By Jordan Brasher, The Conversation — The aroma of fried chicken and biscuits roused my appetite as the country sounds of Alison Krauss, Alan Jackson and Johnny Cash played over the loudspeakers. This might have been a county fair back home in Tennessee, but it wasn’t. I was in a cemetery in rural Brazil, at the “Festa Confederada” – the “Confederate Party” – an annual celebration of southern U.S. heritage held each April in Santa Bárbara…
Venezuelan Oil Unifying Latin-America By Johannes Alvarez & James Fiorito 2005 Stanford University Introduction Hugo Chavez was named the fourth most influential person of 2005 in the world by Time magazine. Why is the leader of a relatively small country and economy like Venezuela such a powerful influence in the world? Oil has played a vital role in Chavez’s ability to execute his ideas, and is crucial to his countries…
Images show Donata Meirelles, who is white, sitting on a throne-like seat flanked by four black women dressed in white. By Anna Jean Kaiser, The Guardian — The fashion director of the Brazilian edition of Vogue has resigned after photos from her 50th birthday party drew criticism for evoking colonial depictions of slavery. Images from the party showed Donata Meirelles, who is white, sitting on a throne-like seat flanked by four black…
The government of newly inaugurated President Jair Bolsonaro set to work quickly on Wednesday, issuing decrees that lift protections for minorities and reward his allies in agribusiness, while forging closer political ties with the US. By France24, Rueuters — Bolsonaro, a former army captain and seven-term congressman, won elections in October and was sworn in on Tuesday as Brazil’s first far-right president since a military dictatorship gave way to civilian…
Once a thriving, glamorous city, Venezuela’s capital is buckling under hyperinflation, crime and poverty By Tom Phillips, The Guardian — A portrait of Hugo Chávez and a Bolivarian battle cry greet visitors to the Boyacá viewpoint in the mountains north of Caracas. “It is our duty to find one thousand ways and more to give the people the life that they need!” But as Venezuela buckles, Chávez’s pledge sounds increasingly…
The frontrunner in the presidential election is finding support from the country’s bankers. By John Paul Rathbone and Joe Leahy, OZY — The dramatic surge in Brazilian markets is not the only factor lifting animal spirits among senior business leaders and financiers in São Paulo this week. The prospect of right-wing congressman Jair Bolsonaro winning the presidency and implementing a liberalizing economic program has kindled hopes among many that decades of Brazilian…
International Meeting on Reparations Caracas, May 8th – 10th, 2018 DECLARATION We, activists, scholars, government representatives and social movements, gathered in the city of Caracas, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela from 8th to 10th May, 2018, on the anniversary of the anti-slavery and humanitarian rebellion of the Maroon Jose Leonardo Chirino, which occurred in Las Macanillas, Falcon State, on May 10th, 1795, declared as the Afro-Venezuelan National Day. Delegates from different…
South American conservatives have an unlikely new role model. By Omar G. Encarnación — Since Donald Trump became president, much has been said about the “Latin Americanization” of U.S. politics. The Washington Post, remarking on Trump’s nationalist demagoguery, referred to him as “the U.S.’s first Latin American president,” while an essay I wrote in Foreign Affairs shortly after the 2016 election termed Trump “A Caudillo in Washington,” a reference to the prototype of the Latin American strongman.…
“The evidence is clear for all to see that Hugo Chavez was one of the greatest and most genuine friends that our Caribbean region has ever had!” By David Comissiong — When, on the 5th of March 2013, the great and heroic Commander Hugo Chavez passed off this mortal coil, the people of Venezuela lost a “father” of their nation; the people of Latin America lost an “architect” of their Civilization; the people of the Caribbean lost one of their most sincere friends and benefactors; the people of the so-called Third World lost their preeminent freedom-fighter; and the people of the world lost a legendary humanist, a veritable lover of humankind!
By: Earl Bousquet — What’s in store for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in 2018? And what’s the future for actual cooperation ties between Latin American and Caribbean states? Crystal balls never reflect a full picture. But with nothing else to look at, many still gaze at them. In other cases, just as many simply look back – and then ahead, based on the reflections. Signposts The year just…
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