Afro-descendant women gather in push for racial justice
Artist and activist Bree Newsome became an internet sensation, this weekend, after she briefly took down the Confederate flag that stands on the grounds of South Carolina’s state capitol. Many viewed her act as an important statement about racial equality in the United States. But it was also a reminder of how Afro-descendant women are taking the … Read more
This Week in Latin America: Dilma visits U.S.—DR defends immigration policy—Honduras protests—Colombia false positives
Here’s a look at some of the stories we’ll be following this week: Dilma and Obama Meet on Climate, Trade: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff travels to Washington, DC today to meet with President Barack Obama. The trip, partly the product of a yearlong charm offensive by Vice President Joe Biden, is a sign of warming … Read more
How Guns N’ Roses brought down Manuel Noriega
It was thanks in part to rock and roll hits from bands such as The Doors and Guns N’ Roses that Manuel Noriega, the former military dictator of Panama, fell from grace. In December 1989, with Noriega holed up at the Vatican embassy in Panama, the U.S. military installed a line of stereo speakers around the building blaring songs such as “Dead … Read more
Panama’s success isn’t just about economics
Over the past decade, Panama has often been in the international spotlight thanks to robust economic growth rates that consistently outrank those of its neighbors in Latin America and the Caribbean. On Wednesday, the country received a different kind of attention after taking the top spot in the Gallup-Healthways Global Well-Being Index for the second year in a row. The index, which uses public surveys … Read more
Cuba’s Internet: scarce, expensive and still censored
Cuba still lags far behind its Latin American counterparts on internet access, despite this week’s announcement that the government will provide Wi-Fi access to 35 state-run computer centers. Since the country’s first, humble 64kbit/s connection was established in 1996, not much has changed. Only 3.4 percent of Cuban households are connected, and a mere five … Read more
From Guatemala to Peru, Protests Sweep Across Latin America
In his 1982 Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez spoke of the conflict and violence plaguing Latin America, including El Salvador’s 12 year civil war and Argentina’s Dirty War. “There have been five wars and seventeen military coups; there emerged a diabolic dictator who is carrying out, in God’s name, the first Latin American ethnocide … Read more
Monday Memo: Mexican Same-Sex Marriage—Haitian Deportation—U.S. and Venezuela Meeting—Nicaraguan Protest—ELN Leader Death
This week’s likely news stories: Dominican Republic set to deport individuals of Haitian descent; Mexican high court paves way for full marriage equality; U.S. and Venezuelan officials meet in Haiti, address strained relations; Nicaraguans protest Chinese-funded canal project; top ELN commander killed in Colombia Dominican Republic to Deport Dominicans of Haitian Descent: The Dominican Republic … Read more
Un breve análisis sobre el primer año de gobierno en El Salvador
El segundo gobierno del Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN) recién cumplió su primer año de gestión bajo el mando del Presidente Salvador Sánchez Cerén. El primer aniversario de Sánchez Cerén llegó bajo la sombra de uno de los meses más violentos desde los Acuerdos de Paz en 1992. El mes de mayo … Read more
Monday Memo: Mexican Elections—G7 Climate Summit—EU-CELAC Summit—Argentine Debt—Honduras Protests
This week’s likely news stories: Mexico’s ruling party wins the congressional elections; Canada and Japan block a G7 statement on carbon emissions; Latin American officials to discuss Mercosur at EU-CELAC Summit; Argentina’s debt inflates after U.S. court ruling; protestors demand Honduran president’s resignation. Mexico’s Ruling Party to Maintain Majority in Lower House after Elections: Despite … Read more
Report Accuses Red Cross of Failed Haiti Relief Efforts
A joint report by ProPublica and NPR released Wednesday alleges that the Red Cross “repeatedly failed” in its efforts to provide adequate support to Haiti after the country’s 2010 earthquake. Among other shortcomings, the report says the aid group only built six houses, despite announcing two high-profile housing projects and raising nearly $500 million in … Read more
Monday Memo: Marches in Venezuela—Guatemalan Protests—Chilean Education Law—Transgender Inmates in Rio—Colombian Murder Trial
Thousands Amass in Venezuela for Anti-Government Protest: Nearly 3,000 Venezuelan demonstrators clothed in white marched in Caracas on Saturday in the largest protest since last year’s surge of anti-government demonstrations. In a video filmed from his jail cell prior to the protests, former opposition Mayor Leopoldo López encouraged supporters to protest peacefully to demand the … Read more
Cuba Officially Removed from U.S. Terrorism List
The era of acrimonious relations between Cuba and the U.S. may soon come to a close as Cuba’s designation on the U.S. Department of State’s list of state sponsors of terrorism (SSOT) has officially been rescinded after a final decision from Secretary of State John Kerry today. On April 14, President Barack Obama announced his … Read more
Corruption Network in Guatemalan Health System Exposed
Guatemalan authorities arrested 17 people, including the head of the Guatemalan Central bank, on Wednesday in an ongoing investigation into fraud at the Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social (IGSS—Guatemalan Institute of Social Security) that resulted in the deaths of at least five kidney failure patients. In December 2014, IGSS changed its supplier of kidney dialysis … Read more
Additional Guatemalan Officials Resign Amid Allegations of Corruption
Guatemala’s Ministers of Interior, Energy and Mining, Environment, and the Secretary of Intelligence resigned on Thursday, amid a series of corruption scandals. The resignations come two weeks after Vice President Roxana Baldetti was forced to step down due to a top aide’s involvement in customs fraud. Despite the resignations, President Otto Pérez Molina refuted claims … Read more
Veteran Judge Sworn in as Guatemala’s New Vice President
Judge Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre was sworn in as Guatemala’s new vice president on May 15 after his predecessor, Roxana Baldetti, was forced to step down in the wake of a major corruption scandal. Maldonado Aguirre was not originally included in the shortlist of candidates that President Otto Pérez Molina sent to Congress. The original list … Read more
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