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Latin America Reports: The Podcast
Marcela Torres is the former CEO of Hola Code, a Mexican social enterprise that provides software development training for refugees and migrants who have returned to Mexico after having lived in the U.S. She was recently named winner of the ‘Entrepreneur’ category in the list of Latin America’s top innovators under the age of 35 published by MIT Technology Review. In honour of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science earlier this month, we interviewed Torres about being a female CEO of a tech company in Latin America, a region lacking support and funding for women working in STEM.
LATEST NEWS
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Latin American COVID-19 cases rise with vaccines still scarce
Around Latin America, a number of countries are experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases as another wave of the pandemic takes hold over the region that has little access to vaccinations. Infections and deaths are currently rising in Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, and Puerto Rico, among other countries in the region. In Brazil, the situation has been dire since March when a wave of variants saw a spike in deaths, eventually leading to more than 4,000 in one day. This level of devastation across Latin America has led the World Bank to call it the globe’s hardest-hit region. Despite […]Read more...
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Puerto Rican startup accelerator is leading a wave of innovation on the island
Puerto Rico may not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking of tech hubs in Latin America. But through the immense work of the San Juan-based accelerator Parallel18 that has helped raise tens of millions of investment dollars for hundreds of global startups, maybe it should be. In August, the accelerator is set to begin the ninth cohort of its intensive startup program called P18, which will use a rigorous selection process to ultimately choose from 40 international companies that apply. Parallel18 then gives those startups a $40,000 equity-free fund to help build their products. Parallel18 operations […]Read more...
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Brazil daily COVID deaths reach 4,000 for first time as variant takes hold
For the first time since the pandemic began, Brazil has registered more than 4,000 deaths in a 24-hour span. The macabre toll points to a troubling trend in the country that already has the second most COVID-19 deaths of anywhere in the world, as a new variant known as the P.1 that is thought to be more contagious. The P.1 is one of nearly 100 variants that have been detected in Brazil, which has now registered about 337,000 deaths from COVID-19. By January of this year, the P.1 had accounted for nearly three-quarters of all coronavirus cases in the South […]Read more...
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Indigenous groups are the most vital protectors of Latin American forests, per UN report
Indigenous peoples may be the best protectors of the Amazon and other Latin American forests, according to a new report from the United Nations. In many indigenous territories, the study showed that deforestation rates are nearly half of what they are in areas where indigenous groups aren’t present in Latin America. And because vital parts of the Amazon Rainforest in Bolivia, Brazil, and Colombia have been protected, it avoided up to 60 million metric tons of CO2 emissions from going into the atmosphere, the report noted, which is akin to taking 12 million cars off the roads for a year. […]Read more...
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Q&A with Costa Rican entrepreneur Cynthia Castro: “The best strategy to avoid economic exclusion in the world is to give
Cynthia Castro is on a mission to empower women in Latin American workplaces, ridding offices of unequal pay and sexual harassment. Castro co-founded the company Boomerang Effect, which provides consultancy for organizations on ways to identify and get rid of diversity gaps. The native Costa Rican was named by Forbes as one of the most powerful women in Central America. She has also closely worked with around 50 rural communities across Costa Rica to help those suffering from societal inequities. Castro spoke at Thursday’s Horasis Extraordinary Meeting on the United States about what the global economy could do to prevent […]Read more...
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Chile among the world’s best in vaccination efforts
After high death and infection tolls from COVID-19 last summer, Chile has responded with one of the world’s best vaccination rates. The country’s government says that 25 percent of the population has received at least one shot so far as the South American far outpaces others in the region when it comes to getting people vaccinated. That puts it behind just three other countries in terms of the percentage of the population that has been immunized through a vaccine thus far. As of Monday, Chile has administered more than 4.27 million doses of the vaccine, according to the World Health […]Read more...
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Travel to Latin America won’t fully recover until 2023
Travel bookings to Latin America and the Caribbean could rebound to pre-pandemic rates as soon as 2023 or 2024, according to a new report from Phocuswright, a global travel market research group. The region lost tens of billions of dollars in potential travel money as bookings fell by 63 percent in 2020. The good news is that travel flow to Latin America is expected to double this year compared to last year. “There is a high level of uncertainty around travel market recovery, and the majority of Latin American countries are still closed to international visitors, which dampens the outlook […]Read more...
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Latin America’s economy could be set back a decade by rising inequality
The coronavirus pandemic is expected to set economies in Latin America back by a decade due to rising inequality and poverty, according to a United Nations report published Thursday. The report, done by the UN Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), estimated that the total number of impoverished people in the region by the end of last year was 209 million, which is 20 million more than before the pandemic. Extreme poverty has reached a level that the region has not experienced in two decades, going from 7.8% to 11.3% of the total population in Latin America and […]Read more...
