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Michel Temer’s Reform Agenda in Brazil: A Rundown
As a foreign correspondent in Brazil, I have spent most of the past year talking about a handful of issues that dominate the headlines. There is an enormous appetite – both abroad and domestically – for news about the “Car Wash” corruption probe and its impact on President Michel Temer’s government. Who will go to … Read more
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Why Politics Won’t Come Easy for the Newly Disarmed FARC
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia’s (FARC) move into politics came to the accordion-rich tune of vallenato. On Sept. 1, the former armed group held a free concert for supporters in Bogotá’s historic Simón Bolívar square, capping off a week-long conference that confirmed its transformation into a full-fledged political party. Many of the 10,000 or … Read more
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Rio’s Olympics Were a Raging Success! Really!
No matter what you may have read elsewhere, Rio de Janeiro’s 2016 Olympic Games were a massive success. OK, so the event was billed by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as Brazil’s time to shine, “an opportunity without equal, increasing Brazilians’ self-esteem, consolidating recent achievements and inspiring new progress.” On that front, it’s … Read more
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How a Small Town in Brazil’s Interior Reinvented Itself As a World-Class Tech Hub
Nestled among rolling green hills, coffee plantations and dairy farms, Santa Rita do Sapucaí is steeped in the agricultural traditions of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. But there’s more to this bucolic town of 40,000 than quaint churches, country cooking and great coffee: it has successfully reinvented itself as a technology hub. City officials and heads … Read more
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It’s Not Just Venezuela. Central American Democracies Are Under Threat, Too.
The first sign of trouble on my recent research trip to Nicaragua was that almost nobody would speak to me about President Daniel Ortega on the record. “I just don’t want any problems with Ortega,” one person said. Félix Maradiaga, a social entrepreneur from Managua, told me: “The government leaves you alone as long as … Read more
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After Victory on Abortion, Chile’s President Eyes Marriage Equality
With just six months left in office, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s progressive agenda may finally be taking shape. On Aug. 28, Bachelet became the first Chilean president to propose legislation to extend the right to marry to same-sex couples. At a signing ceremony in Santiago, she said it was “neither ethical nor fair to put … Read more
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Climate Change Is Speeding Up Ice Melt in Peru, With Devastating Consequences
MAPARAJU, Peru – Standing on a rocky outcrop some 16,000 feet above sea level, mountain ecologist John All stares intensely at the glacier that leads up to the summit of Mount Maparaju, another 1,500 feet above us. It should form a gentle convex arc from where we stand all the way up to the peak, perhaps half a mile away. For an experienced mountaineer like … Read more
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Trump’s Anti-Trade Rhetoric Is Fueling the Economy – in Tijuana
Juan José Quezada opened his craft brewery, Mamut Cerveza, five years ago in Tijuana. Located a half block off of Avenida Revolución, in the heart of Tijuana’s booming tourism and night life scene, Mamut has quickly become a favorite stop on Tijuana’s craft beer tours. Today 90 percent of his customers are American. Despite 2017 … Read more
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Luisa Ortega Díaz: The Venezuelan Opposition’s Unlikely Ally
Few question whether Venezuela’s former Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz is a true chavista. As Venezuela’s top law enforcement officer for nearly a decade, she followed the government line to the letter, including in the prosecution of demonstrators arrested in a wave of protests against President Nicolás Maduro in 2014. That is, until recently. In … Read more
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Not Just the FARC: Numerous Colombia Conflicts Rage On
Lloró, Colombia – As FARC guerrillas began resettling in demobilization zones throughout Colombia earlier this year, Ciro Cunambia and his family were adjusting to a relocation of their own. In March, Cunambia fled shootouts and rumors that his rural village in the Pacific department of Chocó would be “turned to dust.” After a two-hour boat … Read more
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HIV-Positive Mothers in Venezuela Face an Impossible Choice
Missing treatment can make things very bad, very quickly for those with HIV. Even one missed dose carries the risk of the virus becoming more resistant – and more dangerous. In Venezuela, shortages of vital medicines have interrupted the treatment of approximately 80 percent of people with HIV, and the consequences have been deadly. In … Read more
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Brazilian Diplomacy: From First in Class to Disappearing Act
Brazilian foreign policy has always been an unpredictable affair. In the 1930s, dictator Getúlio Vargas had sympathies with Nazi fascism, even modeling labor laws after Benito Mussolini’s and fostering a militant wing vaguely resembling Adolf Hitler’s. But he ended up siding with the Allies during World War II. In the 1970s, during another authoritarian period, … Read more
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How Venezuelans Could Reshape Elections in Florida
As an engineer, Jorge Pacheco never expected his job would make him the target of political persecution. But as Venezuela’s finances floundered and its public services deteriorated, the Venezuelan government blamed engineers at the state-owned electrical provider CORPOELEC for power grid disruptions. As political persecution became more common, the young man made the difficult choice … Read more
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How Central American Youth Test Outdated U.S. Immigration Laws
As Vice President Mike Pence travels to Central America this week, immigrants will be on his mind. They’ve certainly been on the news, and on the president’s agenda. Pence knows that Central American children have been fleeing to the United States. But he should also recognize the staggering scale of this wave, and what’s behind it. Understanding … Read more
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How Violence Is Changing in Post-FARC Colombia
The end of war hasn’t released Colombia from the grip of violence. Homicide rates have fallen in the 12 months since the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) agreed to a permanent ceasefire, but other forms of victimization have started to rise. More than 50 social leaders have been assassinated since the beginning of the year. … Read more
