Brazil’s Global Ambitions
When President Dilma Rousseff first took office in 2010, Brazil’s future looked exceptionally bright. For nearly a decade, the country had benefited from Asia’s enormous appetite for its commodities. This allowed Brazil to reduce poverty and expand the middle class while at the same time sustaining a remarkable growth rate, becoming the seventh largest economy … Read more
Dispatches: Amazonas, Brazil
A lot of people would like to know how Ivan Tenharim died. On the afternoon of December 2, 2013, a relative found the chief of the Tenharim people in Brazil’s Amazonas state lying unconscious near his undamaged motorcycle on a long, uninhabited stretch of the Trans-Amazonian Highway. His neck was broken, and blood was trickling … Read more
Business Innovator: Amazon Beer Cervejaria
The high wall that separates Amazon Beer’s brewery and bottling plant from the teeming jungle hardly holds back the snakes, monkeys and giant hairy spiders. But invasive animals are only one of the challenges faced by Arlindo Guimarães and his son Caio in developing the only craft brewery in the Amazon. “A lot of people … Read more
Argentine Judges Decline to Hear Case against President Fernández de Kirchner
On Monday, Argentine Judges Ariel Lijo and Daniel Rafecas turned down the case of late prosecutor Alberto Nisman against President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, alleging that the president participated in a cover-up plot surrounding a 1994 terrorist attack in Buenos Aires. After investigating the case for over a decade, Prosecutor Nisman presented an indictment for … Read more
Monday Memo: Haitian Immigrants – Venezuelan Currency Losses – Abortion in Chile – Iguala Relatives in Geneva – Puerto Rico’s Economy
Likely top stories this week: the deadline passes for children of undocumented immigrants to apply for legal status in the Dominican Republic; U.S. companies stand to lose billions of dollars in Venezuelan currency losses; Michelle Bachelet moves to end Chile’s abortion ban; relatives of Mexico’s 43 missing students meet with UN officials in Geneva; Puerto … Read more
Chilean Legislators Approve Same-Sex Civil Unions
After a four-year debate, the Chilean Senate has passed a bill allowing for same-sex unions. The law passed on Wednesday with a vote of 25 to 6, with three abstentions. Under the new law, called the Acuerdo de Unión Civil (Civil Union Accord—AUC), same-sex couples are afforded many of the rights of married couples, including … Read more
Monday Memo: Venezuela Protests – Haiti Elections – Caribbean Energy – AT&T – Brazil Olympics
This week’s likely top stories: Venezuelan opposition leaders halt protests in Caracas; Haiti swears in its nine-member Provisional Electoral Council; the U.S. hosts the first-ever Caribbean Energy Security Summit; AT&T acquires Nextel Mexico; Rio’s environment secretary announces that Guanabara Bay will not be clean in time for the 2016 Olympic Games. Opposition Curbs Protests in … Read more
Chasing Unicorns in Brazil
On the border of Brazil and Paraguay, David Rodrigues Krug is chasing a unicorn. That’s how he describes his work at the massive Itaipu Dam on the Paraná River, which forms a natural border between the South American neighbors. In three decades of operation, the five-mile-wide, 65-story dam has come close to generating 100 billion … Read more
New Study Ranks Democracy in Latin America
Only two countries in Latin America—Costa Rica and Uruguay—can be considered “full democracies,” according to an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) study commissioned by BBC for Democracy Day on January 20. The report says that a majority of Latin American countries hold “free and fair” elections and are better ranked than their counterparts in the Middle … Read more
I’m No Scientist, But It’s Sure Hot in Rio
In last night’s State of the Union address, U.S. President Barack Obama spoke about climate change (among many other things) and challengd climate change skeptics who “try to dodge the evidence by saying they’re not scientists.” “Well, I’m not a scientist, either,” Obama said. “But you know what? I know a lot of really good … Read more
Dispatches: Amazonas, Brazil
Glenn Cheney on the life-and-death struggle of Indigenous Tenharim to preserve their land and their resources. (slideshow available)
Chile Refuses Mediation in Bolivia Sea Access Dispute
Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz said yesterday in a press conference that the country rejected any possible mediation from the Pope in a dispute with Bolivia over sovereign access through Chile to the Pacific Ocean that dates back to the nineteenth century. Muñoz’s comments came after Bolivian President Evo Morales’ statement on Sunday that Pope … Read more
Monday Memo: Panama Canal – Venezuela Diplomacy – 114th U.S. Congress – Guatemala Trial – Uruguay Elections
This week’s likely top stories: the Panama Canal gears up to expand its Pacific coast facilities; Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro travels to China and OPEC countries; the 114th U.S. Congress starts its session on Tuesday with a Republican majority and plenty of hot button issues for the Americas; the trial of Guatemalan General Efraín Ríos … Read more
Monday Memo: Haiti – Nicaragua Canal – Oil – Petrobras Scandal – Guantánamo
This week’s likely top stories: Florence Duperval Guillaume is named Haiti’s interim prime minister; farmers set up blockades to protest the Nicaraguan canal; Saudis tell non-OPEC producers to reduce output; Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff says she will not replace Petrobras CEO; Four more prisoners are released from Guantánamo. Interim Haitian Prime Minister Named: Haitian Health … Read more
Paraguayan Journalist Who Reported Abuses Faces Charges
Paulo López, a Paraguayan journalist who reported being mistreated by police nearly a year ago, was arrested on Sunday upon returning to his country from Argentina for the holidays. In January 2014, police arrested López in Asunción while he reported for media outlet E’a on detained citizens who had been protesting transportation price hikes. López … Read more
