This month Toronto, Canada hosted the Latin American Studies Association’s annual conference, LASA 2010, where academics from all disciplines came to give hundreds of lectures on their latest research and meet others who have contributed to research and teaching on Latin America from all around the world. This year’s conference focused on Crisis, Response, and […]
Earlier this week, President Rene Preval confirmed that Haiti was suffering its first cholera epidemic in a century. Over 1,500 people have been reported, and 142 people have died, as of Friday morning. The outbreak, which is causing some Haitians to die in a matter of hours from extreme dehydration, is centered in the Lower […]
In just a few hours, the first of the 33 trapped miners in the collapsed mine near Copiapo, Chile will be raised from the ground via the newly invented mechanisms and one of three drilled holes created to solve Chile’s latest crisis. The year 2010 has not been an easy one for Chileans with a […]
Today Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa became the sixth Latin American writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Mario Vargas Llosa is more than a trenchant novelist, he is a political icon who represents just how far Latin America has come; from strident leftist to pragmatic conservative. His novels are deeply critical of a […]
Brazilian’s took to the polls this past weekend at the end of Lula’s Presidency in order to elect the next Lula, Mrs. Dilma Rousseff of the PT-Brazilian workers party or to adopt the right of centre, Jose Serra who is close to former President Cardoso, seen by many as the architect of Brazil’s successful economic […]
Last week was a big win for Colombia’s new President, Juan Manuel Santos. FARC’s second in command and ideological leader was killed last week when intelligence gathered from a FARC fighter lead the Colombian Army and Air Force to target the underground base of FARC’s second in command, Mono Jojoy. Since the rescue of Ingrid […]
As the ballots are counted from Sunday’s parliamentary elections, it appears that Venezuela’s opposition has made critical gains. Turnout was high, and Chávez’s United Socialist Party, is believed to have gained a majority of seats. Still, two-thirds is the magic threshold for Chávez to enact further reforms to strengthen his power. Short of that, Chávez’s […]
A recent piece in the Economist gushes over Embrapa, the public company whose ‘green revolution’ has helped turn Brazil into an agricultural powerhouse. Though it presents a one-sided view of GM crops, whose effect on health and livelihoods is a cause for deep concern, the article gives an excellent overview of Brazil’s rise as a […]
This year, and especially this week, the Bicentennials took place for Chile, and the Bicentennial for Mexico and the 100 anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. Venezuela, Colombia and Argentina also celebrated their Bicentennials earlier this year, marking not only the freedom from Spanish rule 200 years ago, but also a push by Latin Americans to […]
Earlier today Brazil and the UK completed a deal to provide the South American country with £2.9 million in ships and frigates. The deal will be a boon to BAE Systems, the British company which has been awarded the contract. The largest arms company in Europe, BAE is expected to experience diminishing profits as a result […]
Alvaro Uribe has kept a storied tradition alive—the post presidential appointment as “Distinguished Scholar” at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. A week ago SFS announced the appointment. Uribe is expected to lead seminars and “interface,” allowing GU students to gain a better appreciation of the nexus between theory and policy. Such appointments are standard fare […]
Where do Middle Easterners fit in the cultural society and economic system of the Americas? This question has become part of much debate recently due to the Islamic Cultural Centre being built close to Ground Zero in New York and the response by many in the US that believe that it is an affront to […]
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