An Interview with CODECA: defending Human Rights and Mother Earth in Guatemala
By Sonja Rijnen- In late 2022, MEP Clare Daly and her team invited senior members of CODECA to visit the European Parliament in Brussels....
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Politics and Society
Dec 5, 20225 min read
The outcome of the war on drugs and how it could be addressed: a Latin American perspective
By Jacob Lubbers Estrada- Latin America is often referred to as the “backyard” of the United States. Since the installation of the Monroe...
Nov 14, 20225 min read
Petro’s Security Reform Agenda Faces Military Opposition
By Liam Sousa Casey- On July 20 2022, fighter jets and helicopters filled the sky over Bogotá, Colombia. Heavily armed commandos marched...
Oct 11, 20223 min read
Taking Responsibility for Others, Refusing to Turn Away
By Mary Lawlor (UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders)- There was a time when being kind to people was seen as a good thing....
Sep 8, 20226 min read
Brazil: Human rights defenders are in the line of fire
By Jim Loughran- When the disappearance and murder of British journalist, Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous rights defender, Bruno...
Aug 11, 20225 min read
Why Mexico’s opposition is doomed to lose again in 2024
By Jacob Lubbers Estrada- In 2024, Mexico will face crucial elections that will concern both the Executive and Legislative branches of...
Jul 27, 20225 min read
How Chinese and U.S. influence is hindering regional integration efforts in Latin America
By Tadeo Arturo Cejudo Mejorada (edited by Sonja Rijnen)- Since the end of WWII, global institutions and regional blocs have undertaken...
May 20, 20223 min read
Navigating the 'Other' in Ethnic Identity as a Latin American in the UK
By Sarah Kueter (edited by Isabel Leask)- A note from the writer: I’m writing from my experiences, thoughts and understanding as someone...
Apr 9, 20224 min read
“False” journalism or a broken “democracy”? The right to freedom of the press in Mexico
By Miguel Carrillo (Edited by Isabel Leask)- This article is dedicated to Lourdes Maldonado, a Mexican journalist assassinated in front...
Mar 26, 20224 min read
Colombia's Peace Deal: Five Years On
By Lara Kovandova (edited by Isabel Leask)- Last year marked the five-year anniversary of the landmark peace agreement in Colombia that...
Mar 8, 20225 min read
The 'Marea Verde' vs 'Pro-Vida' movements: the fight over abortion rights in Latin America
By Marco Roberto Porras (edited by Sonja Rijnen)- Latin America is a region of many wonders, with beautiful and charming landscapes,...
Mar 4, 20225 min read
Nayib Bukele: the “world’s coolest president” and his problematic approach to democracy
By Antonija Diković (edited by Isabel Leask and Sonja Rijnen)- Recently, there has been a lot of news about El Salvador, a small country...
Feb 18, 20225 min read
‘Equipo por Colombia’- who are they and what do they mean for Colombia’s 2022 elections?
By Ryan Arenas (edited by Sonja Rijnen)- Later on this year, in May 2022, Colombians will be voting in their next general elections....
Feb 4, 20225 min read
The never-ending Mexican War on Drugs: an overview
By María del Pilar Ruiz (edited by Isabel Leask)- The War on Drugs has been devastating for Mexico; it has led the country down a path of...
Jan 8, 20224 min read
The lack of international attention for the recent elections in Nicaragua and why this is a problem
By Luke Orban- On November 7th 2021, elections were held in Nicaragua and the result came as a surprise to no one. Daniel Ortega won with...
Nov 23, 20214 min read
‘Women Resisting Violence’ - Overcoming gender-based violence in Latin America
By Sonja Rijnen- Trigger warning- Please note that this article contains references to violent crimes and sexual abuse. In December 2005,...
Oct 17, 20214 min read
The privatisation of coups: the surge of Private Military and Security Companies in Latin America
By Jacob Lubbers Estrada- Latin America is known for the large number of coups d’états its people have had to endure, both in the past...
Aug 6, 20215 min read
Why the English-speaking world should take notice of Brazil’s #3JForaBolsonaro Movement
By Tom Kissock-Mamede- On Saturday the 3rd of July 2021, Brazilians took to the streets to demand impeachment proceedings be brought...
Jul 27, 20216 min read
An open letter to President Biden regarding the situation in Cuba
By Gabriela Rivero- As of July 11th, 2021, Cubans have been taking to the streets in cities across the country in response to food and...
Jul 13, 20217 min read
Latin America’s healthcare markets in the face of a crisis, what lessons can be learnt?
By Giovany Orozco Leal- The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed how fragile our globalised society still is to shocks from the natural...
Jul 2, 20215 min read
The failures of Mexico’s opposition and lessons to be learnt
By Jacob Lubbers Estrada- On June 6th 2021, Mexico faced one of the largest elections in the country’s young democratic history: the...
Jun 8, 20215 min read
Post-socialist Ecuador: How the victory of neoliberalism was possible
By Roberto Porras- After more than a decade, the Ecuadorian people are finally closing the chapter of “Socialism of the 21st century”....
May 16, 20215 min read
Building Bridges: Sports Diplomacy In Mexico
By Ambar Aguilar Estrada- Over the past few decades, public diplomacy has been used to foster communication among states in order to set...
