Gabrielle Chenault | Local and World Editor
Throughout the continents and various countries, a revolution no matter how big or small has occurred. A revolution is the citizens’ way of fixing their country. The form of government they have in place has either discriminated against a group or the leader is simply not fit for office.
Revolutions such as the American Revolution influenced others around the world to do the same. In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the amount of revolutions in Latin America, and these growing revolutions could influence our country in a big way.
Two Latin America countries, Peru and Ecuador, have recently received a lot of social media attention due to the uprisings in their countries.
In Peru, the citizens are protesting a corrupt and unresponsive government along with the rise in crime.
In Ecuador, the citizens are protesting a fuel hike. The state of their government is falling apart, and many have died due to excessive force from police officers. In the most recent protest, according to a Miami Herald article, “at least seven people had died and 1,507 had been injured.’’
As protests continue with the hopes of kicking out the government, the death toll will potentially continue to rise.
Colombian citizens had been fighting a brutal civil war for decades until President Barack Obama and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos made a deal to end the conflict that ended in June 2016. Last week, one of the descendants of the people who signed this agreement made a startling announcement.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) stated they were “taking up weapons again and would fight the government for better conditions for former combatants.” This is very worrisome because it could potentially start another uprising in a country that is trying to piece itself back together.
Most recently, Chilean President Sebashtion Pinerau dismissed his entire cabinet following the protest in Chile. The country was formally in a curfew due to the violent protest.
BBC announced in an article that “at least 17 people had been killed and hundreds injured since the anti-inequality protest began.” About 5% of the population had marched to the capital to demand an equal and unified Chile. This was the biggest demonstration since democracy was restored in 1990.
The recent protest in these various Latin American countries is having an effect on immigration in the United States. As more and more citizens of these counties flee due to rebel forces attempting to take control and the violent protest, they are fleeing to the U.S.
There was a large caravan of people fleeing persecution from countries such as El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala in 2018. As protests and uprisings continue, the size of these caravans will only grow. As immigration laws become more and more strict, it makes us wonder if anything will be done to help the citizens that are caught in the crossfire.
The Hampton Script 