On May 10, several generations of NACListas came together in New York City to celebrate NACLA’s 45th anniversary. It was a powerful event. NACLA honored Noam Chomsky, Javier Sicilia—founder of Mexico’s Movement for Peace With Justice and Dignity (MPJD)—and Mexican artist Eduardo del Río (Rius), a longtime NACLA collaborator. During their acceptance speeches, Chomsky denounced the U.S. drug war in Mexico, and Sicilia invited NACLA supporters to join the MPJD Caravan for Peace in August (see the full transcript of his talk here). The event was covered by Democracy Now!, El Diario/La Prensa, La Jornada, Radio Bilingüe, Univision, and other outlets.
“Given the turnout and the urgency of the issues addressed by the speakers, it is evident that NACLA is as relevant as it was in 1966, when it was founded,” said NACLA Board and Editorial Committee member Marcial Godoy-Anativia.
Our recent decision to redesign the NACLA Report on the Americas and go to a quarterly publishing schedule was precisely to both deepen and diversify our in-depth coverage of Latin America, and to ensure that NACLA remains on the cutting edge, with the latest news and analysis, through print, multimedia, and also social media. With the December redesign we nearly doubled the page count. Each issue now includes an eight-page color section, with a photo essay and the winning image from our new photo contest. The topic of the photo contest coincides with the theme of the issue.
We have expanded the Report section to offer more coverage. The Report now leads with its own image and a short table of contents. Following the Report are a series of different sections. You will recognize MALA (media analysis) and Tracking the Economy from the past. We are now also including sections titled Border Wars and Activism, as well as sections devoted to a series of other issues, including the environment, declassified documents, and more.
We have expanded our reviews to cover at least three to four books and one documentary film in each issue. We have doubled the number of featured New & Noteworthy books and added a new section titled In the Journals, where we review a number of recent essays from related periodicals. Finally, each NACLA Report will now close with a previously published article in our new From the Archives column.
The move to the quarterly schedule has enabled NACLA to focus on expanding our online presence. Over the last year, NACLA has launched seven blogs, roughly quadrupling online content. In November, NACLA founded a multimedia collective, composed of staff, interns, and volunteers, which has produced two half-hour podcasts and several videos for the website. We are increasing our presence on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, and we are in the process of launching a Tumblr page to make powerful NACLA images and stories more accessible to members of the ever expanding NACLA community.
NACLA is also taking to the streets, organizing events and creating ways for people to get involved. At our 45th anniversary celebration, we launched “NACLA Next 45,” a grassroots campaign to expand our community and reach 1,000 new subscribers by the end of the summer. Our goal: to reignite our movement for peace and justice in the Americas and reestablish a progressive NACLA network in the 21st century by uniting groups of longtime supporters around the country, while connecting with a new generation of students and NACLA allies.
As readers, subscribers, and NACListas, you are the lifeblood of this organization. Help us spread the word by organizing and recruiting five new subscribers. Tell your friends and family, your co-workers, and your neighbors. The NACLA community—both young and old—will ensure the long-term relevance and survival of NACLA and its goals for the next 45 years.
Subscribe and get involved. Help us reach 1,000 new subscribers this summer! For more information visit nacla.org/next45.
Michael Fox is the editor of NACLA Report on the Americas.
Read the rest of NACLA’s Summer 2012 issue: “Latin America and the Global Economy.”
