Latin America & the Caribbean

Photo: Lula da Silva’s supporters cheer as he arrives for his inauguration ceremony as Brazil’s new president, Brasilia, Jan. 1, 2023. Source: Indian Punchline

Behind India Ignoring Lula's Inauguration as Brazil's President

Viewpoint by M.K. Bhadrakumar

This article was issued by Indian Punchline.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — The Brazilian news agency reported that Lula da Silva’s inauguration as the new president on January 1 for a historic third term amidst a carnival-like backdrop was attended by over five dozen foreign delegations, composed of heads of government, vice presidents, foreign ministers, special envoys and representatives of international organisations. It was the largest event with high-level international figures in Brazil since the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; South Asia; 07 January 2023

New Report Warns of Pervasive Financial Fraud in the Caribbean

By J C Suresh

TORONTO (IDN) — A new report has warned that fraud in the Caribbean region is widespread and generates hundreds of millions of dollars in criminal proceeds yearly. The report entitled Financial Fraud in the Caribbean draws on interviews with subject matter experts from law enforcement, financial intelligence units (FIUs), financial services commissions (FSCs), multilateral organizations, the private sector, and the media.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 15 December 2022

Photo: Demonstrators protest against fuel price hikes and to demand that Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry step down, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on September 19, 2022. Courtesy of AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph

UN Military Intervention in Haiti Offers No Added Value but Added Chaos

Viewpoint by P.I. Gomes

The writer is the former Secretary-General of The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS)

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago (IDN) — Haiti’s history of horror and resolute self-determination is once again a subject of controversy and confusion in much of the world’s media.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 18 November 2022

Photo: Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (left) with the governor of Paraíba, João Azevedo (right). Credit: Divulgação

Brazil’s Lula Remerges—in a Very Different Political World

Viewpoint by Sonali Kolhatkar

This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Sonali Kolhatkar is the founder, host and executive producer of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a television and radio show that airs on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations.

LOS ANGELES (IDN) — Brazil’s first round of elections, held on October 2, yielded a major victory for the man who held the presidency from 2003 to 2010, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Winning 48 per cent of the vote in a multicandidate race, Lula now heads to a runoff against incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro, who won 43 per cent.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 11 October 2022

Photo: Researchers aim at mitigating environmental issues in Cerrón Grande, the largest water body in El Salvador. Credit: UCA.

University Scientists in El Salvador Research to Protect Biodiversity

By J. Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) — The Cerrón Grande reservoir, the largest water body in El Salvador—and home to over fifteen species of fish and a wide variety of submerged and floating flora—is currently threatened by the accumulation of solid waste, erosion, eutrophication, pollution, and the presence of invasive species. To mitigate these environmental issues, a multidisciplinary group of scientists from the “José Simeón Cañas” Central American University, a member institution of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) in El Salvador, has stepped in.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 28 September 2022

Photo: Former President Lula at a campaign rally in Nova Iguaçu on September 8,2022. Ricardo Stuckert/Reproduction, Lula campaign website. Source: Americas Quarterly.

Brazil Has the Potential to Moving to the First World

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Brazil has long lived out its personal fantasy as the archetypal relaxed, tolerant and gregarious country with Copacabana beach, the samba, the carnival and a great deal of sexual freedom. But, as it was often said when Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva came to power in 2003, it had yet to live its societal dream, an economic-cum-social revolution.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 27 September 2022

Photo: Opponents of the proposed constitution celebrate its rejection. Credit: EFE

Chile's New Constitution Rejected in a Bewildering Vote

Viewpoint by Taroa Zúñiga Silva* and Vijay Prashad**

This article was produced by Globetrotter.

SANTIAGO DE CHILE | NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts (IDN) — On September 4, 2022, more than 13 million Chileans—out of a voting-eligible population of approximately 15 million—voted on a proposal to introduce a new constitution in the country. As early as March, polls began to suggest that the constitution would not be able to pass.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 September 2022

Photo: Inauguration of Gustavo Petro as president of Colombia in 2022. Source: Twitter Samantha Power, USAID.

Gustavo Petro's Election Promises a Major Change in Colombia

By Shastri Ramachandaran

NEW DELHI (IDN) — The leftward shift in South America that gained momentum in 2021, with right-wing politicians being worsted in presidential elections in Peru, Chile and Honduras, continues its sweep in 2022.

Colombia, famous for its coffee and the novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, has long remained under right-wing regimes that enjoyed a cosy equation with Washington. Some of these regimes were terrible dictatorships which forced people like Marquez, best known for his One Hundred Years of Solitude, to live in exile out of fear of being killed by state-sponsored mafia elements.

: Shastri Ramachandaran; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 14 August 2022

Photo: (Left) Álvaro Alberto, Brazil's first nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) concept, courtesy of Serviços e Informações do Brasil; (Right): US Navy Virginia-class SSN, courtesy of General Dynamics Electric Boat Public Affairs, Creative Commons Licence 040730-N-1234E-002)

Nuclear Submarines and The Non-Proliferation Treaty: Brazil Gets a Jump on Australia?

By Tariq Rauf*

VIENNA (IDN) — Originally scheduled for April-May 2020, due to postponements because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Tenth Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) finally convened in these turbulent times at the United Nations in New York on 1 August and will conclude its deliberations on 26 August.

NPT review conferences are held every five years to assess the implementation of the NPT across its three "pillars": nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, and cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

: UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 08 August 2022

Photo: Floods in Ilheus, Bahia, Brazil in December 2021. Credit: Camila-Souza-GOVBA / WMO Report

Climate Change and COVID-19 Playing Havoc in Latin America and the Caribbean

Viewpoint by Mario Cimoli

The writer is the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

SANTIAGO, Chile (IDN) — The Latin America and the Caribbean region is home to some of the widest biodiversity on the planet. From Caribbean marine and coastal oases to the Amazon rainforest and down to the southern-most reaches of Patagonia, the region is filled with natural wealth.