Until recently, gay marriage in the US was one of the most polarized issues in American culture. But while this matter was at a stand still for so many years in the U.S., Latin America was already opening up to the issue.
This November, Peruvian president Ollanta Humala signed a decree designating a massive area of the Amazon jungle a new national park.1 Sierra del Divisor National Park, whose an area of 5,470 square miles is greater than the United States’ Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks combined, connects two protected areas on either side of it to finally link together the Andes-Amazon Conservation Corridor.2,3 The green corridor now protects 67 million contiguous acres of pris
At the end of September, the International Court of Justice, the primary judicial branch of the United Nations, agreed to take the case between Bolivia and Chile about a border dispute, stating it has jurisdiction over the matter. Since Bolivia ceded territory along the coast to Chile as a consequence of the War of the Pacific and lost access to the Pacific Ocean, relations between the two countries have oscillated between periods of normal and nonexistent diplomatic relations.
This year’s Pritzker Prize, an architectural award, was given to a Chilean architect, Alejandro Aravena. At 48, his achievements and buildings span various continents and of course, throughout his native Chile. Past winners of this prize include the Brazilian architect, Oscar Niemeyer, who had a prolific career around the world and is known for his architectural and urban planning achievements in the Brazilian capital of Brasília.
In December of 2015, Douglas Tompkins died of hypothermia after his boat capsized on a kayaking trip on General Carrera Lake in Patagonia, a region in southern Chile and Argentina. Douglas Tompkins was a co-founder of the clothing companies The North Face and Esprit, but his biggest legacy is that of a philanthropist and environmentalist.
Turkey is interested in subscribing free trade agreements (FTA) with Latin American and Caribbean countries with the aim of strengthening trade exchanges. Turkish president, Tayyip Erdogan visited Latin America hoping to boost trade by 2030. Exchanges between Turkey and Latin America have experienced a significant increase from $USD 1 billion in 2014 to near $USD10 billion.
El proyecto de reemplazar la Constitución vigente en Chile desde 1980 es ampliamente avalado por la ciudadanía.1 Un estudio de opinión señalaba en octubre de 2015 que el 77 por ciento de los encuestados acordaba con que es necesario elaborar una nueva constitución, mientras un 22 por ciento lo consideraba prioritario para el país.2 El tema no es nuevo, ya que se ha discutido en reiteradas ocasiones desde la transición a la democracia.
Amidst public allegations that the Oscars and other award shows lack diversity, two Mexican filmmakers have been quietly earning top ranks for the past three years. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, both Mexican, have won best director and best cinematographer for the past two and three years respectively. Not to mention that in 2014, another Mexican director, Alfonso Cuarón, won best director for his film, Gravity.
En el marco de una creciente autoconciencia sobre las características de la ciencia política en América Latina, la Revista de Ciencia Política de la U. Católica de Chile publicó el 2005 un número especial con un esfuerzo comparado por establecer un mapa del desarrollo de la disciplina en la región (RCP Vol 25, N°1).
A look at the Latin American dictatorships highlights the importance of the Catholic Church in the legitimisation of violence, even after the Second Vatican Council.1 In the years of the last military dictatorships in Chile (1973-1990) and Argentina (1976-1983), the ongoing political and public influence of the Church existed, in parallel with the potential of Christian religion to legitimise violence.
