Rejection of Bolsonaro’s threat to put an end to activism in Brazil
Nearly 3,000 national and international NGOs, collectives and social movements rejected presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro’s remark indicating that, if elected, he would “end all activism in Brazil.” We explain the reasons why this represents a threat to democracy in the following statement of repudiation.
Pressure increasing on Argentine civil society, a vital force for change
Argentina is consolidating rollbacks in some key areas of social contestation, with cases of violent police responses to public assemblies, increased judicial persecution of activists and organisers, and a political discourse supporting them both.
WTO meeting in Argentina: Rejected accreditations and deportations
The government rejected the accreditations of 65 people who planned to participate in the WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires and sent the list to immigration officials as a security “alert.” Two people on the list were ultimately deported.
Government must scrap decision to exclude civil society from the WTO Ministerial Conference
The Argentine government has revoked the accreditation of key civil society actors before the World Trade Organization. It attempted to justify this action by admitting it was based on an analysis of organizations’ social networks that aimed to exclude those considered “disruptive.” CELS and other organizations jointly submitted a letter requesting that this decision be rescinded.