Silvia Viñas · October, 2013

Latest posts by Silvia Viñas from October, 2013

Documentary Provides Intimate Look at Venezuelans Living Abroad

  30 October 2013

Desde Afuera (From Abroad) is a documentary which follows the stories [es] of five Venezuelans who recorded their daily activities living abroad using mobile and handheld cameras for over one year.  Producers Johann Pérez Viera and Pedro Camacho put together this footage and Skype calls with the five participants to...

Argentina's Legislative Elections

  29 October 2013

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her allies lost by large margins in the biggest and most important elections in the country yesterday. Her legislative lists were crushed in Buenos Aires (both city and state), Cordoba, Mendoza, and Santa Fe. There is a reason that every major newspaper is talking about her...

One Month Until Honduras’ General Election

  24 October 2013

Mike Allison from the blog Central American Politics shares links to English-language posts on the November 2013 elections in Honduras. Mike recommends blogger Hermano Juancito's post “about the breakdown of the two-party system”; a post from the blog Honduras Culture and Politics on the newest poll results; and a post...

16 Books on Latin American Street Art

  23 October 2013

In Latin America, street art is of major cultural relevance. The region’s traditions of social movements and revolution have allowed the form to give voice to otherwise unheard sectors of the population. Of course, not all street art is politically or socially-oriented in content, but it does often provide insight...

Nicolás Maduro's First Six Months as President of Venezuela

  22 October 2013

Venezuela is sitting on top of the largest oil reserves in the world and has a continual flow of dollars coming in. So they are not on the brink of a collapse. But they are progressively sliding into the swamp of serious economic dysfunction that will make sustained growth difficult...

NSA Hacked Mexican Government, According to Latest Snowden Leak

  21 October 2013

According to information leaked by Edward Snowden and reported by the German publication Der Spiegel, the NSA (National Security Agency) “has been systematically eavesdropping on the Mexican government for years.”  Cory Doctorow explains more at Boing Boing: A Snowden leak, discussed in detail in Der Spiegel, shows how the NSA broke into...

Colombia's Problem with Urban Inequality

  14 October 2013

The government has puts lots of emphasis, understandably, on Bogotá's economic growth and claimed reductions in poverty. But according to data from the United Nations Bogotá is failing on another important measure: Economic Equality. A recent U.N. study, reported in El Tiempo, found that Colombia was the country which most increased...

‘Chola Power': Peruvian Superhero or Sex Symbol?

  10 October 2013

‘Chola Power’ is Peru's “first and only female Superhero”, as Gareth Hunter writes for Peru This Week. Hunter argues that although scantly dressed, “with long shiny black hair, large dark eyes and green loincloth”, Peru's female superhero “doesn't seem to be an offensive female character”: Although attractive, she has a...

Costa Rica's ‘Green Judges’ vs. Illegal Property Developers

  9 October 2013

In Culture Unplugged you can watch a short documentary called “Costa Rica, a Land for Sale“: Between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, the smallest country in Central America is now the planet’s champion in biodiversity. However, for several years, the success of ecotourism has been driving Costa Rica...

Vote Like a Chilean Legislator with Populus

  3 October 2013

On the new online platform Populus.cl [es] citizens can learn about laws, vote on them and compare their choice with decisions made by members of Congress. Citizens can answer questions on issues like health, internet and copyright, labor, culture, the environment, and more. The site provides background information to help...

Chilean Singer Ana Tijoux Raps Against TPP

  1 October 2013

“A puertas cerradas se decide nuestro porvenir y en cuatro paredes van dictando lo que llaman devenir”. “Behind closed doors they decide our destiny and inside four walls they dictate what they call future” TPP Abierto [es] shares ‘No al TPP’, the new single by Chilean musician Ana Tijoux, “specially...