Latin America & the Caribbean

Photo: Explosive eruption of La Soufriere volcano prompts evacuations for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Source: CaribDirect.com

Erupting Caribbean Volcano Enhances Solidarity to Save Lives & Property

By P.I. Gomes

Dr P.I. Gomes is former Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, the Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS was previously ACP Group of States).

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (IDN) — La Soufriere volcano in the northeast of the main island of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, after warning signs of rumblings some months ago and the volcanologists’ prediction of an imminent eruption, just a week ago, the fate of nature’s fierce foray was felt on April 8, 2021 by the first explosive eruption of metre-high clouds of ash, smoke, rocks and debris. This was the first most severe event causing the evacuation of some 16,000 persons from a red zone in close proximity to the volcanic area.

: Dr. Patrick Gomes - former ACP Seretary-General; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; OACPS; 14 April 2021

Collage: A collage of pictures of (left) Senator Anil Roberts from Trinidad, a former Minister of Sport and Youth affairs, now opposition senator and (right) Professor Daniel Gibran from Guyana

Current Relations of Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname with Venezuela

By Dr Kumar Mahabir

The writer is an anthropologist who has published 12 books on Indo-Caribbean identity.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago (IDN) — In March 2020, Trinidad and Tobago’s (T&T’s) relation with Venezuela shot into the spotlight. It was sparked by a secretive and suspicious meeting by Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. Another controversy was sparked by the fuel shipment from T&T’s Paria Fuel Trading Company to Aruba, which was then surprisingly sent to Venezuela.

: Suresh Jaura; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 25 March 2021

Photo: Phrase III of the clinical trial of Sovereign 2 was approved on March 3. Credit: BioCubaFarma

Cuba Working On A ‘People’s Vaccine’ In Response To Vaccine Hoarding By Global North

Viewpoint by Beth Geglia*

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — “The life of just one person is worth more than the private property of the richest man.” This is what’s written on the Calixto Garcia public hospital in Havana Cuba as a testament to the country’s commitment to free public healthcare, and to putting people before profit. I know this about Cuba because in March, at the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, I spent a week in the ICU at Calixto Garcia. I had been hit by a speeding ambulance, and Cuban doctors saved my life, operated on me twice, and nursed me to stability before putting me on a private medical evacuation flight back to the US.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 18 March 2021

A Woman, a Latin American and a Future Force of Change

By Isabella Duque Muñoz

This article first appeared as one of Youth Community's Spotlight Stories on February 26, 2021, as a part of UNODA's #Youth4Disarmament Initiative.

BOGOTA (IDN) — As a Colombian, I grew up in a nation marked by violence and armed conflict. These matters seized my interest from a very young age; learning about them felt vital to understanding my country and the factors that drive conflicts around the world.

In 2016, Colombia signed a historic peace agreement and began a process of laying down arms. Witnessing these developments confirmed my passion for issues of peace, security and disarmament, as well as development in emerging countries. I wanted to get involved and make my own contribution.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 02 March 2021

Photo: Brazil is seen as the epicentre of COVID-19 outbreak in Latin America. Credit: Anadolu Agency.

Bolsonaro May Well Emerge Unscathed from Brazil’s Disaster

Viewpoint by Robert Muggah*

RIO DE JANEIRO (IDN) — It was once fashionable to describe Brazil as the country of the future. What a difference half a decade makes. In recent years, a democratically elected president was stripped of power and ultimately replaced by an authoritarian strongman. Today, Latin America's largest country is suffering from a “triple crisis” — a raging pandemic, economic turmoil and political turbulence. It wasn't supposed to be this way. So what accounts for Brazil's malaise?

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 20 February 2021

Photo: In Colombia, young people, activists and former FARC guerrilla fighters are being targeted for execution-style murders. Credit: EPA-EFE/Mauricio Duenas Castaneda

Mass Murders Threaten Colombia's Peace Agreement

Viewpoint by Camilo Tamayo Gomez*

BIRMINGHAM (IDN) – The murder of five students at a farm in Buga, in south-western Colombia, on January 24 highlights the fragility of the 2016 peace deal which brought to an end more than five decades of civil conflict between successive governments and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

January 2021 was the most violent month since the peace deal was signed, with 12 mass killings and total of 45 people murdered, according to the Colombian NGO INDEPAZ. The United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia and Human Rights Watch have recorded the deaths of 261 FARC ex-combatants and more than 400 human rights defenders and social leaders since 2016.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 17 February 2021

Photo: Collage of Manish Uprety with ALCAP in the backdrop.

ALCAP Sets Out into Asia and Africa To Enhance Audio Visual Exchange

By Niba Mirza *

BUENOS AIRES (IDN) – The Asociación Latinoamericana de Comunicación Audiovisual Parlamentaria, ALCAP or the Latin American Parliamentary Association of Audio-Visual Communication has ventured into Asia and Africa with the appointment of Mr. Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. as its Special Advisor for the region.

ALCAP is a project of promotion, strengthening, integration, dissemination, research, and cooperation in favour of the right to free access of public information of the parliamentary and political audio-visual communication in all deliberative fields, and in defence of the local communities, multiculturalism, social economies and unique characteristics of the Latin American countries.

: Asia Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 01 February 2021

Photo: Maradona visited Argentina's new president Alberto Fernández (right) on 26 December 2019. CC BY 4.0

How Nigerians Remember Maradona

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) – When the news of the death of Diego Maradona broke, I was in a friend’s office. Our initial spontaneous reaction was sorrow and regret. And then we drifted, almost as if we had rehearsed it, to the next thing: who is football’s all-time greatest? Maradona or Pele?

My friend wasted no time in declaring that for him, it is and always will be Maradona. He spoke about the Argentine’s prodigious talent, talked about his imagination and gushed, above all, about his artistry and genius.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 10 December 2020

How the U.S. Is Locking Out China from Latin America and the Caribbean

Viewpoint by Vijay Prashad *

NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts (IDN) – On August 20, 2018, El Salvador’s leftist president Salvador Sánchez Cerén announced on national television that El Salvador would break its ties with Taiwan and recognize the People’s Republic of China. This was in accord with international law, said Sánchez Cerén, and it would bring “great benefits for our country.”

Not long after, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio took to Twitter to announce that this move “will cause real harm to relationship with the U.S. including their role in #AllianceforProsperity.”

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 04 December 2020

India Succeeds Russia as BRICS Chair Amid Rising Challenges

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) – India assumes the rotating Chairmanship of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) regional association on January 1, 2021. The South Asian nation takes over from Russia under whose leadership the organization managed to achieve progress in the political, economic and humanitarian fields.

During the five-nation bloc's last meeting held under the theme “BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth” – on November 17, the organization noted that much advance has been attained in streamlining the full-scale operational activity of BRICS.