 Hello and welcome to Around the World in 8 Minutes, a show by People's Dispatch. In this show, we bring you stories of struggle and resistance and the relentless and inspiring battles of people across the world for change. In our first story, we go to Haiti. Thousands took to the streets across Haiti on Friday, September 27th, in what is being called a People's Rebellion against the government of Juvenile Moises as the energy crisis entered its fifth week. Thousands took place in cities across the country. In several areas, protests intensified, leading to the burning down of state institutions and police stations. The fuel shortage in the country has parallelized all walks of life in the Caribbean country, including state institutions, health centers, universities, schools, and the usually bustling markets. The shortage was also used as an excuse by the government to increase the prices and eliminate state subsidies and fuel, which has a direct impact on the price of everyday items. While the state maintained that the fuel supplies had run out, a reporter from a local radio channel visited a port and revealed that 140,000 barrels of petroleum that the state had in its position were being deliberately retained. In July 2018, the government of Juvenile Moises had attempted a similar move following IMF dictates, but the fuel price increase was met with similarly massive protests which forced him to backtrack. The then prime minister, Jacques Guilafonton, had to resign in the aftermath of these protests. A key issue during the mobilizations of 2018 and this week was the rampant corruption committed by government officials, specifically with Petro-Caribay funds. The mass mobilization of Friday is part of protests that began on September 16th. The mass participation, as well as palpable anger and frustration of the people, is testament to the fact that while Juvenile Moises might have the support of the United States, his government has been rejected by almost all sectors of Haitian society. The Haitian government has been consistently incapable or unwilling to respond to the needs of the people, maintain stability and govern responsibly. Haiti is one of the poorest and most unequal countries in the region and has been subject to foreign military occupation through numerous UN missions. We go to Mexico next. Thursday, September 26th was the fifth anniversary of the Ayotzinapa massacre. Five years ago, in the city of Iguala in the state of Guerrero, municipal police forces brutally attacked students from the normal rural school. These students had commandeered buses in order to travel to Mexico City to commemorate a massacre which took place in 1968. The attack resulted in the forced disappearance of 43 students, the assassination by police forces of six people, including three students, and injuries to dozens. The massacre shook the country due to the sheer brutality and impunity that was on display that night. Over 40,000 people have been disappeared in the country. The government of Enrique Pena Nieto, who was president at the time, was quick to construct a narrative to cover up the involvement of the federal government and to paint the events as local dispute over drug trafficking. The family members of the 43 and the survivors of the massacre rejected this narrative and continued their struggle for the whole truth and justice. They believed that the disappearance of the students happened with the complicity of the federal police and the Mexican army and had the implications of far greater than just a local drug dispute. While Pena Nieto was in office, his government obstructed the struggle at every opportunity, blocking the work of independent commissions, such as the interdisciplinary group of independent experts of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and others. Mexico's new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has taken a different approach. During his election campaign, he promised to launch a truth and justice commission to investigate what happened to the students and pledged his support to the struggle of the family members and the survivors. The commission was established, and though it has not had any major breakthroughs yet, the victims are hopeful that with a determined struggle and amnesty support, the truth can finally be uncovered and those responsible can be tried and punished. A mobilization was held in Mexico City on the anniversary with the family members of the 4043 at the forefront. The people of Mexico continue to ask the question, where are they? For being so loved and appreciated that it is your son, something of you, and that they throw you away, and that you have to follow him, you don't have to lower your guard. As we have said many times, as parents, it is not because we are children, but because we have lived four or five years in a horror of lies, of injustice, of not knowing the truth, of knowing that there are people who are functionaries of the government who are involved, and there is no such will to give you an answer. So you don't have to follow him with that pain you have, with that anger you have, but you know that you have to go and look for your son. Next we go to Palestine. Thousands of women and activists across historic Palestine and the diaspora took to the streets on Thursday, 7th of April to reject gender-based violence and proclaim the centrality of women's rights, the social, economic and political fight for broader Palestinian liberation. The call for the mobilization was issued by Talhad, a collective of Palestinian women across historic Palestine, who were moved to action following the brutal femicide of 21-year-old Izra Garib who was murdered by members of a family in late August. The rally in Jerusalem was met with police repression, but that did not deter the spirit of the protesters who defiantly marched on. We take a look at the protest video. That's all for this episode of Around the World in 8 Minutes. For more about these stories, visit our website peoplesdispatch.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Thanks for watching.