Stories about Latin America from July, 2010
Panama: Slang and Colloquialism Dictionary
The blog Así es mi país: Panamá shares [es] a list of Panamanian slang and colloquialisms with their corresponding definitions.
El Salvador: San Salvador Named Ibero American Culture Capital of 2011
San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, was named the Ibero American Culture Capital of 2011 [es] by the Union of Ibero American Capital Cities (UCCI) [es]. Roxana Ellerbrock shared the news through one of her social networks and received mixed feelings: some were happy and others criticized the decision; she...
Honduras: Criminal Rule
Aaron Ortiz is critical of the government's approach to fighting crime, and shares his sister's experience: “Just last night, armed robbers broke into my sister’s house and pointed a gun at my nephew and niece. My brother in law, and his mother arrived minutes later and were also robbed.”
Ecuador: Youth in Ambato Get Their Own Venue for Art, Culture and Education
Close to the celebration of International Youth Day, Ecuadorian youth from Ambato are happy they can express their own thoughts in a space of tolerance and mutual respect, after three long years of hard work, writes Gabo of Ambato Loco [es]. With the creation of a “Casa de la Juventud” (House of/for...
Venezuela and Colombia: Online Political Cartoons Add Humor to Current Events
Humorous political cartoons provide a steam valve for Colombians and Venezuelans who tune into the web for different perspectives on current events through animated online web shows.
Brazil: Collaborative Website on Street Dwellers
Maria Frô talks about the new website FalaRua [Street Talking], dedicated to the street dwellers of Brazil. The online community offers information about the Project for Training and Strengthening of Street Dwellers and invites everyone to participate through a quick registration. [all links in Portuguese]
Brazil: Training Citizen Media in the Suburbs of São Paulo
A new citizen journalism project is underway in the poor, marginalized suburbs of São Paulo. Journalist Bruno Garcez launched blog Mural [pt] where he posts citizen media tips and interacts with his students. The new citizen reporters are also invited to publish their reporting and explain the process they have...
Colombia: Twitter Reactions After Special Session Between Venezuela and Colombia at OAS
The recent tension between Colombia and Venezuela was eventually taken to a Special Session in the Organization of American States (OAS) where both ambassadors presented their points of view. During and after the assembly, Colombian twitter users reacted to the events. Here is a summary of those reactions.
Cuba: remembering Zapata Tamayo
Uncommon Sense argues that the recent release of Cuban dissidents was triggered by the death of activist Orlando Zapata Tamayo in early 2010, after a hunger strike. “Events of the past five months, culminating with the release of the 20 prisoners and the promised release of others, have proven that...
Cuba: Capitol stories
Generation Y writes that the historic Capitol building in Havana “has suffered the fate of the castigated” and hopes that it “will become — one day — the site of the Cuban parliament: a magnificent building that houses real debates.”
Brazil: How Could the Amazon Thrive in the 21st Century?
Lou Gold reacts to Andrew Revkin's post at the NY Times blog DotEarth on the future of the Amazon: “Can we really keep marketing the land, its products and services? Can the market really be the final arbiter? What are its limits? Perhaps only catastrophe can show them to us?...
Venezuela: Indigenous Yukpa Protest Outside Supreme Court
Venezuelan Analysis reports: “Over 80 Yukpa indigenous Venezuelans are protesting in front of Venezuela's Supreme Court in order to demand a ruling on whether three arrested Yukpas can be judged under indigenous law rather than the national legal system, in the wake of a conflict over land demarcation.”
Central America: Traveling on a Fellowship and Blogging About it
The blogger from Antigone Wanders is traveling Central America for three months, going through Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. In her latest post she talks about her experience crashing a meeting of “Frente Nacional de Resistencia Popular (FNRP), the Honduran resistance”, she goes on to give the...
Costa Rica: Human Trafficking Awareness
The Rahab foundation in Costa Rica has put out a video warning people about potential job offers which may be too good to be true and put women as victims in human trafficking schemes.
Panama: Questioning Strength of Panamanian Democracy After Protests Against Law 30 and Martinelli
Pilar Chato writes [es] for the blog Oye about the recent violent protests by banana plantation workers in Bocas del Toro that lasted nine days and, as she reports, left “700 detained, hundreds injured and various dead.” She goes on to say that protests against the government of Ricardo Martinelli have escalated:...
Blog Carnival: Colombia, Women and the Web – A Summary
There seems to be a concern among Colombian women about defending their rights and about increasing the number of women who can use the Internet and new media to express themselves and take advantage of the benefits this medium offers, like other women do in other countries. This is evident after going over 21 posts submitted for the first carnival of blogs organized by Global Voices in Spanish: Blog Carnival: Colombia, Women on the Web. Take a look at what these bloggers had to say.
Mozambique/Brazil: “Ethanol diplomacy” meets criticism
NGOs furiously denounced last week's trilateral accord between Brazil, Mozambique and the European Union promoting ethanol production in Mozambique for the European market. The blogsphere provides some background to this "ethanol diplomacy" and questions its future social and environmental impacts.
UK: No Reckoning for Police Excessive Force
Today marks five years since the shocking shooting death of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes by London police. The Brazilian blogosphere has yet to respond. Random Blowe reminds that no official has been held responsible, and compares to the G20 brutality case in which it was just announced there will...
Mexico: Women Sent to Jail in Guanajuato for Spontaneous Abortions
Ximena Vega reports [es] on the ongoing incarceration of women who go through spontaneous abortions (miscarriages) in Guanajuato; she writes that women who have abortions (spontaneously or otherwise) can get an average of 27 years in jail. This has been going on for years, as an article from Human Rights Watch from 2006...
Puerto Rico: the CAC games begin
The Central American and Caribbean Games are under way in Puerto Rico. Gil the Jenius criticises the organisers for “mismanagement” and “incompetence”, and reports on the controversial use of hidden cameras for surveillance of protesters by the police.
Colombia: Twitter Reactions to the Colombian Bicentennial and its Google Doodle
On July 20, Colombia celebrates 200 years of the declaration of independence and the start of the wars which ended August 7, 1819, when the then New Granada achieved its definitive independence from Spain. Colombian Twitter users reacted to the bicentennial celebration, including the Google Doodle chosen for the day.
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