Politics, Business & Culture in the Americas
IMG_9968-cropped510x340

Fresh Look Reviews

Fresh, unique perspectives on recent books from across the hemisphere originally published in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

AQ_Spring2014_LO_RES_140x182

Consulta Previa and Investment

Articles: Country Study: Peru by Cynthia Sanborn and Álvaro Paredes Full text available. Country Study: Chile by Jerónimo Carcelén Pacheco and Valentina Mir Bennett Full text available. Country study: Guatemala by Silvel Elías and Geisselle Sánchez Full text available. Country Study: Colombia by Diana María Ocampo and Sebastian Agudelo Full text available. Reducing the Financial … Read more

 

Ask the Experts: Sustainable Cities

Sergio Fajardo Valderrama answers: Cities must trade in their paternalistic and overprotective orientation for a more independent mentality. Government helps, but citizens do not depend on it completely. We must invest in education so that citizens can be the agents of their own progress.In parallel to this, we must set in motion comprehensive social programs … Read more

 

Brazil Endorses International Decade for People of African Descent

On Monday, December 23, 2013, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing the International Decade for People of African Descent, which will run from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2024. The aim will be to raise social consciousness in the fight against prejudice, intolerance, xenophobia, and racism. The resolution follows a series … Read more

 

DR, Haiti to Discuss Citizenship Ruling

Government officials from the Dominican Republic and Haiti will meet next month to discuss a controversial court decision that would take citizenship away from thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent, Haiti’s foreign minister Pierre Richard Casimir said on Thursday.  A commission made up of five officials from both countries will meet in Ouanaminthe, a town … Read more

 

How Mandela Made a Difference

The tributes to Nelson Mandela will continue to pour in over the next few days, as dignitaries make their way to pay their final respects to the leader who did more to transform Africa than any other in recent memory. His life story is now becoming more familiar by the day, and the upcoming film … Read more

 

UN Asks Dominican Republic to Restore Nationality

The United Nations is urging the Dominican Republic to restore nationality to individuals affected by a September 23 Constitutional Court ruling that stripped thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent of their citizenship, rendering them stateless. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said Thursday that international legal standards require that the government restore citizenship taken away … Read more

 

An Historic Moment for LGBTI Rights in the Americas

In a groundbreaking announcement this week, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) declared that it will create a Rapporteurship on the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex (LGBTI) Persons. The news garnered little media attention, but its significance to millions of LGBTI people across the Americas and to the broader struggle for … Read more

 

Deportations to Haiti Increase After Killings

Approximately 100 people were deported from the Dominican Republic to Haiti this week following a fatal attack against an elderly Dominican couple near the Haitian border. Activists say the figure brings the total number of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent deported from the Dominican Republic since September to 354. Josue Michel, spokesman for the … Read more

 

Women in Mexico’s Workforce

“Women are not doing well because they want to do it all. They want to study, go out and get a job and be housewives as well. Well, that is really difficult to achieve.” These were recent and controversial words spoken by Ricardo Salinas Pliego, president of Grupo Salinas and owner of TV Azteca, one … Read more

 

La Chureca: Calling a Landfill Home

La Chureca—located in Managua, Nicaragua—is Central America’s largest landfill, where 16 tons of trash produced by over 2 million people is dropped off every day. The area, once 4.5 square miles of farmland on Lake Managua, is now home to hundreds of families and wild animals. View the slideshow of La Chureca below. All photos … Read more

MariaRachid 510x340

Politics Innovator: María Rachid, Argentina

María Rachid never wanted to become a politician. But she is responsible for some of the most important human rights bills in Argentina’s recent history, including the 2010 Marriage Equality Law, which legalized same-sex marriage, and the 2012 Gender Identity Law, which allows transgender people to change gender identity on official documents without prior approval. … Read more

El_Alto_04 510x340

Dispatches: El Alto, Bolivia

Blazing sun, freezing nights, roads clogged with traffic, and a vast maze of adobe houses populated by nearly a million people. This is the Bolivian city of El Alto. Once an outlying neighborhood on the high plains above La Paz, El Alto has today surpassed its population. Matching El Alto’s growing profile, the city is … Read more

Sign up for our free newsletter