Latin Pulse

This week, Latin Pulse looks at the conflict between indigenous rights and the work of extractive industries in Guatemala and Peru.  The discussion goes in-depth on various projects in Guatemala, including the recent case of protestors in the La Puya region attempting to stop the development of a mine. The program also covers illegal logging and gold mining in the Amazon. The news segment covers the results of the first round of the Colombian presidential elections.  The program also includes a commentary about the effect of the anti-Cuban policies of the U.S. and the fallout for hemispheric diplomacy. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Kelsey Alford-Jones and Rob Mercatante of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission; and Andrew Miller of Amazon Watch. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; and Associate Producer: Elyssa Pachico. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 28 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Colombia Guatemala Peru politics Juan Manuel Santos Oscar Ivan Zuluaga United States Canada elections Drug War economics poverty FARC oil justice peace talks energy mining indigenous issues logging indigenous rights environmentalism extractive industries illegal logging genocide The Amazon agriculture illegal mining developmentracism human rights hydroelectric dams business electricity corruption deforestation rainforests Efrain Rios Montt chemical contamination health issues Spain erosion

This week, Latin Pulse originates at the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) Congress in Chicago, with a look at both elections and economics in the region.  The program looks forward to the presidential elections in Colombia this weekend and provides a preview of the race.  The program also includes a critique of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).  Would Mexico have been better off without it? The news segment of the program covers the first Mexican visit of John Kerry as secretary of state for the United States and discussion of his educational exchange initiative. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Joseph S. Tulchin of the Woodrow Wilson Center; and Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic & Policy Research (CEPR). Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Associate Producer: Megan Ekhaml; and Writer: Elyssa Pachico (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 28 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Colombia Mexico diplomacy crime education economics politics John Kerry elections Cuba Juan Manuel Santos Oscar Ivan Zuluaga Alvaro Uribe United States Canada NAFTA Enrique Penalosa Drug War drug cartels poverty FARC ELN oil peace talks land reform paramilitaries Plan Colombia justice OASunemployment Barack Obama Bill Clinton China agriculture corn farmers immigration Trans-Pacific Partnership Carlos Slim trade

This week,  Latin Pulse covers a variety of topics, including the crackdown on the protest movement in Venezuela and corruption tainting police in El Salvador.  The segment on Venezuela reviews the opinions of one of the leaders of the opposition protest movement who has also been influential with the country's student protestors too.  The Salvadoran segment traces the history of the national police and how criminal organizations infiltrated the police operations.  The news segment of the program covers the visit of Uruguay's President Jose "Pepe" Mujica to Washington, D.C. and his discussion of health issues and human rights. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Rodrigo Diamanti of El Mundo Sin Mordaza; and Hector Silva of American University's Center for Latin American & Latino Studies (CLALS). Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; and Associate Producer: Megan Ekhaml. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 28 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Colombia Venezuela violence crime Uruguay prisons police El Salvador corruption media protest movement free speech SEBIN Drug War internet democracy diplomacy OAS Maria Corina Machado Barrio 18 Gang U.S. State Department cocaine Panama human rights health issues CIA United States Hugo Chavez Leopoldo Lopez gun smuggling drug cartels United Nations Central America organized crime espionage Honduras Sandinistas FSLN Nicaragua gangs MS-13 Guatemala gang truce national security United States poverty Iran-Contra Affair

The long history of violence in Colombia provides the central theme this week on Latin Pulse.  The program includes an in-depth report on the violence that has gripped Buenaventura and how Colombia's government is struggling to regain control of the city from two rival gang, the Rastrojos and the Urabeños.  With the 50th anniversary of Colombia's civil war, the program also looks back at the history of the conflict and the origins of the country's insurgent groups. The news segment of the program includes a reaction from the U.S. State Department to the ongoing violent protests in Venezuela. Warning: This program includes descriptions of graphic violence and may disturb some listeners. The program includes an in-depth interview with: Bruce Bagley of the University of Miami.  The program also includes interviews with: Max Schoening of Human Rights Watch (HRW);  Adam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA); and James Bargent, journalist. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; Reporter: Rachel Baye; and Associate Producer: Megan Ekhaml. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 28 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Colombia Venezuela violence crime politics FARC infrastructure civil war ELN protest movement guerrilla war corruption justice Drug War Buenaventura military femicide homicide Gustavo Rojas Pinilla cocaine tourism John Kerry trade United States human rights Rastrojos Gang Urabenos Gang land reform Communist Party Plan Lazo Cold War Fidel Castro poverty Marquetalia Russia Cuba insurgents gangs CIA espionage covert operations military aid diplomacy labor unions

Central America provides the central themes this week on Latin Pulse, with discussions about Panama and Guatemala.  The program looks forward toward this weekend's presidential elections in Panama with a tight three-way race among the major candidates.  In Guatemala, the concern is about the rule of law and the justice system after controversial Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz lost her bid to be reappointed.  The news segment of the program discusses how Venezuela is trying to reduce violence in the street protests that continue to hurt the country.  The program also includes a commentary on Cuba and USAID. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Orlando Perez of Central Michigan University; and Kelsey Alford-Jones & Rob Mercatante of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; Associate Producers: Megan Ekhaml & Elyssa Pachico. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 28 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Panama Venezuela Guatemala elections politics PRD infrastructure Central America economics protest movement Panamenista Party corruption justice Ricardo Martinelli oligarchy military media genocide Juan Carlos Navarro Jose Domingo Arias Juan Carlos Varela Democratic Change Party Marta Linares de Martinelli Claudia Paz y Paz Efrain Rios Montt Otto Perez Molina intimidation defamation Omar Torrijos impunity Manuel Noriega human rights Panama Canal

