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December 30, 2008
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, an opportune time for President-elect Obama to signal an end to the Cuban embargo. During the campaign, Obama promised to “turn the page and begin to write a new chapter in U.S.-Cuba policy.” Contrary to the Bush administration's policies, Obama said he would give Cuban-Americans “unrestricted rights” to visit family and send cash remittances to the island. But he stopped short on endorsing an end to the embargo.
December 26, 2008
A proposed gold mining project in northern Costa Rica has stirred grassroots opposition in this country, which has long prided itself as a world leader in "green" environmental policies. The Crucitas mine threatens two species facing extinction, and the government's approval of the project has led to a criminal investigation into whether Costa Rica's president knowingly violated local and international environmental laws.
December 22, 2008
Canada's role in the hemisphere is often portrayed by its officials as that of an understanding, well-intentioned partner. But Ottawa's aggressive pursuit of a free trade deal with the government of Colombia shows its policies toward Latin America run parallel to those of Washington, showing the same disregard for human rights and democratic accountability. In Latin America, Canada plays "good cop" to Washington's bullying.
December 19, 2008
The mainstream media is howling over Hugo Chávez's bid to change the constitution for a third term, while coverage of Colombia's Álvaro Uribe, a staunch U.S. ally, to do the same raises few, if any, questions in the media. U.S. news coverage of parallel political events in Colombia and Venezuela offers an opportunity to test the usefulness of Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky's "propaganda model," developed in their 1988 book Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media.
December 19, 2008
The mainstream media is howling over Hugo Chávez's bid to change the constitution for a third term, while coverage of Colombia's Álvaro Uribe, a staunch U.S. ally, to do the same raises few, if any, questions in the media. U.S. news coverage of parallel political events in Colombia and Venezuela offers an opportunity to test the usefulness of Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky’s “propaganda model,” developed in their 1988 book Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media.
December 17, 2008
In an open letter to the Board of Directors of Human Rights Watch, over 100 experts on Latin America criticized the organization's recent report on Venezuela, A Decade Under Chávez: Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela, saying that it "does not meet even the most minimal standards of scholarship, impartiality, accuracy, or credibility."
December 15, 2008
A recent massacre of riders on a passenger bus was a painful reminder that violence in Guatemala is out of control. Homicide rates now surpass even those of the country's bloody civil war. Savage violence is affecting all sectors of society and is being perpetrated by a dizzying array of sources—common criminals, narco-traffickers, street gangs, and the state security forces. Sadly, another generation of Guatemalans is growing up in a society consumed by violence.
December 12, 2008
With a mandate from the U.S. public and the voters of Florida, Barack Obama has the perfect opportunity not only to keep his promise to end restrictions on Cuban American travel and remittances; he has the political capital to pursue an even more audacious approach. In so doing, he may be able to count on support from a majority of Cuban Americans, according to a brand new survey conducted by Florida International University (FIU).
December 10, 2008
Writing a thesis paper is normally the arduous culmination of years of study for most graduate students. For Lucía Morett of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, it turned into a fiery nightmare. While studying popular song and theater in Latin American guerrilla movements, she barely survived Colombian jets' aerial bombing of the jungle camp where she was staying. Four of her fellow students weren't as lucky. This is her story.