Latin America & Caribbean Archives - Page 51 of 189

The Roots of Social Rebellion? Social Movements.

by Sreeram Chaulia | Jul 3, 2013

The lesson from the streets of Brazil, Turkey, and the Arab world is to avoid underestimating half-baked social movements still in their infancy. With technological advancements and opportune conjunctures, the underdogs of yesterday can quickly turn into the makers of tomorrow. Not every nascent movement cascades into a full-blown revolution, but the pathfinders whose thoughts and actions carry forward to make history must get their due recognition.

Brazilians’ Demands: From Lower Bus Fares to a Fair Society

by Laura Carlsen | Jun 24, 2013

With a million people demonstrating in the streets of cities throughout Brazil, everyone’s scrambling to understand how a 20-cent bus fare hike turned into a social revolt.

Finally — Pride of Place for Drug Policy at the OAS General Assembly Meeting

by Coletta Youngers | Jun 21, 2013

The significance of this meeting should not be underestimated.

The Oxygen Trade: Leaving Hondurans Gasping for Air

by Rosie Wong | Jun 18, 2013

The carbon trade doesn’t just fail to address climate change. In countries like Honduras, it fuels a perverse incentive structure by funneling cash to notorious human rights abusers engaged in extractive industries.

Emphasis Added: The Foreign Policy Week in Pieces (5/24)

by Russ Wellen | May 24, 2013

Emphasis, as always, added.

The Jig Is Up in Guatemala

by Patricia Davis | May 21, 2013

Guatemala’s highest court, ruling on appeals filed by the defense, has annulled former dictator Jose Efrain Ríos Montt’s 80-year sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity. The Constitutional Court declared invalid all proceedings that took place after April 19, including the verdict and sentencing. Whether the trial can be picked up again from that date is unclear. What is clear, however, is that the trial has lifted the curtain on Guatemala’s bloody past. The verdict reached far beyond the question of how a man who once commanded a brutal army will spend his last years.

Right-Wing Think Tank: Hispanics Welfare Queens Like Blacks

by Javier Rojo | May 16, 2013

According to the study, Hispanics will use more government handouts than the average citizen and drain government resources.

President Obama Tries to Pass Guantanamo Closure Buck to Congress

by Michael Figura | May 15, 2013

The implication that Congress is preventing the closure of Guantánamo is disingenuous.

It’s Time to Delist Cuba

by Arturo Lopez-Levy | May 7, 2013

John Kerry’s ascent to U.S. Secretary of State generated a discussion about taking Cuba off the State Department’s list of “state sponsors of terrorism.” Given Kerry’s generally reasonable position on Cuba in the past, it was perhaps not surprising that he considered this option. Nonetheless, on May 1, the U.S. State Department announced that Cuba would remain on its list. It’s a serious mistake.

U.S. Efforts to Block Democracy in Venezuela Harm Hemispheric Relations

by Laura Carlsen | May 2, 2013

The U.S. government stands alone among major world governments in refusing to recognize the results of the recent Venezuelan presidential election. The petulant position of the Obama administration harms U.S. relations across the entire hemisphere and feeds a scenario of violence in that Caribbean country.