Turmoil and violence in Mexico, both past and present provide the themes this week on Latin Pulse.  The program discusses the impact of Mexico's drug cartels on the agricultural sector, including the trade in limes and avocados. The program analyzes the impact of the Knights Templar cartel on the Mexican state of Michoacan and how the government is trying to fight the violence that cartel breeds. The program also includes a retrospective discussion of the Zapatista revolt, 20 years later.  The news segment of the program covers the changes in Brazil this week regarding regulation of the internet. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Steven Dudley of InSightCrime.org; and Jorge Luis Sierra, Mexican journalist. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; Associate Producer: Megan Ekhaml; and Writer: Elyssa Pachico. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 28 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Mexico Zapatistas insurgents Brazil internet espionage limes Sinaloa cartel avocados Zetas cartel Drug War agriculture vigilantes Dilma Rousseff methamphetamine marijuana Knights Templar cartel cocaine economics piracy drug cartels hijacking crime justice police military media NAFTA politics poverty counter-insurgency Mexican military human rights indigenous communities history indigenous issues paramilitary groups corruption

Death and resurrection are the twin themes this week on Latin Pulse.  The theme of resurrection is provided just ahead of the Easter season through an examination of the growth of evangelical Protestantism throughout Latin America.  The program looks at the explosive growth of pentecostal denominations in Brazil, Central America and other parts of the region.  News of the death of Nobel-prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez has cast the region into mourning for this important writer.  The program reflects on the life and legacy of Garcia Marquez and discusses how he made magical realism a key form in literature. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Andrew Chesnut of Virginia Commonwealth University; and Nuria Vilanova of American University.  Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; Associate Producer: Megan Ekhaml; and Writer: Rae Daniel. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 28 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Colombia religion media evangelicals pentecostalism Brazil poverty United States Catholicism Central America prosperity theology priests Guatemala Pope Francis genocide Uruguay Latin American literature Gabriel Garcia Marquez Juan Manuel Santos Efrain Rios Montt Honduras Nicaragua theology Edir Macedo magical realism

Issues of democratization in Venezuela and Cuba provide the central themes this week on Latin Pulse.  The controversy over whether the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) overstepped its proper functions by sponsoring a secret communications program in Cuba provides one of this week's debatable topics.  Latin Pulse also interviews one of the key leaders of Venezuela's protest movement and debates whether that movement represents free speech or an anti-democratic method to seize power. This week's commentary reviews a landmark case of lesbian rights in Chile and how that might be applied to an upcoming case in the Dominican Republic. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Phil Brenner of American University; and Rodrigo Diamanti of El Mundo Sin Mordaza.  Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; and Associate Producer: Megan Ekhaml. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 28 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Cuba internet media Venezuela democracy USAID politics U.S. Congress elections covert operations Raul Castro espionage embargo Hugo Chavez zunzuneo Spain George W. Bush violence communications CIA Costa Rica Barack Obama Edward Snowden Nicolas Maduro protest movement NSA dictatorship coup Leopoldo Lopez United States

This week Latin Pulse returns to the issues of human rights and politics in Central America.  The program includes an in-depth look at the human rights abuses attached to the land conflicts in the Bajo Aguan area of Honduras.  The program also looks at this weekend's presidential runoff in Costa Rica.  The discussion revolves around the key issues that will face the next president of Costa Rica.  The news segment of the program looks at revelations that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) secretly was behind the establishment of a Twitter-like text service in Cuba. The program includes an in-depth interview with: Ciska Raventos of the Universidad de Costa Rica.  The program also includes interviews with: Nik Steinberg of Human Rights Watch; Annie Bird of Rights Action; and Alex Main of the Center for Economic & Policy Research (CEPR). Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Reporter: Rachel Baye; and Associate Producer: Megan Ekhaml. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 28 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Honduras military coup politics human rights elections Bajo Aguan Central America espionage economics infrastructure improvements Cuba internet media justice police Juan Orlando Hernandez Luis Guillermo Solis Citizens Action Party violence impunity agriculture Costa Rica land conflicts World Bank Manuel Zelaya Porfirio Lobo Johnny Araya agribusiness homicides Dinant finances militarization military PLN corruption unemployment coup taxes

On the cusp of the 50th anniversary of the Brazilian military coup, Latin Pulse looks backward at the important history of Brazil and how it was altered by this Cold War military take-over.  The program includes the views of a historian researching the coup and its after-effects and also of an academic who lived through the military policies and saw the changes as Brazil began to democratize again in the 1980s.  The news segment of the program covers the labor unrest in Paraguay that has hit that country's economy. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Victoria Langland, the University of Michigan; and Cristina Pacheco, of the State University of Paraiba.  Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; and Associate Producer: Megan Ekhaml. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 28 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Brazil military coup Paraguay protest movement labor strike politics human rights history repression Chile Cuba religion religion and politics Uruguay espionage democratization education economics Workers Party Getulio Vargas Joao Goulart Cold War Operation Condor truth commission infrastructure improvements Dilma Rousseff Fernando Henrique Cardoso oil labor movement