The first rule of Parliament Fight Club is try not to be among the opposition. On the evening of April 30, members of Venezuela’s political opposition, including a former presidential candidate, were apparently roughed up by …
Latin America
Bolivia President Expels U.S. Government Aid Agency
(LA PAZ, Bolivia) — President Evo Morales acted on a longtime threat Wednesday and expelled the U.S. Agency for International Development for allegedly seeking to undermine Bolivia’s leftist government, and he harangued Washington‘s top diplomat for calling the Western Hemisphere his country’s “backyard.”
Bolivia’s ABI state news …
Spain and Portugal’s Huddled Masses Seek Jobs in Former Colonies
There are few better places that illustrate the impact of the Spanish conquest of Latin America than the Plaza de Armas in Cuzco, Peru. Cathedrals with foundations of perfectly hewn Incan stone sit atop the ruins of what was once the mountain capital of the great Incan empire. Chapels gleam with Andean gold and silver, a testament to the …
Obama’s Mexico Visit: Not Just About the Drug War Anymore
When former Mexican President Felipe Calderón waged his war on drug cartels, the media were guaranteed a crime photo op every few weeks. Alleged gangsters were thrust before the press along with heaps of guns, money and …
Mexico Seeks New Security, Economic Agenda with U.S.
(MEXICO CITY) — Mexico is ending the widespread access it gave to U.S. security agencies in the name of fighting drug trafficking and organized crime as the country’s new government seeks to change its focus from violence to its emerging economy.
The change was confirmed by Mexico’s Foreign Ministry on Monday as the government lays
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Mexican Journalists March Against Attacks on Press
(XALAPA, Mexico) — Officials in Veracruz state say they know who killed Regina Martinez. The muckraking reporter, found beaten and suffocated in her house, was just the victim of a robbery, according to prosecutors and a local …
Why Latin America’s Homophobic Leaders Should Stop Their Gay Bashing
We tend to think of mean-spirited homophobia as the political purview of right-wing conservatives. But Nicolás Maduro showed us that, in Venezuela at least, it can be one of socialism’s ugly undercurrents too. Maduro narrowly …
US Man Detained in Venezuelan Post-vote Crackdown
(CARACAS, Venezuela) — A 35-year-old filmmaker from California has been arrested by Venezuelan authorities who are accusing him of fomenting postelection violence on behalf of the U.S. government.
President Nicolas Maduro …
After Venezuela’s Election, Chavistas and the Opposition Ready for Long Fight
On a hill in west of Caracas, the 23 de Enero slum stands as the flagship of Hugo Chávez’s socialist dream. His body currently lies in a military museum here which overlooks el comandante‘s former presidential home, …
In Caracas, Tensions Simmer over Venezuelan Election
In the immediate aftermath of Venezuela’s tightly contested presidential election this past Sunday, supporters of Venezuela opposition leader Henrique Capriles demanded a recount after a slim electoral defeat to Nicolas Maduro,
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Venezuela’s Election: Even if Nicolás Maduro Won, He Lost
Here is the one unmistakable reality of Sunday’s special presidential election in Venezuela: even if Nicolás Maduro won, he lost. This race had a rarefied gauge, and it wasn’t simply the vote tally. It was whether the …
The Chavistas Hang On to Venezuela’s Presidency
The final count was closer than most people expected but Chavez’s anointed successor takes the election.
(MORE: Venezuela’s Election: Even If Nicolás Maduro Won, He Lost)
In Hugo Chávez’s Heartland, the Dead President Rules Supreme
Under the sweltering sun of Venezuela’s Los Llanos, a vast savannah famous for its cowboys and revolutionaries, 60-year-old Adán Chávez speaks passionately to a crowd of red-clad supporters. In his voice and rhetoric trembles …
