Brazil’s Black History, Uncovered
Reading Time: 5 minutes
The startling find that revealed a grim and intentionally obscured aspect of the past.
Gender & Social Equality
Meet the Women Working to Change the Face of Latin American Media
Reading Time: 4 minutes
How more women are succeeding in Latin America’s quickly evolving newsrooms.
Women, Technology and the Future of Latin American Media
This article has been corrected When Mariana Santos started working as a designer in digital newsrooms, she was struck by the fact that she was often the only woman on the team. This alarmed her. As journalism continues its rapid shift to digital platforms, women had to lead the way – or they would be … Read more
María Victoria Llorente: Five Challenges for the Next President of Colombia
For our latest print issue on Colombia, we asked experts, executives, politicians and everyday people about the biggest issue facing Colombia’s next president. See all of their answers here. | Leer en español For Colombia to continue on the path to peace, it must be a priority for the next president to link security, peace and development. There … Read more
On the Front Lines of Venezuela’s Worsening HIV/AIDS Crisis
This article was adapted from AQ’s print issue on economic opportunity and peace in Colombia AQ: How does the crisis in Venezuela specifically threaten people with HIV? Jesus Aguais: Eighty percent of people with HIV who should be on treatment are not. That’s terrible from a public health perspective. Not only are people going to … Read more
After Victory on Abortion, Chile’s President Eyes Marriage Equality
With just six months left in office, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s progressive agenda may finally be taking shape. On Aug. 28, Bachelet became the first Chilean president to propose legislation to extend the right to marry to same-sex couples. At a signing ceremony in Santiago, she said it was “neither ethical nor fair to put … Read more
Survivors of a Massacre in Paraguay Looking for Justice, Five Years Later
Marina Cué, a lightly-wooded parcel of land amid stunted fields of soybean in the district of Curuguaty, eastern Paraguay, seems like an oasis of calm today. But the casings from high-calibre rounds that locals still find in the grass tell a different story: that of a forced eviction here involving 300 heavily-armed police and a … Read more
Why João Doria’s War on Drugs Is Doomed
When São Paulo Mayor João Doria set out to fulfil a campaign promise and rid the city of its cracolândia (crackland), an area that was home to a group of homeless people, some of whom used drugs, he did so with an overwhelming and telegenic show of force: 500 police officers armed with guns, tear gas … Read more
How Venezuelan Refugees Are Surviving in Brazil
For most Brazilians, the disaster unfolding in neighboring Venezuela is little more than another passing topic on the evening news. The daily protests in Caracas are more than 2,500 miles away from São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro, cultural ties between the two countries are limited, and the current political and economic crisis in Brazil … Read more
Is Brazil Ready for a Black Political Party?
Celso Athayde watched closely as members of Congress lined up on April 2016 to vote on President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment. Conscious of the national audience following the proceedings, legislators dedicated their votes to their constituencies or causes: families, home states, insurance brokers – even Christians. Two things struck Athayde: the representatives were mostly white. And … Read more
Venezuelan Refugees Strain Colombian Border Towns
CÚCUTA, Colombia — Majerly Ospina lives with her three children in a tin roof shack with walls of green plastic. They have no running water or electricity. Despite the hardships, Ospina is thankful for what they have in Colombia; living conditions were tougher in her native Venezuela. “You can’t find food there,” she said, holding … Read more
Amid Growing Violence, Brazil Is Weakening Indigenous Rights
Brazil has some of the world’s strongest protections for indigenous rights – on paper. In reality, dozens of indigenous people are killed each year in conflicts over land and resources. Brazil is the most dangerous country in the world for environmental defenders. Even as this violence escalates, the current government is working to weaken these … Read more
“The Maduro Diet”: A Photo Essay from Venezuela
Venezuela’s political and economic crisis has done deep and lasting damage to its population’s health. In the past year, 74.3 percent of the population has lost weight — an average of 8.7 kilograms (19 pounds) per person – because of food scarcity, according to a recent study by three of Caracas’ largest universities (UCAB, USB … Read more
As Threats to LGBT Brazilians Rise, These Trans Singers Take Center Stage
It’s one thing to perform for hundreds of spectators at Salvador, Brazil’s world-famous carnaval. It’s quite another to take the stage as a transgender woman in a region that has become a focal point of rising violence against Brazil’s LGBT community. That reality wasn’t lost on trans musicians Assucena Assucena and Raquel Virgínia as they … Read more
Trailblazing Leaders on How to Make Latin American Politics More Inclusive
What do a Zapotec woman from Mexico, an Afro-descendant advocate from Uruguay, and a gay rights activist from Chile have in common? Quite a lot, it turns out. On March 27, Mexico’s Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza, Uruguay’s Edgardo Ortuño, and Chile’s Jaime Parada Hoyl – three Latin American politicians who have broken glass ceilings in their … Read more
