Inseguridad en Buenos Airese

Photo Credit: Infobae

Este es un blog por Lowell George, quien está en su cuarto año en la escuela de Agricultura y Ciencias en Cornell,  en la que estudia Recursos Naturales. Ella tiene una asignatura secundaria en español y pasó la primavera pasada estudiando en Sevilla, España.

Argentina tiene una de las tasas de homicidio más bajas de América Latina, pero en los últimos días se han linchado a más de diez personas en varias regiones. De acuerdo a algunos reportajes, las víctimas son ladrones y las personas responsables por los hechos son los vecinos de los mismos delincuentes. Estos linchamientos han llamado la atención del gobierno, sin embargo éstos no han abordado el tema de manera directa.

Insecurity in Buenos Aires

Photo Credit: Infobae

This is a guest post  by Lowell George, a Senior at Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences studying Natural Resources. She has a minor in Spanish and spent last Spring studying abroad in Seville, Spain

Argentina has one of the lowest homicide rates in Latin America, but in the last few weeks over ten people have been lynched across the country. According to reports, the victims are thieves and those responsible for the lynching are their own neighbors. These lynchings have caught the attention of the national government, although officials haven’t publicly mentioned the crimes.

Colombia’s Peace Talks

On August 27, 2012, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced that his government would begin peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) as an attempt to end the 49-year civil conflict.[1] After six months of negotiations, the government and the FARC have agreed on land reform, one item out of the six-point agenda. This is a tremendous step, as former Vice President Humberto de la Calle stated, “never before has anyone come this far.”[2]

Abortion Laws in El Salvador

Salvadoran abortion laws are what pro-choice advocates in the United States would call extreme. The abortion laws of El Salvador, which reflect many of the laws and general practices in Central America, deny abortion to women — no matter what the woman’s circumstances are. A ban on all abortions includes the criminalization of abortion for: (1) women whose lives are threatened; (2) rape victims; (3) fetal abnormalities; and (4) other medical reasons for abortion other than social economic or personal reasons. To the pro-life advocates, the Salvadoran abortion laws may be the ideal jurisprudence; however, a complete ban on abortion does entail consequences that may be disturb even the most extreme pro-life activists.

Storms Wreak Havoc Across Mexico

The death toll has reached over 100 in Mexico following tropical storms Manuel and Ingrid that hit both coasts, excluding the 68 missing following the landslide in La Pintada on Monday, whom President Enrique Pena Nieto said had”little hope” of being found alive.  On Thursday, five police officers died on a rescue mission to La Pintada  after their helicopter crashed.  Water levels have risen to the waist in parts of Sinaloa, a state hit hard by Manuel and host to at least three deaths.  In total, 24 of Mexico’s 31 states were hit by both storms.

America’s Youth and Immigration Reform

ColorLines is a great news outlet for issues regarding human rights, racial issues, and other pressing matters that major news outlets tend to neglect or gloss over. This is not a plug for the site/magazine, but rather justification for why I used it for this blog post. Further, although this article does not clearly state what “immigrant” represents, because of the nature of immigration reform in the United States, I take it as meaning immigration from Latin American countries.

Foreign doctors: the solution for Brazil’s health system?

When millions of Brazilians took to the streets during the protests this past June, one of the most common demands was the desire to have an adequate public health care system, with doctors, clinics and hospitals that would follow the FIFA standard, a reference to the high quality of the soccer stadiums built for FIFA World Cup in 2014.

Water Struggle in Chile

Chile is going through a water struggle with the advent of recent natural calamities namely the drought and floods this year. Flash floods in the Andes caused contamination of Santiago’s water supplies as the river Maipo was muddied leading to the closure of water processing plants, while the drought in Coquimbo Region has caused rural exodus and conflicts between landowners.

A Closer Look at Venezuela’s Economy and Crime

On May 31, the Venezuelan Central Bank announced that Venezuela’s economy grew by .07 percent in the first quarter of the year. This news illustrates the grim economic reality of the country, an enormous challenge for President Nicolas Maduro. The economic data displays a country that is in dire need of reform.

Looking Back: Anti-US Sentiments in Latin America on the 60th Anniversary of Castro’s Movement

On July 26, 1953, Fidel Castro led an assault on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba.  While the attack failed, that date became the namesake of Castro’s revolutionary movement – M 26-7, or Movimiento 26 Julio – and marked the start of the Cuban revolution that ultimately ended the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.  On the 60th anniversary of Castro’s movement, Latin American leaders look back on the impact of the Cuban revolution on Latin American politics, and look forward to an equal partnership with the United States which both sides have been hard pressed to come by.