Stories about Spanish from March, 2014
Massive Online Campaign to Free Political Prisoner Oscar López Rivera
The international campaign to free Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera is asking people from all over the world to contribute in making the hashtag #freeOscarLopez a trending topic...
Displaced and Duty-Free in El Tamarindo, Colombia
El Tamarindo was formed by internally displaced families on empty, untitled land in Colombia. With the expansion of the Barranquilla Free Trade Zone, the community is being forcefully displaced again.
The Spanish Newspaper ABC Takes a Beating on Twitter after Publishing an Article against Masturbation
The article was published by a group of experts from the University of Navarra, which belongs to Opus Dei.
Paraguayan President Faces First Major Test as Citizens Prepare for a General Strike
Paraguay will live its first general strike after two decades. Workers, peasants, teacher unions and students will give Horacio Cartes his first major test as president.
The ‘Protest of all Protests’ Calls for Constitutional Reform in Chile
More than 40 civil organisations (with the exception of students) gathered more than a hundred thousand people in Santiago to demand a new constitution by way of a constituent assembly.
President Santos Confirms the Dismissal of Bogotá Mayor Gustavo Petro
The Colombian president did not adopt precautionary measures by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for Gustavo Petro to continue as mayor of Bogotá, the country's capital.
5 Small Businesses Run By Rural Uruguayan Women
Rural Uruguayan women have created successful self-managed small businesses with which they support their families and bring novel and high-quality products to the local market.
Unlocking Time: A Collective Virtual Album of Old Photos from Latin America
All links lead to Spanish-language pages #plenoverano en ABRIR EL TIEMPO: los animales inflables en el mar. Fotos playeras de Uruguay, 1940! pic.twitter.com/IM3Tg801 — Abrir el tiempo (@abrireltiempo) January 16,...
In Peru, Racism Strikes Again
Racism is alive and well in Peru's multiethnic society. With the spread of social networks, racist practices have become a topic of debate among activists and the general public.
Leftist Candidate Wins Presidential Elections in El Salvador by a Margin of 6000 Votes
In El Salvador, candidate Salvador Sánchez Cerén won the presidential election by 6,364 votes. The losing party and their candidate, Norman Quijano, are demanding a recount and calling for protests.
Inside #SOSVenezuela: “People of the World, Help Us!”
Blogger Kira Kariakin writes about the ongoing protests in Venezuela for Future Challenges. She reviews the protesters' demands, the role of mainstream and social media, and analyzes what's to come.
Accused of Murder and Desperate for Justice, Peasants on Hunger Strike in Paraguay
Issues of land distribution and judiciary corruption come to the forefront as peasants accused of the Curuguaty massacre on hunger strike await a fair trial to prove their innocence.
Facebook ‘Courage for’ Page versus the Knights Templar’s Cartel
Saiph Savage and Andrés Monroy-Hernández have been collecting data on a Facebook page that documents the activities of self-defense militia groups in their fight against a drug cartel in Mexico.
For Abortion Rights in Bolivia, A Modest Gain
Bolivia's highest court rejected a constitutional challenge to a restrictive abortion law, while ruling that legal abortions no longer require a judge's consent.
SayIt: Civic Software for ‘Smart’ Transcripts
SayIt is a new software developed to facilitate the almost always taxing job of making transcripts and having them kept as data files.
Mexican Government Censors Website That Documents Human Rights Abuses
The closing of a website that denounces human rights abuses has revealed an alleged censorship collaboration between the Mexican and US governments.
European Union Publishes Comprehensive Survey of Violence Against Women
Nordic countries are among those with the highest survey rates of violence against women: Denmark (52%), Finland (47%) and Sweden (46%).
El Salvador Second Round Election Too Close to Call
Salvadorans went to the polls on Sunday, March 9 to vote in a run-off presidential election, but results are so close that both candidates have declared themselves winners and the...
Peru Considers Eliminating Environmental Impact Studies for Oil Exploration
The announcement by the Minister of Energy and Mines that oil exploration activities would no longer require environmental impact studies has surprised Peruvian environmentalists. Experts are mostly against it.
16 Women Rocking Chile
A photo essay in the website Sentidos Comunes [es] highlights 16 outstanding Chilean women who “are the protagonists of the public agenda in the next five or ten years.” The...
What do Government Supporters Have to Say About Protests in Venezuela?
Two major trends are found online, often under the same tags. We explore the views seen on the Internet during the protests, from the side of the advocates of chavismo.