Despite President Tandja's steps to dismantle the democratic institutions of Niger and ignore the Constitution, Nigeriens are fighting back.  Trade unions have organized general strikes and joined thousands of other civil society groups in demonstrations all across the country.  As The New York Times recently reported:

The TRC report mentions the role that forced labor played in setting up Firestone's rubber plantation when the company first came to Liberia in the 1920's.  As the report states,

It is expected that a major part of President Obama's message during his visit to Ghana will be on promoting increased US investment in agricultural development projects in Africa.  Given this focus, it makes a lot of sense for Obama to visit Kuapa Kokoo and see first hand how farmers are working together to implement farming practices that are more socially and environmentally sustainable.  The US should be supporting projects like Kuapa Kokoo that empower farmers and are driven by farmers themselves.  Obama also promised to promote fair trade principles during the presidential campaign, so visiting Kuapa Kokoo would be a great opportunity to see first hand how farmers in Ghana are working to develop different models of global trade.

The Obama administration should be praised for issuing a statement condemning the coup in Honduras, standing by democracy and rule of law and separating the United States from its' past backing of military coups in Latin America. This is a step in the right direction but should it take a coup for Obama to address the increasing civil unrest amongst the majority of the poor, marginalized peoples of Latin America? Shouldn't the fact that within the past decade, Latin American citizens have expressed clear dissatisfaction with free market development policies by electing left-leaning regimes time and time again?