Several months ago, on August 1, 2017, Indigenous rights protester Santiago Maldonado went missing. His disappearance did not escape the public eye as it led to massive protests in Argentina demanding the government provide answers for what happened to Maldonado.
In September 2017, Brazil’s military was deployed to manage the chaos between rival drug gangs in the Rocinha favela in Rio de Janeiro. The violence escalated to the point where the airspace over the favela was shut down. Schools, businesses, and streets were on lockdown with residents hiding in their homes using social media to communicate the events outside. The 950 soldiers deployed to the community suspect the infamous ruling drug lord Antonio Bonfim Lopes aka Nem to be behind the violence from inside prison.
The Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia), more commonly referred to as their acronym, FARC, recently demobilized following years of peace negotiations between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri, better known as Timoleón (Timochenko) Jiménez.
On Sunday, October 22, 2017, President Mauricio Macri’s ‘Cambiemos’ (‘Let’s Change’) coalition declared victory in Argentina’s legislative midterm elections over its main opposition, former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s ‘Unidad Ciudadana’ (‘Citizen Unity’) coalition.
Uruguay has officially elected their first transgender senator. Michelle Suarez is young, passionate and a vocal advocate for increasing the rights of all transgender people. She has never shied away from pushing policies that are some of the most progressive in the region, as she seeks to bring equality to the LGBT community.
