Category: Latin America/Caribbean

Nicaragua: ‘no one left to vote for’

     

The democratic transition that we Nicaraguans began in 1990, and the peacebuilding we undertook after a tragic war between brothers, relied on an essential foundation: honest and transparent elections, notes… Read more »

After decade of Raul Castro, reform still lagging

     

Veteran Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas was briefly hospitalized in Santa Clara on Friday after losing consciousness in his home on the 16th day of a hunger strike to protest government… Read more »

Venezuela – ‘a nation with no future’?

     

About 20 percent of Venezuela’s children face problems of malnutrition, and the number of children admitted to hospitals for severe malnutrition has spiked, The Miami Herald reports: A survey carried… Read more »

‘A crime against humanity’ – Venezuela on the edge

     

It’s been almost two years now since the renowned Harvard economist Ricardo Hausmann caused a stir in his native Venezuela by posing an uncomfortable question, Bloomberg reports: Why does a… Read more »

Cuba ‘open for business’, closed to dissent

     

Cuba may be open for business, but it remains closed to dissent, according to a retired career American diplomat. “Despite President Obama’s best intentions, no improvement on the human rights… Read more »

How to save Venezuela

     

Venezuela‘s opposition’s campaign to gather enough petition signatures to recall President Nicolás Maduro has passed the first stage after enough of the signatures were ratified through the scrutiny process, reports suggest…. Read more »

Global downturn in civil and political rights – key implications

     

There is a downturn in civil and political rights in many of the world’s largest and most geopolitically significant countries, especially Russia, China, and Turkey, but also other countries such… Read more »

Will new Archbishop transform Cuban Church?

     

In the mid-1970s, a recently ordained priest trekked the Cuban countryside, defying the communist government by distributing hand-printed religious pamphlets to townspeople bold enough to open their doors, The New… Read more »

Venezuela: Edge of the Precipice

     

The Organization of American States will meet Thursday to discuss the deepening crisis in Venezuela, where the opposition is pushing forward with efforts to activate a recall referendum of President… Read more »

Venezuela’s civil society ‘rapidly deteriorating’ – OAS must act

     

Civil society is rapidly deteriorating in Venezuela. Once a prosperous oil producer, the nation is slipping into a state of chaos that is beginning to resemble Somalia. And things just… Read more »