The Other America

As the eyes of the world turn to the US Election on 3rd November, Trump and Biden are aware of how important the Puerto Rican vote could be in the battleground state of Florida. In Puerto Rico itself, the very same day will see it elect a new governor, and many on the island are hoping this will finally lead to a change. We speak to 3 Puerto Ricans on their hopes and fears for this election.

On 18th Oct, Chile will mark 1 year since a rise in metro prices in Santiago sparked nationwide protests and clashes with the police - violence that continues to this day. On 25th Oct there will be a national plebiscite to decide whether to change the constitution that has been in place since 1980, the days of Pinochet. Many blame this constitution for the educational and ethnic imbalance that led to ‘El Estadillo’.

In this episode, we speak to Josh Tucker, an independent journalist who has been charting uprisings in Chile for the last 5.5 years. He tells us about the roots of the unrest in Chile and what may happen in the future.

Despite an image of European sophistication, Argentina is one of the most economically unequal countries in Latin America. It has the highest debt on the continent, and the effects of lockdown have left its currency floundering. Some economists have even gone as far as to say they should switch to the dollar, as Venezuela was forced to. 

The effect of the pandemic on Argentina is more than economical, though. The UN estimates that by the end of the year, 6 out of 10 Argentinian children will be living below the poverty line. This week we speak to Cinthya Olivera, who works at an English school outside Buenos Aires called 'La Casita' which aims to give underprivileged children a chance to have a better future. 

Tucked in between Latin America's 2 largest countries, Uruguay's progressive policy over the last 15 years has seen them legalise abortion, gay marriage and marijuana. Their new right wing government has dealt very ably with coronavirus too. But will their dependency on trade from the badly affected neighbours be their undoing? Oli Hammett and Rose Lander investigate how this small country's past is affecting its present and future. 

Before the pandemic, Colombia's tourism industry was just getting going. 50 years of essentially open warfare between the government and guerrilla fighters kept the country off the international stage. As it tries to shake off its reputation, we speak to Richard McColl, a Londoner who built one of the first hotels in a virtually untouched colonial town. Join Oli Hammett and Rose Lander as they discover what it's like to be the only gringo for miles. 

For a small island, Puerto Rico has contributed a lot to the wider world. And yet it's still essentially a colony of the USA - the last remaining in Latin America. Oli Hammett and Rose Lander hear from Puerto Ricans about their past, present and uncertain future.

Brazil is the second-worst affected country in the world by Coronavirus. In our first episode, we speak to Raquel from Sao Paulo, who gives us the lowdown on how her government is handling the COVID-19 crisis.