¿Pero Por Qué?: Beyond the headlines in Latin America

In this extended cut of our interview with Australian researcher and journalist Ann Deslandes, she explains how she began reporting from Mexico, the changing dynamics of the drug trade and associated violence under AMLO's leadership and her current research on mining and its links to organised crime.   LINKS:   Ann's reporting from Guerrero: https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-04-24/mexico-guerreros-displaced-get-little-closer-home https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/2019/08/17/tourism-guerrero-mexico/15659640008610 https://www.cjr.org/analysis/amapola-periodismo.php   Crisis Group report: https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/mexico/more-cartels-counting-mexicos-crime-rings   ¿Pero Por Qué? on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peroporquepodcast/   ¿Pero Por Qué? on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peroporquepodcast   Music by Chogo El Bandeño used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons License.

in Episode 7, we tackle our most requested topic yet. From the US Government selling weapons to the cartels to self-defence militias taking back their towns, we explore the complicated political landscape of Mexico's drug war and how the ongoing violence affects everyday life.

This week, journalist Ann Deslandes also joins PPQ to share some of her reporting from the front lines of the conflict in Guerrero. Subscribe to ¿Pero Por Qué? to hear the full interview next week.

LINKS:

Mexico's War on Drugs Failed: https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/11/30/mexicos-war-on-drugs-failed/ 

News Corp's reports on Mexican drug cartels don't tell the full story: https://www.crikey.com.au/2019/12/10/news-corp-reports-on-mexican-drug-cartels-dont-tell-the-full-story/

More Than Cartels: Counting Mexico's Crime Rings https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/mexico/more-cartels-counting-mexicos-crime-rings

In Mexico, 'The Cartels Do Not Exist': A Q&A With Oswaldo Zavala: https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/oswaldo-zavala-interview-mexico-cartels/

¿Pero Por Qué? on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peroporquepodcast/?hl=en

Music by Chogo El Bandeño used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons

This discussion, about the controversial ousting of Evo Morales from the Bolivian presidency in late 2019, was originally planned as the first episode of ¿Pero Por Qué?, but then 2020 happened. There have been a lot of new developments in Bolivia since then, so we recap the whole story, as well as talking about how the interim government is confronting the coronavirus pandemic.

LINKS:

In Bolivia, A Bitter Election is Being Revisited: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/07/world/americas/bolivia-election-evo-morales.html

Many Wanted Morales Out, But What Happened in Bolivia was a Military Coup: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/13/morales-bolivia-military-coup

Latin America News Dispatch: https://latindispatch.com/

USAID's Silent Invasion in Bolivia: https://nacla.org/news/usaids-silent-invasion-bolivia

¿Pero Por Qué? on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peroporquepodcast/?hl=en

Music by Chogo El Bandeño used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons

 

Episode 5 of ¿Pero Por Qué? covers the history of Brazil, the rise of Jair Bolsonaro and the coronavirus crisis that shows no sign of slowing down. 

Brazil's Black Lives Matter Too: https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/brazil-s-black-lives-matter-too

Indigenous Land Rights at Stake in Brazil: https://latindispatch.com/2020/06/02/indigenous-land-rights-at-stake-in-brazil-supreme-court-case/

¿Pero Por Qué? on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peroporquepodcast/

Music by Chogo El Bandeño used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons

 

In this extended cut of our interview with migration researcher Itan André, he explains the challenges migrants face in Central and North America, Mexico's new status as a destination country and the policy changes required to cope with the growing displacement crisis.

¿Pero Por Qué? on Instagram

Music by Chogo El Bandeño used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons

This episode of ¿Pero Por Qué? explores the history of migration between Central America, Mexico and the United States, the political situation in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala and Mexico's changing role in the ongoing crisis. We also speak to Itan André, a researcher currently based at a migration centre in southern Mexico. 

LINKS:

Border/Lines newsletter

Central America News newsletter

Drought and Hunger in Guatemala (The Guardian)

Coronavirus in Immigrant Detention Centres (TIME)

The Second Implosion of Central America (NACLA)

One Year of Remain in Mexico (NBC News)

Donate to Raices

Donate to Sin Fronteras

Donate to Immigrant Families Together

Molly McLaughlin on Instagram

Music by Chogo El Bandeño used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons

 

This week, ¿Pero Por Qué? discusses the background behind the most controversial story to come out of Latin America in the past couple of weeks: the failed attempt to kidnap Venezuela's president by US security firm Silvercorp. 

LINKS: 

Indigenous people are the forgotten victims of the Venezuelan crisis (The Conversation)

How an ex-Green Beret and a defecting general planned to capture Maduro (Washington Post)

Guaidó reeling after failed raid in Venezuela (LA Times)

Molly McLaughlin on Instagram

Music by Chogo El Bandeño used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons license

In the second episode of ¿Pero Por Qué?, we dive into the history of Nicaragua and its president, Daniel Ortega, to make sense of the protests that erupted in the country in 2018.

Links:

El Faro English newsletter

Central American News

Political Refugees (the Guardian)

Indigenous land rights (Mongabay)

Molly McLaughlin on Instagram

Music by Chogo El Bandeño used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons license

 

 

In the first episode of ¿Pero por qué? we explain why we started this podcast, then take a look at Cuba's healthcare system and its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Links:

Fair.org study

Cuban Doctors in the Guardian

Cuba's Coronavirus Response in the Conversation

Miguel Díaz-Canel in the New York Times

Mais Médicos - Radio Ambulante

How Not To Travel Like A Basic Bitch

Molly McLaughlin on Instagram

Music by Chogo El Bandeño used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons license