Web Exclusive
AQ Video: Entrevista con Sergio Dahbar
Americas Quarterly habló con el periodista venezolano-argentino Sergio Dahbar durante su visita a Nueva York sobre el estado de la libertad de expresión en Venezuela. Nacido en Argentina, Dahbar trabajó en el diario venezolano El Nacional durante 20 años, donde sigue siendo columnista. Es además fundador de la revista El Librero y de los sellos editoriales … Read more
Web Exclusive
Incumbents Aren’t Latin America’s Problem
It’s been an exceptionally good year for incumbents in Latin America. Since June, Colombia’s Juan Manuel Santos, Bolivia’s Evo Morales and Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff each won their respective presidential contests. Rousseff’s late October re-election will give her center-left Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Party—PT) a fourth consecutive term in office. As it turns out, it’s been an exceptionally … Read more
Web Exclusive
AQ Slideshow: The People’s Climate March in New York City
Photos courtesy of David Mark Erickson and Daniel Edelman. Homepage photo by David Mark Erickson. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of New York City on Sunday to demand that world leaders take concrete steps to address climate change and its consequences. Just two days before government, business, and civil society leaders met … Read more
Web Exclusive
AQ Video: An Interview with Lilian Tintori
Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López was just one of several political leaders—including current Mayors Daniel Ceballos of San Cristóbal and Enzo Scarano of San Diego—arrested after a wave of peaceful student protests that began in Venezuela on February 12, 2014. The protests soon turned deadly as demonstrators flooded the streets to protest high inflation, rising … Read more
Web Exclusive
Beyond the Blame Game: Visualizing the Complexity of the Border Crisis
Much has been written and discussed in the last month about the causes of the migration of thousands of undocumented minors and women with young children from Central America’s Northern Triangle region (Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras) to the United States.[1] The debate has ranged from analyzing the so-called “pull factors” in the U.S. to … Read more
Web Exclusive
Trailblazers: First-Generation College Students Tell Their Stories
In honor of Americas Quarterly‘s launch of its Summer 2014 issue on higher education and competitiveness, we asked first-generation college graduates from around the hemisphere to describe how they defied the odds to get their college degrees. The six former students featured below—the first in their families to graduate from college—have since gone on to … Read more
Web Exclusive
Hedgefund Education
In both the U.S. and Latin America, the forces of technology and entrepreneurship are on the cusp of fundamentally reshaping the higher education sector. Increased demand and the changing nature of the labor market have led to new players and new models entering the higher ed market. The combination of sustained economic growth, a region-wide … Read more
Web Exclusive
How Guatemala Is Tackling Its Social Issues
One year ago, Americas Quarterly’s 2013 Social Inclusion Index gave Guatemala the lowest total score of all countries evaluated, with a total of 14.8 points out of a possible 100. The index ranked 16 countries, including the United States and 15 countries from Latin America. The comments in the evaluation for Guatemala indicated that “Poverty … Read more
Web Exclusive
Argentina’s Economy and the 2015 Presidential Elections
There’s more than a year to go until Argentina’s October 2015 presidential elections, but campaign season unofficially kicked off last October when the headquarters of National Deputy Sergio Massa (Frente Renovador, or Renewing Front party) and current Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri (Propuesta Republicana, or Republican Proposal party—PRO) erupted in joy upon hearing the results … Read more
Web Exclusive
AQ Slideshow: Colombia Preserves San Andrés and Old Providence Archipelago’s Seaflower Marine Protected Area
April 25, 2014 marked the completion of a very successful scientific endeavor undertaken by more than 20 Colombian institutions committed to broadening the knowledge of the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve and Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the San Andrés, Old Providence and Santa Catalina Archipelago, in the western Caribbean. View a slideshow of the Seaflower Biosphere … Read more
Web Exclusive
AQ Slideshow: The Least Colombian Department in Colombia
The Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina is a Colombian department located 137 miles (220 km) east of Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, and 482 miles (775 km) away from mainland Colombia. Even though the archipelago is closer to Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama and shares cultural similarities with other Caribbean islands, the Colombian … Read more
Web Exclusive
In Aftermath of Venezuela’s Protests, Whither Chavismo?
The wave of social unrest that hit several cities in Venezuela in February and March is nothing new for a country that has been deeply polarized politically since Hugo Chávez assumed the presidency in 1998. What is different this time is that Chávez—who died of cancer in March 2013—is no longer around, and the protests … Read more
Web Exclusive
AQ Slideshow: NYC Immigrants March for Reform on May Day
Immigrant and workers’ rights activists and union members gathered in New York City last week to celebrate International Workers’ Day on May 1—also known as May Day. Representatives from unions like Local 375 NYC Board of Education Employees (AFSCME) and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, and immigrant rights groups like New Immigrant Community Empowerment … Read more
Web Exclusive
AQ Slideshow: Venezuela’s Colectivos
Caracas has been the scenario of violent clashes between Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government forces and opposition groups, led mainly by opposition politician Leopoldo López, since February 12. So far, the conflict has left at least 41 people dead, and armed chavista groups—nicknamed “colectivos”—have been blamed for many of the casualties. However, members of the … Read more
Web Exclusive
The Ukrainian Crisis and Latin America
Dynamics within the Ukraine are forcing reconsideration of an old concept in international politics–the sphere of influence. Russian President Vladimir Putin has not hesitated in saying that Russia has interests in the Ukraine, reserving the right to use force. Some Latin American governments have spoken out against the dismissal of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych … Read more