An unknown path for Argentina as far-right libertarian Javier Milei wins election
Amidst one of the worst economic crises in Argentina’s history, Javier Milei staged one of the biggest upsets in its political history by beating Sergio Massa, the current economy minister and Peronist candidate, in the…
Does Economic Reality Jeopodise Latin America's Second Pink Tide?
In an impressive switch, Latin America's right-wing presidents have lost almost all the presidential elections. The region has, once again, been painted in pink and red, even more than during Chavez and Correa´s times.…
Taking Selfies with Shotguns: Transcending Violence in Bolsonaro’s Brazil
Luis Octavio dos Santos Gouveia Junior reflects on the bittersweet experience of returning to his native Brazil after seven years. He argues that, in Bolsonaro’s Brazil, guns have expanded from being an instrument of self-…
Bolsonaro Turns Queen’s Funeral into Election Rally
The Brazilian President's attendance at The Queens funeral had everything to do with politics and little to do with grief, argues Clorrie Yoemans
“Los Nadies” become Somebodies in Colombia
After a very contested campaign, Colombians recently elected Gustavo Petro, a former M-19 guerrilla member, as president, and Francia Márquez, the first vice president in Latin America of African descent, The duo Petro and…
Colombian elections 2022: Petro or Fico?
Colombia’s presidential elections are just around the corner (with a second round in June if no candidate obtains more than 50 per cent of the vote). With two main candidates on opposing sides of the political spectrum, what do…
Art as Evidence: Into the Belly of Latin American Political Posters
“Thinking Inside the Box” is an exhibition based on the archives of Latin American political art from Senate House Library, organized and led by students. The project dives into the largely unknown yet expansive collection of…
Retracing Galeano’s Open Veins
‘Gold, Oil and Avocados, A Recent History of Latin America in Sixteen Commodities’ by Andy Robinson is an account of export extractivism in Latin America. Robinson argues that to understand the major political upheavals in Latin…
Brazil: Independence Celebrations Mark a Day of Divisions, over Unity
Clorrie Yeomens reflects on the trauma and mixed feelings that Brazilian Independence Day conjures up for many Brazilians
Latin America Criminalises Mining Protest
All over Latin America mining protest is being criminalised by government legislation. Protestors in Andalgalá, Argentina are arrested and beaten, while in Brazil the Munduruku are fighting Anglo American, financed by US…
Time to Come Together for Colombia
On April 28th May in Colombia the people of Cali city took to the streets to peacefully protest and march against the new tax reform put in place by president Ivan Duque. What started off as a peaceful demonstration soon turned…
Brazil: Lula is Back and Shaking Things Up
The PT leader’s return is transforming politics and the handling of the pandemic
The Most Dangerous Man on Earth
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is a double danger to the world, says Jan Rocha. The president's policies on Coronavirus and the Amazon endanger the whole world
Is the coronavirus epidemic worse in Brazil or in the UK?
Jan Rocha proposes the question ahead of an online discussion hosted by Latin America Bureau: Brazil is certainly suffering terribly, but is the UK's mortality rate higher?
Bolivia: the mysterious death of Orlando Gutiérrez
Miners' leader and prominent MAS figure killed after frequent death threats on social media and from sections of the state apparatus.
Fredman Herazo Padilla and the 40 Political Assassinations This Year
The Afro-Colombian community leader was assassinated on January 15. Fredman Herazo Padilla promoted Afro-Colombian music and culture and the language of Palenque, first free slave town in the Americas, well-known for its Afro-…
What Will Biden Mean for Latin America?
After four years of global ridicule and eroding influence overseas, the new president will be under immediate pressure to show where his priorities lie. From détente with Iran to an assertive Russia and a combative China, Latin…
Black Heroines of Latin American History
Being an female activist meant putting your life at risk, being a black female activist was a probable death sentence, yet these courageous women took that risk, and gave their lives in some cases, in order to shape our history.…
Uruguay’s paradox: will the pandemic accelerate neo-liberal policies?
As the new government basks in public approval, ollas populares are back to feed the many. To many citizens’ dismay, Uruguay’s exemplary handling of the pandemic could help pave the way for the Lacalle Pou administration to pass…
Chile: The Right, Victor Jara and a Crucial Plebiscite
According to polls, the majority of the Chilean public favours changing the Pinochet constitution, yet as the Piñera government attempts to repair the economy by rapidly moving the country out of lock-down, the campaign to oppose…
Brazil: September 7 — A Day of Death
Distinguished Brazilian journalist Eliane Brum writes regularly for the Spanish newspaper El Pais. Her latest article is a cry of grief and rage at what President Bolsonaro and his followers have done to their country. She agues…
Things You Should Know About...The Madres y Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo
Under the Argentine military dictatorship of 1976-1983, an estimated 30,000 people disappeared. What do you mean 'disappeared' we hear you ask? Literally, people – some armed opposition to the Junta, but most just…
Brazil: The Danger of a Bolsonarista Coup
João Cezar de Castro Rocha, a professor in comparative literature at the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), has been studying what he calls the ‘cultural war’ waged by Bolsonaro and his followers. The fruit of this…
The FBI, the Fusion Center, and the Far Right in Brazil
In an important new investigation, journalist Natalia Viana reveals how, during Sergio Moro’s 15 month tenure as Justice and Security Minister, the government of Jair Bolsonaro is rapidly enabling the US Federal Bureau of…
Brazil: the parallel universe of Messias Bolsonaro
The implosion of a government as the pandemic rages
Chronicle of a Repression Foretold
In 1975, one-year-old Carole Concha Bell and her family journeyed into exile. They fled Chile as refugees during the Pinochet dictatorship, after her grandfather, a government official for the democratically elected Socialist…
Argentina: Why is Peronism back in the Casa Rosada?
Economics, doctrine & Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Chile: Why Didn't This Happen Before
Dear friends, our country received so much help from you in its struggle to regain democracy, that I decided to send you this mini-report. After all, what are friends for?
Bolivia: will new elections heal the rift?
With Morales moving to Argentina and still no date for new elections, the outlook remains obscure.
Colombia: The Peace Agreement Three Years On
Christian Aid's 'Ten Years' study documents the lives of marginalized people
Mexico: AMLO’s first hundred days
The new president claims to have carried out 62 out of 100 campaign promises
EXHALE AND RELEASE: The Story of Colombia’s Diaspora Women
Five years ago Diaspora Woman was founded under the name Truth, Memory and Reconciliation Commission of Colombian Women in the Diaspora. The idea was to bring together Colombian women, from all political and social backgrounds,…
Are Brazilians sleepwalking into disaster?
Jan Rocha assesses the potential scenario of a Bolsonero government as the run-off between Bolsonaro and Haddad on 28 October will provide the answer
'The Third Bank of the River' by Chris Feliciano Arnold (Picador)
A book which tells the story of the Amazon and its ports-towns near the frontier between Brazil, Colombia and Peru
Costa Rica: Religious Extremism Becomes Election Favourite
The April 4 runoff vote for president is likely to be won by an evangelical singer