The transatlantic slave trade and the exploitation of enslaved African laborers in the Americas stand as one of the darkest, most horrific pieces of the history of Western civilization. Without the motive, the means, the organization, and the dedication of European colonial powers in establishing and perpetuating this system of slavery, the modern world may […]
Tag: Brazil
The Successes of Brazilian Civil Society
Despite being free from military dictatorship since 1988, Brazil has struggled to build a robust democracy. However, one area of democracy in which Brazil has flourished has been the civil society sector. In times where government action was absent or insufficient, civil society organizations have stepped in to provide and advocate for citizens. Though their […]
Brazil’s Role as a Global Laboratory of War Against Misinformation
In 2018, a video of former President Barack Obama calling his successor Donald Trump a series of expletives gained traction online. While this was engineered by deep fake technology, a tool used to digitally alter a subject’s actions and speech, the public was widely ignorant of its origins. Consequently, the video circulated primarily through social […]
UN Diplomats, Global Leaders Talk Climate in Advance of COP26; Action Lags Behind
The 76th United Nations General Assembly meant to provide resounding motivation to combat climate change. The first return for many world leaders to the assembly hall since before Covid-19 was meant to confront the most substantive issues facing the international community. Tangible climate policy should come out of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of […]
Environmental Activism in Latin America Comes with a Deadly Cost
In December 2020, Indigenous Honduran environmental activist Félix Vásquez was killed in front of his family by a group of masked men in the village of El Ocotal. His assailants were armed with pistols and machetes, scarring his family forever. This attack was a response to Vásquez’s efforts to help protect the environment and advocate […]
Dire COVID Conditions Grip Brazil
Dire COVID Conditions Grip Brazil Brazil is currently the worst place on Earth for COVID-19. The nation has the highest rate of new cases compared to any other country in the world. The current death toll in Brazil is approximately 300,000 COVID deaths, a number topped only by the United States. The healthcare infrastructure has […]
Venezuela’s Unintentional Regional Influence
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, much like his predecessor Hugo Chavez, often appears on national television to address the country on the problems facing the nation and to boost approval ratings. However, during a television appearance in November 2017, Maduro made a very public gaffe that highlighted the growing corruption and inequality in Venezuela. During the […]
Venezuela’s Humanitarian Crisis: Not The Exception, But The Rule.
As Syrian refugees continue to arrive in battered dinghies to the shores of Europe, a migration of similar urgency is taking place in Latin America. The Venezuelan crisis has its roots in the poor transfer of dictatorial power and an over-reliance on oil exports. However, this issue of politics and economics has transformed into a […]
Red Threatens the Rainbow: the Legalization of Gay Conversion in Brazil
Vibrant flags shot through with glitter, bass-pumped music echoing through the street, flamboyant outfits, public displays of affection, lots of smiles – these are all things ubiquitous at Pride Parades all over the world. Nowhere is the Pride party bigger or better than in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which holds the record for hosting the largest […]
Blood for Trees: The Plight of Uncontacted Tribes in Brazil
Last month, around the Jandiatuba river in the Amazonas region of Western Brazil, a small cohort of illegal gold miners happened upon a group of indigenous people, members of one of many uncontacted tribes throughout Brazil. Reports state that these miners murdered between ten to twenty people, including women and children. This massacre would have […]