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Why Mercosur Is Stuck with Venezuela

Venezuela’s September 1 demonstrations, in which as many as a million people took to the streets of Caracas to demand a change in government, were certainly impressive. But were they effective? If the goal was to fundamentally alter the country’s political direction, the answer is probably “no.” Despite the buzz generated by this month’s protests … Read more

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Brazil Finds Remnants of Its Dictatorial Past in a Radio Show

If you’re driving in Brazil on a weekday evening and want some music for your drive, you should probably pack a CD. Chances are you’ll catch A Voz do Brasil, the country’s longest-running radio show, if you turn on the radio between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. This is because Brazilian law mandates that radio … Read more

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This Week in Latin America: Cease-fire in Colombia

Sign up here to get This Week in Latin America delivered to your inbox every Monday. Laying Down Arms: A “definitive,” bilateral cease-fire in Colombia’s 52-year war with the FARC began this morning after the two sides agreed to a final peace deal on August 24. The deal will be put to a plebiscite vote on October 2, with campaigning both for and against already … Read more

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How Sept. 1 Could Be the Beginning of the End for Venezuela’s Maduro

September 1 may mark a “before and after” moment in Venezuela’s political and economic crisis. Following further delays by the electoral authority on advancing a recall referendum against President Nicolás Maduro, opposition leaders have called on residents across the country to mobilize in the capital city this Thursday in what they have dubbed “The Grand … Read more

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Why Brazil’s Olympic Gold Could Boost Its New President

The year was 1994, and a depressed Brazil was desperately in need of a lift. Recent years had seen a president impeached for corruption, inflation in excess of 2,500 percent, horrendous massacres of innocents inside a prison and outside a church, and a general feeling the country couldn’t do anything right. As June approached, so … Read more

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Venezuela’s Life-Saving Social Networks

Amid supermarket rationing and lines of empty store shelves, Venezuelans are taking day-to-day survival into their own… smartphones. Twitter, Facebook, and messaging service WhatsApp have become go-to platforms for thousands of Venezuelans as they undertake the increasingly difficult task of finding and paying for everything from cooking oil to cancer medication. @delmercadoencontre (“At the market I … Read more

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This Week in Latin America: Mexico’s Union Trouble

Sign up here to get This Week in Latin America delivered to your inbox every Monday. Education Reform in Mexico: The CNTE teachers’ union says it will not return to classes today for the start of the new school year. Union members have for months been protesting an education reform package that would require teacher evaluations and curtail the practice of members purchasing or inheriting teaching positions. … Read more

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Chile’s Unlikely Energy Success Story

Just five years ago, Chile was in the midst of an energy crisis. Argentina had stopped sending natural gas across the Andes, and the threat of blackouts and energy rationing was real. Energy prices were among the highest in the region, the sector was dominated by a handful of monopolistic utility companies, and the private … Read more

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Argentina’s Quiet (Giant) Step Against Corruption

With anti-corruption efforts making noise throughout the hemisphere, Argentina is quietly on the brink of a major victory. A draft bill that would change the way the country prosecutes malfeasance seems like a simple fix. But if passed, the legislation could have a major effect on the way businesses treat – and crackdown on – … Read more

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What Puig’s Olympic Gold Really Means for Puerto Rico

On Saturday afternoon, I was sitting with my blanket gripped tightly to my face as my boyfriend patiently repeated (for the fifth time) the difference between a game and a set. Like many other Puerto Ricans, it was the first time I had watched tennis, and I kept forgetting the rules. For the 8 million … Read more

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This Week in Latin America: Closing Ceremony

Sign up here to get This Week in Latin America delivered to your inbox every Monday. The Games: The Rio Olympics continue this week, with the closing ceremony set for Sunday. While some observers say the organization of the games could have turned out worse for the hosts, security and sanitation issues have so far plagued the Summer Games. … Read more

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Why the LGBT Community Will Remember Rio 2016

If you’re looking for signs that LGBT inclusion in the sports world is on the rise, the Rio 2016 Olympics are a good place to start. Despite concerns surrounding the host city, the competition itself has gone off (mostly) without a hitch; for LGBT people in Brazil and around the world, it’s been downright monumental. … Read more

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BNDES Helped Save the Olympics. But Is it Hurting Brazil?

Corrections appended below Updated 8/17/2016 New leadership atop Brazil’s massive national development bank is unwinding a decade of rampant lending that fed large conglomerates and strained the country’s finances. Over the past half-century, Brazil’s Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES) built huge power plants and highways through the industrial southeast, aided social programs in the … Read more

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This Week in Latin America: Colombia’s Peace Campaign

Sign up here to get This Week in Latin America delivered to your inbox every Monday. Colombia’s Peace Campaign: Colombian officials are preparing for the end of hostilities with the FARC despite indications that many in the country oppose a proposed peace deal. Government, FARC and U.N. representatives will today begin verifying 23 “concentration zones” in which the guerrillas will remain for … Read more

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Despite Pope’s Comments, a Good Week for Trans Rights in Latin America

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) advocacy groups expressed disappointment this week after comments by Pope Francis were released showing the Catholic leader’s unease over the growing social acceptance of transgender rights. During a private meeting last week, the pope said the idea of teaching schoolchildren they can choose their gender was “terrible” and that … Read more