The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP27 (held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from November 6 to November 18), coming soon after the reelection of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as president of Brazil, generated much news and debate about environmental issues in Latin America. The mood was dark and the warnings dire.

Issue Nov 02-08 2022: The reelection of Luis Inácio Lula da Silva for a third term as president of Brazil on October 30, 2022, quite predictably spurred political observers around Latin America to scrutinize the leftward direction so many countries in the region have taken in recent years. Those who took up their pens were

Issue Oct 26-Nov 01 2022: On October 30, 2022, in Brazil’s second round election, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated (by a very narrow margin) incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro to win a third term as president. One of the living icons of the Latin American left, the 77-year-old Lula won with 50.9% of the

Issue Oct 19-25 2022: In late October 2022, migrants continued to trek out of Venezuela, hoping to resettle in the United States or other Latin American countries. Many still attempt the perilous trip north, marching through the dangerous Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama, despite efforts by Guatemala and Mexico to impede their progress. What

In mid-October 2022, Patricia Benavides, Peru’s Fiscal de la Nación or Attorney General, brought a constitutional complaint against President Pedro Castillo that formally accused him of leading a criminal organization within his government. The Peruvian president, who took office in July of 2021, has already faced three requests for dismissal in Congress. Castillo, who along

Issue Oct 05-11 2022: From October 5-7, 2022, the Organization of American States (OAS) held the 52nd regular session of its General Assembly in Lima, Peru. The host country suggested its main theme for discussion: “Together against inequality and discrimination.” The session resulted in the passage of resolutions on the situations in Nicaragua and Haiti,

Issue Sep 28-Oct 04 2022: After the unsettled first round of presidential elections on October 2, 2022, Brazilians face another month of uncertainty in a deeply polarized political environment. Ex-president and frontrunner Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva failed to garner the 50% of the votes plus one needed to avoid an October 30 run-off against

Issue Sep 21-27 2022: On September 25, Cuba held a referendum on same-sex marriage as well as other family-related reforms. The measure passed with a solid majority. The call to vote “Yes” was vigorously pushed by all state media as an act of revolutionary virtue. And while LGBT groups praised the exercise as a step

On September 15, 2022, El Salvador’s Independence Day, amid military parades and fireworks, President Nayib Bukele announced that he will seek reelection. Legal minds around the region pointed out that El Salvador’s constitution clearly prohibits immediate presidential reelection, though a series of legal rulings by Bukele appointees seem to have muddied the waters. Despite a

Issue Sep 07-13 2022: On September 7, 2022, President Jair Bolsonaro presided over festivities marking the 200th Anniversary of Brazil’s Independence from Portugal. Yet he outraged many Brazilians for turning the event into a militaristic campaign event with authoritarian overtones. The president was applauded by a crowd of supporters in Brasilia, where the heads of