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By Bécquer Medak-Seguín April 2010 The Amazon rainforest, the world’s largest and most species-rich tropical rainforest, has suffered severe deforestation since the early 1960s when colonists1 established farms and companies began illegal logging operations within the forest. The last two decades have witnessed a motivational change in the Amazon operations from one that was executed by and for [...] By Samantha R. McRoskey April 2010 High-level U.S. and Mexican officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, met recently to re-strategize the war on drugs initiated under the 2008 Merida Initiative. This year’s budget, valued at $330 million, will provide continued military aid, but will be directed toward judicial reform and programs to promote [...] By Ian King, Guest Columnist April 2010 With the recent formation of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), many have begun to wonder why the U.S. and Canada were not asked to join the new organization. A quick economic explanation makes the answer to this question very clear: in a region where class distinctions still [...] By Bécquer Medak-Seguín March 2010 Of the upcoming elections in Latin America, the Colombian presidential election will likely command the most attention by United States politicians and pundits. The election itself, set to take place on May 30, still lacks an outright frontrunner among the six major candidates largely owing to the legacy of the current president, Álvaro [...] By Samantha R. McRoskey March 2010 Imagine this: at a distance, you see tiny bodies moving across dozens of oil rigs perched in the waters of the Santos Basin off of the São Paulo, Brazil, coastline. It is 2020, and production in Brazil’s Tupi oil field is topping out at more than 150,000 barrels per day. As you [...] By Samantha R. McRoskey February 2010 President Obama’s State of the Union Address made it clear how the public, and the administration, view the state of our union: our most pressing problems are at home. For most of his speech, the president addressed the vulnerabilities of the economy and how to overcome them. He transitioned to issues of foreign [...] By Bécquer Medak-Seguín February 2010 For the casual observer, it may seem nonsensical that, to this day, Britain and Argentina fight over the rights to a sparsely populated island near Antarctica. The conflict over the islands the British call the Falklands and the Argentines call the Malvinas dates back to 1826, when Luis Vernet established a settlement on [...] By Bécquer Medak-Seguín January 2010 A disconcerting logic in United States–fashioned rhetoric regarding Latin America has taken command in recent weeks, following the elections of so-called center-right or right-wing candidates in Chile (Sebastián Piñera), Panama (Ricardo Martinelli), and Honduras (Porfirio Lobo). This year, the supposed ideological shift should continue, many claim, with the election of Álvaro Uribe for [...] By Samantha R. McRoskey January 2010 Security surrounding the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver surpasses any before it in size and scope, at $1 billion and a force 15,000 strong comprised of Canadian military, Vancouver police, U.S. security forces, and private contractors. And with the Games just weeks away, security officials are putting the finishing touches on [...] By Samantha R. McRoskey December 2009 The recent imprisonment of Venezuelan judge María Afiuni after she ordered the release of banker Eligio Cedeño, detained unlawfully for nearly three years without trial, has renewed outcries against the “climate of fear1” created by the breaches of checks and balances within the Chávez government. The news was frustrating, but not surprising—another [...] |
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