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Rising hunger rates in Central America present parallel crisis
Hunger is on the rise in Central America as locals try to cope with dueling crises stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. A new report from the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) said that around 8 million people across Central America are food insecure this year. Of those people, nearly 2 million are said to be in urgent need of food assistance. The crisis caused by the pandemic has pounded economies in the area, resulting in an expected loss of 6.5 percent of the region’s GDP. Meanwhile, a pair of hurricanes at the end of last year […]Read more...
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Chinese loans to Latin America run dry
After years of billions of dollars in loans to the region, China stopped lending to Latin America in 2020. It marked the first time since 2006 that China made no new loans to any country in the region, highlighting the worry that foreign banks have with the current state of the Latin American economy. New data from a joint report by the Inter-American Dialogue think tank and Boston University shows the sudden drop off in credit given to the region after years of access to a steady financial stream from China. From 2015 to 2019, Chinese banks gave $43.5 billion […]Read more...
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Colombia on the verge of restarting aerial fumigation with glyphosate
Colombia could be just a few weeks away from restarting its controversial fumigation program that sprays the herbicide glyphosate from airplanes to try and kill coca plants, a government official said. After halting the fumigation efforts in 2016, Colombia will again become the only country in the world to use the dangerous chemical via aerial spraying. Colombia’s new Defense Minister Diego Molano confirmed again this weekend that the country will try to start up aerial fumigation with glyphosate in April. The government must first comply with certain requirements set by the country’s Constitutional Court to resume the practice. “The constitutional […]Read more...
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COVID-19 variant found in the Amazon is three times more contagious, Brazil says
The COVID-19 variant found prevalently throughout the Amazon region could be three times more contagious than the normal strain, Brazil’s health minister said Thursday. The variant has been found in about half of the coronavirus cases reported in Brazil’s Amazonian capital of Manaus. That same city saw numerous hospitals run low on oxygen supplies recently. The country’s health minister, Eduardo Pazuello, said that he believes the vaccines currently available are effective against the strain being found in the Amazon. Both the United Kingdom’s AstraZeneca and the Chinese Sinovac vaccines are approved and being rolled out in the country. “Thankfully we […]Read more...
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How one nonprofit is using restorative justice to mend Colombia’s wounds
Justice is not an easy proposition in Colombia, as evidenced by the country’s muddled implementation of the 2016 peace accord that has tried to put an end to five decades of civil war. One Colombian nonprofit – the Medellín-based Confraternidad Carcelaria – is working to mend the damage done by Colombia’s internal conflict and other crimes through a process called restorative justice. This approach allows entire communities to have a say in carrying out justice by bringing perpetrators and victims together, offering them a chance for reconciliation. “Having restorative justice actually makes the whole process very real for people,” said […]Read more...
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Victims of Brazilian dam collapse will get $7 billion in compensation
The mining company responsible for a catastrophic 2019 dam collapse that killed 270 people in Brazil’s southeastern state of Minas Gerais will give $7 billion in compensation. Executives from the mining company Vale signed the agreement Thursday in an effort to give some repair to the massive economic and environmental damage done when the dam broke in the town of Brumadinho. The ensuing wreckage from a massive wave of toxic sludge leveled hundreds of acres of natural forest and polluted a nearby river, while also destroying homes and burying roadways. The dam was designed to hold waste from a nearby […]Read more...
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Regional development bank raises $1.5 billion to spur economic recovery
The Development Bank of Latin America announced this Friday that it is issuing bonds for the region’s countries valued at $1.5 billion. It is the largest such bond in Latin America’s history, as countries struggle from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The bonds have a term of five years from the development bank that has backing from 17 regional countries as well as Spain, Portugal and a number of international banks. “Achieving the highest amount and the lowest coupon in euros in such a challenging context for the region gives us a more competitive margin of action to […]Read more...
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Opinion: Biden has golden opportunity to help human rights efforts in Cuba
President-elect Joe Biden has detailed a proposal to advance racial equity in the US as part of his “Build Back Better” agenda. This approach to domestic racial frustrations in the US could have foreign policy implications, as there is an appetite within the upcoming administration to realign domestic, economic and foreign policies in the same direction. While the Biden team engages in an extensive list of complicated domestic issues, with the response to the Covid-19 pandemic at the top of the list, it should prioritize a parallel international agenda that promises to unapologetically promote human rights and democratic values, and […]Read more...
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Will Biden’s arrival lead to better U.S. relations with Venezuela?
