Venezuela’s re-invigorated opposition faces a crucial test Wednesday as it seeks to fill streets nationwide with protesters in an appeal to the military and the poor to shift loyalties that until recently looked solidly behind President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government.
Latin America
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
A slow motion coup gathers steam in Guatemala
“What they are doing not only puts Guatemala at risk but the entire region. Bit by bit, for more than a year, they have been trying to divide us. The elections are at risk. We are six months away.”
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Venezuelan bishops say Maduro government illegitimate, call for change
The Venezuelan bishops’ conference has labeled the new government of Nicolas Maduro “illegitimate” and called for a “change in government.”
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Remembering Jesuit Father Charles Currie, who “lived his faith through action”
Politicians, educators and social justice leaders are remembering Charles Currie, S.J., whose passion for seeking justice in Central America made him a trusted adviser in Washington, D.C.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
In Brazil, Bolsonaro, the ‘Trump of the Tropics,’ takes office
Mr. Bolsonaro’s far-right rhetoric during the campaign has led to uncertainties about his policies as president and drawn international concern about the course he will set for the nation.
Posted inFaith, News
On Christmas, Nicaraguan bishop reiterates calls for dialogue
Managua Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Jose Baez reiterated his calls for dialogue and respecting human dignity in Nicaragua, where the president has crushed protests, closed critical media outlets and persecuted anyone — including priests — publicly opposing his administration.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Echoes of Graham Greene in the Andes
Lynn Monahan has done a superb job of capturing the feel of Andean Latin America—the shabby metropolis of middle-class Lima, the precariousness of a bus ride up the ragged side of a mountain, the poverty and rich culture of the rural Quechua people.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Confronting femicide in Brazil
Ms. Morais’s death is a notorious example of an everyday horror in Brazil and other Latin American states: the crime of femicide. In 2017 at least 2,795 women were victims of femicide in 23 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Centuries later, Jesuit missions in South America are still strengthening communities
A new study finds higher literacy rates and income levels in the areas around former Jesuit missions in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
In Honduras, Berta Cáceres’s killers have been convicted
The court ruled that the murder was premeditated with the “consent of Desa executives.” Desa is the Honduran company holding the concession for a hydroelectric dam project on the Gualcarque River on disputed land.