Poverty without the violence and economic chaos of Venezuela? CaracasChronicles.com founder Francisco Toro reflects on the different meanings of poverty, inequality, decay, and civility on a stroll through the streets of Kampala’s slums.
The new OAS Secretary General’s swearing-in speech should give us hope, not just because he talked about the OAS’s role in defending human rights and electoral transparency and inclusiveness, but also because of who he is and Uruguay’s principled position in the hemisphere. His first test will be the Venezuelan legislative elections.
When analyzing Latin America, it is high time we stopped using the imagery of a “pink tide” and stop depicting the region in “good lefts” or “bad lefts.” Despite the rhetoric we often hear from politicians and pundits alike, with few exceptions we are entering an era of pragmatism and centrism.
Today we have a real opportunity to assess how southern regionalism become political spaces where policies are redefined and the norms of global political economy can be renegotiated.
Given the advances women have already made, a legal change to increase fathers’ roles in the home and thereby free up women to return to their careers offers a powerful means to helping women overcome the barriers to upper level career advancement.
With only one university in the top 100, what does this say about the ability of Latin America to produce an educated workforce that can complete in today’s global economy?
Rather than focusing old time notions of levels of economic and military aid or large inspiring policy declarations, analysts and policymakers should focus their attention where policy and its return (i.e. influence) is most impactful—communication, contact and exchange that improve the daily lives of Latin American and Caribbean citizens.
Conspiracy theories are a standard way for populists to distract citizens and stoke up their base. But the governments in Argentina, Ecuador and—particularly—Venezuela have turned it into a real art form.
The story of dashed hopes and sudden halts is a painful yet familiar one for all of us. As we lick our wounds and take stock of yet another lost opportunity, we ask ourselves yet again: can the continent ever escape the boom-bust cycles that have left our economies trapped in middle income status?
Even if you don’t agree with the Venezuelan opposition’s call for “la salida” of President Maduro, leaders like Leopoldo Lopez, now in prison almost 15 months, still have the right to demand the resignation of a president–a right Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff rightly supported in her country. Here’s his parents’ story.
