Several Latin American directors have drawn international acclaim for their attempts to "deliver a more nuanced and ethically accurate portrayal" in their films of the aftermath of dictatorship and corruption.

"Latin America as a whole exported more value in soccer players in the first half of 2013 than live animals in the entirety of 2011. Argentina’s soccer player exports amount to about a quarter of the value of its meat exports over the same period in 2011; Brazil’s to more than its gun exports; Uruguay’s to more than its fish exports; Peru’s to more than its cocoa exports; and Ecuador’s to roughly the same as its coffee and tea exports. Guatemala even ships off more value in soccer players each year than beef."

Mexico has started counting its Mexican population.

Story of Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2004 shocked at her success regardless of her color.

Orlando Zapata's National Civic Resistance and Disobedience Front protesting racism and "Potential Criminality law"

Article on the existence of modern racism in Cuba

Mexico Takes Big Steps In Finally Recognizing Afro-Latinos

Afro-Mexicans are pushing for legal recognition in Mexico's National Constitution.

An article comparing the effects of the 2010 World Cup held in Brazil to the current and projected impact of the 2016 Olympics on the economy.

Biopiracy is another form of exploitation of Latin American countries.

PUBLIC HAS NO SAY

student protest against current president. 2012.

An example of the abuse Dominicans of Haitian descent are subject to.

Moving away from the canal project which has been the main focus of my posts, this article covers a completely different impact of international action into Nicaragua. First Lady Rosario Murillo designed and commissioned the trees of life in all of Managua's public parks. The intriguing factor involving these 17 meter tall trees is accompaniment to an equally large sized mural of late Venezuelan populist leader Hugo Chavez in Managua's center. This connection to Chavez just shows how western investment alone has not been the only factor that has shaped Nicaragua, and that Chavez and Venezuela equally have shaped the nation. Additionally, the populist rule of Chavez during his rule over Venezuela seems to be influencing the Ortega "husband and wife dynasty's" 2016 campaign by building larger than life trees all throughout the city as an attempt to "give back" to the people for cutting down most of the real trees as a result of massive public works projects.

This article goes in depth about the nature of the Brazilian economy from 1500 to 1929 breaking it down into 3 periods: a colonial regime, an independence era, and an oligarchic republic.

Here's an interesting article bringing to light yet another issue plaguing Nicaragua as a result of foreign actors and their regional location. The Cuba refugees bound for the US have found themselves attempting to use Nicaragua as a gateway further into Latin America and have seen their advance halted by Nicaraguan authorities. For Nicaragua, this foreign influx is an unintended consequence of being relatively close to the United States and has significantly dampened Nicaraguan relations with neighboring Costa Rica. This will be an interesting story to follow, as it seems to mimic the current Syrian migrant crisis seen in the Balkans right now, where states like Nicaragua are negatively impacted simply due to their location on the road to the United States in the same way that states like Greece and Italy are negatively impacted on the Syrian migrant route further into the EU.

A description of the indiscriminate nature of the roundings up of Haitians in the Dominican during the current crisis.

Direct comparison of the massacre of 1968 to the current sentiment towards government control and student protest.

Amazing article on the Mother Seed Project developed by Zapatistas in Mexico as a way to preserve indigenous seeds from invasion from GE plants.

In continuing with the theme of international actors in Nicaragua, it is also equally important to touch upon the views of Nicaragua in foreign media. This article comes courtosy of the Huffington Post and shows how the US would like to paint a picture of a prospering Nicaragua with strong economic development. In contrast to last weeks article that really focuses on the discontent of the local farmers in Nicaragua with the government reluctance to hear there side in regards to the canal project. In fact one key omission from this article is the description of how Nicaragua was able to gain this new GDP through private investment from abroad exclusively. This places Nicaragua in a precarious situation as it makes them essentially dependent on this foreign investment that has come about through the canal project.

A case study examining the growth pattern of Brazil's economy from 1971-2005 in relation to historical events.

Repatriation of artifacts currently residing in the Met. A common concern across countries currently seeking repatriation of cultural objects is their ability to display and care for the objects.

Origin of Spanish dominating indigenous culture in Bolivia...

