Stories about Latin America from April, 2015
At Least 30 People Killled After Heavy Rains in Chile
The heaviest rains to hit Chile's northern region in decades have costed the life of at least 30 people, according to the most recent report by the National Office of Emergency of the Interior Ministry (known as Onemi), dated April 21. At the time of writing the original post of this translation,...
A Chilean Real-Time Video App Launches at the Boston Marathon
The application RhinoBirdTV, developed by the Chilean Felipe Heusser, who founded the NGO Ciudadano Inteligente, allows users to share video experiences in real time. The makers of RhinoBirdTV hope their product will help facilitate a more democratic world by breaking down boundaries and connecting people through simple-to-distribute live videos. RhinoBirdTV chose to launch its Android version on...
How a Youth Collective Is Changing the Brazilian Amazon Community of Cabelo Seco
"The community still faces weaknesses, fights and disputes, a lot of worries at home and in the streets, but we try to overcome all that."
The Quest for the Mexican Miracle
Against the backdrop of elections scheduled for 7 June 2015 in Mexico, Fernando Vazquez blogging on Futuros Anticipados reflects on the quest for a miracle in development, growth and honesty, at times hindered by apathy and inaction of some. […] se firmó el TLC, se adelgazó al estado, se privatizó la industria pública....
‘Nappies in Adolescence': Alarming Number of Pregnant Teens in Venezuela
Desireé Lozano, blogging for Voces Visibles, urges attention be paid to the extremely high rate of teenage pregnancies in Venezuela, where 25% of the pregnancies are among young people, and the lack of an appropriate public policy to counter this phenomenon and its repercussions. Venezuelan statistics are the highest in South America...
Chilean Volcano Wakes Up After Four Decades of Inactivity With Violent, Spectacular Eruption
The Chilean government declared a state of emergency caused by the disaster in towns near the Calbuco volcano, in southern Chile and on the border with Argentina, after it erupted violently Wednesday. The people of Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas, Frutillar in Chile and Villa La Angostura, San Martin de los Andes...
Is Mexico’s National Game a Beloved Sport or Animal Cruelty?
Is charrería an expression of Mexican folklore or an abusive practice against animals?
Peru Struggles to Navigate the Needs of Intelligence Collection and Privacy Rights
The political storm caused by revelations about the country's chief intelligence agency has subsided, but the debate about security and privacy is still booming and banging.
Mexican Rescue Team Asks for Help to Go to Nepal
Urgen donativos para 25 rescatistas paypal:donativos@brigada-rescate-topos.org CLABE Santander:01418092000709294 tel.5554160417 #ToposANepal — Topos México (@topos) April 27, 2015 Donations are needed urgently for 25 rescuers paypal: donativos@brigada-rescate-topos.org CLABE Santander:01418092000709294 tel.5554160417 #ToposANepal (Topos to Nepal) The Rescue Brigade Topos México Tlatelolco has started a fundraising campaign to be able to join rescue efforts there after a 7.8...
‘There Is a Word Missing in the History of the Armenian Genocide: Justice’
Only five Latin American countries have recognized the Armenian genocide, among them Argentina, where a journalist tells the story of her grandparents harrowing escape.
Thousands of Guatemalans March to Demand Resignations of Top Leadership
According to some analysts, these protests are different from demonstrations against "corruption as usual," and could lead to an institutional crisis, early elections, or even a coup.
Late Author Eduardo Galeano Saw Something Deeply Profound in Soccer
The Uruguayan writer was one of the first in Latin America to dare to muse on the nature of the game known as the opium of the people.
Colombia's Festival on the Value of Data in Development
The Cartagena Data Festival has just wrapped up in Cartagena, Colombia. The festival is an international event committed to discussing data deployment for human development and related topics, like open data, data journalism, big data, and other analysis tools. The festival, which ran from April 20 to April 22 and took place in...
Mexico's Escalating Labor Strike in San Quentin
Global Voices looks at farm workers' protests in San Quintin and Mexico's larger ethnic conflict and social challenges.
Are Blogs an Endangered Species?
This text is part of the 46th #LunesDeBlogsGV (#MondayBlogsOnGlobalVoices) on March 23, 2015. On #LunesDeBlogsGV (#MondayOfBlogsOnGlobalVoices), we work to preserve blogs as an “endangered species”, confronting the challenges that threaten their existence in today's digital jungle. In a similar effort, the blogger Iván Lasso compiles stories about the future of blogging and the problems bloggers face today, when their...
‘We Want Answers': Mexico’s Federal Police Accused of Massacre at Apatzingán
An investigative report debunks the Mexican government's version of a shooting in January. "Friendly fire" among civilians didn't leave 16 people dead. Federal police firing into a downtown plaza did.
What Does Hacking Education Mean?
Pedro Muller reflects on the lapse of the school system, an institution he says meant for a different historical context. In this regard, he notes the importance of two similar, but at the same time different, concepts: “to study” and “to be educated”: El educar se va más allá de...
Ecuadorian Woman Fights for Right to Save Sister-in-Law with Organ Transplant
Daniela Peralta fights an Ecuadorian law that prevents her from donating organ tissue to save her sister-in-law, who is suffering from kidney failure.
The Controversial Tweet That Led a Costa Rican Official to Resign
Julia Ardón, a social media aide for Costa Rica's president, attracted a firestorm of criticism for tweeting from her personal account against the Catholic Church's stance on in vitro fertilization.
Protecting Personal Data in Argentina Is a Work in Progress
In an article for online magazine Digital Rights: Latin America & The Caribbean, No.21, Argentinean lawyer Valeria Milanés explains that even though the United States is a world leader in data processing, it does not have legislation for the protection of personal data. The US is also considered to have “an inadequate level of protection...
Until You Change: ‘Dehomosexualization’ the Ecuadorian Way
Ecuador's government is trying to close or regulate an army of private rehabilitation centers that claim to be able to change individuals' sexual orientations and gender identifications.
About our Latin America coverage
Melissa Vida is the Latin America Spanish-language editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
Fernanda Canofre is the Brazil editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
