The US government under President Donald Trump has announced a comprehensive shakeup of the US development aid agency USAID. The talk ranges from restructuring or integration into the State Department to complete closure of the organization. Immediately after the announcement, USAID funding was frozen for an initial 90 days and thousands of employees and contractors worldwide are laid off. With the end of USAID as we know it, a fundamental upheaval in international development cooperation and democracy promotion is imminent.
Author: Solveig Richter

A punto de escalar: grupos indígenas se movilizan en contra del gobierno en Colombia
Desde el 10 de Marzo de 2019, grupos indígenas en el suroccidente Colombiano protestan. La actual radicalización de la Minga, demuestra no solamente la negligencia del gobierno y los temores de seguridad, sino que representa también un síntoma de los reclamos entre los grupos marginalizados: La Minga se convirtió rápidamente en un extenso movimiento con vías bloqueadas, en especial la vía Panamericana, con más de 20.000 personas involucradas y confrontaciones violentas con las fuerzas de seguridad nacional en los bloqueos. Esta movilización social en el medio de un conflicto violento con grupos armados está a punto de escalar violentamente, pero también ofrece una ventana de posibilidad para hacer presión al gobierno frente a nuevas reformas.

On the brink of escalation: indigenous groups mobilize against the government in Colombia
Since March 2019, indigenous people in the South-Western part of Colombia mobilize. Systematic neglect by the government and security fears have contributed to widespread grievances among marginalized groups in the country, explaining the radicalization of the Minga in the last weeks: It quickly became a broad movement with road blocks at the crucial Panamericana road with more than 20.000 people involved and violent confrontations with security forces. Given the specific setting with social mobilization in the midst of an ongoing conflict with armed groups, the Minga is on the brink of violent escalation. But it also offers a window of opportunity to pressure the government to further reforms.