Following last week’s inauguration of new U.S. President Joe Biden, Latin American officials wait to see how relations in the region will evolve after four years of xenophobic rhetoric and regressive policies from the Trump administration. Biden, who acted as the former principal emissary to Latin America and the Caribbean while vice president for eight years, will have a lot of work to rebuild relationships and establish more forward-looking partnerships in the region. When it comes to Venezuela, however, it seems the new administration may not differ much from Trump, according to recent comments from Biden’s own officials. In his […]Read more...
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COVID-ravaged Brazil begins vaccine rollout
Brazil’s government approved a pair of vaccines Sunday as the country struggles to contain the coronavirus. Both the AstraZeneca vaccine and the Chinese Sinovac vaccine were approved as healthcare workers begin to receive the first shots in Latin America’s most populous country. Brazil is still waiting on a shipment containing 2 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that has been rolled out in other countries, like the United States. Meanwhile, the government says it has 6 million doses of the controversial Sinovac vaccine, as a Brazilian clinical trial concluded recently that the Chinese vaccine had just a 50 percent efficacy […]Read more...
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These business risks historically associated with Latin America shouldn’t stop you from investing here
Guest Author In this age of globalization, international expansion is increasingly factored into the forward planning and growth estimates of ambitious companies. Yet many corporate leaders and business owners remain wary of investing in Latin America and the Caribbean because of obstacles historically associated with doing business in the region. But to what extent should those risks be considered barriers to investment today? Latin America is one of the fastest developing regions in the world, making it an enticing destination for foreign businesses. Yet challenges still remain for anyone interested in doing business in Latin America. There are a few […]Read more...
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Costa Rica helps lead global coalition committed to protecting 30% of world’s land and oceans
Tiny Costa Rica is acting as co-chair to the massive High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People, which has brought 50 countries together in hopes to protect 30 percent of the world’s lands and oceans by 2030. The coalition co-chaired by France, the United Kingdom and Costa Rica was announced Monday at the One Planet Summit in Paris. “Protecting 30% of the planet will undoubtedly improve the quality of life of our citizens, and help us achieve a fair, decarbonized and resilient society,” said Andrea Meza, Costa Rica’s environmental minister. “Healing and restoring nature is a key step towards […]Read more...
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Eyes are on the new U.S. administration to end “Remain in Mexico” asylum program
Human rights groups are calling on the administration of United States President-elect Joe Biden to end the controversial “Remain in Mexico” immigration program. The program established in 2019 under the Trump administration forces asylum seekers to wait in Mexican border towns as their petition is processed in the U.S. Human Rights Watch released an investigation this week detailing the negative impacts the “Remain in Mexico” policy has on families and children who are trying to seek a better life in the U.S. The report gives insight into a wide range of abuses suffered by the asylum seekers as they wait […]Read more...
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Mexico coronavirus cases surge as US tourists keep coming
Hundreds of thousands of people from the U.S. are again traveling into Mexico each month, despite officials’ warnings to help stop the spread in both countries. More American tourists are going to the Mexican state of Quintana Roo than ever before, according to the Washington Post, with arrivals up nearly 25 percent now compared to the end of 2019. Quintana Roo, where Cancun and other popular beach destinations are located, is receiving up to 100 flights every day coming from the U.S. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S. has advised people to avoid all travel […]Read more...
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Mexico was the deadliest country for journalists in 2020
At least 13 journalists were killed in Mexico last year, making the Latin American country the most dangerous in the world for journalists. There were 15 reporters killed in the entire Latin American region and 42 total throughout the world up until late November of 2020, according to a recent report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). However, the killing of journalist Felipe Guevara Henao in Cali, Colombia last week adds to the year’s gruesome total. This is the fourth time in the past five years that Mexico has led the federation’s list in the number of journalists killed. […]Read more...
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Honduran environmentalist killed as Latin America struggles to protect its environmental activists
Honduran environmental activist Félix Vásquez was killed this weekend in front of his family by a group of masked men in the village of El Ocotal, police said. Vásquez, a member of the Lenca indigenous community, was a well-known protector of local rivers and forests. He had recently stated his plans to run for Congress with the left-leaning party LIBRE. “We condemn the assassination of Félix Vásquez, indigenous leader, defender of the rivers and forests,” said former Honduras president Manuel Zelaya in a Tweet on Sunday. Honduras has the world’s highest rate of environmentalists killed per capita, according to the […]Read more...
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Q&A with creator of Colombian physical therapy app HealthPhy: “It can inspire other women who dare to enter into tech”
Tatiana Chavarriaga of Medellín, Colombia was recently named one of the 35 top innovators under 35 in Latin America by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Technology Review. The 26-year-old physical therapist turned decorated entrepreneur co-founded the platform HealthPhy with her husband. Their app encourages physical therapy rehab to be done remotely, helping relieve users of persistent pain from the comfort of their own homes. Coming from Medellín’s booming tech scene, Chavarriaga says she’s proud to be the only Colombian woman on this year’s list of top young innovators and hopes that it can show fellow Colombianas that they can […]Read more...
