The Jon Stewart of Guatemala?

As former President Pérez Molina sits in jail, former comedian Jimmy Morales is the front-runner in the campaign for President of Guatemala. The Morales campaign was not central to the anti-corruption marches that brought down Pérez Molina, but he has become the politician most associated with the protest movement and the end of Pérez Molina. Is Morales the real face of the “Guatemalan Spring” or just the accidental beneficiary of the protests?

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Honduras – Innovation in the fight against gangs and narcotrafficking

The approach chosen by Honduras to combat gangs and narcotics trafficking is not perfect. Yet despite its military character and the unrelated, but distracting, political crisis currently faced by the Hernández government, the Honduran approach to the nation’s overwhelming security challenges is creative, credible, and home-grown.

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Preview of UNHRC 30 and predictions on how Latin American countries will vote

The United Nations Human Rights Council opened this week, and on its agenda are the heated topics of Sri Lanka, Ukraine and Syria. The region has historically split in votes on these issues, with a majority, led by Argentina and Brazil, supporting the protection of human rights. On the other side, Cuba and Venezuela have helped to lead the movement to prioritize national sovereignty over the human rights.

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The importance of human rights to sovereignty

In a speech before the start of the new session, the head of the UN Human Rights Commission emphasized the complementarity between human rights and national sovereignty. Was his message intended for any specific countries and their representatives on the Council?

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UNASUR’s epic fail… again

UNASUR’s statement that it would not question the judicial decisions of its member states over the recent sentencing of Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was as predictable as it was troubling. It’s a perfect example of how the region has regressed, with little respect for its troubled past and a warning of things to come.

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Breaking promises

Corruption scandals and slowing economic growth have forced President Michelle Bachelet to backtrack on her campaign promises. Now facing the lowest levels of popular approval for any elected president since the 1990 transition, can Bachelet re-focus her government’s policy drift in time for the 2016 local elections?

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What happens next in Central America?

In the second of a two part series, Orlando J. Pérez looks at popular protests over corruption in Guatemala’s neighbors, El Salvador and Honduras. He argues that CICIG’s recent successes in Guatemala are precisely why it will never be adopted in El Salvador and Honduras.

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What about Paraguay?

The landlocked, Southern Cone country is experiencing the same, if not worse, corruption scandals, social protests, approaching economic stagnation, and rising levels of violence widely reported on as just about every country of Latin America and the Caribbean. So why isn’t anyone paying attention?

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What happens now in Guatemala?

Part one of a two-part series, Doctor Perez here looks at the events leading up to the September 6 elections, their implications for the second-round presidential elections and the potential for long-term institutional reform (difficult). The second post will examine the political situation boiling in Guatemala’s neighbors, Honduras and El Salvador.

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