Latin America News Dispatch

Andes, Ecuador, Features April 8, 2025 By Emilia Arellano The results of Ecuador’s 2025 general elections have revealed deep political divisions. The tight race between incumbent President Daniel Noboa and challenger Luisa González, has set the stage for an intense run-off on April 13. The outcome of the ballot will be crucial for Ecuador’s future as the country struggles to contain escalating gang violence and organized crime amid institutional instability and an increasingly divided electorate.

Chile, Features, Southern Cone January 27, 2025 By Javier A. Cisterna Figueroa High-voltage towers, metal fences, and warning signs greet visitors as they enter the rural town of Charrúa, located nearly 500 kilometers south of Santiago, Chile’s capital. Here, a community made up of around a thousand families struggle every winter with intermittent power outages both at home and on the streets.

Central America, Features, Honduras November 18, 2024 By Daniel Fonseca A murmur of prayers fill the room where Father Melo leads the funeral of Juan López, 46, the latest environmental defender to be murdered in Honduras. Melo hangs his head and speaks at a slow but steady pace. Today his expression is a tired one. The priest raises his hands and begins the ceremony, “Save us, Lord, from all evils.” The audience of approximately two hundred friends and fellow activists respond individually.

Central America, En Español, Honduras November 18, 2024 By Daniel Fonseca El murmullo de oraciones llena el salón donde el padre Melo, preside el funeral de Juan López, el último defensor del medioambiente asesinado en Honduras. Melo, tiene la mirada baja, la voz pausada, hoy se le ve cansado. El cura levanta las manos y pronuncia el rito: “Líbranos señor de todos los males”. Y su público, unos doscientos amigos y compañeros de lucha de Juan, contestan. “De las injusticias”, grita alguien.

Twitter Facebook Instagram Brazil, Dispatches November 3, 2023 By Amanda Magnani RORAIMA, BRAZIL – The sun has barely risen as men and women leave their homes to make their way towards the maloca, a tall hut as large as an amphitheater. A single wooden column at the center holds up the 15-meters-high cone-shaped straw roof. There’s enough room for all the residents of the Willimon community as they prepare to work on nearby fields. A communal breakfast is served on a long wooden table.

Argentina, Dispatches, Regions, Southern Cone October 20, 2023 By Pablo Martínez-Sistac A century ago when legendary tango singer Carlos Gardel walked the streets of Buenos Aires, he assured Argentinians in his song “Volver” that 20 years is nothing. Today, they are loath to accept that kind of rosy thinking. At the time of writing inflation is at 138%, foreign debt is USD 40 billion and the poverty rate is 43%.

Andes, United Nations, Venezuela June 26, 2023 By Mie Hoejris Dahl BOGOTÁ — A foul smell of sewage permeated the overcrowded prison cell. Rays of light came through under the door. Screams and cries emanated from the cells and reverberated around the prison. “It was constant torture,” says former political prisoner Víctor Navarro, 27, of his time in Venezuela’s largest torture center, El Helicoide.

Until very recently, steep regulatory hurdles and utility interference made microgrids insanely difficult to build. But policy changes, technological improvements, and the plummeting cost of clean power are opening up some fresh possibilities. Some 460 operational microgrids have been installed in the United States and its territories since 2015, most in the handful of states that have taken steps to clarify connectivity rules, cut red tape, and actively encourage their deployment.

China, Southern Cone, United States April 8, 2023 By Alfredo Eladio Moreno NEW YORK — Year-to-date, Chinese investments in Latin American lithium — as measured by the price tag of projects and acquisition value — have surpassed investment levels in 2021, according to the Atlantic Council’s Latin America Center. The same data show that investment levels dropped from 2018 through 2021, but then peaked in 2022 at over $4.8 billion USD.

China, International, United States April 8, 2023 By Miquel Vila Moreno This story was republished with permission from World Politics Review. Heightened tensions between the U.S. and China have many observers likening their strategic competition to a geopolitical struggle reminiscent of the Cold War.