Category: Global Views
Spotlight on Bolivia: The “Coca Diplomacy” of Evo Morales
By Alexander Frye Council on Hemispheric Affairs At last month’s meeting of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, Bolivian President Evo Morales made headlines by dramatically brandishing a coca leaf he had apparently smuggled into the Austrian city between the pages of a book. The coca leaf, which is the unrefined source [...]
Entrepreneurs in Guatemala dish up their version of American food trucks to serve locals
By Anna-Claire Bevan LatinaLista GUATEMALA CITY — When in July of 2010 the municipality of Guatemala City called for all red buses to be removed from certain parts of the capital, Hugo Cristal and his business partner Alexander Escobar came up with a novel way to keep their bus in service — a fast-food restaurant [...]
Popular Street Drug Cuts Across Class Lines, Demands Social Strategies in Argentina
by Dina Gonzalez Global Press Institute Although paco, a drug derived from cocaine, has a reputation of being a lower-class drug, it has extended to affect middle-class families as well. Families of people addicted to the popular street drug are demanding more state intervention, while authorities say families must take more responsibility for their drug-addicted [...]
International campaign to stop rape used as a weapon of war launches in Cartagena, Colombia
LatinaLista — Rape is a despicable act wherever and whenever it’s done. Yet, when it’s used as a weapon of war during conflict it’s time for the world to speak up in defense of the victims. A new international campaign spearheaded by the Nobel Women’s Initiative aims to do just that with the launch yesterday [...]
Human rights activists to be honored for work in Guatemala, Latin America
Revue Magazine Two human rights defenders who have worked extensively in Guatemala and elsewhere in Latin America will be honored this month in New York with one of the largest human rights awards in the world. The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) and the Puffin Foundation have selected Fredy Peccerelli, executive director of the Guatemalan [...]
From Cradle to Conflict: Child Soldiers’ Growing Role in Latin America’s Drug Wars
By Melissa Beale Council on Hemispheric Affairs Approximately 300,000 children around the globe have been recruited as child soldiers. These children are forced to enter “various armed groups, civil militia, paramilitaries and government armed forces.” According to the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of a Child, any person under the age of 18 years [...]
Do Mexican Cartels Control Sex Trafficking in Argentina?
By Edward Fox InSight: Organized Crime in the Americas While Mexican drug gangs, particularly the Zetas, are known to have expanded into human trafficking in Mexico, there is little substantive evidence to back recent claims that they are becoming major players in Argentina’s sex trade. At a presentation of her book “Esclavas del Poder” (Slaves [...]
Women Debunk Ancient Myth and Step Into Mining Industry in Mexico
By Cristina Avila-Zesatti Global Press Institute Once barred from mines by an ancient myth, women here make up an increasing percentage of the mining industry’s labor force as they try to support their families and fill in for men who have migrated north. The women of Mexico’s mines say they are convinced they can transform [...]
MEXICO — The Pope came to Mexico & left unnoticed in USA
By Dr. Jacqueline Zaleski Mackenzie LatinaLista GUANAJUATO, MEXICO — On Friday, March 23rd at 4:30pm the local church bell began to chime loudly as I was packing up my laptop to head home from my new office space in Puentecillas, Guanajuato, Mexico. It took about 12 minutes to pass through Cienega and into my home [...]
A short homage to Argentinian poet Jorge Luis Borges
LatinaLista — His full name was Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo. Yet the world knew this prolific Argentine poet and writer simply as Jorge Luis Borges. Born in Buenos Aires on August 24, 1899 and died in Geneva, Switzerland on June 14, 1986, Borges remains a source of pride for Argentina and inspiration for [...]
