Category: Latin America: Week in Review

In surprise show of support for marriage equality, Costa Rica elects ruling party candidate to presidency

TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA Carlos Alvarado Quesada was elected to the Costa Rican presidency yesterday, defeating Fabricio Alvarado Muñoz in a what had been billed as a referendum on marriage […] Read More >

Families outraged after deadly Venezuela jail fire

TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA Families of the 68 people killed during a blaze this week in an overcrowded Venezuelan jail demanded information yesterday as to what led to the fire. […] Read More >

Haiti installs new army leadership despite concerns

TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA Haiti’s new army started to take shape this week as President Jovenel Moïse installed a controversial seven-member high command despite condemnation by some in the U.S. […] Read More >

U.S. 2020 census to include citizenship question

TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA The U.S. Commerce Department announced yesterday that it plans to include a question about citizenship in the 2020 census. The Constitution requires that every resident be […] Read More >

Congress’s bill disregarded Trump’s wall and DACA recipients

TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA The 2018 spending bill approved last Friday by the U.S. Congress didn’t include protections for DACA recipients nor sufficient funding for President Donald Trump’s border wall, […] Read More >

Brazil’s unpopular, scandal-plagued president weighs bid for new term

TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA Despite approval ratings that have settled in the single digits, Brazilian President Michel Temer may seek a second, full term in October’s national elections. Speaking with […] Read More >

Peruvian lawmakers debate whether to impeach president or accept resignation

TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA Lawmakers in Peru began to debate yesterday whether to accept President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s resignation or to go ahead with his impeachment. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors requested […] Read More >

Embattled Peruvian president steps down over vote-buying scandal

TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA 
Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned yesterday amid corruption accusations. On Tuesday, footage had been leaked by right-wing opposition party Popular Force allegedly showing Kuczynzki’s allies […] Read More >

The murder trial of a U.S. Border Patrol agent accused of shooting across the Arizona-Mexico border begins today

TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA Opening statements for the murder trial of a U.S. Border Patrol agent accused of shooting across the Arizona-Mexico border and killing a Mexican teenager in 2012 […] Read More >

The Trump administration declared all U.S. transactions with Venezuela’s petro bitcoin illegal

TODAY IN LATIN AMERICA The Trump administration banned all U.S. transactions with Venezuela’s backed cryptocurrency yesterday, arguing it was created to bypass the financial sanctions slapped unto the cash-stripped South American country. The petro, as […] Read More >