These past couple of months have been tumultuous for the presidential candidates in Brazil. First, there was the sudden death of Eduardo Campos, the presidential candidate representing the Brazilian Socialist Party. This was followed by the meteoric rise of Marina Silva, a socialist candidate from the rural state of Acre, who has proven to be a worthy candidate against the reigning president, Dilma Rousseff.
En una reciente columna publicada en el diario “El País” de España, el ex presidente brasileño José Sarney (1985-1990) destaca la incertidumbre existente ante las próximas elecciones presidenciales producto de la irrupción de la candidata del Partido Socialista Brasileño (PSB) Marina Silva. Según diversos sondeos, Marina Silva podría ganar las elecciones del próximo 5 de octubre si pasa a una segunda vuelta con su máxima contendora, la Presidente Dilma Rousseff.
Ever since the economic collapse in 2001, Argentina and the capital city of Buenos Aires have been experiencing a resurgence in poverty that hasn’t been seen since the first wave of migrant urban workers in the 1930’s. In the southern region of Buenos Aires shanty towns are expanding and engulfing private and unused land. These shanty towns are known as “villas miserias,” which directly translates into villages of misery, and share characteristics of slums all around the world.
Twenty-two years in a maximum-security prison was deemed sufficient punishment for the favored hitman of former drug kingpin of Colombia, Pablo Escobar, on Tuesday, August 26, 2014. John Jairo Velásquez, also known by his nickname, “Popeye,” was released early from a prison located 100 miles north of Bogotá, Colombia, a place where he had confessed to atrocities far more numerous than the one murder for which he had spent his time serving.
Early last month the U.S. House of Representatives passed two measures to tackle illegal immigration. The legislation has been lauded by Republicans including the Tea Party, and lambasted by Democrats. The proposal includes $694 million to bolster federal agencies dealing with the surge of immigrants. This number is significantly less than the $3.7 billion President Obama had previously requested (1).
Recently, a group of seven cuban immigrants found themselves on the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.1 This group of seven was attempting to traverse the 90-mile stretch of ocean from Cuba to Florida, but instead ended up in Mexico. Due to this longer than expected journey, two died, while the rest were in critical condition upon rescue by the Mexican Navy who found them off the coast of the peninsula. After recovery, the Cubans were deported back to Cuba, while their hopes of making it to the United States remain unfulfilled.