This article brings to light yet another theme we have examined thus far in our study of Latin American history. Foreign influence into Latin America tends to utilize a strategy of completely decimating land in order to maximize their profits. We saw this with US sugar companies in Cuba and with the mining and agricultural goods throughout colonial Latin America and now yet again this Chinese funded canal project seems to be following suit. As in McCook's reading, those who suffer the most of this neglect are the small, semi-subsistance farmers who rely on the consistency of the environment as their only source of food and income.

An interesting background of the Brazilian economy from the 16th century up until more recent developments of economic growth prior to the current recession.

Interesting ideas of repatriation through technology. Does this count as true repatriation? Does it achieve the same goals?

Article about author Junot Diaz being called unpatriotic and "anti-Dominican" by the Dominican government for his protest.

An update on the Canal project in Nicaragua which since the first announcement of Chinese investment into the country has been a largely driven by international actors trying to capitalize on economic potential of the project. It now appears that the Chinese will not be international presence within Nicaragua as the Russians now have staked an interest in the project. Its clear that these actors have successfully influenced the Nicaraguan government through the foreign investment for this project, as the government is willing to go along with whatever the investors propose. This connects to the fact that the Oretega regime is struggling with a legitimacy issue currently and this project, in the mind of Oretega, has the potential to legitimize his regime again through the vast economic potential it offers.

Article touches on the indigenous struggle in the Gran Chaco region of Argentina. Poorly aware of their rights, the indios are faced with a constant battle of land expropriation and water pollution caused by the exploitation of large corporations.

Ownership of archaeological sites in Peru - repealed.

This article problematizes Columbus day in the settle colonial plan of the structural elimination of the native which pervades today.

Shows the disconnect between control of the people and the control of the gov't. Essentially useless. The central control continues to be weak, no matter what.

A woman sharing the complexity of her identity as a black latina. Being seen as a "n*gger" by white people, yet not being accepted as black by African Americans, while at the same time her latino family refuses to acknowledge her blackness because of their negative perceptions on blacks.

Article focusing on the work of Tego Calderon and other Afro-Caribbean activists in Puerto Rico.

The installment of a free cultural center in Buenos Aires reflects the Peronist use of the arts to further national identity.

Interesting update on the massive Nicaraguan canal project. In this article, International firms like the International Business Times and the Harvard Business Review analyze both the current progress on the project as well as the future potential of the project and how it has changed. This is an interesting take because within Nicaragua, the canal has always been an international project, financed by Chinese investors and now criticized and analyzed by American firms. Next week I plan to seek out a truly Nicaraguan source on this canal project in order to be able to compare and contrast international views with domestic views. Definitely worth a read.

A look at the immigration/deportation conflict between the Dominican and Haiti, and the confusion many are undergoing, through personal stories.

This article discusses the construction being done leading up to the 2016 Rio Olympics through different perspectives of individuals in Brazil.

Discovery of a colonial era church due to a drought.

This article made me curious about the impact that the U.S. has on the economy of latin america (specifically cuba) today and how it differs, if at all, from the impact it has historically had.

Reading this made me think of a core question: Is there a correlation between revolution and an awareness of public health? If so, why? Expanding on that thought, I began to wonder if there are there any examples within Latin American revolutions that could prove or refute this idea.

I think that this article is important because it discusses the challenges of adapting a government centered around a single individual to the demands of the modern era. It would be interesting to compare the Castro's changes in policies to the changes in policies that other Latin American dictators have made and see if there is some sort of pattern or similarity.

This article was intriguing to me because it caused me to ponder what I believe to be a significant question: What impacts the legacy of a dictator?

This article accounts for Indigenous resistance in Amazonia. Large corporations continue to perpetuate the structural genocide of indigenous populations.

Issues of repatriation in Latin America

This article follows suit with my article from last week which touched upon the role of foreign actors within Nicaragua. Foreign actors within Nicaragua have been responsible a large portion of the country's history, most notably the US and Soviet influence in the Nicaraguan Revolution during which the Soviet backed Sandanista militia overthrew the Somoza government who had ruled Nicaragua for 43 years prior to this change. The important piece of this article is the fact that Nicaragua rejected this foreign investment into extracting gold from the nation's rivers, a project which the government rejected due to environmental concerns. Will this recent push for environmental concerns change Nicaragua's mindset on foreign investment?

Interesting article discussing wealth inequality in Brazil, highlighting the extreme level of poverty in Rocinha, one of the countries largest favelas.

