Category: Latin America & the Caribbean

By Roberto Massari* This is the second of a nine-part series. Click here for Part 1. BOLSENA, Italy (IDN) – Scene 2 [Dar es Salaam, 1965] Holed up in the house of the Cuban ambassador in Tanzania (Pablo Rivalta, 1925-2005), recovering from the defeat of the military expedition in Congo (“la historia de un fracaso”, […]

By Roberto Massari* This is the first of a nine-part series. BOLSENA, Italy (IDN) – In June 2018, I was invited to make a presentation on the relationship between Che Guevara and Karl Marx at the International Conference on Karl Marx: Life, Ideas, Influence. A Critical Examination on the Bicentenary, organised by the Asian Development […]

By Robert Johnson PARIS (IDN) – Costa Rica, renowned for its ecological footprint, forest protection and abundant biodiversity, has made impressive economic and social progress in recent years, with robust economic growth facilitating near-universal access to education, health care and pensions. But the Central American country is faced with a fundamental challenge: its fiscal imbalance, […]

By Jaya Ramachandran VIENNA | QUITO (IDN) – Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), comprising old computers, televisions, fridges, mobile phones, and other appliances, also known as e-waste, is expected to reach 52.2 million metric tons by 2021. It is equivalent to the weight of more than 29 million passenger cars, and would suffice to […]

By J C Suresh TORONTO (IDN) – Ahead of the next hurricane season in the Caribbean, faith leaders are calling for action from government leaders, the United Nations system, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and regional development institutions. A statement signed and endorsed by 22 religious leaders from Grenada to Saint Lucia is urging the […]

By Sean Buchanan LONDON (IDN) – Brazil is emerging from its long recession and is headed for solid growth in 2018 and 2019 as recent structural reforms start to bear fruit, but the country still has some way to go. The mixed outlook comes in the latest OECD Economic Survey of Brazil which notes that […]

Viewpoint by Marcelo Colussi* GUATEMALA CITY (IDN) – Between 50 and 60 percent of the inhabitants of the three countries of the so-called Northern Triangle of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras) live below the poverty line, and this structural and chronic poverty is compounded by alarming rates of delinquent violence (largely a product […]

By J Nastranis UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Nearly six weeks after the Security Council on November 30, 2017 marked the one year anniversary of the signing and entry-into-force of the peace agreement between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC-EP), peace efforts remain challenged by the task of reintegrating 14,000 former rebel […]

Viewpoint by Marcelo Colussi* GUATEMALA CITY (IDN) – Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri, known by his nom de guerre ‘Timochenko’, of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has recently announced that he intends to run for the presidency of his country. It is difficult to predict what will happen in the next presidential elections in May […]

By Julia Rainer

TRINIDAD, Cuba (IDN) – Trinidad, one of the most popular cities in Cuba, is a place where time seems to stand still. At least that is what the thousands of tourists who come here every year from all over the world are made to believe.

Colonial cathedrals and majestic houses have been guarding the city for hundreds of years and are beautifully restored as if time had never passed. Indeed, the picturesque city – together with the marvellous surrounding sugarcane plantations – were declared UNESCO world cultural heritage in 1988.

It is part of Trinidad’s unique charm that nothing is supposed to change – a concept that can be transferred to Cuba’s tourism strategy as a whole.