Stories about Latin America from May, 2014
Driven by Facebook Rumors, Violent Mob Murders Brazilian Woman
A police sketch posted on Facebook and a vicious online rumor ended with the lynching death of a 33-year-old housewife.
Brazilian Colonel Found Dead A Month After Confessing to Torture
Paulo Malhães, a 76 year-old retired officer, was killed at his home in April. In March, he admitted torturing and murdering people during the country’s dark dictatorship period.
Guatemala: Violent Eviction of the La Puya Peaceful Mining Resistance
The blog MiMundo.org, by James Rodriguez, writes about the eviction that took place in La Puya, San Pedro Ayampuc and San José del Golfo, in Guatemala: After two years and two months of peacefully blocking the entrance to U.S.-based Kappes, Cassiday & Associates (KCA) El Tambor gold mine, local residents...
Students Discover a Mummy During an Expedition in Coastal Chile
Students from the Archaeology Academy of the America School discovered skeletal remains that surfaced as a result of an earlier April earthquake in northern Chile.
Drawings With Coffee Foam
The blogger on El Francotirador shares [es] his experience on a fast food shop, when as the waitress gave him the coffee he had ordered, she added: “There you go… I drew a heart with the foam” – she said smiling. As a result of this gesture, the author reflects:...
Montevideo Debuts on the Marathon Circuit
With nearly 2,000 athletes participating the first marathon organized in the Uruguayan capital was held on Sunday, May 11, 2014.
Adventures of a Cyclist in Mexico City
Global Voices contributor Andrea Arzaba blogged about her adventures the first time she went through Mexico D.F.: There was no turning back. I took the card from my wallet and slided it through the Ecobici reader. This was the first time I went to work riding a bike. You usually...
Guatemala: Ex President Portillo Sentenced to Five Years in Jail
With a historic rule by a federal court in New York on May 22, 2014, former Guatemalan president Alfonso Portillo was sentenced to five years and 10 months in jail for money laundering and taking bribes from Taiwan. RT @Luisvela_pl: VIDEO: Alfonso Portillo recibe pena de cinco años y diez...
Yoani Sánchez's New Online Magazine is Blocked in Cuba
When residents of Cuba look for the URL www.14ymedio.com, they are redirected to a site that says "Yoani$landia.com."
‘Mafalda’ Cartoonist Quino Awarded Prince of Asturias Prize in Spain
The well-known 81-year-old Argentinian cartoonist is the man behind the idealistic yet pessimistic little girl Mafalda.
Wiring the Amazon
On an articles published on The New York Times, Michael Kleinman talks about his video produced for Op-Docs titled “Wiring the Amazon”, where he shares the four-year struggle to get a remote Peruvian village connected with the outside world: I was following the work of One Laptop per Child (O.L.P.C.),...
Cuba: The Joys of Getting Older
Cuban diaspora blog My big, fat, Cuban family shares 59 “wonderful truths” about aging.
PetroPalestine: Another Clash Between Chavez Supporters and Opponents in Venezuela
"What are we gaining with PetroPalestine?", Venezuelans asked on social media after the Venezuelan government announced an agreement to send oil and diesel to Palestine.
A Bolivian Drone with Recycled Parts
If you look up at the bright blue sky in El Alto, Bolivia, you may catch a glimpse of a drone flying overhead. This is not any ordinary drone, but a flying aerial device assembled partly out of recycled materials found at one of the city's many bustling outdoor markets....
#Conservaeloso: The Campaign to Save the “Alcatraz of the Caribbean”
The space will be used to open a center for cancer treatment.
Analyzing Media in El Salvador
Salvadorean blog Colectivo de análisis de la realidad compiles and comments on its Media analysis on May 12, 2014 [es] the main news on printed and digital media that date in El Salvador. The blog carries out this analysis almost on a daily basis. The post reviewed here was part...
The Mexican Hashtag that was Trending Topic on Mother's Day
Andrés Mayorquín comments [es] on Se hace camino al andar about the Mexican campaign on Twitter with hashtag #ChingueasumadreEPN [screw your mother, president EPN]: Via Twitter, the president's mother was insulted, and the hashtag #ChingueasumadreEPN became world trend. An easy way to show discontent against his administration and his policies....
Sexism in Advertising
Natalio Pinto on El Blog del Incógnito analizes [es] advertising and their inclination to sexism after readfing the article 15 vintage ads where women appear as idiots, about advertising in between the 1940s and 1970s. Has advertising changed 50 years later? I think it hasn't changed, maybe it has ‘evolved’...
Libraries in Lima
Silvana Aquino writes [es] on Infotecarios about the launching of Lima Literary Map. She explains the initiative: Some weeks ago, the Downtown Lima Literary Map [es] was presented. This is a project developed by researchers Kristel Best and Renzo Farje and sponsored by the Peruvian House of Literature, that tracks...
Eleven Places to Visit in Argentina
Laura Schneider posts [es] on Viajes y Relatos the 11 places she considers as highly recommendable to visit in Argentina. Out of the 11, we copy this one as a sample: Ushuaia and Toulhin: And now that we are in Patagonia, we can't left aside the most Southern city in...
What if We Don't Destroy Pirated Books?
The issue of pirated books is a common one im Latin American countries. Diego Ariel Vega wrote [es] about it on Infotecarios, and pointed out that the traditional response when such books are confiscated is to burn them, but he raises some questions: Who should be responiable for that decision?...
About our Latin America coverage
