Some 10,000 indigenous Mapuche activists and their supporters marched peacefully through the center of Santiago on Oct. 10, many dressed in traditional costumes and carrying flags. The march was called to mark the 519th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas—the start of the Spanish conquest. Manuel Díaz, spokesman for the indigenous organization Meli Witran Mapu told the Spanish news agency EFE that the day is one of mourning for his people, because it "signifies the arrival of the Spanish usurpers and all they brought with them, colonialism and imperialism."

A Colombian photographer whose photos of the Nukak tribe have helped publicize their plight has received threats, apparently from right-wing paramilitaries. Juan Pablo Gutiérrez had been working in the southern Colombian Amazon documenting the Nukak, whose lives have been devastated by the loss of their lands at the hands of armed groups and coca-growing colonists. Last month, Gutiérrez received an e-mail from a sender identified only as "Callon001," which read: "Stop fucking around [deje de joder] with your photos and your undesirable position as a human rights defender. You're a left-wing guerrilla dressed up as a photographer. We want you to know…that we are following your footsteps, we know where you live and where you’re going, and if you continue to fuck around, next time it won’t be a letter. We will come and find you in person." (Survival International, SI, Sept. 19)

More than 20 displaced indigenous Triqui members of the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala and followers of the organization Oaxacan Voices Constructing Autonomy and Freedom (VOCAL) were arrested by local police in the "official" municipality of Oaxaca de Juárez Oct. 3 for attempting to occupy a predio (land holding) at the community of San Martín Mexicapan. The occupation was the latest confrontation in an ongoing dispute in southern Mexico's Oaxaca state between the self-declared autonomous municipality and supporters of the "official" authorities. (La Jornada, Oct. 3)

Bolivia's Chamber of Deputies voted Oct. 11 to approve President Evo Morales' decision to halt a controversial road project through the country's eastern Amazon rainforest in order to consult with the local population. Chamber of Deputies president Héctor Arce said halting the project would open the way for an "informed dialogue" with the affected communities. Despite the vote—and a police attack on their camp last month—indigenous protesters who oppose the highway project said they would continue their cross-country march on La Paz. The march, numbering some 2,000, has advanced within 100 kilometers of La Paz, but has slowed in recent days, the lowland rainforest inhabitants being unaccustomed to the cold weather and thin air of the altiplano. March leaders said they would probably not arrive until next week, to allow this weekend's judicial elections to go ahead without interference. A march of counter-protesters in expected in La Paz tomorrow. (AFP, InfoBAE, Argentina, Oct. 11)

Tens of thousands of striking workers were joined by students in marches through cities across Colombia Oct. 7 to demand the right to unionize, public health care and education, and an end to labor contracting. In some cities the protesters were joined by rural workers, displaced people and indigenous communities demanding an end to the abuses they suffer at the hands of Colombia’s armed groups. In Bogotá, marches led by different unions and student organizations blocked traffic as they converged on Plaza Bolívar from points around the city. In Cali, over 10,000 marchers coverged on San Francisco square, while in Medellín different blocs took over the city streets in staggered marches throughout the day, the last lighting the way with torches.

McClatchy Newspapers' Pulitzer-winning reporter Roy Gutman writes from Baghdad Oct. 7 that an Anglican priest in the city is working with the US embassy in an effort to convince the remaining nine Jews in Iraq to flee the country, because their names have appeared in cables published last month by WikiLeaks. The Rev. Canon Andrew White said he first approached members of the Jewish community about the danger he believes they face after a local news story was published last month that made reference to the cables. "The US Embassy is desperately trying to get them out," White said. So far, however, only one—a regular confidante of the US embassy, according to the cables—has expressed interest in emigrating to the United States.

Another 32 bodies were found in three houses in the Mexican port city of Veracruz Oct. 7, the latest in a series of attacks on presumed members of Los Zetas narco-network by a rival group calling itself the Mata Zetas, or Zeta Killers. The Mata Zetas announced their existence in July, but made their presence known dramatically two weeks ago, leaving 35 bodies on a busy Veracruz highway during rush hour traffic. They later claimed responsibility for the massacre in a video posted to the Internet, in which hooded men presenting themselves as if at a press conference urged Veracruz residents to say 'no' to extortion and intimidation by the Zetas. But authorities say they believe the Mata Zetas are an arm of the New Generation cartel, which is resisting Zeta control of smuggling routes. "The phenomenon in Veracruz is a result of a rivalry between two criminal groups," said President Felipe Calderón's national security spokesperson Alejandra Sota. "Therefore, they must be taken on." (CSM, Oct. 7; LAT's World Now blog, Sept. 30)

Police clashed with more than a thousand striking workers Oct. 10 at a mine run by US-based Freeport McMoran in Indonesia's Papua region, leaving at least one worker dead. The All-Indonesian Workers Trade Union (SPSI) told the Jakarta Globe that three other miners were critically wounded as police fired on the crowd. Authorities said at least six police officers were injured in the violence at the sprawling Grasberg complex, one of the world's biggest gold and copper mines. The workers, who are mostly indigenous Melanesians, are demanding that their current minimum wage of $1.50 an hour be raised to $12.50. (Jakarta Globe, Oct. 10)