Silenced Stories: Censorship in the Americas

News is ultimately a form of storytelling, a way of informing the public of the events occuring in the world around them. Censoring the press is therefore a way of framing the way people see the world into a picture defined by what is not censored. However, press extends beyond the typical newspaper; even a novel may also be considered a form of press, reflecting societal issues of a certain period, or working to challenge authority. To censor this type of artistic press is to censor imagination, which results in the same effect––a suppression of public opinion. In the Americas, there has been an influx in the censorship of the press, which has taken one of two forms: censorship of the formal newspaper press and book censorship. This article thus examines censorship in the case studies of Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, and the United States.

What Canada’s Recent Nunavut Land Transfer Could Mean for Indigenous Rights and the Environment

The Canadian government recently signed an agreement to transfer full control over the northernmost territory of Nunavut to the territory’s Inuit-dominated residents. This is a huge milestone in the movement for indigenous rights, and autonomy for the region will also bring more sustainable resource assessment and the protection of biodiversity. It could also be a stepping stone for increased indigenous autonomy and biodiversity across the Americas.

The Institutionalization of Gang Violence in Trinidad & Tobago

In Trinidad and Tobago there has been a record of gang-related violence that has made life unsafe for citizens of the island nation. Moreover, the gangs themselves are deeply institutionalized into Trinidadian society, even serving functions of government, thus making them exceptionally difficult to remove.

Essequibo: A Generational Crisis

While Venezuela and Guyana have been locked into a cycle of recurring dispute over the vital region of Essequibo, the most recent escalation of the contention over it has raised alarms internationally. While the conflict itself is nothing new, increasingly aggressive maneuvers by the regime of Nicolás Maduro have particularly worried indigenous communities.

AmericasBy Will FullerMarch 27, 2024Venezuela, Guyana, Essequibo, annexation, river, oil reserves

Examining Period Poverty: A Hidden Global Public Health Crisis in Latin America

Although menstruation is a natural process, it is shrouded in misconception in various parts of the world. This stigma causes period poverty, characterized by the lack of access to menstrual products as well as limitations in regards to academic, professional, and overall life pursuits. This article seeks to shine a light on this hidden public health crisis, focusing on Latin America and in particular on a group of Venezuelan migrants in Brazil.

Costa Rica: An Unexpected Leader in Sustainability

As global temperatures increase every year, many institutions, from national governments to private enterprises, are making plans for decreasing carbon emissions. Costa Rica has taken carbon neutrality to the next level by seeking to completely transform not justits energy system but its entire economy.

AmericasBy Juliana ZraickFebruary 14, 2024environment, sustainability, global warming, carbon emissions, Costa Rica

Daniel Ortega’s Crusade against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua

A war is being waged against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has imprisoned and exiled approximately 15 percent of the total Nicaraguan clergy. Among these are figures such as Bishop Rolando José Álvarez, who was recently released from detainment on January 14, 2024. Ortega claims that the Catholic Church is part of a conspiracy backed by the U.S. to overthrow his regime. Such allegations have been derived from protests against Ortega’s government in 2018, along with having historical roots in the Nicaraguan Civil War.

Tío Bernie and the New Coup

In Guatemala, the January 2024 inauguration of new president Bernardo Arévalo was tense due to the months-long efforts to prevent it from ever happening. Led not by the military, but by the bureaucracy, the coup d’etat that Guatemala avoided highlights how the nature of undemocratic practices is gradually morphing in Latin America.

AmericasBy Will FullerFebruary 13, 2024Guatemala, Corruption, revolution, socialism, coup

The Vote on Decriminalizing Abortion in Brazil

Brazil’s Supreme Court has recently opened up a vote to decriminalize abortion, and a multitude of factors may influence the outcome.

AmericasBy Megha PolavarapuNovember 27, 2023abortion, human rights, court, law, health, healthcare, religion, socioeconomic, legalization, amendment

In Coca’s Claws: How Colombia Is Rethinking the War on Drugs

Over a year after the election of leftist president Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego in Colombia, his administration is seeking out ways to divert from historically violent ways of waging the war on drugs. While Petro’s policies of investing in rural communities press onward, the path ahead may still be fraught with challenges.

