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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 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...
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This week’s 100K LatAm highlights the future of tech innovation in Latin America
Fifteen finalists for the decorated 100K LatAm competition will square off on Tuesday to award the Latin American startups with the most promising ideas. Winners will be chosen according to three categories: pitch, accelerate and launch, as a team of judges made up of entrepreneurs and those in the startup industry rank their favorites. Each startup is judged off its ability to leave a major impact on the region’s health, environment and economy, among other areas. The annual competition is run by the Technical Institute of Buenos Aires (ITBA) in conjunction with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Sloan Latin […]Read more...
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Could tech be Colombia’s ticket to economic recovery?
Colombian President Iván Duque has repeatedly said during his time in office that he wants the Adean country to be known as the Silicon Valley of Latin America. Often pointing to the success of a unicorn startup like Rappi, the popular food delivery app now valued at more than $3.5 billion, Duque has made it clear he is all in on tech to provide the economic boost he’s promised ever since coming into office in 2018. But will it be enough in a country where nearly one in every five people are without jobs? The Duque government has promised long-term […]Read more...
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Is a Green New Deal possible in Latin America?
The coronavirus pandemic’s devastating effect on poor and minority populations has given even more credibility to the idea of a Green New Deal in the U.S. But progressive policies that prioritize the environment and look to shift economic power should not just be limited to North America. Latin America and the Caribbean countries can also look towards the legislative proposal up north to provide a roadmap to more equal and just societies that actively account for climate change, according to experts and scholars in the region. But certainly, a huge shift would have to happen before Latin America enters into […]Read more...
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Venezuela’s mistreatment of returnees may be intensifying COVID-19 spread
Venezuela is abusing exiles who have had to return to the country during the coronavirus pandemic, which could be leading to heightened transmission of COVID-19 in the South American country, according to a report from Human Rights Watch and Johns Hopkins University. In the joint report, researchers found the quarantine centers where returnees are being required to stay had severe shortages of food, water, and medical attention. Delays in testing are reportedly keeping people in these quarantine sites longer than the recommended 14 days and risking higher rates of transmission. Officials have said that more than 100,000 Venezuelans have come […]Read more...
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Argentina to incentivize tech sector in hopes of boosting recovery
On Friday, Argentina’s congress passed a bill that is slated to provide tax incentives for tech startups and industry mainstays in hopes of stimulating economic recovery. The tax boosts are slated to last for 10 years and are meant to spur on hiring to turnaround the country’s unemployment figures. The measure could double employment numbers over the next decade, Argentina officials said, and is also expected to increase exports from the tech sector by $4 billion. “There’s absolute agreement among all political parties about the relevance of this sector,” Production Minister Matias Kulfas told Bloomberg on Friday. “The pandemic is […]Read more...
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Latin America in need of immediate stimulus measures, UN report says
Latin American and Caribbean governments will need to provide sustained stimulus efforts to get out of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a new report from the United Nations suggests. The study released Tuesday by the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said the region will require “expansionary fiscal policies” to help keep economies afloat. “International cooperation is key to amplifying the space for macroeconomic policies,” said ECLAC Secretary-General Alicia Bárcena. The report noted that the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to contract by an average of 9.1 percent, which […]Read more...
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Used-car startup Kavak now Mexico’s first unicorn
The Mexican startup Kavak has reached a $1.15 billion evaluation, becoming the country’s first unicorn. The rarefied designation follows a successful September investment round and the used car startup has now raised more than $400 million since it was founded just four years ago. Kavak is the latest Soft Bank investment to become a unicorn – a tech company valued at a billion dollars or more – in Latin America, following Colombia’s Rappi and the Brazilian companies Loggi and Gympass. The Japanese investor has promised to put $5 billion worth of capital into tech companies throughout the region. “We’re very […]Read more...
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34 million jobs lost in Latin America due to pandemic
An estimated 34 million jobs have been lost across Latin America and the Caribbean so far due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Wednesday report from the International Labor Organization (ILO). No other region in the world has been as adversely affected as Latin America in terms of incomes lost. Unsurprisingly, it has also been the hardest hit region in terms of infections as there have been 9.3 million coronavirus cases and more than 345,000 deaths reported from the virus to date. The ILO, which is an agency of the United Nations, said in its report that up to […]Read more...
