Understanding Latin America
Dear readers and colleagues, this month we bring you five articles that reflect the current reality of Latin America, one each from: South America in general and its authoritarian turn, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Brazil.
- South America’s Authoritarian Turn
- Colombia’s Hosting of COP16 Will Be a Heavily Militarized Affair
- Noboa wants to bring foreign military bases back to Ecuador
- Every time the planes pass, my eyes burn’: the hidden cost of Costa Rican bananas
- Elon Musk’s feud with Brazilian judge is much more than a personal spat − it’s about national sovereignty, freedom of speech and the rule of law
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SOUTH AMERICA’S AUTHORITARIAN TURN
Latin America is fertile ground for right-wing authoritarian leaders, who in recent years have used established yet often fragile democracies as springboards for seizing power. Despite many local differences between each country, the influence is growing due to active networking, leaving center and leftist parties struggling to combat these tendencies. Brazil is the most marked example of this. When Jair Bolsonaro came to power in 2018, his victory was not the result of years of political planning, but the last act of a bitter power struggle between the left-wing Brazilian Labour Party (PT) and traditional conservative parties, who jumped on Bolsonaro’s fake news campaign to help vilify the PT government. The Argentina strongman Javier Milei was elected in 2023 with his theatrical rhetoric, peppered with hateful tirades and disparaging comments about the welfare state, which appealed to a population living through an economic crisis. Chile, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Ecuador are other examples where democracies have recently been put to the test. There are historical reasons why Latin America is fertile ground for authoritarianism, from the violent colonialism it endured to the Catholicism imported by Iberian colonizers. Is it possible to stop this increasingly polarization between those advocating for democracy and those seeking comfort with authoritative tendencies?
Andreas Behn, September 4, 2024
https://www.rosalux.de/en/news/id/52437/south-americas-authoritarian-turn
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COLOMBIA’S HOSTING OF COP16 WILL BE A HEAVILY MILITARIZED AFFAIR
COP16, or the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, will be held at the end of October in Cali, Colombia. World leaders from 150 different countries will attend the 10 days of meetings and activities, and Cali’s mayor, Alejandro Eder, who was recently elected on a platform of law and order, has promised a “three-ring defense” plan that will coordinate police, military, and UN blue helmets stationed in and around strategic parts of the city. While this might be normal for any city organizing a UN event, for Cali, it has come at a particularly sensitive time. Many still remember the 2021 National Strike, when then right-wing government of President Ivan Duque militarized city streets and unleashed lethal force against protesters – mainly in Bogota and Cali – peacefully protesting an unpopular tax hike. But the area is also the cite of criminal groups fighting over resources, and a haven for industrial monoculture, sugar barons, environmentalists, left-wing guerrillas, right-wing politicians – whatever happens during COP16, the historic conflicts and contradictions are sure to lead to heated debates.
Kurt Hollander, September 25, 2024
https://jacobin.com/2024/09/colombia-cali-petro-cop16-violence
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NOBOA WANTS TO BRING FOREIGN MILITARY BASES BACK TO ECUADOR
Last month, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa surprised Ecuadorians by announcing that he intends to reform the Constitution to allow the installation of foreign military bases in the country, as a way to deal with the rising insecurity issues. There hasn’t been a foreign military base in the country since 2009, when then President Rafael Correa refused to renew its agreement allowing US military to operate from their base in the port city of Manta, thus forcing it to close. Officials say the base was there to better control insecurity and subversive groups, but abuses by the US military against the local population were also reported, such as the destruction of small fishermen’s boats and even sexual abuse. Some Ecuadorian politicians are skeptical that the US presence has intentions to decrease drug trafficking or organized crime, as is has never seemed willing to reduce illicit drug consumption in its own country, resolve its own internal complicity with drug dealers, regulate arms manufacturers, or confront corruption in US ports and customs. Rather, what the US seek is better positioning to control the Pacific and be ready for war with China. Will Ecuador’s President Noboa facilitate the move?
Pablo Meriguet, September 25, 2024
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/09/25/noboa-wants-to-bring-foreign-military-bases-back-to-ecuador/
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‘EVERY TIME THE PLANES PASS, MY EYES BURN’: THE HIDDEN COST OF COSTA RICAN BANANAS
Pesticides banned in the EU are still used in Costa Rica, affecting workers and local ecosystems, all to meet the demand for ‘perfect’ fruit in the global north. Lidieth Gomez, a single mother of three, is one of 451 women participating in research by the Regional Institute for Studies of Toxic Substances (IRET) at the National University of Costa Rica, helping investigators assess the effects of pesticide exposure used on banana plantations on thyroid health and foetal development in pregnant women. Gomez says her eyes burn and arms itch every time planes pass by, while nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fainting, and dermatitis are also common. Pesticides found in the blood of women and children include chlorothalonil and mancozeb – two fungicides associated with potential carcinogenic effects – as well as chlorpyrifos, known for its neurotoxic effects on children, and neonicotinoids, a type of insecticide which can hinder neurological development. Costa Rica ranks among the leading countries in the world for pesticide use, while it’s also the third-largest banana exporter and leading pineapple producer. These exports go primarily to the US and Europe. Is this really the only way?
Sara Manisera, September 17, 2024
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/sep/17/every-time-the-planes-pass-my-eyes-burn-the-hidden-cost-of-costa-rican-bananas
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ELON MUSK’S FEUD WITH BRAZILIAN JUDGE IS MUCH MORE THAN A PERSONAL SPAT – IT’S ABOUT NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY, FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND THE RULE OF LAW
The recent online feud between Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice, Alexandre de Moraes, and X’s billionaire owner, Elon Musk, caught a lot of people’s attention. But more than just your average online Musk drama, the battle actually raises important questions about platform regulation and how to combat disinformation while protecting free speech, and taking on global tech giants. Things came to a head between Musk and Moraes in August, when the Supreme Court Justice blocked access to the platform after it refused to ban several profiles deemed by the government to be spreading misinformation about the 2022 Brazilian Presidential election. But the real battle began years ago, says the author, when Brazil passed in 2014 the “Internet Bill of Rights,” its first framework for internet regulation that outlined principles for protecting user privacy and free speech, while also creating penalties for platforms that break the rules. These laws, however, stopped short of creating detailed regulation for content moderation on platforms like Facebook and X. Over the years, the rise of disinformation, especially around Brazil’s 2022 presidential elections, made these shortfalls very clear. Now Brazil’s Supreme Court and lawmakers are trying to battle disinformation while taking on global tech companies with their own agendas. The feud between the two came to a hiatus earlier this month, with Moraes unblocking the cite after X paid a USD $5 million fine. But what could be the future regulatory consequences for this spat, for Brazil and others?
Yasmin Curzi de Mendonça, September 9, 2024
https://theconversation.com/elon-musks-feud-with-brazilian-judge-is-much-more-than-a-personal-spat-its-about-national-sovereignty-freedom-of-speech-and-the-rule-of-law-238264
