News and Politics

Fire in Rio Museum Highlights the Consequences of Lack of Government Funding

By Rachel Bierly
September 10, 2018

This past Sunday, September 2nd, 2018, a fire broke out in Rio de Janeiro’s National Museum of Brazil. The fire was devastating, almost entirely destroying the historic building and thousands of national and international artifacts. The building itself, which began construction in 1803 was known as Paço de São Cristóvão, and was once home to the Portuguese Royal Family. After Brazil’s independence in 1822, it became the palace of the Brazilian Emperor.

Maduro withholding passports to keep control at home and abroad

By Rachel Rozak
September 6, 2018

Since the start of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela, the country has been seeing mass migration that has astounded many.  A late-2017 survey compiled by the group Consultores 21 discovered that more than four million Venezuelans have left the country since the start of the revolution in 1999, with another 51 percent of young adults still living there stating that they had hopes of also emigrating (La Patilla 2018).

8 killed in string of violence in Cancun: The epidemic of rising violence in Mexico’s tourist hotspots

By Kristen Martinez-Gugerli
September 4, 2018

Just last week, authorities were shocked to find the remains of eight bodies in what appears to be a string of particularly brutal murders in the Mexican tourist hotspot of Cancun. These findings are representative of the growing problem of gang violence in Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations, an issue that has proven especially severe in beach towns such as Acapulco and Los Cabos.

A Giant Leap for Cuban Citizens: Accessible Internet

By Alexis Takoushian
August 20, 2018

Around the world millions of people are exposed, even over-exposed, to messages and social media through the accessibility of their smartphone. Whether they are in a bus, in school, at work, or in the comfort of their own home. As many daily realities differ between the United States and Cuba, the benefit of unrestricted Internet access at our fingertips is taken for granted. In Cuba, in order for people to have access to the Internet they must purchase an access card from the state-run telecommunications company called Etecsa for about one U.S. dollar per hour.

Lula’s Impact on the 2018 Presidential Election in Brazil

By Mallory Perillo
August 16, 2018

On August 4th, the Workers’ Party of Brazil nominated Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as their candidate for the country’s upcoming Presidential election. A former two-term President who served from 2003 to 2011, Lula seems like a qualified candidate for the position. However, Lula is currently imprisoned for corruption charges from his previous time in office. This status makes him an extremely controversial, even illegitimate, choice for the Workers’ party. Lula holds an interesting place in contemporary Brazilian society.

The Fight to Decriminalize Abortion in Brazil

By Alexis Takoushian
August 7, 2018

Debora Diniz is widely known in her homeland of Brazil as an activist, anthropologist, writer, filmmaker, law professor, and a co-founder of ANIS: Institute of Bioethics, an organization dedicated to bioethics and human rights in Latin America. In addition to her impressive career as a professor and lawyer, Diniz has worked on Brazilian Supreme Court cases involving abortion, marriage equality, the secular state, and stem cell research.

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