Amidst the clamor of international outrage in the wake of the failed United Nations Security Council vote for regime change in Syria, Brazil has remained conspicuously silent. While the United States closed its embassy in Damascus, and while the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, called the vote “a great disappointment,” the dominant economic and political force in Latin America was not inclined to take action. Aspirations for a permanent spot on the UN Security...
Interviews and Citations On January 29, COHA Director Larry Birns was interviewed by Al-Jazeera on the proposal by Cuban Lawmakers to institute term limits. On January 30, COHA Research Associate Christopher Araujo was cited by Policy Mic on crime and violence in Central America. On January 31, COHA Research Associate Jeniree Vasquez was interviewed by HispanTV on US cyberattacks on Cuba. On January 31, COHA Research Fellow Alejandro Sánchez Nieto by Telemundo on U.S. Presidential...
In his article,Vincent Bevins recalls Brazil’s deeply flawed past, referencing the notoriety that stained its era of military dictatorship and helped create one of Latin America’s most repressive societies starting in 1964. Today, as an increasingly formidable economic power, Brazil has achieved a good deal of self-confidence as signified by its growing willingness to investigate the human rights violations committed under military rule. Responding to the insistence of its citizenry, the government has...
In Rio, about twenty years ago, 172 countries joined in declaring that the “right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet the developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations.” Four main concerns surfaced at the Rio summit: these included the scrutiny of production to eliminate toxic byproducts, emphasis on public transport to reduce emissions, the growing scarcity of water, as well as a quest for alternative sources of non-...
Dear Editor, Although the cartoon accompanying your article, “Seeking Protection,” casts the symbolic Brazilian macaw in a miserably paranoid light, protectionist policies have met with success in the history pages of the world’s hustling economies. As a policy, protectionism enjoys popular support and is economically compelling. Beginning with British mercantilism in the colonial era and continuing into the ‘American System’ employed during this country’s own era of industrialization, protectionism as a growth strategy has...
