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Latin America

Brazil. Rio de Janeiro clutching at straws.

The pandemic is raging with fury in Rio de Janeiro, aggravating the ancestral problems of a city weighed down by the burden of its own contradictions. The economic crisis is worsening historical inequality, increasing violence, and limiting possibilities while there is a general feeling that the Marvellous City has no other choice but to grasp…

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Ecuador. The Shuar. The people of the sacred waterfalls.

The Shuar are an Amazonian indigenous people whose culture, life, and spirituality are based on water. The Shuar people live in the foothills of the Andes, Cutucú and Condor mountain ranges in the Amazonian provinces of Morona Santiago and Zamora Chinchipe in Ecuador. This is an area characterized by abundant rivers that form wonderful waterfalls,…

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Strategic control.

The discovery of oil, together with its geographical position, has brought Guyana to the attention of the major actors, local and distant, that are present in the Latin-American scene. The United States, in particular, has been working for some time to guarantee the security of the country within which United States oil companies operate, for…

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Guyana. An Unknown Country.

The recent discoveries of oil have brought Guyana to the centre of international attention. Many interests are at stake. Guyana is a South American country located on the Atlantic Coast and wedged in between Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname, bordering these countries to the south, east and west, respectively. The country is characterised by dense rainforests.…

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A New Constitutional Charter.

In 1966, Guyana became independent of its mother country and joined the Commonwealth as an autonomous entity. Legislative power was entrusted to an elected assembly composed of 35 members and, in 1970, the new Constitutional Charter was launched and the ‘Cooperative Republic of Guyana’ was proclaimed with Arthur Chung, judge of Chinese ancestry, as president.…

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The Latin American Church in Assembly. The challenge of ‘Synodality’.

In Mexico City, from 21 to 28 November, the first ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean will take place with the motto ‘We are all out-going missionary disciples’. The project originated with the dialogue between Pope Francis and the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) which, in 2019, during its XXXVII General Assembly, proposed…

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Colombia. San Basilio de Palenque. A place of resistance and liberty.

Four hundred years ago, a group of black slaves fled from the Spanish Crown to Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) towards the centre of the country in search of liberty. They founded San Basilio de Palenque, a village that would become the first free territory in colonial America. To this day, they maintain their traditions and…

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Oil Exploration.

Economically, with a per capita GNP of around $5,000, Guyana is one of the poorest countries in the world with much internal inequality between the shanty towns and the rich financial centres. Almost 40% of the population lives in poverty and the country is in 125th place according to the UN index of development. The…

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Mexico. Weaving culture.

Within the priceless cultural heritage that is preserved among the Indian peoples of Mexico and includes such important areas as language, rites and world views, pride of place goes to the production of textiles. Textile traditions characteristically reflect extraordinary cultural diversity. A journey among the indigenous peoples of some regions to learn about their rich…

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Colombia. Bishop receives death threats.

For months he travels in an armoured car and an armed police escort. He did not ask for protection but the local government, was forced to provide it due to international pressure.  “I am not afraid and I am sure God is on my side”, says Mons. Rubén Darío Jaramillo, Bishop of Buenaventura, a port…

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Venezuela. The Indios Warao: the ‘Boat People’.

The Warao indigenous people inhabit the states of Bolívar, Monagas, Sucre and Delta Amacuro in the eastern part of Venezuela. The majority of them lives on the banks of the Orinoco River in the Delta Amacuro. This tribe, which is currently estimated to number about 50000, is the second-largest indigenous group in Venezuela, after the…

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Brazil. Capoeira, the dance of the resistance.

A martial art that combines dance, self-defence and music, with its roots in ritual Bantu dances. In Brazil, it is the symbol of the fight against racism and social exclusion. It is not just a way of fighting but an expression of cultural identity, in particular that of the African-Brazilians. Dancing, singing, oral culture and…

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Advocacy

Jani Silva. To protect the community and the land.

The Colombian environmental and peace activist has played a key role in establishing a protected area in the Amazon, providing small farmers with access to…

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Baobab

How The Stars Were Born.

One day, two friends named Ebopp and Mbaw went off in search of a good site to establish a farm with fine fields of grain and…

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Youth & Mission

Young People at COPO 30. “We want to be heard.”

Young people will play an important role at COP30 in Belém, Brazil. This will give young people a greater voice in climate action and policy-making at…

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