Displaying items by tag: South America

Friday, 15 September 2017 09:16

Venezuela: food shortages and poverty

Despite being an oil-rich country, Venezuela has record levels of child malnutrition as it experiences severe shortages of food and an inflation rate of over 700%. The crippling economic crisis means that eating meat is a luxury for many, but the government believes it has the answer with a plan to breed and consume rabbits - ‘because rabbits breed like rabbits’, as President Maduro joked on state television when introducing the idea. A recent survey showed that nearly 75% of the population lost an average 19 pounds in weight from lack of proper nutrition because of poverty. Maduro said people needed to understand that the rabbit is not just a pet, it is 2.5 kilos of meat with high protein and no cholesterol. The IMF said voracious inflation will climb to 720% this year. Poor Venezuelans spend 10% of their income to buy a kilo of meat. See also

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 01 September 2017 10:37

Peru: social injustice

Social injustice occurs nationally, regionally and locally from unequal wealth and resource distribution, and unfair treatment of individuals of differing race or culture with laws that support exclusion. On 25 August an indigenous people living on Peru's largest oil-field concession threatened to block the government from accessing their territories, and to halt production unless a rights law is implemented within twenty days. They fear big oil concerns taking and destroying their homes while unequal government regulation considers profit of more value than people. The so-called ‘prior consultation law’, passed in 2011, requires the Peruvian government to seek free, prior and informed consent from indigenous groups before approving any development plans which might affect them. Tribal leaders accuse the government of refusing to carry out the consultation process while it negotiates a new thirty-year contract for Block 192 in the Peruvian Amazon with a Canadian firm whose current agreement expires in August.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 30 June 2017 14:48

Venezuela: grenade attack on Supreme Court

Venezuela's Supreme Court has been attacked by grenades dropped from a stolen police helicopter, in what President Nicolás Maduro called a ‘terrorist attack’. The court is regularly criticised by the Venezuelan opposition for its rulings which bolster Mr Maduro's hold on power. The policeman who piloted the helicopter issued a statement denouncing the ‘criminal government’. His whereabouts are unknown. Four grenades were dropped on the court, and 15 shots were fired at the interior ministry; one grenade failed to detonate. No injuries were reported. The pilot said on Instagram: ‘We don't belong to any political tendency or party. We are nationalists, patriots and institutionalists. The fight is not against the security forces but is against the impunity of this government. It is against tyranny.’ There is a question as to whether this attack might be a prelude to a coup attempt.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 19 May 2017 12:34

Venezuela: desperate humanitarian disaster

Thousands scavenge on the streets for scraps of food. Masses wait in long queues for basic necessities that are largely unaffordable and unavailable. Venezuela's economic crisis is now a humanitarian disaster. 82% live in poverty. There are massive food shortages. Three-quarters eat less than two meals per day. There has been a sharp rise in infant mortality, maternal deaths, malaria, and diphtheria. 85% of medicine is in short supply. There have been demonstrations against the government which have become increasingly violent. President Maduro has prosecuted political rivals under terrorism laws, and on 14 May the Supreme Court tried to dissolve the national legislature, which is led by the political opposition. Beneath all this is a spiritual battle. Venezuela is the least church-going country in Latin America. Many, even within the Church, dabble in Spiritism. New Age spirituality is on the rise, and Satanists actively seek to destroy the Church.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 28 April 2017 02:55

Growth of evangelical churches in Brazil

Pastor Marcio Antonio stands at the pulpit in a one-room evangelical church built precariously above barbed wire fences and illegally hung electrical cables, exhorting his flock in a Brazilian favela to improve their morals. A former drug dealer in Cantagalo, an informally built hillside settlement where most residents lack official property rights, Pastor Antonio and his flock at the Assembly of God Church are part of a growing trend. Evangelical churches are expanding rapidly in Brazil, home to the world's largest Catholic community, especially in poor favelas. These communities, which developed from squatter settlements, often do not have the same services as formal Brazilian neighbourhoods in terms of healthcare, sanitation, transportation or formal property registration. ‘The government doesn't help us so God is the only option for the poor’, Pastor Antonio, 37, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation following his Sunday sermon.

