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Brazil Is Doing Its Part in the Global Fight Against Zika
On Monday February 1, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Zika virus, transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, an international public health emergency. The announcement follows the declaration by Brazil of a national public health emergency. An outbreak of the Zika virus was detected last year in Brazil. The virus has since been found … Read more
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Free College in Chile! So What Are Students So Mad About?
On Tuesday, 80,000 university students in Chile received the good news that they were eligible for tuition-free education as part of a new program enacted by President Michelle Bachelet. The moment should have been a high point for the country’s vocal – and powerful – student movement, which for years has been protesting for better … Read more
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Central American Refugees Turn South as U.S. and Mexico Tighten Borders
In July 2014, at the peak of the Central American migration crisis in the U.S., officials in Mexico announced a plan to stem the tide of illegal entries on the country’s porous southern border with Guatemala. Dubbed Programa Frontera Sur, the new policy was partly responsible for a dramatic drop in the number of unaccompanied minors arriving … Read more
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What a Year for Latin America!
U.S. and Cuba reopen embassies On July 20, Cuba reopened its embassy in Washington, D.C., in a concrete sign of how the former Cold War foes have made significant strides toward restoring bilateral relations and rebuilding trust. A month later, the U.S. reopened its embassy in Havana. (Photo: Saimi Keinänen/Flickr) Pope Francis visits Ecuador, Bolivia … Read more
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Puerto Ricans Are Leaving in Droves – And Stirring Up the 2016 U.S. Election
In November, Ben Carson became the fifth 2016 U.S. presidential candidate to make a campaign stop in Puerto Rico. Though Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, none of the island’s 3.5 million residents can vote in presidential elections. So why do both Democrat and Republican candidates continue to spend time and money visiting the territory? Demographics play a role. Campaigning in … Read more
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Brazil’s Impeachment: Who Are the Swing Voters in Congress, And What Do They Want?
Proceedings to oust Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff have been underway for a week, and the battle lines are becoming clear. Rousseff appears to have enough support among the 28 parties in Congress to block impeachment over her alleged misuse of public funds. But that could change. Rousseff’s fate will ultimately rest in the hands of several … Read more
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Sexual Harassment in Brazil Starts at Age Nine. Here’s What One Group Is Doing About It.
Nine years old. That’s the average age that, according to Brazilian NGO Think Olga, Brazilian females are first subjected to sexual harassment. Think Olga uncovered the startling number as part of a Twitter campaign called #primeiroassedio (#firstharassment), which encourages women to use social media to recount their first experience of sexual assault or harassment. To … Read more
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In Latin America, Abortion Rights Stall as LGBT Rights Advance. Why?
Last month, thousands of people in cities across Brazil took to the streets to protest a bill that, among other things, would make it more difficult for rape victims to obtain abortions. In Rio de Janeiro, those protestors gathered just blocks away from the state’s justice tribunal where, less than two years before, more than … Read more
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A Scenario Under Which Rousseff Gets Impeached in Brazil
In Brazil a few weeks ago, I asked a former official from Dilma Rousseff’s government whether his old boss would be impeached. “Forgive me for being politically incorrect,” he said, “but only if the poor take to the streets.” Ah, Brazil, where even in moments of high political drama, the class divide reigns supreme. But … Read more
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Former UN Climate Talks President Says Latin America Has Much to Gain at Paris Conference
On the opening day of international climate change talks in Paris this week, Manuel Pulgar Vidal, Peru’s environment minister, officially handed over the presidency of the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. AQ sat down with the minister to talk about Latin America’s role in climate negotiations in Paris … Read more
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Greater Women’s Equality in Latin America Would Unlock $1 Trillion
Women have won five presidential elections in Latin America – an impressive feat. Yet much more still needs to be done to advance women’s equality in the region. The economic benefits alone would be huge – by our calculations more than $1 trillion over the next decade. At a time when many Latin American economies … Read more
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Venezuela’s Media Isn’t Smearing the Opposition; It’s Making Them Invisible
With legislative elections on December 6 fast approaching and faith in President Nicolás Maduro’s government at an all-time low, Venezuela’s opposition senses an opportunity for a big win. Polls indicate a 15 to 30 point advantage for opposition candidates, which means that for the first time since the early 2000s the opposition has a real … Read more
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Brazil, Heaven and Hell in the Same Day
Last Thursday began beautifully, deep in the Brazilian Amazon, with a walk through a lush city park. I strolled among bougainvillea and castanha do Pará and samaúma trees. I saw a large red and blue macaw ambling down the sidewalk, and had just sat down to take a selfie with him when the little jerk … Read more
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How Former Protesters Are Leading the Next Generation of Chilean Politics
As student leaders in 2011, they mobilized some of the largest protests Chile had ever seen. They frustrated authorities, inspired millions of young people and earned a fair share of international attention. In 2013, before the age of 30, they were elected to Congress in a national election that many considered proof of the Chilean … Read more
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A Batalha Pela Amazônia
Nosso barco deslizava calmamente sobre o rio Tapajós, quando, de forma inesperada, a monotonia hipnótica da Amazônia foi quebrada por pequenos corpos saltando na água. Um punhado de crianças da tribo local Munduruku havia se pendurado em árvores ao longo da margem do rio. Ao nos ver chegando, elas pularam na água escura, subiram a … Read more
