Latin American governments of a “progressive” bent have hit some strong turbulence of late, and one of the recurring themes has been the near universal obsession with “corruption.”  Nowhere is this more evident than in Brazil, where beloved former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been caught up in the ongoing investigations just as he announced that he plans to run

Bolivian President Evo Morales sought the possibility of a fourth term by calling for a referendum to change the constitution.  The amendment would have permitted presidents to govern for three consecutive terms instead of two. (Morales’ first term was served under an earlier constitution.) Victory would have allowed him to run again when his current

Francis’ visit from February 12 to 18 was his first trip to Mexico since becoming Pope.  Pundits had high expectations for bold and provocative statements, though some were disappointed.  While the pontiff stayed on message about poverty and inequality, immigrant and indigenous rights, he did not take as deep a dive as many observers had

Around the region abortion is legal only in Cuba, Uruguay, and in Mexico City, where there is no restriction in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy.  In most other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, abortion is legal in some restricted cases, specifically, if the mother’s life or health is in danger, if she

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) held its fourth summit in Quito, Ecuador on January 27, 2016.  Established in Caracas in 2011 under the auspices of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, CELAC promotes the integration and development of the 33 member countries, (and resistance against Yankee hegemony).  Indeed, Ecuadorian President Rafael

Venezuela’s legislative and executive branches threw down in their fight for dominance amid an economic crisis that is spiraling out of control.  The economy of the world’s fifth-largest oil producer has been slammed by plummeting oil prices, which since September 2014 have dropped from US$90.00 per barrel to US$21.00. Revenues from fossil fuels generate 95%

A year after the mysterious death of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman there are still more questions than answers.  Found dead in his apartment with a gunshot wound to the head, just days after filing a criminal complaint against former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, his death thoroughly shocked Argentina’s political world.  Not only are there

The second recapture of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, a.k.a. “El Chapo,” the leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, focused the region’s attention yet again.   This was the third time that the drug lord was taken into custody. The first was after he escaped from a maximum security prison in the state of Jalisco in 2001, and the

On December 6, 2015 the opposition alliance in Venezuela, the Mesa de Unidad Democrática (MUD), won a super majority of 112 deputies in the 167 seat unicameral Asamblea Nacional (AN) or National Assembly, displacing the long-dominant Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), led by President Nicolás Maduro, the hand-picked successor to the leader of the

As Venezuelans prepared for watershed parliamentary elections on December 6, 2015, events took an ominous turn with the murder of an opposition political leader and activist.   Luis Manuel Díaz, a local leader of the opposition Acción Democrática (AD) party, was shot and killed at a campaign event in the town of Altagracia de Orituco in