South America Archive

Perched on a hill above the tiny village of Carrizal in northern Colombia, the camp that was supposed to be housing 300 guerrilla fighters is nothing more than a wooden shack surrounded by a muddy field. Two weeks after the Dec. 31 deadline for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym, FARC, to demobilize, the only guerillas in sight are the 11 men that make up the camp’s construction crew. “There is no water. There is no electricity. There are no houses. None of the necessary things that the guerrillas need to arrive at those points […]

For the past three weeks, much of Chile was burning. The country is prone to seasonal wildfires, but this year, the worst fires in Chilean history raged out of control. By the time they receded, 11 people were dead, nearly 1.5 million acres of land were burnt, and 1,644 homes were destroyed. Smog choked the air in the capital, Santiago, and major cities narrowly escaped devastation. One village in central Chile, Santa Olga, was burnt completely to the ground. For many observers, these devastating fires are a reminder of the advancing perils of climate change. But in Chile, they also […]

In a decree late last month, Argentina’s president, Mauricio Macri, announced new immigration rules that risk repudiating the country’s history and could presage a painful break with its neighbors. The policy changes themselves are relatively minor, explicitly prohibiting the entry of any foreign national with past involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering, human trafficking and several other activities associated with organized crime. The new measures also expedite the deportation of all foreign-born residents implicated in similar crimes, whether these were committed in Argentina or in other countries. While the threshold for implication necessary for deportation remains uncertain, it can be […]

On Feb. 19, Ecuador will hold elections for a new president and members of the 137-seat National Assembly, as well as for the Andean Parliament, the legislative body of the Andean Community customs union made up of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Ecuadorians will also vote on a proposal to prohibit public officials from having assets in tax havens. With leftist President Rafael Correa ineligible to run for re-election as he finishes an unprecedented third term, many predict the elections will be a referendum on his so-called Citizen’s Revolution. Poverty in Ecuador has decreased 16 percent under Correa, thanks to […]

Last month, the Indian government approved plans to move forward with talks for a free trade agreement with Peru, which would be India’s first free trade agreement in Latin America. In an email interview, Hari Seshasayee, a Latin America analyst at the Confederation of Indian Industry, discusses India’s ties across Latin America. WPR: Who are India’s main partners in Latin America, and what are the main areas of cooperation? Hari Seshasayee: India and Latin America cooperate in six main areas: energy, mining, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, information technology and agriculture. Three of these sectors-energy, mining and agriculture-are focused primarily on commodities. Venezuela, […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series about workers’ rights in various countries around the world. Last year, the International Trade Union Confederation gave Uruguay a top rating of 1 on its scale from 1 to 5, indicating that workers’ rights are infrequently violated. Uruguay is the only country in Latin America to receive the organization’s highest rating possible. In an email interview, Adriana Cassoni, a researcher at the Universidad OTR Uruguay, discusses worker’s rights in Uruguay. WPR: How robust are protections for workers in Uruguay with regard to the right to organize, both in law […]

Last week, when tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Mexican counterpart, Enrique Pena Nieto, boiled over, Latin American leaders followed the news with great interest. As they strategized about the way forward under the new U.S. administration, the signals from Washington confirmed their fears that the Trump administration will unleash new headwinds for a region where many countries are facing mounting difficulties. The spectacle of watching a fellow Latin American nation berated and, in many people’s opinion, insulted by the man in the White House produced a wave of diplomatic reactions. But more than anything, it spurred a […]

Last month, Guyana seemingly overnight joined the ranks of oil-rich countries when Exxon Mobil and Hess announced one of the most significant oil discoveries in years in the waters off the tiny South American nation. One offshore field is estimated to hold 1.4 billion barrels of oil alone, as much as South America’s largest existing fields. A relatively poor developing country, Guyana currently has no domestic crude oil production, although being Venezuela’s neighbor has warranted intermittent exploration for nearly a century. That is about to change, with oil revenues expected by 2020. But this good news comes with a warning. […]