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Malnutrition in Latin America is getting worse, UN says
People in Latin America are facing a growing hunger crisis, a new report from the United Nation says. Hunger in the region has worsened over the past five years in Central and South America at a disproportionate rate compared to the rest of the world. The data is even more troubling considering it studies numbers up until the end of 2019, before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, 47 million people classified as hungry and nearly 200 million more were food insecure, which can mean they don’t have enough food on a daily basis or have been forced […]Read more...
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Argentina looks for economic recovery via new ‘millionaire’s tax’
Argentina’s Senate approved a new wealth tax recently that could help bolster country’s economic relief efforts as it tries to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic. According to the new tax, those with more than $2.4 million (over 200 million Argentine pesos) will be paying taxes between 2 to 5.25 percent of their fortune. With some 12,000 Argentineans who belong to that wealth bracket, the government said it expects to raise around $3.7 billion. Those funds will then be used, in part, to give stimulus boosts to small businesses and to help low-income Argentineans get through this health and economic crisis. […]Read more...
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How soon will a vaccine be available to Latin America?
The race for a coronavirus vaccine has heated up, as the United Kingdom announced this week it has authorized the use of the Pfizer vaccine, and will begin giving shots in a matter of days. Pfizer, along with Moderna and AstraZeneca, have recently made news from positive Stage III test results for their vaccines. While some countries seem to be on track to roll out these vaccines soon, where does Latin America fit in the race for a coronavirus treatment? The U.S. government said Wednesday that Chinese producers are expected to be the first to distribute a vaccine in Latin […]Read more...
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Two indigenous women in Latin America honored with top prize for environmental protection
A pair of indigenous environmental activists in Latin America received the 2020 Goldman Environmental Prize on Monday. Leydy Pech of Mexico and Nemonte Nenquimo of Ecuador were two of six winners this year for the top environmental award, which is also known as the Green Nobel. Every year winners are picked from each region in the world. Notable past winners from Latin America include Honduras’ Berta Cáceres, who was murdered after she successfully organized protests that prevented a destructive dam project to be carried out. Pech is an indigenous Mayan who went toe to toe with the former agrochemical company […]Read more...
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Diego Maradona dominated his sport like no one else
In a sport where debate rages endlessly over who the greatest of all time is, opinions vary and a person’s answer depends largely on their nationality and age. Conjecture and subjectivity too often cloud talks of football and its best players. But when it comes to Diego Armando Maradona, who died Wednesday at the age of 60 after having suffered a heart attack, there are a pair of takes that have been virtually solidified into universal truths at this point. The first is that Maradona had the greatest sustained performance of a single player that the sport has ever seen. […]Read more...
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SoftBank set to invest $3 billion more into Latin American tech for post-pandemic deals
The Japanese conglomerate SoftBank recently gave the green light to its Latin American fund to invest the remaining $3 billion worth of capital from the fund into the region’s tech companies and startups. SoftBank’s fund for the region has invested money into 30 companies in Latin America. The SoftBank Innovation Fund said it will look for post-pandemic opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean, especially when it comes to e-commerce, fintech, and insurtech startups. “COVID-19 has had an impact across the board, but where it is most clear is in e-commerce,” SoftBank managing partner Paulo Passoni told S&P Global this […]Read more...
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Latin America could be next hotspot for cannabis industry despite pandemic
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, new legislation and business partnerships have Latin America on the verge of a cannabis boom, according to a new report. The report from Prohibition Partners, a market research firm studying the cannabis industry, looked at recent investments and laws to keep marijuana more accessible in the region. Recent steps towards wider decriminalization from Paraguay, Ecuador and Argentina, among others, have opened the doors for further investment in the region pertaining to marijuana. Earlier this month, Argentina allowed people to grow cannabis at home and for people to take it medicinally if they are uninsured. Though there […]Read more...
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For Latin America, the reality of climate change is already here
On Tuesday, Hurricane Iota became the second Category 4 hurricane to devastate Central America and the Caribbean in as many weeks, following in the path of Eta, which left at least 150 people dead. Hitting just a few miles from where its predecessor made impact, the Nicaraguan city of Puerto Cabezas has seen heavy structural damage and been left without power. Not only is Iota believed to be the strongest hurricane this late in the season, but this also marks the first time on record that two major storms have been produced in the Atlantic in November. These back-to-back strong […]Read more...
