Written by: Elena Cata After decades of relentless campaigning, abortion activists in Colombia reveled in their victory in the streets of Bogota on February 21. The historic ruling from the Colombian Constitutional Court legalized abortion up until 24 weeks of a pregnancy and removed the procedure from the country’s criminal code. Following in the recent…
Category: South America
Revolutionary Beginnings in Chile
Written by: Elena Cata It was a small spark that ignited the flames of revolution in Chile in 2019. When the government increased the subway fare by a modest 4% in early October, high school students began jumping turnstiles at metro stations in the country’s capital, using the hashtag #EvasionMasiva (Mass Evasion) on social media….
Brazil: Democracy or Autocracy
Written by: Christopher Ploumidis In one year, Brazilian politicians will be facing off for the most powerful offices in the nation. The 2022 Brazilian Presidential election is beginning to closely mirror the 2020 U.S. Presidential election in some frightening ways. Known as the “Trump of the Tropics,” presidential incumbent Jair Bolsanaro has been sowing…
Brazil Struggles with Racial Redefinition in Office
Written by: Kamika Patel In part because of growing awareness of racial inequality and in part because of growing global recognition of the Black Lives Matter movement, more attention has been paid to the self-declaration of candidates’ race in the 2020 elections in Brazil. Electoral candidates have been required to declare their “color/race” in Brazil…
Basic Economics: A Look Into What Happened to Venezuela
Written by: Aaditya Kumar Inflation is synonymous with increasing prices, but it also means a decrease in a currency’s purchasing power. Typically a country tries to keep inflation under 10%, but when adverse economic shocks hit, the rates can spiral out of control. A more extreme version of inflation, hyperinflation, is marked by inflation exceeding…
From Rich to Poor
Written by: Pooja Gundimeda Back in 2015, Guyana, a small South American country, was projected to become the Western Hemisphere’s next big oil producer. The world paid attention to this small country when Exxon Mobil announced a significant oil discovery, about 120 miles off its coastline. While drilling, the company encountered more than 90 meters…
Election Casts an Uncertain Future for South America’s Newest Petro-State
Written by: Jadalyn Eagens Guyana is the third poorest country in South America with a population of about 780,000 people, roughly four times the population of Madison. The former British sugar colony recently discovered oil 120 miles off its coast, the timing of which coincided with the country’s presidential elections, which took place on March…
A Democracy in Danger: The Right’s Coup in Bolivia
Written by: Daniel Zaydman The last few months have been a tumultuous time for much of Latin America. Political unrest has swept the region, claiming Bolivia as its most recent victim. On November 10, former Bolivian President Evo Morales was forced out of office in a coup after election authorities claimed the most recent presidential…
Venezuela and The Resource Curse
Written by: Aditi Poduri The political and economic crisis in Venezuela has been a subject of debate among Western political pundits recently, with many conservative voices pointing to the crisis as proof that socialist policies lead to ruin. These arguments are persuasive; President Hugo Chavez undertook costly social welfare programs, and his popularity among the…
Chilean Protests
Written by: Chandrea Baster A state of unrest has subsumed a country in western South America. Throughout the last few weeks, Santiago, Chile has been experiencing dangerous protests by Chilean natives due to heightened metro prices. The situation has already caused multiple deaths and has been viewed as something of extreme concern for the Chilean…
The WIRe 