AmericasBy Will FullerNovember 27, 2023Colombia, rural farming communities, cocaine, coca, Gustavo Petro, agriculture, farmers

Against The Grain of Precedence: The Re-Election of Nayib Bukele

Despite the increasing pressure on the precedence of the Salvadoran constitution, the populace of the smallest country in Central America remains adamant about the radical metamorphosis their country has exhibited under the administration of Bukele: a new era of stability and security for Salvadoran society. Marred with criticisms, the Bukele administration remains committed to securing another term in San Salvador, all while inciting concerns for those weary of the implications of future authoritarianism in El Salvador and the Latin American sphere of influence.

AmericasBy Kevin MoscatNovember 27, 2023authoritarianism, el salvador, bukeleism, elections

Nicaragua’s Human Rights Crisis

Many experts and human rights activists have expressed concern for Nicaragua based on actions of the Ortega administration. His administration’s actions have caused widespread impacts throughout various sectors including within the academic sphere, democratic erosion, and violent suppression. The Ortega administration in Nicaragua has engaged in numerous human rights violations, for example repressing academics and revoking the legal status of universities, killing or arresting opponents, denying people due process or their citizenship rights, as well as harassing journalists and repressing freedom of expression.

Mexico City’s Forests: The Rise In Logging And Its Implications

As the practice of logging increases in Mexico City, the environment faces devastating consequences with little hope of regulating illegal loggers in particular.

Lithium Extraction and its Impacts on Indigenous Communities

Indigenous communities in the “lithium triangle” are advocating for the preservation of their way of life while protesting against the power structures that have continued to prioritize industries and corporations conducting lithium extraction. It is imperative that the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile address the problem and prioritize the environment and rights of indigenous populations over business and profits.

AmericasBy Alia RodriguezOctober 11, 2023human rights, Environment, water scarcity

Republicans Put War in Mexico on the Menu

The Republican Party’s presidential hopefuls take a stand against the Mexican drug trade in their most recent rhetoric, calling for an American military intervention. This is a departure from former President Donald Trump’s ‘build a wall’ fantasy, but the xenophobic sentiments remain the same. This article examines whether this boots or missiles approach is a realistic expectation, or just another empty soapbox for the GOP candidates to stand on.

AmericasBy Will FullerOctober 11, 2023america, republican party, election, mexico, borders, economy

China’s Firm Hold on El Salvador’s Open Door

In Latin America, the presence of China has become an ever-growing affair of matchmaking between the Asian superpower and some of the world’s developing nations. In the present Bukele-era of El Salvador, an era characterized by doubled-down policies and a crackdown on the social and economic drawbacks, the amity of officials in Beijing has been welcomed with open arms.

A Rundown of Refugee Policies Post-Title 42

After Title 42 border protocols were lifted in May, the Biden Administration announced several new legislative initiatives to help mitigate the increasing number of refugees seeking asylum in America. Although the White House announced the current administration’s commitment to rebuilding the U.S.’s immigration system and especially the refugee infrastructure, its newly implemented policies indicate otherwise. This article examines these new policies under a critical lens, judging whether they advance or minimize the plight of millions escaping poverty, violence, and persecution worldwide.

El Salvador in the Age of the “Mega Prison”

El Salvador ultimately arrested 67,203 people, a population roughly equivalent in size to the town of Haverhill, Massachusetts. And as detainment figures continued to stack up to nearly 2 percent of the adult population, Bukele’s personal war against the gangs eventually arrived at the unveiling of the aforementioned mega prison itself in February of this year.

AmericasBy Will FullerMay 27, 2023El Salvador, prison, mega prison, drugs, violence, gangs, war, rule of law, Americas, Latin America

Does Latin American Anti-Americanism Herald the Coming of a New World Order?

AMLO’s various anti-American comments are novel to a modern Mexican leader, as the nation has, for decades, been led by administrations denounced by AMLO as a “neoliberal oligarchy” itself. However, across Latin America, anti-Americanism is something of a time-honored tradition.

Ecuador’s Recent Natural Disasters: A Worrying Indicator of Climate Change

Ecuador in particular is especially vulnerable to severe natural disasters, including landslides, droughts, floods, and earthquakes. This vulnerability is exacerbated by ineffective government policies combating climate change, political instability, river basin deterioration, farmland expansion, and inadequately constructed infrastructure.