Politics, Business & Culture in the Americas
 

AQ Video: Entrevista con el Sr. Alcalde Pedro Edmunds Paoa

Americas Quarterly conversó con el Alcalde Pedro Pablo Petero Edmunds Paoa, el alcalde de la Isla de Pascua, conocido como Rapa Nui en el idioma nativo, durante su visita a Nueva York en diciembre del año 2014. De origen rapanui, Edmunds Paoa ha desarrollado su carrera política en la Isla de Pascua, donde ha llevado … Read more

 

Unpopular Austerity Measures May Be Brazil’s Best Path to Growth

A proposed government austerity package may keep Brazil from a credit rating downgrade, but could cost President Dilma Rousseff some of her biggest supporters: the country’s labor unions. Lawmakers in Brazil’s lower house passed a proposed bill this week that would limit thousands of workers’ access to social security benefits. The MP 665 bill was … Read more

 

Sixty Percent of Latin Americans Will Have Internet Access in 2016

The number of Latin Americans with access to the Internet will increase by 20 percent over the next twelve months, according to the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Address Registry (LACNIC). The Uruguay-based NGO is one of five Regional Internet Registries in the world that assigns and administers IP addresses to local Internet service providers—it also advocates for Internet development in … Read more

Boi Bumbá

Festivals: Brazil’s Boi-Bumbá

If Rio de Janeiro’s Carnaval is the greatest party in the world, then Boi Bumbá (beat the bull) is a close second. Every June, thousands of Brazilians flock to the small Amazonian river town of Parintins, Amazonas—halfway between Santarém and Manaus—to celebrate Brazil’s second-largest annual festival. Boi Bumbá pits the city’s two samba schools—the Garantido … Read more

Brazil

The Washington Dissensus

Brazil is little understood or appreciated in the United States. The lack of knowledge about the world’s seventh largest economy—and the second largest democracy in the Western Hemisphere—is particularly evident in Washington beyond a small circle of “Brazil hands.” When the subject of Brazil comes up at all in Beltway policy circles, it is usually … Read more

Brazil internet

Brazil’s Internet Bill of Rights

In April 2014, Web luminaries Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Vint Cerf joined over 850 academics, government officials and activists in São Paulo to attend NETmundial, Brazil’s unique Internet forum. At the opening ceremony, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff signed into law the Marco Civil da Internet (Civil Rights Framework for the Internet), which established a groundbreaking … Read more

Dilma_TruthCommission

Brazil’s Truth Commission: Many Recommendations, Little Action

Last December, Brazil’s National Truth Commission handed President Dilma Rousseff a 1,000-page report detailing human rights violations and acts of torture carried out during the country’s 1964–1985 dictatorship. A somber Rousseff recalled her own incarceration and torture as a young guerrilla leader and asked the audience to remember those lost during that dark period in … Read more

Fundación Ciudadano Inteligente, Pablo Collada

Fundación Ciudadano Inteligente

Fundación Ciudadano Inteligente (Smart Citizen Foundation) was founded in 2009—a time when Chile’s new Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information had just come into force. Yet few Chileans were taking advantage of the law, which requires government agencies to reply to individual information requests and disclose operational costs, budgets and other information online. … Read more

bamlou Getty

Partido de la Red and DemocracyOS

Even as technology has radically transformed how we relate in the twenty-first century, democracy has been slow to catch up. Political corruption and ineffective bureaucracies have contributed to a declining faith in government, as demonstrated by widespread protests from Mexico and the United States to Argentina. But a group of activists, entrepreneurs, hackers, and students … Read more

 

Monday Memo: Brazilian Corruption—Bolivian Opposition—Bolivia-Chile Dispute—Marijuana in Puerto Rico—Chemical Leak in Costa Rica

This week’s likely top stories: Former Brazilian president investigated; Opposition gains influence in Bolivia; ICJ hearing on Bolivia-Chile border dispute begins; Puerto Rico legalizes medical marijuana; Costa Rican coast suffers chemical spill. Report of an Inquiry into Lula Shocks Brazil: On Friday, Brazilians were shaken by news of a probe regarding possible influence-peddling by former … Read more

 

Peruvian President Humala Ends Conflict With Chile Over Espionage

After more than two months of diplomatic tension between Peru and Chile over accusations that Peruvian naval officials had sold secrets to Chilean intelligence, Peruvian President Ollanta Humala announced yesterday that the countries have resolved the dispute. Humala said that he “recognizes the constructive attitude and dialogue of President Michelle Bachelet’s government in deploring these … Read more

 

Sole Survivor of Brazilian Torture Site Dies

Inês Etienne Romeu, a former political prisoner and the only person to survive the infamous Casa da Morte (House of Death), a clandestine torture site in Petrópolis used by Brazil’s military dictatorship, died in her sleep yesterday morning. She was 72. Romeu, who had been a member of the Vanguarda Popular Revolucionária (Popular Revolutionary Vanguard) … Read more

 

Monday Memo: U.S.-Colombia Talks—Guatemala Protests—Buenos Aires Primaries—Puerto Rico Downgrade—Texas Delegation in Cuba

This week’s likely top stories: U.S.-Colombia Fifth Annual Bilateral Meeting; Protesters denounce corruption in Guatemala; Primaries for local elections held in Buenos Aires; S&P downgrades Puerto Rico; and Texas trade delegation visits Havana. High-level Colombia-U.S. Talks on Mutual Cooperation: The U.S. and Colombia will hold high-level bilateral talks today in Bogotá, Colombia at the office … Read more

 

Argentine President Fernández de Kirchner to Meet with Russian CEOs, Putin

Today, Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner will kick off her state visit to Russia with a meeting of members of the Russian and Argentine business communities in Moscow. Fernández de Kirchner and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet on Thursday to review and follow up on a series of trade, energy and … Read more

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