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Interview with James Cavallaro, Candidate to the IACHR
Three new members will be elected to serve on the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) during the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) that will be held this June in Antigua, Guatemala. AQ interviewed James Cavallaro, professor of law and founder and director of Stanford Law School’s International Human Rights and … Read more
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[i]AQ[/i] Slideshow: President Obama’s Visit to Mexico
On his first trip to Latin America since the beginning of his second term, U.S. President Barack Obama spent two days in Mexico, where he met with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to discuss economic cooperation, energy and education, among other topics. View an exclusive AQ slideshow of his visit. On May 2, Obama and … Read more
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Obama and Peña Nieto Focus on the Economy Over Immigration and Security
Building up to their meeting in Mexico City on May 2, the administrations of both U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto hinted that economic ties would be the focal point of their one-on-one meeting. In an interview with Americas Quarterly prior to the trip, Obama reiterated this, saying that he would … Read more
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AQ Slideshow: Camp Harbor Head and the Border Between Nicaragua and Costa Rica
The border disputes between Nicaragua and Costa Rica date back to differing interpretations of a nineteenth century treaty, highlighting issues of environmentalism and nationalism. While Nicaragua accuses Costa Rica of contributing to environmental damage, Costa Rica maintains that members of Nicaragua’s Sandinista Youth Movement have invaded and occupied its territory. One such dispute includes Camp … Read more
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AQ Interviews U.S. President Barack Obama About Trip to Mexico and Costa Rica
On the eve of his sixth trip to Latin America and the Caribbean, President Barack Obama agreed to an interview with Americas Quarterly Editor-in-Chief Christopher Sabatini about his May 2-4 visit to Mexico and Costa Rica. President Obama is using the occasion of his trip to meet with the new Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto … Read more
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AQ Slideshow: Venezuelans Cast Their Vote
In the early morning of April 14, Venezuelan voters went to the polls to decide whether Nicolás Maduro or Henrique Capriles Radonski would become the country’s next president. Voter participation started slowly in several neighborhoods in eastern Caracas, but eventually, more than 78 percent of Venezuela’s registered voters cast their ballots. With 99 percent of … Read more
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Electoral Irregularities under Chavismo: A Tally
This is a draft document and part of an ongoing project on electoral irregularities in Venezuela. Please help improve this document by reporting any errors and omissions to jcorrales@amherst.edu. Just days ahead of the first post-Chávez election since 1998, Venezuela’s opposition candidate, Henrique Capriles, has made electoral irregularities a major issue in his campaign. Claiming … Read more
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Venezuela: Timidity and Sub-Standard Election Observation
Last week, the Human Rights Foundation called on the Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, to urge the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela to invite an OAS electoral observation mission to monitor the upcoming April 14 presidential elections. An OAS mission—along the lines of what it used to field in … Read more
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AQ Slideshows: Natural Resource Extraction in Latin America
Award-winning photographer Nicolas Villaume accompanied Americas Quarterly to Chile, Colombia and Peru in 2012 to study natural resource extraction and its effect on social inclusion. Photographed during the AQ team’s site visits to mines in each country and meetings with stakeholders at the extraction sites and nearby communities, Villaume’s photos bring this research to life … Read more
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Mining Conflict and Indigenous Consultation in Guatemala
A handful of Mayan-Q’eqchi’ men and women met with lawyers late last year in Ontario to review the details of three lawsuits filed in local courts against the Canadian mining company HudBay Minerals. They had traveled to Canada to pursue legal recourse for their claim that security personnel at the company’s Fenix Mining Project in … Read more
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The New Pope and Gay Rights
While naysayers joke that the Cardinals may as well have elected another Italian Pope in choosing a porteño, the move to elect Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, now Pope Francis, is of undeniable significance for the global south. This is particularly true for Latin Americans, who—while accounting for 40 percent of all Catholics—often complain of … Read more
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Michelle Bachelet’s Next Move
Michelle Bachelet surprised no one last week when she announced she was leaving her post as head of UN Women. While she did not say so explicitly, it is widely expected that Bachelet will run for president again. Though her victory in Chile’s November presidential election is far from a sure thing, public opinion polls … Read more
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Did Chávez Help the Poor?
In a recent opinion piece, Venezuelan-American author Eva Golinger proclaimed the late Hugo Chávez was “a maker of dreams.” Chávez, she says, dreamt of eradicating poverty, and made those dreams come true. Much of what has been written—including by people critical of his legacy—repeats the same conclusion: Chávez improved the lives of the poor. Sadly, … Read more
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AQ Slideshow: Venezuelans Wait Hours to View Chávez
Click here to view an expanded version of the slideshow. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’ body is being moved today from the Military Academy of Caracas to the city’s military museum, marking the end of a nine-day open casket service that has drawn thousands of the late president’s followers to the capital city. The lines of … Read more
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Pope Francis, an Argentine, to Guide the Catholic Church
The new Pope is Latin American—an Argentine Jesuit, to be exact. The decision took the world by surprise and left even the new Pope himself, who had left most of his things at the Residence for Priests in Rome, dumbfounded. Predictions mostly pointed at figures from Brazil, Ghana, the United States, European Countries and, yes, … Read more