In the mid-twentieth century, Brazilian pop artists protested military rule, American neocolonialism and political censorship through vivid, nationalistic works of art.

An older but interesting opinion piece written by Rajoy the president of Spain. Seems to be an attempt to raise support among Colombian voters by praising Colombian politicians and cultural figures

This opinion piece written under the name of Rajoy, Spain's president, is recognizing the important role of Latin Americans in Spanish society and the importance of the spanish speaking world in general. The most intersting quote of the article is "Yo creo en América Latina y en los latinoamericanos, independientemente de los ciclos económicos, porque el gran activo de nuestra política exterior son las personas".

Another glimpse into the active economic relationship between Haitians and Dominicans. The new tightening of migration laws through deportation on the part of the Dominican government, threatens the livelihood of these women. Not only are the laws threatening, but attitudes towards Haitians in the Republic worsen in an already hostile and prejudiced environment.

This article discusses the difficulty in attacking corruption. It uses Guatemala and Brazil as examples of direct corruption through embezzlement and fraud schemes with Chile and Mexico where corruption is rooted in access to political knowledge and nepotism. In Chile and Mexico, the link is less direct and investigations cannot be traced as concretely as was the case in Brazil and Guatemala. This can make tackling corruption extremely difficult where these cases are more difficult to prove.

The Economist article (2004) recaping the overarching increase in Indigeniety and the problems it faces in our modern capitalist society.

Girls are not safe and are just as much effected by the violence in El Salvador as are the male gang members. This leads to the idea that there is either the choice to join a gang or be at risk and have to isolate yourself from the world around you.

William Garcia explains his stance on the importance of acknowledging racism in Puerto Rico gives counter arguments to those who deny it's existence .

“Latin America has learnt to its cost what happens when presidents are allowed to perpetuate themselves in power,” says Óscar Ortiz, an opposition senator.

Political corruption seen in immigrant relations at the border of US and Mexico.

Interesting article about foreign investment into Nicaragua, this time in the form of a canal expected to rival the Panama Canal as the main route of passage from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. This theme of foreign investment into Latin America has played a major role in the infrastructure of the region, dating back to the British private companies who built railroads in Argentina and the American companies in Mexico.

Community archaeology! Excavation of a fountain from a Mexican-American neighborhood settled in the late 19th century.

A discussion of some of the differences between Haiti and the Dominican Republic as realities to the current situation involving non-citizen Haitians in the Dominican. Article argues that the problems of immigration and citizenship cannot be resolved by the Dominican alone, and that then Haitian government must take responsibility for its own citizens in order to ameliorate the crisis.

Interesting article that just shows where the state of mind of people is at in brazil right now. A parade balloon mocking the former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is causing controversy relevant to Brazil's economy crash and political injustice.

Carmen Balcells was at the center of the Latin American literary boom, which popularized the works of Gabriel García Márquez, Carlos Fuentes, Julio Cortázar, and many other writers who had been censored or neglected by publishing houses in their own countries.

This is an article about Guatemalan indigenous population wining fight against Monsnto in 2014.

Great initiatives are taking place in El Salvador to keep gang members off the streets and away from violence by providing anyone who was involved with gangs the opportunity to work and earn a living while contributing to society and their families.

I found this article quite interesting because of how in the perception of other regions of the world, in this case New Zealand, Nicaragua is simply a forgotten nation and not a hotbed for conflict as the American media seems to paint it. In fact, this article really touches upon the positives of what Nicaragua has to offer and rarely mentions the political situation in Nicaragua, which is the main point the US media seems to focus on.

This article discusses the role an American energy company played in Guatemala's newly uncovered corruption scandal and the legal consequences its employees could face due to their participation in bribery. " “It is safe to assume,” he says, “that US authorities would be conducting an investigation.” Should the US government press charges against this company to stand in solidarity with Guatemala?

This article is about how Brazil went from being such a strong and economically sound country to the worst economic crisis in decades. It mentions how an economy once thriving off exports of raw materials like iron ore, crude oil, and soy beans is now at a stand still. As I continue to read these articles about Brazil's economic troubles the one thing held constant in all of them is that President Rousseff seems to be almost fully responsible for this tragedy. After the economy appeared to be slowing down from its recent boom, Rousseff ordered the central bank to cut interest rates which lead to a credit spree of consumers who are now unable to repay their loans. she created price controls on gas and electricity that also led to big loses of public energy companies. It is almost as if Rousseff and her campaign party meant to ruin the economy on purpose or as Antonio Delfim Netto, a former finance minister, mentions, "they deliberately destroyed the public finances to obtain re-election".

