Brazil: the Cardinal who stood up to the military
A moving tribute to Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns on his 95th birthday
"Our society still needs to demonstrate that Human Rights Defenders can take action without the threat of being killed"
Visiting the UK to brief UK lawyers on the current situation in Colombia, in tandem with President Santos' state visit, was Dr Reinaldo Villalba Vargas of Colombia’s most prestigious human rights lawyers collective, the…
Santos proposes peace as framework for investment, but trade must be accompanied by human rights
Attending a formal banquet with President Santos’ as part of his official State visit to the UK, leading Colombian human rights lawyer Reinaldo Villalba highlights the importance of human rights protection in light of President…
White Flowers - When Santos met London's Colombian Community
For the UK’s Colombian community, one of the world’s largest Colombian diasporas, President Juan Manuel Santos’ state visit was a historic event. Following the international media spotlight on Colombia, the recent rejection of…
Narconovelas – Glorifying or Challenging Stereotypes?
Latinolife explores the two sides of this controversial debate.
Cunha: The Man Who Knew Too Much
The arrest of the former speaker of Congress has sent shock-waves through Brasilia.
Brazil - Election Post-Mortem
The PT (Workers' Party) fared very badly in the recent municipal elections and is unlikely to recover before 2018. The political system is entering a new era, but no one knows where it will lead.
AFRO LATINOS: Un Pedazito de la Historia Negra
To be or not to be Afro-Latino? Maria V. Luna explores the resurgance of black pride in Latin America and its diasporas.
Colombia: the double edged sword of peace in Tumaco
As the referendum nears, asking the public to take a leap of faith in Peace, the residents in Tumaco know that it will come at a price and move forward under no ilusions, as Niamh Ni Bhriain explores
Latin Londoner #18: Gloria Lizcano - LGBT community leader
Celebrating 20 years of her legendary Latino LGBT Club night Exilio this Friday, Gloria Lizcano has been the pioneer and main activist for the Latin LGBT community in London.
How Green Has Brazil's Olympics Been?
Brazil proclaimed that it would be hosting a Green Olympics. Despite some bright spots, the result was disappointing, our Brazil correspondent says.
BRAZIL: Tapajós industrial waterway -- a potential environmental disaster
In early August, the Brazilian government unexpectedly cancelled the São Luiz do Tapajós hydroelectric power station, the largest of a series of major dams planned along the Tapajós River and its tributaries. Indigenous groups…
Colombia: Will the people say Yes to peace?
With the entire final agreement finally signed in Havana, the peace accords must now be submitted to a national referendum on October 2. The outcome remains uncertain. Gwen Burnyeat is a British anthropologist and writer, who has…
How Latinos in the UK Can Show Support for Black Lives Matter
A young Afro Latina from the US is inspired by a show of UK solidarity for Black Lives Matter in Brixton and suggests ways Latinos in the UK can help
Brazil's Scandals; Cunha on the Rack
Brazil’s congressional ethics committee recently voted to remove Deputy Eduardo Cunha, one of the orchestrators of President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment, from his position as Lower House Speaker. This decision comes after a…
Colombia: A Historic Agreement on Peace
From remote cities in Colombia’s South like Pasto, to Bogotá, the financial and political capital, tens of thousands of people turned out to watch the signing of the historic ‘End of Conflict’ agreement on big screens in main…
Argentine Culture Wars: writing Kirchnerism out of history
Argentina has always been a country of extremes and now is no different. With the change of government in Argentina, there is not only a change in cultural direction, but a determination to write the ideas of 'the other…
RUNNING FOR JUSTICE
Wall to wall coverage - but 43 students remain missing in Mexico. Karen Harding meets a new generation of London based human rights campaigners looking to turn the spotlight on the unfolding tragedy of the disappeared students in…
Signs of Hope for the Munduruku
Two important advances for the Munduruku Indians in the Brazilian Amazon in recent days suggest that they could pull off an extraordinary victory.
Brazil: The Morning After the Night Before
So, the Chamber of Deputies has voted to proceed with the impeachment of the President. What next?
The Blue Line to Cali
Mirca Moreira revels in the short London journey that quenches her craving for a little piece of Colombia.
Colombia Brings Hope
Kristian Herbolzheimer, a key analyst in the soon-to-be-signed Colombia peace agreement, explains how this historic achievement came about and its significance for Colombia and the world.
Maracujá, the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party and the March of Folly
When tempers run high in Brazil - as they are over the clamour for Dilma's Impeachment - ask for passion fruit juice to calm the nerves. And so it was done in Congress' special session on the matter, where the Attorney…
The UK's Top Colombian Movers and Shakers
Take a trip to Elephant and Castle or Seven Sisters’ indoor market and you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’d been transported to Colombia. Salsa blaring out of little shops, couples dancing between tables in mid-afternoon,…
Brazil: Full Speed Ahead for Impeachment
Jan Rocha reports on the attempted impeachment of Dilma and fears of vested interests behind it
Altamira: Victim of the Belo Monte Construction Boom
Sue Branford chronicles the rapid development in the town of Altamira in the Brazilian Amazon, whose inhabitants have yet to reep any benefits.
Colombia: Commemorating the Mulatos Massacre
On 21st February 2005, paramilitaries and Colombian soldiers massacred eight people from two hamlets of the San Jose Peace Community, in Apartadó, Colombia. Despite assassinations and forced displacement since the Peace Community…
Venezuela: the politicians need to listen
As Venezuela’s economic crisis deepens, Grace Livingstone has been out to the Venezuelan countryside, gauging the effects of the crisis there.
Colombia: the biggest conversation in the world
Gwen Burnyeat reports on the Colombian peace process and the efforts being made to promote conversation among all its actors, at both local and national levels
Brazil: Transport is not a Commodity
Ali Rocha & Nayana Fernandez report from Sao Paolo on the series of mass protests against hikes in public transport fares.
Love Is (Not) All You Need?
Some say that people of all cultures use the word ‘love’ to describe a feeling they get when someone meets their needs. In the view, we invest emotions in what is in fact a transactional affair. So what is love between Cubans and…
Colombia: Students Tell Amazing Stories
In my first term teaching political anthropology to first year political science undergraduates at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá, I decided to give the students the chance to design their own essay topic. The…
Mexico: Slim pickings
How does a country like Mexico, with perhaps close to half its inhabitants - some 50 million people- living in poverty, come to produce someone who is by some reckonings the richest man in the world? That is the question the…
The Art of Being Bi-cultural
Migration has always been part of human history and always will. Even those who thought they had one cultural identity, are the product of centuries of migration. Where localised migration may have mixed peoples of similar colour…
Colombia - A Beacon of Light in a Chaotic World
As the situation in Syria and the Middle East gets ever more complex and violent, Colombia is finally finding its way out of a 50 year conflict that has ravaged the country, giving us hope in a chaotic world, argues Kristian…