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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

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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