Stories about Latin America from March, 2014
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.
El Salvador's Election Tribunal Announces Winner in Presidential Race
El Salvador's election tribunal announced that Salvador Sánchez Cerén of the left-wing FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) beat conservative candidate Norman Quijano from the ARENA (Nationalist Republican Alliance) party on Sunday's run-off election. Sánchez Cerén won with 50.11% of the vote. Linda from Linda's El Salvador Blog served as an...
5 Important Points on Colombia's Parliamentary Elections
Bloggings by boz lists 5 points on Colombia's parliamentary elections, which took place on March 9, 2014. 1) Though his coalition lost seats, President Santos keeps a divided and fragile majority coalition in Congress. […] 2) Colombia's party system is divided and weak. No party received over 20% of the...
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.
Mexicans are Pushing for the ‘Redemocratization’ of Democracy
The Mexican population is not with Peña Nieto or the political class. Even the polls, which are generally most sympathetic to the president, accept that no one supports Peña Nieto. The political class seems to think it’s just because the economy hasn’t grown, but it goes far beyond that. Mexicans...
Activists Mobilize for Passage of Brazil's Internet Bill of Rights
Internet rights activists are in Brasilia today to pressure the National Congress to approve the Brazilian bill of rights for Internet users, known as the Marco Civil. One of them is former Global Voices collaborator Diego Casaes, who works with global civic organization Avaaz and wrote on Facebook [pt] before heading to the capital city: Hoje...
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.
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 Supreme Electoral Tribunal has announced that they will do a complete recount in the coming days. In a report about...
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.
Cassava: The Indigenous Root Vegetable That Feeds Brazil and Angola
Farofa, pirão, beiju, funge. Meet four popular dishes made from the cassava root in Brazil and Angola.
Documentary Highlights Resilience of Puerto Ricans Living in New York
A new documentary, "Toñita’s," exposes the crossroads at which the Caribbean community, and the Puerto Rican community in particular, finds itself, in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City.
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 list includes photographer Paloma Palomino, politician Karol Cariola, journalist Isabel Plant, filmmaker Dominga Sotomayor, and illustrator Fran Meneses.
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.
Venezuelan Protesters Behead Hugo Chávez Statue
This photo of a statute of the late president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, has rapidly gone around the world since it was tweeted last week: En Táchira tumbaron el MONUMENTO del Difunto ASESINO y lo decapitaron. PSUV TEMBLAD te llego la hora. #26FMegaTranca pic.twitter.com/4eSOhs4QWG — Christopher Bello R. (@Ethical_Group) February...
Latin American Women Say ‘No’ to Catcalls
Artists and web users share photos and illustrations to criticize catcalling and demand respect for women.
Venezuela Cuts Ties with Panama
The Venezuelan government cut diplomatic and commercial ties with Panama. Social networks have exploded with comments full of surprise at this decision.
Political Representation: A Key Struggle for Afro-descendants in Colombia
With 5 million people, or 10.6% of the total population, Colombia has the largest Afro-descendant population in Latin America, behind only Brazil, according to a 2005 census. There are, however, serious difficulties in quantifying blackness, given the mixed ethnic backgrounds of many Colombians. The stigma associated with African descent in much...
Protesters in Brazil: ‘There Will Not Be a World Cup!’
"Our purpose is to stop the World Cup! To show nationally and internationally that the popular power does not want the Cup!" Agência Pública reports on this movement.
Unofficial Soundtrack to Venezuela's Protests: La Vida Boheme
The music of the Venezuelan rock band La Vida Boheme has surged in popularity, becoming the unofficial soundtrack to the protests.
Brazil's Carnival Waste: The Day After in Photos
“The party in Carnival week never ceases in Rio,” says Brazilian photographer Leonardo Coelho. But eventually the day comes when the party is over and thus “Rio de Janeiro wakes up to a trashed city after Carnival night“. That is the title of a photo report by Coelho, which shows the...
Can Scientists Help Preserve Latin America's Cultural Heritage?
“We would suggest you dress up a little bit more ‘formal’ when you have to interact with clients”. By “formal” he means, you have to renounce your cultural heritage because you belong to an indigenous group in Ecuador and your look is too ‘ethnic’ for business. This is a...
About our Latin America coverage
