Posts tagged Americas
The Paralysis of the Past: An Evaluation of President Arévalo’s Aspirations to Combat Historic Impunity and Indigenous Oppression in Guatemala 
The Paralysis of the Past: An Evaluation of President Arévalo’s Aspirations to Combat Historic Impunity and Indigenous Oppression in Guatemala 

For decades, the Guatemalan military has cooperated with foreign and domestic elites to stymie public efforts at combating racial and social inequalities. State repression is so embedded into the Guatemalan political system that corruption has been made contingent for the state to function. Nevertheless, various transitional justice initiatives which emerged at the end of the Civil War, such as the Equipulus I and II agreements and the REHMI and CEH reports, carried positive changes to the modern Guatemalan state.  The strategies used in this time can inform the Semilla party in its anti-corruption mission.

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AmericasBy Nathaniel BarrettGuatemala, Human Rights, Transitional Justice, Corruption, Latin America, Americas, Guatemalan Genocide, Genocicde, State Terror, Reform, Anti-Corruption, Accountability, Impunity
Silenced Stories: Censorship in the Americas
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.

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AmericasBy Victoria Beharrybook banning, censorship, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, human rights, United States, America, U.S. book banning, Canada, Latin America, Nicaragua, Central America, Mexico, Americas, book censorship, stories, storytelling, first amendment, populism, LGBTQ+, sex-ed, racism, Critical Race Theory, Florida, Texas, schools, education, books
Daniel Ortega’s Crusade against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua
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.

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AmericasBy Victoria BeharryNicaragua, Catholic Church, Religion in Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, Church and State, Vatican, The Pope, Nicaraguan Politics, Nicaraguan History, Nicaraguan Civil War, Iran-Contra Affair, Human Rights Crisis, Religion, Central American Politics, Americas
A Rundown of Refugee Policies Post-Title 42
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.

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AmericasBy Camila Kellypolitics, Americas, title 42, Immigration, immigration policies, immigration laws, US immigration
El Salvador in the Age of the “Mega Prison”
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.

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AmericasBy Will FullerEl Salvador, prison, mega prison, drugs, violence, gangs, war, rule of law, Americas, Latin America