The article talks about systematic racism in Puerto Rico. Being black and successful is seen as an astounding achievement. Whereas being white and successful is simply expected. 80% percent of Puerto Ricans identified as white in 2010. The article ends with "We are a racist country that excludes, that is why we also exclude the dominicans, because they are black".

Possibly the oldest known beheading in the America's has been found in Brazil.

This is an article from last March about Podemos, an emerging political party in Spain, and its often considered dubious connections with the Venezuelan government. The idea of European intellectuals and academics being contracted by leftist Latin American governments for consultancy work is interesting.

An exploration of communist Cuba's relationship with the Catholic Church following Pope Francis' visit. Cuba took refuge following it's revolution under the wings of the Soviet Union, causing a lot of friction between the Church and the new Cuban state. Cuba and the Church always maintained a relationship, however, and Raul Castro and the Pope have a lot in common with their shared criticisms of capitalism.

(see attached video)

Parents report on the incredulity of their missing children. Pretty impressive that this horrible event is being used as an incentive to start a public movement against government corruption in general...I didn't realize this event had had so much of an effect on the system, I thought it was merely being reinvestigated!

Veterans rights are not just a U.S. problem, but also visible in Latin America. If you ever travel to Buenos Aires there is a permanent post where homeless veterans of the Malvinas War sit and protest the poor treatment of ex-combatants.

Newspaper article from El Nuevo Dia talks about systematic racism in Puerto Rico and the under appreciation of black art.

Extreme wealth in El Alto. Wealth used to celebrate Bolivian culture - New Andean Architecture & typical Bolivian dress for women: hats, polleras, earrings, rings of dancers

This article is very interesting in my opinion because it shows the waves Guatemala has made throughout Latin America. Yes, political corruption is a bad thing, but it is very interesting to see it as a mechanism of radical political change. Would Mexican's be questioning the political status quo if corruption in countries such as Guatemala wasn't as pronounced as it is? To me it almost seems like corruption more than conformity can do more in progressing/specializing country politics.

I came across this article on NPR and found it quite interesting that in a country as politically and socioeconomically divided as Nicaragua there is one things that unites all classes: vigoron. What began as a street food in Granada, Nicaragua has now captivated the entire nation. In fact, the dish has survived the Somoza dictatorship and the brutal Sandinista and Contra civil war that ensued afterwards. Definitely worth a read.

Following up with the article from last week I thought sharing the work of Hinton would be appropriate to give an insight as to what he experienced first hand with the gang violence in El Salvador while staying with the community.

This is a really interesting article about many Latin American intellectuals' opinions on the possibility of Catalonian independence from Spain. Many are urging Cataluña to stay a part of Spain because Barcelona has historically been a city that Latin American intellectuals have lived and worked in and they don't want to lose those cultural ties if Cataluña severs its ties with Spain thus abandoning castellano. The other portion of this article that stood out for me was the quote by Abad which argued that Europe has been doing the right thing by not yielding to every nationalistgroup because that only leads to violence and probelems (I assume he's referring to the case of Latin America here).

Brazil is currently facing one of the worst economic recessions in its history. With the economy set to shrink by another 2 to 3% this year and with inflation rates pushing towards 10% many are beginning to blame President Dilma Rousseff. President Rousseff however, is not accepting full responsibility for this crisis but instead putting the blame on other global factors, like Chinas deterred economic growth. Many still blame Rousseff for her inability to handle such an unexpected and unfortunate series of events. And with the President now losing support even within her own coalition partners many are calling for her impeachment.

Construction often uncovers archaeological features in cities. Commercial archaeologists are often called into construction sites in order to excavate the material.

Rosas vs. Sarmiento. Still a problem to this day

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4399403023001/corruption-in-mexico/?#sp=show-clips

Although I have a lot of trouble with the way fox news presents information, i do find it interesting how these reporters comment on the pure "fact" of political corruption and the involvement of wealthy, dangerous people in the Mexican government. I feel like no matter what the political association of the reporter is, there is no question that there has been an absurd amount of illegal action on the part of the Mexican government.

Evo Morales - President between the years 2006 and 2020?!

