Uruguayan-Spanish journalist, editor, and blogger. Currently living in Chile, tweeting in English and Spanish under @silviavinas, and blogging on silviavinas.com
Latest posts by Silvia Viñas from October, 2013
Documentary Provides Intimate Look at Venezuelans Living Abroad
Desde Afuera (From Abroad) is a documentary which follows the stories [es] of five Venezuelans who recorded their daily activities living abroad using mobile and handheld cameras for over one year. Producers Johann Pérez Viera and Pedro Camacho put together this footage and Skype calls with the five participants to...
Argentina's Legislative Elections
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her allies lost by large margins in the biggest and most important elections in the country yesterday. Her legislative lists were crushed in Buenos Aires (both city and state), Cordoba, Mendoza, and Santa Fe. There is a reason that every major newspaper is talking about her...
One Month Until Honduras’ General Election
Mike Allison from the blog Central American Politics shares links to English-language posts on the November 2013 elections in Honduras. Mike recommends blogger Hermano Juancito's post “about the breakdown of the two-party system”; a post from the blog Honduras Culture and Politics on the newest poll results; and a post...
16 Books on Latin American Street Art
In Latin America, street art is of major cultural relevance. The region’s traditions of social movements and revolution have allowed the form to give voice to otherwise unheard sectors of the population. Of course, not all street art is politically or socially-oriented in content, but it does often provide insight...
This Weekend at Developing Latin America 2013 Apps Challenge (Part I)
This past weekend has been very productive for the Developing Latin America Apps Challenge. Here we bring you a brief summary of what happened in some of the participating countries.
Nicolás Maduro's First Six Months as President of Venezuela
Venezuela is sitting on top of the largest oil reserves in the world and has a continual flow of dollars coming in. So they are not on the brink of a collapse. But they are progressively sliding into the swamp of serious economic dysfunction that will make sustained growth difficult...
NSA Hacked Mexican Government, According to Latest Snowden Leak
According to information leaked by Edward Snowden and reported by the German publication Der Spiegel, the NSA (National Security Agency) “has been systematically eavesdropping on the Mexican government for years.” Cory Doctorow explains more at Boing Boing: A Snowden leak, discussed in detail in Der Spiegel, shows how the NSA broke into...
Chilean Students March to Demand Education Reform One Month Before Elections
The protests are part of ongoing mobilizations calling for an overhaul in the country's education system. This time students are pushing candidates to share specific proposals for education reform.
Media Factory Accepting Applications for New Media Projects in Latin America
Media Factory, a startup accelerator focusing on “the business of online news and journalism”, is accepting applications from journalists who want to create a digital news outlet in Latin America, as Angela Buenrostro explains in the Journalism in the Americas Blog: Teams must have an idea of what they want to...
Video: Colombian Artists Sing in Solidarity With Farmers
Although protests and road blocks have stopped, the farmers' struggle for land rights continues.
“Development For Who?” Guatemalans Resist Hydroelectric Project
“Development for who? Will the money stay in the community? No, it goes to fill others’ pockets, and we will continue to live in poverty. What we’re asking now is for the government to cancel all the [mining and hydroelectric] licenses that have been granted.” In Upside Down World, Kelsey...
Colombia's Problem with Urban Inequality
The government has puts lots of emphasis, understandably, on Bogotá's economic growth and claimed reductions in poverty. But according to data from the United Nations Bogotá is failing on another important measure: Economic Equality. A recent U.N. study, reported in El Tiempo, found that Colombia was the country which most increased...
‘Chola Power': Peruvian Superhero or Sex Symbol?
‘Chola Power’ is Peru's “first and only female Superhero”, as Gareth Hunter writes for Peru This Week. Hunter argues that although scantly dressed, “with long shiny black hair, large dark eyes and green loincloth”, Peru's female superhero “doesn't seem to be an offensive female character”: Although attractive, she has a...
Costa Rica's ‘Green Judges’ vs. Illegal Property Developers
In Culture Unplugged you can watch a short documentary called “Costa Rica, a Land for Sale“: Between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, the smallest country in Central America is now the planet’s champion in biodiversity. However, for several years, the success of ecotourism has been driving Costa Rica...
Honduras Creates Military Police to Fight Crime
The strategy has raised concerns among human rights defenders and citizens who see the new military force as a setback.
Argentina's President to Undergo Surgery
A través de un comunicado oficial, la presidente Cristina Fernández será intervenida quirúrgicamente.
Deadly Storms, Delayed Aid Devastate Mexico's La Montaña Indigenous
According to several reports, aid took days to arrive and has been insufficient. More than 200 communities remain isolated.
Vote Like a Chilean Legislator with Populus
On the new online platform Populus.cl [es] citizens can learn about laws, vote on them and compare their choice with decisions made by members of Congress. Citizens can answer questions on issues like health, internet and copyright, labor, culture, the environment, and more. The site provides background information to help...
Chilean Singer Ana Tijoux Raps Against TPP
“A puertas cerradas se decide nuestro porvenir y en cuatro paredes van dictando lo que llaman devenir”. “Behind closed doors they decide our destiny and inside four walls they dictate what they call future” TPP Abierto [es] shares ‘No al TPP’, the new single by Chilean musician Ana Tijoux, “specially...
