Stories about Latin America from August, 2011
Puerto Rico: My Life with Irene
Writer Mayra Santos Febres narrates her storm story: “Gasping and Sweating Post-Irene” [es]: “There have been so many rainy days that I have lost count of how infrequent are the days with sun.”
Puerto Rico: The Secret Lives of Politicians
Law professor and blogger Erika Fontánez analyzes the public debate [es] that has ensued after the revelation of intimate details of two prominent politicians: the “out-of-wedlock” daughter of the president of the Senate, Thomas Rivera Schatz [es], and the photos of a naked man posted on a gay site that...
Puerto Rico: Noticel and Puerto Rico Indie
The online news site Noticel has started a collaboration with the alternative music blog Puerto Rico Indie [es].
Cuba: Woman Evicted
Pedazos de La Isla highlights the case of Mercedes Reyes, who was evicted from her home, allegedly for the purpose of turning the property into a Civil Registry Office, saying: “Another victim of eviction and injustice turns to the Cuban resistance to channel their denouncements, their complaints. And the world...
Cuba: Pseudo-Transparency
Without Evasion considers Raul Castro's pledge “to develop a new brave, honest and transparent journalism during the Sixth Congress of the CCP”, saying: “If the coverage of what happened in Libya is an example of what our reformist General considers information transparency, we can clearly intuit how little faith we...
Mexico: Searching for Victims of Casino Attack via Twitter
Global Voices author Issa Villarreal put together a Storify post showing how family and friends of the victims of the Casino Royale attack in Monterrey are using Twitter to search for information about their loved ones.
Paraguay: Images of a Weekend in Iturbe
Cazador de Instantes posts a photo essay of a weekend in Iturbe, Paraguay.
Colombia: #ColombiaisBeautiful vs. Hollywood
Lina Salazar in the Americas Quarterly blog comments on the movie Colombiana “(yet another) movie in which Colombia is portrayed as a land of cocaine, crime and armed insurrection”. She mentions several initiatives that are looking to change this negative image of Colombia, like #ColombiaisBeautiful, “a grassroots social media campaign...
Mexico: 61 Die in Attack on Casino in Monterrey
On Thursday, August 25, gunmen set the Casino Royale in Monterrey on fire. Gancho reports on the latest death toll and briefly explains what was behind this attack: “Sixty-one people were killed in a casino in Monterrey yesterday, after the owners refused to make extortion payments to the Zetas.” On...
Colombia: ‘Blank Vote, Worthy Vote’
Colombians are invited to cast blank ballots in the regional and local elections to be held on October 30, 2011 through the video “Blank vote, worthy vote” by NachoVelezJim on YouTube. The argument for such a move is that scandals of government corruption have made the country lose billions of...
Uruguay Celebrates Independence Day
Today, August 25, Uruguay is celebrating 186 years of its declaration of independence. Federico Lorenzo shares [es] today's Google doodle on the search engine's Uruguayan version, and comments on the history behind the country's independence.
Peru: Ripley Department Store Workers Maintain Demands
Ripley Peru union workers have announced that they will not give up their demands [es] for an increase in the basic monthly salary to 350 nuevos soles [es] (around US $130). They also ask for a payment of 50% of their snack and 100% of their transportation for workers who...
Colombia: Football Federation Accepts ‘Bolillo’ Gómez's Resignation as Head Coach
On Sunday, August 21, Hernán Darío Gómez ratified his resignation as head coach of the Colombian national soccer team after he hit a woman in Bogotá. This time the Colombian Football Federation accepted the resignation, but the issue continues to generate various online reactions.
Mexico: Outrage After Shooting During Football Match in Torreón
Mexican citizens use the blogosphere and social networks to speak out about the armed conflict that took in Torreón (outside the Territorio Santos Modelo stadium), which caused panic and uncertainty among fans, and the cancellation of the match.
Chile: #Paronacional (National Strike) vs. #Yonoparo (I Don't Strike)
The Workers' United Center of Chile has called for a national strike for the 24 and 25 of August 2011, as a form of protest against social and economic inequality in Chile. On Twitter, reactions for and against this protest have been echoed on the hashtags #paronacional (national strike) and #yonoparo (I don't strike).
Peru: 7.0-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Jungle Region
Juan Arellano –Global Voices author and Spanish Translation Manager– is updating a Storify post [es] with Twitter reactions to a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit the Peruvian jungle near the border with Brazil. The earthquake was felt in most of Peru and in parts of Ecuador and Brazil.
Cuba: Female Activists Detained
Four women who took to Havana's Capitol building to protest recent actions against The Ladies in White have reportedly been detained; Uncommon Sense has the details.
Chile: Citizen Reports about National Strike on Google Maps
Mi Voz has set up a map on Google Maps [es] with citizen reports about the national strike taking place on August 24 and 25 throughout Chile.
Chile: Explaining the ‘Chilean Revolution’
Setty, a journalist living in Chile, explains ‘the Chilean revolution': “Chile is supposed to be the stodgy, conservative, institutionality-respecting corner of South America, where nothing ever happens. But this is changing as the public runs out of patience after centuries of being told that if they wait and work hard,...
Peru: Congress Passes Law Requiring Prior Consultation With Indigenous Peoples
The Peruvian Congress unanimously approved the ‘Prior Consultation Law‘ for indigenous or native peoples (“Ley de Consulta Previa a los Pueblos Indígenas u Originarios“[es] in Spanish), which establishes the mandatory or biding character of the consultations with indigenous peoples [es]. It is expected that President Ollanta Humala will soon sign...
Brazil: Global Action Against Belo Monte Dam in Images
Protests against Brazil's Belo Monte hydroelectric power plant dam have gone global. In this post, we compile a selection of photos and videos featuring the worldwide demonstrations, from the streets of many Brazilian cities to the rest of the world.
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