Published in Praise Reports

82% of Venezuelans live in poverty. Opposition lawmakers attempted to fire judges accused of a judicial ‘coup’ to keep socialist President Nicolas Maduro in power. Youths build barricades, burn rubbish and hurl rocks at soldiers and police, who respond with tear gas and water cannon, in the political turmoil. This violent political crisis is raising concerns for democracy and stability in this volatile major oil-exporting country. While Venezuelan churches usually ask parishioners to help spread peace and love throughout their communities, now in Caracas the Episcopal Church’s bishops are calling parishioners to support violence against the government. They handed out leaflets last Sunday, calling on members to participate in civil disobedience against President Maduro and the ruling United Socialist Party. The leaflet said, ‘It is time to ask very seriously and responsibly if civil disobedience, peaceful demonstrations, just claims to national and international public powers, and civic protests are not valid and timely.’ The Church called the government ‘morally unacceptable and therefore reprehensible.’ See

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 07 April 2017 10:15

Paraguay: unrest

In 2014 shocking corruption was reported in Paraguay. The frontrunner in the presidential election, Horacio Cartes, described as a homophobe, was jailed after accusations of currency fraud, investigated for alleged tax evasion, and widely accused of drug trafficking. He is now President Cartes, attempting to run for office again in 2018. This decision led to protests and violent unrest. Police killed one protester. Cartes’ attempt to seek the second term in office has been through behind-the-scenes wrangling. By constitutional law he should not run for office again. The first round of talks to settle the volatile political crisis around his attempt for re-election ended with no progress on Wednesday. Oxfam reports that 90% of the land is owned by 5% of the population. The government talks about presidential re-election and constitutional amendments while the people are without schools or health services. See

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 24 March 2017 08:44

Ecuador: politics and the Church

Ecuadorians have suffered from poverty and the instability of political turmoil for a long time. Even now, the people are waiting anxiously to see who will win the presidential run-off on 2 April. Many have searched for hope and stability in something greater than politics.As a result, many have turned to Jesus for answers. Once home to the smallest percentage of evangelicals in Latin America, Ecuador now boasts over 1.2 million believers! This growth has been miraculous - particularly among groups like the Quichua and the Waorani. But even amidst these miraculous movements, the Church battles division and widespread false teachings, and the nation continues to suffer from political instability, corruption, and poverty. Ecuador stands at a pivotal moment, both politically and spiritually. Prayer can change the outcome.

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 24 March 2017 08:25

Peru: worst floods for two decades

As the death toll climbs to 72 from floods and mudslides in Peru, experts say the rainy season could last another two weeks. To date, over half a million people in and around the country's capital, Lima, have been affected by the storms and flooding. Pray for the thousands forced to evacuate hundreds of thousands of homes. Pray for those attempting to repair the seriously damaged infrastructure, with hundreds of bridges destroyed. These have been Peru’s worst floods in recent memory. ‘We are confronting a serious climatic problem,’ said President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. The disaster came after a period of severe drought and is blamed on abnormally high Pacific Ocean temperatures. The country is ill-prepared for the growing challenges of climate change. The disaster affects more than half the nation. See also

Published in Worldwide
Friday, 03 February 2017 08:53

Colombia: rebels help to eradicate coca

Colombia has announced a crop substitution programme to eradicate the raw material for cocaine. The Farc rebel group relied on cocaine production to fund its insurgency and controlled much of the industry, but a joint programme between rebels and the government will offer farmers monthly payments if they voluntarily destroy their crops. They will also be offered loans and guidance about planting alternatives such as fruit trees and cacao. This was agreed as part of Colombia's peace accord, which was finally ratified in December. The government will invest $340m (£271m), which would benefit 50,000 families. The target is to destroy 100,000 hectares this year, to bring coca levels down. But the preferred strategy is winning over the estimated 64,000 peasant families dependent on the coca trade. ‘This is much more cost-efficient, and furthermore ensures that territories are transformed and people's lives are changed’, said a government representative.

Published in Worldwide
Page 3 of 3