Interesting Interview of how being black is perceived in the Caribbean, more specifically in the Dominican Republic.

Interesting story involving Nicaragua's Sandinista government and their alleged support of a shooter at a peaceful anti-Sandinista rally in Managua. The anti-Sandinista's have staged protests every Wednesday since President Daniel Ortega and his party eliminated term limits, enabling Ortega to run for his third consecutive term. Ortega's FSLN currently controls all four branches of the Nicaraguan government: executive, judiciary, electoral authority,and the national assembly. This removal of term limits will essentially enable Ortega to have an unlimited reign as Nicaragua's president.

Interesting read on the usage of drones in mapping archaeological sites. The composite image is made by taking overlapping aerial photographs. From this, 3D models of the sites can be made. This article discusses not only the archaeological benefits of drone use, but also how drones can help to keep tabs on any destruction occurring on the site.

This article discusses former president Otto Perez Molina's resignation as president of Guatemala. It highlights the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala's role (CICIG) in leading the investigation against Molina. As an organization that operates independently of the Guatemalan government, it shows how important and effective these organizations are through this separation. There has been a push for similar organizations to become established in countries such as Mexico and Honduras.

This article is about the relocation of families throughout Brazil due to the construction of the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro. It is estimated that up to 100,000 families will have been relocated by the end of the 2016 Olympics. These areas being cleared out for the Olympic Village are normally low income neighborhoods being replaced by luxury apartments meant to house athletes during the Games. What is even more surprising is that this evicting of families in a common occurrence among nations hosting the Olympics. We have seen several examples of this in the past including 1.5 million people relocated for the 2007 Beijing Olympics, 720,000 people evicted for the 1988 Seoul Olympics and many others.

This article discusses the recent wave of immigrants from Venezuela to Spain. Some interesting points are that Venezuelans do not need tourist visas to visit Spain and the paragraph on the emerging political party Podemos and its connections to the Venezuelan government.

"Hinton wants to foreground the story of the civil war and the class conflict that still rages in El Salvador. He doesn’t present gangs as mindlessly violent; their violence springs from an impoverished, divided society."

Adam Hinton was welcomed by one of the most dangerous gangs in the world, MS-13, to photograph their community and learn about the reasons why gangs are unavoidable in their communities. Hinton through his photography and documenting of stories helps reveal that Salvadorians are normal people, like us, struggling everyday to survive.

Check out this article, I thought that it was interesting mainly because it illustrates the lasting effect that Christianity has had on Latin America and specifically Cuba.

When Oscar Olivera informed the crowd in the plaza of the agreement and claimed victory, he received a tepid response. Peasant delegates, who had become ever more suspicious of government promises, demanded that the modifications of Law 2029 be approved at once. Nevertheless, the crowd disbanded. Modifications to the law were approved in parliament that same night and a modified law, No. 2066, was proclaimed by President Banzer on April 11. The reform contained 36 articles. The main points were that (1) the possibility of creating a national water council was left open; (2) instead of five-year licenses peasant and indigenous organizations now had to register only for "the useful life of the service"; (3) in concession areas the concessionaires would not have monopoly rights and water committees, cooperatives, and other usos y costumbres would be recognized; and (4) rate structures were to be established in consultation with the municipalities and the local units of Popular Participation

Great Read ! Looks at the Water Wars of 2000 in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

The connection of fruit to art in Latin America can be traced through music (e.g. the song Buscando Guayaba, the elaborate headdresses of Carmen Miranda) and through literature (e.g. the banana massacre in One Hundred Years of Solitude). Fruit is symbolic of the exploitation of Latin American culture by the West, as papayas, passionfruit, and other produce were shipped across the Atlantic during the Columbian Exchange.

The crime of the 43 disappeared student protesters is without a doubt one of the worst crimes of the century to occur in Mexico. It is unusual and impressive for the Mexican government, known to be extremely secretive and corrupt, to be reinvestigating this case, which is giving parents of the children, as well as the general public serious anxiety as well as doubt. Is the motive for reinvestigation by the government the press that this case has received internationally? Is it unusual for the public to make their resentment and doubt so "heard" when the government is known to be so dangerous and corrupt?

Pope Francis, seen as "pope of the poor," visited Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay because they are thought of as the poorest countries in the region and are home to 40% of the world's Catholics