The Prisoner's Dilemma
Eduardo Abusada

One of the biggest mistakes of the Latin American penal system is to believe that incarcerating and forgetting about the inmate is enough to attain a positive and progressive change in society.   It seems to be that this presumption has been practiced for a long time, and now the system is experiencing its most serious consequences.   Thousands of prisoners in Latin America struggle to survive within steel bars, without receiving any possibility of getting back into society.   On the contrary, diseases, hunger, over-population, and constant threats are the only things they are exposed to.   Beyond the punishment they might deserve, the issue has turned into one concerning human rights. More... 

Human Avalanche: Heading North
David Wachtel

In many ways, the disproportionate distribution of wealth is the main cause of immigration from poor to rich countries.   Europe has turned into the target for many Latin-American immigrants, who expect to achieve a better status.   But reality is quite different.   Thousands of immigrants also face discrimination, sustained poverty, and lack of governmental support.   Perhaps nothing justifies the massive mobilisations to other countries, but these nations should consider that immigration probably is not the cause of the problem, but a consequence of their own economic policies toward the so-called Third World. More...


Coca cultivation: Peru's Dilemma
Manuel Lajo

The United States invested millions of dollars in the Plan Colombia as part of their quest to fight Drug Trafficking. Manuel Lajo believes the mentioned strategy failed because of a counter-strategy that ended up being very profitable for the U.S.: the rise in agricultural subsidies for its farming industry.  As if this was not enough, the upcoming Free Trade Agreement's would worsen the situation. More...

Mistreated Women: The Peruvian Case
Bruno F. Casanova

As many reports indicate, a significant percentage of the female population in Latin America is physically and morally mistreated.   Even worse, in many cases, these women do not receive the necessary medical assistance.   This situation is certainly preoccupying, but it is even more alarming to know that most of these women inertly accept such mistreatment.   This article presents the case of Peru, where dozens of women who were interviewed in Lima and Cusco, justified at some extent the domestic repression they undergo.   The numbers presented here reflect the frustrating situation of women in Peru. More...

Previous Articles

Colombia has never been in peace
Nelson J. Alarcón

At present, Colombia is probably undergoing one of its most conflictive socio-political moments due to the ongoing conflict between right and left wing terrorist groups, guerrillas, drug cartels and the country’s government. However, it seems to be that such warlike tendency has been part of this nation’s history since Pre-Columbian times. Is it possible that living in permanent conflict has become Colombia’s everyday reality?. More...

Lack of Security and the Culture of Fear
Hernán Granovsky

The recent case of a 15-year-old Argentinean student who opened fire on his classmates killing three of them, has re-opened an old polemic in Argentina. The debate centres around the increase of those in possession of firearms and the proposal to lower the age at which charges can be brought against young offenders. More...

Lessons Not to Repeat History: Argentina
Hernán Granovsky & Hebe R. Martinez
Second part of our series on political violence in Latin America. We take a look at the Argentinean case:
The military dictatorship that ruled Argentina between 1976-83 was responsible for one of the cruelest genocides of recent times: around 30000 people dissapeared.Numerous organisations, perhaps the largest and better organised of their kind in Latin America, appeared product of this sad episode. Their task of educating future generations to avoid repeating the past has even made them create a university. More...

A Mexican American General in the Service of Empire (United States)
Jorge Mariscal
Mexican-American General Ricardo Sanchez was designated top U.S. commander in Iraq during the first year of the occupation. Since then he has been portrayed as a role model for Latino youngsters in the US. However, the torture scandals at Abu Ghraib prison cast a shadow over his moral quality for such a position inside his community. More...
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