Today is the 101st anniversary of International Women's Day, a date to celebrate the achievements of women around the world. Yet it’s also an occasion to keep in mind that challenges still remain for women to overcome in areas like gender equality and socioeconomic opportunities.
Recently Newsweek selected its list of “150 Fearless Women” that included numerous figures from Latin America including the presidents of Argentina (Cristina Fernandez) and Brazil (Dilma Rousseff). Others chosen for the list may not be heads of state but their activism has not gone unnoticed. One of these women is Camila Vallejo.
The 23-year-old undergraduate student became the face of last year’s protests for educational reform in demonstrations. “The head of the student revolution shook up a nation and a continent,” according to Newsweek’s description of Vallejo though she does not lead the main student protest group anymore, Vallejo has continued to campaign for the rights of students to a fair and worthwhile education.
Vallejo’s selection to the Newsweek list, along with ex-president Michelle Bachelet, has not been viewed favorably by some of Chile’s politicos. Yet in a year of protests ranging from the Occupied movement in the U.S. to the civilian revolts in the Middle East, Vallejo represented to her supporters a symbol of the strength and activism of women:
Online Sources- Newsweek, La Tercera, UPI
Video Source – YouTube via AFP
Showing posts with label Camila Vallejo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Camila Vallejo. Show all posts
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Daily Headlines: January 16, 2012
* Guatemala: Former general Otto Perez Molina, who was sworn-in as president on Saturday, ordered the army to combat drug cartels and "neutralize organized crime".
* Venezuela: The foreign ministry confirmed the closing of the Venezuelan consulate in Miami days after the U.S. expelled the office’s consul general due to allegations of a “possible cyber-attack”.
* Chile: Will student protest leader Camila Vallejo run for the Chilean congress next year?
* U.S.: Daimler AG issued an apology over the use of an image of Ernesto “Che” Guevara to promote Mercedes-Benz autos.
Video Source – YouTube via Associated Press (Gunmen killed congressman Oscar Valentin Leal Caal on the eve of the presidential inauguration of Otto Perez Molina).
Online Sources- Reuters, CBS News, Toronto Star, Mercopress
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Daily Headlines: December 15, 2011
* Chile: Student protest leader Camila Vallejo was named by a nationwide poll as Chile’s Person of the Year.
* Brazil: Federal prosecutors in Brazil are seeking the suspension of operations of Transocean and Chevron as well as $10.6 billion in environmental and social damages.
* Cuba: The National Endowment for Democracy gave their annual humanitarian award to the late Cuban dissident Laura Pollan.
* Colombia: According to the Vatican Radio, Pope Benedict XVI called for the freeing of all the hostages held against their will by Colombian guerillas.
Image Source – Flickr via gpoo
Online Sources – Santiago Times, MSNBC, UPI, Bloomberg
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