Apr 23, 202112 min read
Chile’s New Constitution: An Opportunity to End the Mapuche Conflict
By Tomás Pizarro-Escuti- The Mapuche-Chilean state conflict can be defined as an indigenous self-determination conflict with demands...
Apr 9, 20217 min read
Argentina-Mexico Relations: The Key to Understanding Latin America?
By Natasha Tinsley- In February 2021, Argentine President Alberto Fernández took part in a three-day official visit to Mexico. Throughout...
Mar 22, 20217 min read
Should I Stay Or Should I Go: Haiti’s Quiet Self-Coup
By Fernanda Alvarez- The word ‘coup’ is often associated with violent images of military tanks rolling into the core of political powers,...
Mar 4, 20218 min read
What the Biden administration means for the two economic powers of Latin America and beyond
By Alfonso Garza- After the victory of the Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the presidential election of the United States, the North...
Feb 10, 20214 min read
How “machista” Latin America became the world’s leading region for women’s political participation
By Sonja Rijnen- When most people think about the role of women in Latin America, issues such as machismo and gender-based violence often...
Feb 3, 20217 min read
Explainer: A journey to the origins of Venezuela's crisis
By Antonija Diković- Throughout the last decade, the country of Venezuela and its woes have been reported on internationally and made...
Jan 25, 20214 min read
Seeking a Brighter Future: The impact of malnutrition in Ecuador and overcoming its challenges
Written by: Belén Mateo, MD. Photos by: Maria Cristina Mateo - My name is Belen Mateo, I am a physician from Ecuador and since June 2020,...
Jan 18, 20216 min read
Latin America's Democracy in 2020, the Year of the Pandemic
By Paola De Anda Mota- By the end of 2020, Latin America had reported over 400,000 deaths due to COVID-19. As around the rest of the...
Jan 4, 20216 min read
The changing politics of Cuban international health diplomacy
By Bryan Ch. Campbell Romero- Over the past few months, Cuba has seen a new surge in international demand for its help as a result of the...
Dec 14, 20207 min read
The repressive “gift” behind the US counter-drug aid in Peru
By Ferggy Nathaly Salvador Cruz - There is much historical evidence of heavy US interventionism that aims to eradicate drug production...
Dec 5, 20206 min read
Bolivia's MAS: an unexpected win and moving forward
By Paola De Anda Mota- On October 19th despite the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Bolivians went out to choose their next president and...
Nov 24, 20205 min read
What the Latinx vote in the 2020 US elections should teach us and the Democrats
By Valeria Fernandez-Soriano- While the outcome of the 2020 US presidential election may have been the first sigh of relief in four years...
Oct 23, 20205 min read
Will Chile choose to replace its constitution? Chileans explain why they are voting in favour
By Sofia Gutiérrez and Lenka Fuentes Rubio, translated by Isabel Leask and Sonja Rijnen- A year after the social outburst that shook...
Sep 24, 20206 min read
Crime and Impunity: Mexico's Missing 43
By Isabel Leask- On the 26th of September 2014, the disappearance and suspected murder of 43 students in the state of Guerrero, Mexico,...
Sep 15, 20207 min read
The MAS demise: the reasons for the fall and the legacy for a new Bolivia.
By Roberto Tacca- In November 2019, President Morales of Bolivia had to flee the country and formally resign in a desperately late...
Aug 26, 20206 min read
Daniel Ortega has become what he fought to destroy: another Somoza dictator
By Paola De Anda Mota- In 1984, Daniel Ortega won the elections in Nicaragua, ending the Somoza family dictatorship of over four decades...
Aug 18, 20204 min read
Antonia Barra’s story: a case of systemic sexism that shook an entire country
By Carla Munoz Antolin- In Chile, the 18th of September is a national holiday; everyone takes a few days off to celebrate the creation of...
Jul 22, 20206 min read
Uruguay: Reshaping the Latin American Drug War and the Road to Legalisation
By Iulia Cristiana Vatau- It has been seven years since Uruguay, the second-smallest nation in South America, shocked the world and...
Jul 15, 20205 min read
Beyond Brazil: Peru’s distinctive Covid-19 crisis
By Allie Nawrat- Early on in the Covid-19 pandemic – around the Easter weekend in early April – there were many stories in the mainstream...
Jul 4, 20205 min read
Protesting in a pandemic: how Chile’s estallido social continues
By Juliet Richards- On the 14th October 2019, secondary school students across the city of Santiago began a coordinated fare-dodging...
Jun 16, 20203 min read
In Pictures: 'Históricas'- Women making history in Santiago de Chile
Photos and text by Sofia Gutiérrez (translated from Spanish by Sonja Rijnen)- On the 8th of March 2020, women in Chile made history when...
Jun 16, 20204 min read
Why the U.S. is responsible for causing the Central American refugee crisis on its doorstep
By Isabel Leask - On the 20th of June 2020, World Refugee Day will honour the bravery and determination of thousands of individuals who...
Jun 9, 20203 min read
Brazil’s Executive: a threat to LGBTQ+ achievements and gains.
By Felipe Carlos de Carvalho - A ruling by Brazil’s Supreme Court in May 2020 has allowed gay/bi men and trans women to donate blood*– a...
Jun 8, 20204 min read
Surge in Indigenous opposition and COVID-19 cases fail to derail Maya Train mega-project in Mexico
By Isabel Leask - On June 1st 2020, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) inaugurated the construction of one of his most...
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