We Ain't No Shithole
Just eight years after the Léogâne Earthquake, Trump was once again spewing garbage about Haiti calling it, among other predominantly non-white countries, a “shithole.” Of course, it is no such place as Antony Stewart, chair of…
Brazil: Court Upholds Lula's Conviction in The Trial of the Century
A Brazilian court has upheld the conviction of the former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for corruption and money laundering, in a ruling that complicates his plans to run for a third term and marks an extraordinary change…
Brazil: Bolsonaro – The Lone Wolf Dreams of Glory
Brazilian nationalist demagogue Jair Bolsonaro is bidding to run for President. His views are truly frightening, reveals Lucas Farrez
Brazil’s MST: challenging power structures and the need for ‘historic patience’
In the wake of an alleged 'political coup' in Brazil, which has seen former left-wing president Ignacio Lula da Silva convicted and his successor Dilma Rousseff impeached, Movimento Sin Terra leader Gilmar Mauro…
Guatemala: a Rotten State
President Morales' anti-corruption pose is dropped as soon as his own family is in the frame
Brazil: Why is Michel Temer still in Power?
It is always hard to explain Brazilian politics to foreigners. There is a lot of history and many characters and there are 25 political parties represented in Congress alone. It is even harder to explain how illegitimate…
Colombians’ Persistence in the Search for Peace: Interview with ‘Chocolate of Peace’ Producer
Gwen Burnyeat, the producer and co-director of the documentary Chocolate of Peace talks about the ‘persistence’ in peace-building, considering that Colombia is now both implementing the peace agreement with FARC and starting…
Mexico: Trump Weakens Fragile Economy
A sober assessment of the economic impact on Mexico of the promises and policies of the new US President.
Brazil: the flesh is weak but the meat is rotten
Police investigations reveal another massive web of corruption involving Brazil's strategic meat industry, inspectors and politicians
Colombia: What does Peace Mean in Comuna 13?
Gwen Burnyeat visits Comuna 13, the Medellín community blighted by guerrilla, militia and state violence during Colombia's civil war and finds that graffiti and urban escalators have achieved a sense of pride and…
The Angora Cat, the Saint and the End of the World
The Supreme Court and the Senate found a 'jeitinho' to get around part of their present impasse. But time and their credibility are running out.
"Our society still needs to demonstrate that Human Rights Defenders can take action without the threat of being killed"
Visiting the UK to brief UK lawyers on the current situation in Colombia, in tandem with President Santos' state visit, was Dr Reinaldo Villalba Vargas of Colombia’s most prestigious human rights lawyers collective, the…
Santos proposes peace as framework for investment, but trade must be accompanied by human rights
Attending a formal banquet with President Santos’ as part of his official State visit to the UK, leading Colombian human rights lawyer Reinaldo Villalba highlights the importance of human rights protection in light of President…
Cunha: The Man Who Knew Too Much
The arrest of the former speaker of Congress has sent shock-waves through Brasilia.
Brazil - Election Post-Mortem
The PT (Workers' Party) fared very badly in the recent municipal elections and is unlikely to recover before 2018. The political system is entering a new era, but no one knows where it will lead.
Colombia: the double edged sword of peace in Tumaco
As the referendum nears, asking the public to take a leap of faith in Peace, the residents in Tumaco know that it will come at a price and move forward under no ilusions, as Niamh Ni Bhriain explores
Colombia Brings Hope
Kristian Herbolzheimer, a key analyst in the soon-to-be-signed Colombia peace agreement, explains how this historic achievement came about and its significance for Colombia and the world.
Brazil: Full Speed Ahead for Impeachment
Jan Rocha reports on the attempted impeachment of Dilma and fears of vested interests behind it
Venezuela: the politicians need to listen
As Venezuela’s economic crisis deepens, Grace Livingstone has been out to the Venezuelan countryside, gauging the effects of the crisis there.
Colombia: the biggest conversation in the world
Gwen Burnyeat reports on the Colombian peace process and the efforts being made to promote conversation among all its actors, at both local and national levels
Brazil: Transport is not a Commodity
Ali Rocha & Nayana Fernandez report from Sao Paolo on the series of mass protests against hikes in public transport fares.
Mexico: Slim pickings
How does a country like Mexico, with perhaps close to half its inhabitants - some 50 million people- living in poverty, come to produce someone who is by some reckonings the richest man in the world? That is the question the…
Colombia - A Beacon of Light in a Chaotic World
As the situation in Syria and the Middle East gets ever more complex and violent, Colombia is finally finding its way out of a 50 year conflict that has ravaged the country, giving us hope in a chaotic world, argues Kristian…
Top Ten Artists of Canción Social
Some of the most beautiful melodies and inspiring music ever to come out of Latin America were part of the Canción Social movement of the 1970s and 1980s. As democratic and revolutionary movements were being ruthlessly crushed,…
Latin America's most Influential Feminists
There are many magnificent female figures around the world who have fought for equality and justice, not just for fellow women, but for all those who are deprived of basic human rights. He we salute ten Latinas who have defied…
Marina Silva: The Wild Card of Brazil’s Presidential Race
Since the tragic death of Brazil’s opposition candidate Eduardo Campos in a plane crash on the 13th August, his ex- running partner and replacement Marina Silva has shocked the world by taking Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) from…
Correa's Quest for Longevity in Ecuador
On the eve of his inauguration in 2013, Ecuador's President Rafael Correa explicitly stated he would not seek re-election in four years’ time. Now, Ecuador’s Congress has proposed legislation to abolish the limit on the…
Dilma's Dilemmas: On the Road to Re-election
With the first round of Presidential elections in Brazil coming up October 5th, how have World Cup protests and the recent death of opposition Socialist candidate Eduardo Campos on the 13th August affected Dilma Rousseff’s re-…
The Young Face of the Old PRI?
Now the PRI have been given a second chance by the Mexican public, after its 71-year authoritarian rule, are they proving to be the same old dinosaurs?
For As Long As It Takes
The story of the men who have been camped on Buenos Aires’ Plaza de Mayo for two and a half years
... Latin American Revolutionaries
1. Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara – Ask anyone to name a revolutionary and, male or female, the word Che will ooze dreaminly from their lips. The straggly-haired, wispy-bearded, implausibly handsome Argentine hero of the Cuban revolution…
In Colombia, Who Needs to Invent a False Victim, President Santos?
While Santos enjoys an official visit to the UK, his inflamatory remarks about a group of human rights lawyers who have worked for years to end impunity in Colombia, has left them fearing for their lives in Bogotá. What does this…
Things That Matter to ...Aleida Guevara
Aleida Guevara was the first born of Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s seven children. The Argentine-born revolutionary fought in Cuba and the Congo before dying in Bolivia in 1967 at the age of 39. Aleida has grown up with an iconic…
The Change in the Latino Vote
Once thought of as natural Republicans, Barack Obama captured the hearts of Latinos in the last US election. But the words 'American Dream' are no longer enough, they want help to achieve it. In the run up to the 2012…