Category Archive: Opinion

Human Rights in Right-wing Politics

EleNaoBy Madeline Asta

Two years ago, I sat in a classroom in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and listened as Brazilian university students analyzed the election of US President Donald Trump on an international scale. It was the day after Trump was elected and I was still trying to wrap my brain around the outcome. I felt isolated from my country both physically and emotionally. The students spoke about a right-wing shift the world was undergoing, basing their arguments on their own political atmosphere – which had just seen their leftist president impeached – and the trends they were studying in England, France, and their own region. They predicted that their own country would again shift to the right in their next election, foreshadowing the results of Brazil’s presidential election on October 28.

Jair Bolsonaro won Brazil’s presidential election last weekend with 55.1% of votes against the leftist Workers’ Party candidate Fernando Haddad’s 44.8%. Bolsonaro garnered attention during his campaign for his firm stance on combating the nation’s violence and ridding the government of corruption, which has indicted many high-level politicians since 2014. However, Bolsonaro is also known for his blunt, homophobic, racist, and sexist statements and is referred to as the “Trump of the Tropics” for the similarities in the two politicians’ rhetoric and campaign tactics. Bolsonaro’s election represents the most dramatic political shift in Brazil since it restored democracy in 1988, but the nation is not alone in its turn away from the left. Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and the United States have all recently elected conservative leaders, and this trend sparks questions as to why this shift is occurring and what it could mean for the Western Hemisphere.

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U.S. Governance Exacerbates Natural Disaster in Puerto Rico

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By Alexia Rauen

The widespread lack of electricity across Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane María has been widely publicized and carries with it deep concern for the lack of vital resources available to the island. As Puerto Rico is a United States territory, the federal government is responsible for ensuring the reconstruction of the island. But is it doing enough now, and will it be doing enough in the future, when the world has turned its attention to the next headline-worthy natural disaster?

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Nicolas Maduro is Failing to Act in the Interests of the Venezuelan People

By Jack Pannell

Nicolas Maduro, the President of Venezuela, has overseen a collapse of his country’s economy. It is undeniable that many in the country face a dire economic situation and that Maduro has wholly failed to remedy the crisis. Maduro has mismanaged the economy and his Constituent Assembly will serve more to consolidate his power than to solve the economic situation. It is essential to remain critical of the motives of the MUD opposition, but any criticism must also concede that the actions of Maduro, even if within a constitutional framework, are further polarising the country and risk the outbreak of armed conflict.

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Temer power plays attorney general to maintain control of government

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By Madeline Asta

On Tuesday August 8, Brazilian President Michel Temer asked the Supreme Court (STF) to remove the country’s Attorney General, Rodrigo Janot from power. The decision to remove Janot comes after an August 2 congressional vote to drop passive corruption charges filed by Janot against Temer in June. As Attorney General, Janot established a precedent of convicting high-level politicians for corruption throughout Operação Lava Jato, a set of investigations aimed to fight organized crime within Brazilian politics. Since Operação Lava Jato began in 2014, the investigations have uncovered sweeping political corruption across both political parties and neighboring countries in the Latin American region. However, Temer sees Janot’s charges against him to be attacks founded on personal motivation. Temer claims that Janot is acting “beyond his constitutional limits”, as the attorney general pursues obstruction of justice charges against Temer. Fearing that pending charges will unearth more concrete evidence of corruption, Temer moves to dismiss Janot from the investigations and ensure himself immunity. Riding a wave of confidence following the congressional vote, Temer hopes to solidify his political power by launching a counterattack against the nation’s top prosecutor to destroy his reputation.

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Legalizar el aborto en Chile

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Por Alexia Rauen

Asistencia en traducción por Laura Schroeder y Martina Guglielmone

Chile es – y ojalá que muy pronto era – uno de los cuatro países (Chile, Nicaragua, República Dominicana, y El Salvador) en la región Latinoamericana que completamente prohíbe el aborto, y uno de seis en el mundo. La penalización por recibir un aborto en Chile puede incluir tiempo en la cárcel de hasta cinco años. También hay una posibilidad de tiempo en la cárcel para cualquier persona que administre un aborto. En Chile, las mujeres podrían sufrir medidas punitivas que solamente sirven para extender su dolor, y los médicos que ofrecen abortos lo hacen arriesgándose a ellos mismos.  

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Maduro’s Democracy is Hardly That

By Blake Burdge

Claiming victory over his opposition and perceived U.S.-backed imperialist efforts, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro celebrated the prevalence, last Sunday, of what he calls democratic efforts to bring peace to a country that has been struck with economic and political crises.

The Constituent Assembly election is not the beginning of Maduro’s unraveling of democracy in Venezuela; rather, it represents the beginning of the end. Since his thin victory in 2013, Maduro has chiseled away his country’s democratic institutions, postponing elections and delegitimizing the opposition’s constitutional effort to hold a presidential recall referendum. He has stacked the supreme court in his favor and recently has tried to strip the legislative power of the National Assembly, the only of the government’s three branches not controlled by his Chavista allies.

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Legalize Abortion in Chile

By Alexia Rauen

Chile is – and hopefully soon to be was – one of four countries (Chile, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and El Salvador) in the Latin American region that completely bans abortion, and one of six globally. The penalty for receiving an abortion in Chile can include jail time of up to five years. There is also a possibility of jail time for any individual who administers an abortion. In Chile, women may suffer punitive measures that only serve to further extend their pain, and medical professionals who offer abortions do so at significant risk to themselves.

But finally, it seems the women of Chile will have hope that they have not had since 1989, when the ban was implemented. As it stands, 70 percent of Chileans support this bill. In 2015, as seen in the graphic below, provided by the Chilean government, President Bachelet released a bill which will allow abortions in certain instances.

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