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 January, 2012
Guatemala: President Calls on Military to ‘Neutralize Illegal Armed Groups’
Bloggings by boz comments and reports on “a new top priority,” issued by the newly sworn in President Otto Perez Molina, for the Guatemalan military: “‘Achieve an interdiction of external threats and neutralize illegal armed groups, through the use of military power, by regaining and maintaining control of the air,...
El Salvador: Top Stories of 2011
Tim's El Salvador Blog summarizes the top stories from El Salvador in 2011.
Ecuador: Journalists’ Twitter Habits and Challenges
Christian Espinosa, from Cobertura Digital [es], looks at the way Ecuadorian journalists are using Twitter.
Guatemala: Speaking out Against Mainstream Media's ‘Bad Press’ for President Colom
In a recent editorial, The Guatemala Times is critical of the country's mainstream media, who they say has “unleashed an increased and endless flow of bad press for President [Álvaro] Colom and his government since Otto Perez won the election.” Mike, in the blog Central American Politics, comments on the...
Venezuela: The Impact of Social Networks
In an essay for Centro Gumilla [es], researcher Raisa Urribarri analyzes the impact of social networks, online citizen participation and other changes in the field of alternative communication in Venezuela.
Peru: Sugar Labs Community Says Goodbye to Aymara Translator
José Henry Alanoca Laura, an Aymara translator for the open-sourced Sugar Learning Platform, has passed away. The Peruvian Sugar Labs community sends a message of condolence through the blog Somos Azúcar (“We are sugar”) [es].
Mexico: Human Rights Commission Publishes Preliminary Report on Killing of Guerrero Students
Mexico's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) has published a preliminary report on the investigation around the killing of two students during a protest in Ayotzinapa, in the state of Guerrero, on December 12, 2011. Aguachile summarizes some of the Commission's findings.
Latin America: Politicians’ #TwitterFail
Erwin, in The Latin Americanist, highlights four recent social media interactions which have hurt the image of politicians in Chile, Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico.
Honduras: Priest Denounces Police Attack
Father Marco Aurelio Lorenzo, a Catholic priest, has denounced a police attack on December 26, 2011, “when he and two brothers […] stopped along the highway to rest. […] Eight police officers set on them and beat them, badly enough that they then took them to the hospital,” Honduras Culture...
Ecuador: Latest Developments in Effort to Save the Yasuni Rainforest
Emily Achtenberg, in a post entitled ‘Oil Politics in Ecuador: Saving Yasuní, Without Chevron’s Blood Money’, reports on the latest developments in the government's initiative to save the Yasuní rainforest .
Nicaragua: Life in Villa Norte
In the blog Huella Libre [es], Fernando Guzman describes the difficult living conditions of residents of a settlement in Jinotega, Nicaragua, called Villa Norte.
Uruguay: Summer in Montevideo
Lola, in 7 neuronas [es] (“7 neurons”), provides some information and links to cultural and sports events that will take place during these Summer months in Montevideo.
Venezuela: Netizens Threatened, Hacked
Naky Soto Parra, in her blog El Zaperoco de Naky [es], posts a message by Global Voices contributor Luis Carlos Díaz, who has been receiving threats for his online activity. Luis Carlos explains that the threats and cyber-attacks come from hackers who target netizens that criticize the government. He calls...
Argentina: Netizens React to Increase in Subway Price
The Argentine Post reports: “Subway ticket prices more than doubled today [January 6] to 2.50 pesos (58 US cents) from 1.10 previously. The increase comes just days after the federal government turned over management of the subway system to the City of Buenos Aires.” iProfesional gathers some Twitter reactions [es],...
Bolivia: Site Removes Blogger's Posts and Apologizes
Website elSistema has issued a public apology [es] on their Facebook page after copyrighting blogger Pablo Rivero's posts that were originally published in his blog under a Creative Commons license. The site also removed the content. Pablo explains his position and shares his final comments on the incident in his...
Governments Need to Act with ‘CARE’ to Protect Human Rights Online
Argentine academic and blogger Eduardo Bertoni answers the question, “What can governments do to protect human rights online?” with an acronym: “governments should act with CARE. This means that governments should Coordinate their policies with other countries; Apply international human rights standards, especially freedom of expression ones; Regulate the Internet with responsibility; and take...
Bolivia: Netizens Defend Blogger's Creative Commons Licensed Work
Netizens are speaking out against website elSistema [es] for copyrighting a post by blogger Pablo Rivero which he had published under a Creative Commons license in his personal blog [es]. Mario Duran Chuquimia is covering the issue in his blog [es] and through his Facebook account [es].
El Salvador: Blogger Challenges Youth to Transform Country
Fernando Marroquin says [es] youth in El Salvador talk too much -about politics, governance, etc.– but do too little or nothing to change the situation: “We don't act, we are spectators with bad seats”. He concludes his post by challenging other young Salvadorans to join him in taking action to...
Chile: Controversy Over Change from ‘Dictatorship’ to ‘Military Government’ in School Textbooks
Greg Weeks explains the controversy over a decision to use ‘military government’ instead of ‘dictatorship’ in school textbooks: “Even if children don't bother reading them, their teachers will be using them to frame their own discussions in the classroom. They are a critical part of the construction of national identity,...
Bolivia: Women Weaving Hope in El Alto
In Americas Quarterly [es], blogger Cecilia Lanza praises the artisan women of El Alto who have created their own workshops and small businesses.
Chile: Would Cheaper Books Promote More Reading?
Enzo Abbagliati blogs [es] about a recurring discussion in Chile: removing or decreasing the IVA (value added tax) on books to promote more reading.
