The New Pope and Gay Rights
While naysayers joke that the Cardinals may as well have elected another Italian Pope in choosing a porteño, the move to elect Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, now Pope Francis, is of undeniable significance for the global south. This is particularly true for Latin Americans, who—while accounting for 40 percent of all Catholics—often complain of … Read more
Argentina and the IMF
Last Friday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board of Governors voted to censure Argentina for failing to revise its widely-disputed inflation data. Censure by the IMF is historic for a G20 member—having never occurred previously—and will likely harm Argentina’s already-limited access to foreign capital. If Argentina does not provide new inflation data and implement “remedial … Read more
Mining Tensions in Peru and Argentina
The mining boom has brought huge economic benefits to some of Latin America’s least developed countries. But in big mining countries like Colombia and Bolivia the industry’s success is accompanied by an increase in protests, violence and human rights abuses. Not everyone has been able to share in the wealth created by mining—and in many … Read more
LGBT Rights in the Americas
A transformation, some would even say a revolution, is taking place in our understanding of democracy. Citizens and nations are increasingly recognizing that freedom and equality under the law requires protecting the rights, status and expression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. What was a taboo subject 20 years ago is today open … Read more
Thirty Years Later: The Importance of the Malvinas
Today marks the 30-year anniversary of the start of the 74-day Malvinas War. Although control of the islands is often seen as an issue of national pride, the Malvinas (known as the Falklands outside of Latin America) are also important geostrategic and economic assets. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, rhetoric over the islands’ status has yet … Read more
There But Not Equal
In 1973, Billie Jean King invited 62 other women tennis players to a meeting in London and convinced them to join her in the creation of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). It was a first step toward male-female equality in the sport that King had championed for years. Today, the WTA runs 52 tournaments in … Read more
Sports Populism
When Brazil’s national soccer team flew home with the 1970 Jules Rimet trophy from that year’s World Cup, the players’ first stop was Brasilia, where they were warmly welcomed by then-leader General Emilio Garrastazu Médici. To everyone’s surprise, Médici had opened the presidential palace gates to the general public for the first time since the … Read more
Argentina’s Migration Solution
Most Latin American countries have regarded immigration policy as a function of border protection, using approaches that emphasize security and law enforcement, including strict regulation of work and residency permits. Nevertheless, such policies have not only failed in recent years to curb the growth of undocumented migrants; they have also clashed with resolutions adopted in … Read more
Six Reasons Why Argentina Legalized Gay Marriage First
Javier Corrales also wrote for AQ Online in March on Latin American Gays: The Post-Left Leftists, examining the innovative and successful political strategies—in action and thinking—adopted by LGBT groups in Latin America in the last decade. —AQ This month, Argentina changed its civil code to permit gay marriage and adoptions, becoming the first nation in … Read more
What Role for Foreigners?
U.S. sporting-goods entrepreneur Douglas Tompkins first fell in love with Patagonia as a teenager on backpacking trips. Today, he is one of Latin America’s largest private landowners, controlling an estimated 2 million acres (800,000 hectares) straddling Argentina and Chile at the tip of the continent. However, the 66-year-old New York native, who founded the North … Read more
Arts Innovator: Tonolec, Argentina
Often associated with melancholy tangos and chart-topping rock en español, Argentina’s music scene is taking a techno/traditional turn with the band Tonolec (www.tonolec.com.ar). The Buenos Aires-based duo, Charo Bogarín and Diego Pérez, have introduced indigenous musical traditions from their native Resistencia (in Argentina’s northeastern Chaco province) to the mainstream.
SAME SEX: Rights to get married
“To marry or not to marry?” For Latin America’s gays and lesbians this is not the existential dilemma that it is for most heterosexual couples. It is the object of an intense political struggle waged country by country. With some notable exceptions, same-sex couples across the region cannot enjoy conjugal or parental rights.
Innovators/Innovations
Angel Medina
Ecuador
When he was 17, Angel Medina joined the Federación Interprovincial de Indígenas Saraguros, an indigenous advocacy organization in Ecuador. Four years later, he was the group’s president. Anyone who knows him wouldn’t be surprised. The indigenous leader, now 38, has a talent for bringing people together. Today, as founder and president of the indigenous rights organization Fundación Q’ellkaj (the Quichua word for “producer of knowledge”), he is putting that talent to use by bridging the racial divide in his country…
