Shifting Gears
A great deal of the credit for Latin America’s democratization in the past two decades should go to civil society. The region’s human rights movement can justifiably take pride in having played an important part in the downfall of the authoritarian governments and dictatorships of the recent past—especially in bringing to justice many of the … Read more
When Justice Does Not Reach Us
Rosa trembled as she began telling me her story. It was 2004, and we were in a hotel room in Guatemala City where, as the Rapporteur for Women’s Rights on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, I received testimony about femicide cases. Of the many tragic stories I heard, this one particularly stood out. In … Read more
Is Equal Access a Right?
As politics have changed in the Americas, so has the role of the Inter-American system. Many of the challenges facing democracy and human rights today stem from patterns of inequality and unequal access. The growing number of such cases before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Commission) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Court) … Read more
Human Rights Violators Come in All Collars, Even White
Beheadings in Mexico. Massacres in Colombia. Such extreme manifestations of violence grab headlines and galvanize human rights activists. They often erupt when incumbent political or economic power is threatened, but are only one consequence of the fundamental failure of states to protect and defend public security—and to uphold the rule of law. The conditions for … Read more
The Promise of Protecting All
A small and wrinkled old woman hugs me in despair. “My son was not a head of cattle,” she says. “I want justice. Plese help us get justice.” It was 1994. I was part of a group of lawyers and human rights defenders visiting the then-militarized Venezuelan border to interview relatives of the victims of … Read more
Institutionalizing From Below
Over the past 50 years, the Inter-American human rights system has become instrumental to the evolution of democracy in the region. Gradually expanding the scope of its mandate to include everything from political rights to gender rights and the rights of vulnerable groups, the system has not only helped shape domestic policies but has also … Read more
Larry Rohter’s [i]Deu no New York Times[/i]
On May 2004, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva set off a diplomat spat with the U.S. when he threatened to expel New York Times correspondent Larry Rohter. The grievance: an article by Rohter alleging that the president’s taste for cachaça—a popular Brazilian sugar-cane liquor—was affecting his job performance. Four years later, Brazilians continue … Read more
Diplomacy: The U.S. Knocks on Open Doors
A new dawn may be on the horizon for U.S. relations in the Hemisphere. Fresh from meeting his hemispheric counterparts at the Summit of the Americas, President Barack Obama has a unique opportunity to use the political goodwill he has generated to revive existing partnerships or create new multilateral relationships. More dynamic and harmonious relationships … Read more
Gender Quotas: Female Legislative Representation
Until the 1990s, legislatures around the world were almost exclusively the domain of men. But today, more women are occupying legislative seats than ever before, and some of the highest rates are found in the Americas. The region’s rapid increases in female representation have occurred largely as a result of special legal measures to increase … Read more
Dispatches: Milícias and Police Corruption in Rio’s Favelas
On the night of May 14, 2008, a reporting team from O Dia, one of Rio de Janeiro’s major dailies, was taken captive in the Favela do Batan in the West Zone neighborhood of Realengo by a group of armed men. The reporters were investigating the phenomenon of milícias, which have imposed a brutal form … Read more
Ask the Experts: The Economic Crisis
Pamela Cox Answers: Beware of Losing Social Gains There is no clear road map out of the global financial crisis. Indeed, the main solution seems to be increased reliance on the state in ways unthinkable only a few years ago. The global financial crisis risks becoming a human and social crisis, eroding recent social gains … Read more
The Remittance Hole
For most of the last three decades, developing countries around the world have reaped a huge indirect benefit from the expanding global economy simply by exporting labor. According to official figures, migrant workers poured an estimated $283 billion back into their homelands in the form of remittances to relatives in 2008 alone, though the unofficial … Read more
Mexico’s Fragile Middle Class
Can Latin American governments tackle inequality in the midst of the global economic downturn? Although some countries—most notably Brazil and Chile—have made dramatic gains in reducing poverty and expanding the middle class, Latin America remains, in the first decade of the twenty-first century, one of the world’s most unequal regions. Inequality has deep roots in … Read more
Will Prudence Prevail?
Within two years of the Wall Street crash of 1929 there were military coups in seven Latin American countries, including Brazil and Argentina. The Great Depression that followed hit the region hard: ten countries saw the value of their exports fall by more than half between 1928 and 1932. (Chile’s total trade fell by no … Read more
Putting Lipstick on a Piggybank
Not all businesses suffer in a downturn. Even when things are tough, consumers are willing to fork out cash for goods that give them personal satisfaction—a phenomenon analysts call the “lipstick economy.” The term captures the idea that, in the past, when the economy has soured, cosmetics and other small, luxury goods have been immune … Read more
