Article Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/23/guatemala-suspends-budget-ratification-after-attack-on-congress The ratification of Guatemala’s proposed 2021 budget has been suspended after a series of violent protests. Many Guatemalans were unhappy with the proposed budget, as it planned to reduce spending on health, education, human rights, and criminal justice systems as well as increasing public debt. Thousands of Guatemalans took to the street to protest the budget and… Read more »
Article Link: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/mexico-says-it-won-t-allow-officials-accused-corruption-be-n1248276 After decades of the US trying high-profile Mexican drug-trafficking and corruption cases, Mexico has said that it will no longer allow this. Though the exact implications of this statement aren’t clear, it is likely a result of the US dropping a high-profile drug-trafficking and money laundering case against former Mexican defense secretary Salvador Cienfuegos. Lopez Obrador, the… Read more »
Article Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/24/inmates-killed-in-colombia-riot-shot-intentionally-hrw-report In March, towards the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, prisoners at Colombia’s La Modelo prison were concerned for their health. The prison put six prisoners in each cell, many were sleeping in hallways, and there was no effort to separate those who tested positive from those who tested negative. In what activists called a “peaceful protest” and… Read more »
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-guatemala-protest/protesters-set-fire-to-guatemalas-congress-in-protests-over-2021-budget-idUSKBN28204U As the year 2020 comes to a close, Congress in Guatemala has just released their proposal for the country’s 2021 budget of 99.7 billion quetzals, which is equivalent to about $12.9 billion dollars. The public is outraged with the new budget, as it takes away money put towards healthcare, education, and human rights, while taking more money from the… Read more »
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-supermarket-death/violence-erupts-in-brazil-after-black-man-beaten-to-death-at-carrefour-store-idUSKBN2802V3 In Porto Alegre, Brazil, a Black man was beaten to death by security guards at a Carrefour Brasil supermarket, sparking outrage amongst people in the country. An employee at the store called security saying the man, Joao Alberto Silveira Freitas, threatened to attack her, and the security guards then beat the man to death. After images and videos of… Read more »
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/10/turmoil-threatens-peru-as-congress-votes-to-impeach-president On November 9th, Peru’s Congress voted 105 to 19 to impeach President Martín Vizcarra. When Vizcarra was a governor, he supposedly took bribes from companies which then won contracts for public works. The now former President then resigned, and while he claims the basis for impeachment was untrue, he’s decided not to challenge it. However, citizens of Peru are… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mexico-corruption/not-guilty-mexican-ex-army-chief-pleads-in-high-stakes-cartel-case-idUSKBN27L2MP Salvador Cienfuegos, the former Mexican Defense Minister, was arrested in October at the Los Angeles International Airport by U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials. He has pleaded not guilty to the drug charges on November 5, 2020. He is being moved to Brooklyn, New York to await trial. This strange twist on Mexico’s war on drug… Read more »
Link To Article: Armed groups target Colombia’s children as reform process slows Farc Rebels and other armed groups have taken to recruiting children in impoverished areas to bolster their ranks. Since the start of the pandemic, recruitment rates have skyrocketed as a result of school closures and worsened living conditions. As a result of COVID-19 measures in Colombia, there have… Read more »
Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-culture/mexico-demands-explanation-from-french-designer-isabel-marant-over-indigenous-designs-idUSKBN27L03X For years, members of the fashion industry have been known to commodify and appropriate culturally significant styles from all over the world. Upon the release of her latest fashion line, French designer Isabel Marant was questioned regarding her use of patterns from indigenous Mexican communities, which have great cultural significance. The problem does not stop with… Read more »
Link To Article: ‘The fight goes on’: Exiled Former President Evo Morales Returns to Bolivia After a long year in exile, Bolivia’s former president returned to Bolivia. Greeted by thousands of supporters waving flags, Evo Morales returned to Bolivia’s southern border through Argentina. His return was a single day after the new president, Luis Arce, was sworn in, suggesting that… Read more »
