From the Think Tanks
How are Latin America’s anti-drug policies resonating among the region’s youth? Asuntos del Sur (ADS), a multinational think tank in Argentina and Chile, surveyed 4,000 people ages 18 to 34 across six countries—Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, and Mexico. The results, published in Estudio de Drogas y Opinión Pública 2012 (Study of Drugs and Public … Read more
This Is Your Year, Quinoa
Quinoa, which the Incas once considered the “mother grain,” has earned a distinctive honor. In accordance with a December 2011 resolution by the United Nations General Assembly, 2013 will be known as the International Year of Quinoa (IYQ). But this is not just a salute to an ancient crop. Once marginalized by Spanish conquistadores as … Read more
10 Things to Do: Havana, Cuba
Havana, a city of 2.2 million on Cuba’s northwest coast, is the island’s political, cultural and industrial capital. The weathered buildings in Habana Vieja and classic U.S. cars seem like a time warp. The U.S. embargo makes Cuba off-limits to most U.S. citizens, but the island attracts millions of visitors each year. 1. Stroll along … Read more
South by Southwest Revolucionado
When culture and entertainment enthusiasts flock to Austin, Texas, on March 8–17 for the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, they’ll have a chance to join in the first SXSW production with a distinctly Latino flair: The Social Revolución (TSR). The can’t-miss cavalcade of film, music and interactive media this year will feature a meet-up … Read more
Cerro Abajo
Linking “Chile” and “extreme sports” usually conjures up an image of off-road vehicles racing at breakneck speed through the Atacama Desert during the annual Dakar Rally [AQ, Summer 2011], or of high-endurance hikers climbing the Andes. But downhill racing in Valparaíso, Chile’s bohemian harbor city? In fact, since 2003, romantic “Valpo,” which counted Pablo Neruda … Read more
“No”
In October 1988, a national plebiscite to extend the military rule of then-Chilean President Augusto Pinochet was voted down by 56 percent of the electorate. This transformational event has been re-imagined 24 years later in a film named after the “No” coalition of 16 political parties that led the opposition campaign.No is the third and … Read more
Repression, Resistance, and Indigenous Rights in Guatemala
The imposing statue of Anastasio Tzul, the nineteenth-century Guatemalan Indigenous intellectual and resistance leader, has presided over the tree-lined square in the town of Totonicapán in western Guatemala for as long as anyone can remember. But on a recent visit, it stood in mourning. Tzul, gripping the wooden cane carried by traditional Mayan authorities, was … Read more
Prisons: In Jail, But Not Sentenced
Watch an AQ Q&A with Richard Aborn. Lea una versión de este artículo en español aquí. Each year, millions of people across the world find themselves in jail without being convicted of anything—often for months at a time—as they await trial. Alarmingly, although the rights to liberty, security and equal justice under the law are cornerstones of … Read more
The Geopolitics of the Modern Resource Boom
The specter of resource insecurity is back. Intensified resource stress, driven in part by the booming demand from emerging economies and a decade of tight commodity markets, is reshaping the global economy. Whether the resources are actually diminishing is a matter of debate, but one thing is clear: the resources sector is increasingly characterized by … Read more
Dispatches: Ciudad Juárez
Civic and economic life is coming back to a city once synonymous with gangland murders and violence against women. The lunch shift is in full swing at Viva Juárez restaurant. After a morning of shopping, pedestrians trickle into the popular eatery on Avenida Benito Juárez, where cooks chop onions and peppers at a formica counter … Read more
Ask the Experts: Mining
Jon Samuel answers: To secure a positive development outcome from mining, governments first need to create the conditions that will attract investment in new mines. This starts with open and honest means of allocating mineral exploration and development rights, the rule of law, a stable regulatory and fiscal regime, and openness to foreign investment. … Read more
[i]Chocolate and Corn Flour: History, Race, and Place in the Making of “Black” Mexico[/i] by Laura A. Lewis
Mexico is not the first country that comes to mind when the issue of Afro-descendants in the Americas is discussed. Unlike the better-known cases of Brazil and Colombia—with 91 million and 15 million Afro-descendants, respectively—Mexico’s national statistics agency recognizes only an estimated 500,000 citizens as Afro-descendant, less than 0.5 percent of the total population. However, … Read more
[i]La silenciosa conquista china[/i] by Juan Pablo Cardenal and Heriberto Araújo
A flurry of new books dedicated to understanding the implications of China’s expanding global influence across the developing world has appeared in recent years. La silenciosa conquista china (The Silent Chinese Conquest), written by two China-based journalists, Juan Pablo Cardenal and Heriberto Araújo, stands out for the investigative journalistic approach the authors have brought to … Read more
[i]Drug Trafficking and the Law in Central America: Bribes, Bullets, and Intimidation[/i] by Julie Marie Bunck and Michael Ross Fowler
Central America is receiving more attention in the U.S. news media and from the U.S. government than at any time since the region’s civil wars and domestic insurgencies three decades ago. Unfortunately, the attention is negative. The focus has shifted from the 1980s Cold War battles of President Ronald Reagan’s administration to the violence associated … Read more
From the Think Tanks
Completar la Escuela: Un Derecho para Crecer, un Deber para Compartir (Completing School: A Right to Grow, a Duty to Share) is the newest study on education, its link to child development and the barriers to accessing quality education. The report points out that 22.1 million adolescents and school-age children in Latin America and the … Read more
