Brazil Archive

On Jan. 24, a Brazilian appeals court upheld corruption charges against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Despite the ruling, Lula, as he is popularly known, still leads the polls ahead of presidential elections slated for Oct. 7. In an email interview, Kurt Weyland, a professor in the department of government at the University of Texas at Austin and author of several books on Brazil and Latin America, discusses what’s next for Lula, his leftist Workers’ Party and Brazil’s corruption-plagued democracy. WPR: After his corruption conviction was upheld, what can we expect from Lula going forward? Kurt Weyland: It […]

Courts and legislatures have taken decisive steps to protect LGBT rights in Latin America. But there is a stark difference between the law and day-to-day realities. On Tuesday, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights urged Latin American countries to legalize same-sex marriages and unions, responding to a 2016 petition by Costa Rica’s president, Luis Guillermo Solis, who has championed gay rights. The decision, one of the most sweeping court statements on same-sex marriage in history, appeared to be the latest sign that Latin America is becoming one of the safest regions in the world for LGBT people, at least legally. […]

After a tumultuous year of political upheaval and economic turmoil in Latin America, 2018 promises to bring a measure of clarity as voters in some of the region’s biggest, most important countries go to the polls. But as the new year begins, the prevailing mood from Sao Paolo to Mexico City is one of uncertainty, with an unprecedented range of possible outcomes. This year, voters will choose presidents in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Paraguay and Costa Rica. Venezuela will also hold a presidential election, or so says President Nicolas Maduro. What is remarkable in the elections in the first three— Brazil, […]

On Dec. 26, Brazil’s government stripped Venezuela’s top diplomat in Brasilia, Gerardo Antonio Delgado Maldonado, of his credentials and kicked him out of the country. The expulsion, which came in retaliation for a similar move from Caracas, is the latest setback in badly deteriorated ties between the former South American partners. In an email interview, Peter Hakim, president emeritus and senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue, explains what is behind the breakdown in relations, and what regional governments are doing in response to the ongoing crisis in Venezuela under President Nicolas Maduro. WPR: Why did Brazil expel Venezuela’s top diplomat […]