than two decades living, working, and building a family in the United States, Cesar Rodriguez feels his life is in limbo. The driver for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach from El Salvador is one of more than 300,000 immigrants at risk of losing their temporary legal status in the U.S. after the Trump administration scrapped the program for a handful of countries. “I’m a trucker, and I make my living with my license. Without my license, I lose my job,” Rodriguez told In These Times.
Unions Can Protect Workers From Deportation
After more than two decades living, working, and building a family in the United States, Cesar Rodriguez feels his life is in limbo. The driver for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach from El Salvador is one of more than 300,000 immigrants at risk of losing their temporary legal status in the US after the Trump administration scrapped the program for a handful of countries. “I’m a trucker, and I make my living with my license. Without my license, I lose my job,” Rodriguez told In These Times.
Agroecology as a Tool of Sovereignty and Resilience in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria
Even before Hurricane Maria devastated the island back in September 2017, Puerto Rico already imported 85 percent of its food. Local farming declined decades ago amid U.S.-led industrialization on the island, following a shift away from diversified small-scale farms to plantation agriculture. An ailing economy, austerity, and the fact that 44 percent of Puerto Ricans lived below the poverty line all deepened household food insecurity.
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