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This Week in Latin America: Brazil’s Environmental Disaster

Sign up here to get This Week in Latin America delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Samarco Settlement: Nearly four months after a burst mining dam in Brazil killed 19 people and caused a wave of toxic sludge to pollute major water sources, mine owner Samarco Mineração S.A. is expected Monday to announce a financial settlement with the Brazilian government. Joint … Read more

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Uribe: Colombia Peace Deal Is “a Capitulation” to FARC

It’s been a challenging few years for Álvaro Uribe. His 2002-10 presidency of Colombia is still credited with a historic drop in violence and robust economic growth rates. But since leaving office with an approval rating upward of 75 percent, Uribe has watched the country move in a different direction. His chosen successor Juan Manuel … Read more

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Cassação, Impeachment and Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff: A Guide

Correction appended below Just when Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff seemed to be clearing the threat of impeachment, another challenge to her presidency is gaining momentum. The arrest of one of Rousseff’s top political advisers on allegations he received $7.5 million in illicit funds has fueled speculation that the government could be toppled by cassação, or … Read more

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‘Embrace of the Serpent’ Is a Haunting Tale of Colombia’s Amazon

In Colombia’s first Oscar-nominated feature film, director Ciro Guerra offers both an ode to humanity’s capacity to hope and a eulogy for the loss of Latin America’s indigenous culture and knowledge. “Embrace of the Serpent” takes place during Latin America’s rubber boom in the early 20th century. The film’s message is delivered through Karamakate, a … Read more

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How Mauricio Macri Plans to Fill a $1 Billion Hole at Aerolíneas Argentinas

Last year was a good one for global airlines. Thanks to falling fuel prices and an increased demand for air travel, the industry earned an estimated $33 billion in 2015. Carriers around the globe earned near-record profits. Not so in Argentina, where according to official figures state-run Aerolíneas Argentinas operated at a loss of nearly … Read more

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AQ Corruption Busters Celebrate Successes, Urge Even Greater Progress

To watch a video of the event, click here. “He stole, but just a bit.” “Corruption is just something we live with.” Declarations such as these were once a common refrain in Latin America. But from Brazil to Guatemala, a historic crackdown on corruption is making the old tropes obsolete. Leading this dramatic shift is … Read more

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AQ Event Tuesday: Latin America’s “Corruption Busters”

Corruption has been a problem in the Americas for centuries. But something different – and, we believe, historic – is happening right now. From Brazil to Guatemala and beyond, a new generation of prosecutors, judges, and activists is prosecuting offenders and sending them to jail in unprecedented numbers – no matter how powerful they are. … Read more

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Mexico’s Next Big Chance to Tackle Corruption

Empowered by a political reform that was approved in 2014, Mexico’s top civil society groups, academics and activists gathered last Tuesday in a press conference to present a bill that would establish clear penalties for acts of corruption. This citizen’s initiative, known as Ley 3de3, could be discussed in Congress as early as this spring, … Read more

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The Real Reason Behind Rising Violence in Mexico City

Until recently, Mexico City was considered an oasis in a country beset by skyrocketing violence. Even though one in two Mexican adults said they stopped going out at night for fear of being mugged or worse and one fourth of all adult Mexicans were victimized in 2014, the capital was largely exempt. In posh neighborhoods like … Read more

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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