Stories about Latin America from May, 2010
Uruguay: Silent March Remembering Disappeared Detainees
This year marked the 15th silent march that takes place every May 20 in remembrance of those detained and disappeared during the military dictatorship of Uruguay.
Cuba: Monitoring Arrests
Ever since the February, 2010 death of Orlando Zapato Tamayo, the first Cuban hunger striker to perish in 40 years, the situation in the island appears to have become even more tense.
Puerto Rico: Violent Confrontation With Demonstrators
Last night, as the governor of Puerto Rico Luis Fortuño held a political fundraiser at the Sheraton Hotel in San Juan, students and supporters clashed with special police forces who arrived to quash a demonstration in the lobby.
Puerto Rico: The University Protest seen through Online Video
The University of Puerto Rico's month long protest against budget cuts is still going strong. Through online video the students hunkered down inside the Rio Piedras campus keep the information flow active.
Argentina: Rocker Gustavo Cerati Suffers Stroke After Concert
During a concert in Venezuela, Argentinean rock star Gustavo Cerati suffered a stroke, which was followed by an outpouring of support by fans, as well as false rumors of his passing.
Brazil: 5XFavela: Art Breaking Social and Cultural Barriers
5X Favela is a social and cultural project that resulted in a feature film about the country's favelas being presented this week at the Cannes Film Festival. It is the first Brazilian feature film of its kind to be made by slum-dwellers themselves. But before traveling to the festival, Felha, one of the directors was randomly humiliated by police, showing that we still have some way to go in altering this stigma of Brazilian society.
Uruguay: First Woman Elected as Intendant of Montevideo
Ana Olivera, a member of the Uruguayan Communist Party was elected Municipal Intendant of Montevideo. Her candidacy and the politics and history behind it gave social media users and bloggers a lot to talk about.
Colombia: Presidential Candidates Answered Questions Asked on Youtube
Colombian political website La Silla Vacía [es] (The Empty Chair) with the support of TV news channel NTN24 organized a presidential debate where candidates answered questions people submitted through online video platforms, emulating the CNN YouTube debate that some say [es] put Obama in the White House.
Bolivia: New Coliseum in El Alto
Letras Alteñas [es] posts photos of the new coliseum that is being built in the Senkata neighborhood of El Alto, Bolivia.
Iran: The Iran-Brazil-Turkey Nuclear Deal
In Brazil, Maria Frô describes the deal signed by Iran, Brazil and Turkey as the major victory of the Brazilian diplomacy in recent times [pt]; on the other hand, in India, The Acorn blog considers it as an Iranian attempt to acquire more time and diplomatic space.
Brazil: Using Cleaner Fuels in Ships
Ambiente Brasil reports [pt] on the bill nº 7006/10 by the parliamentarian Carlos Bezerra. It intends to prohibit the traffic of ships whose fuels contain more than a thousand parts per million of brimstone in Brazilian waters, reducing the impact of pollution caused by them in cities close to the...
Brazil: Ants Protest Insecticide
Ants protest is an artistic video made and posted by attaspp in Vimeo and features a group of ants carrying placards reading “Stop the killing” and crossed out Baygon logos, the brand name for an insecticide. Wish to know how it was done? The Brazilian director has also posted a...
Puerto Rico: Second national strike in less than a year
The student movement and the strike they have sustained for almost a month at the main campus of the state-run University of Puerto Rico (UPR) and in 10 of the 11 campuses has catalyzed a massive social movement that has convened a national strike for today, May 18, 2010. As...
Peru: Lima Electric Train Project Resumes
The Lima electric train project has resumed, and as a result, 26 cement pillars have been demolished because of a new project design writes Living in Peru.
Guatemala: One Year After Death of Rodrigo Rosenberg
One year after the death of Guatemalan lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg and his post-humous video that accused President Álvaro Colom of being behind his death, but which was later found to be a false accusation, Luis Figueroa of the blog Carpe Diem [es] still has a lot of unanswered questions about...
Puerto Rico: In Solidarity
Repeating Islands reports that “public figures including musicians, singers, and sports personalities from Latin America and Spain” have sent messages of support to the students who are on strike at the University of Puerto Rico.
Chile: The Rebirth After the Earthquake Tragedy
The 2010 Global Voices Citizen Media Summit sought to engage Chilean bloggers through a blogging competition organized in collaboration with the organization OCD Iberoamérica. Here is the winning post written by Isidora Barroso.
Ecuador: Science and Technology Fair in Catacocha
The 5th Science and Technology Fair recently took place in Catacocha in the Ecuadorian province of Loja, writes Voces Lojanas [es].
Mexico: Revelations of Crimes by Father Maciel
In Mexico, nearly 2 years after the death of Roman Catholic priest, Father Marcial Maciel, who founded the order the Legion of Christ, additional details of the crimes of abuse have been made public, which has been difficult for the victims left behind.
Puerto Rico: 99 Years
Repeating Islands posts that “Juan Martínez Matos pleaded guilty yesterday in a Puerto Rican court to last year’s murder of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado” and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.
Cuba: Remembering Zapata
Uncommon Sense pays tribute to the late political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo, who would have turned 43 tomorrow, while El Cafe Cubano reports that his tomb has been desecrated.
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.
