Brazil’s scorpion infestation, which is terrorizing residents of São Paulo and other major cities, is a classic ‘wicked problem.’ That means officials must think outside-the-box to fix it.
A 2016 accord with the FARC guerrillas was supposed to end Colombia’s 52-year civil war. But a deadly car bomb in Bogotá shows that armed insurgents still threaten the South American country.
A coup seems so imminent in Venezuela that people are debating whether Maduro’s overthrow would be good or bad for Venezuelan democracy. But history suggests a coup may be less likely than it seems.
Nearly 1,800 Brazilian dams are at risk of failure, according to the government. Fixing them is expensive – but ignoring aging dams can have considerable social, economic and environmental costs.
Brazil’s new president could clear the way for plans to develop remote areas around the Tapajos River basin over the objections of the indigenous people who live there.
Canada has been considered a human rights champion when it comes to accepting Syrian refugees. So why is it doing next to nothing for those fleeing Venezuela?
At least a dozen countries are supporting the Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Juan Guaidó, who has declared himself Venezuela’s legitimate leader while President Maduro rejects calls to resign.
Maduro, who was sworn in for his second term on Jan. 10, has rigged elections, jailed rivals and plunged Venezuela into crisis. But Trump’s proposed ‘military option’ to remove him remains unpopular.
Brazil’s new president – often called the ‘Trump of the tropics’ for his inflammatory, right-wing rhetoric – won over poorer voters by stoking fear and resentment. Can he make them happy?
Brazil’s president-elect wants to roll back environmental laws, saying they hurt rural growth. But preventing Amazonian deforestation has actually made farmland more productive.
Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing congressman and former army captain, is Brazil’s next president, with 56 percent of votes. Critics see a threat to democracy in his scathing attacks on Brazilian society.
Trump has called Venezuela a ‘human tragedy’ and threatened invasion while quietly deporting and denying asylum to Venezuelan refugees. His anti-socialist rhetoric may make for good midterm politics.
In Brazil, a record 1,237 black women will stand for office in Sunday’s general election. As in the US, their campaigns reflect deep personal concern about rising racism and sexism in politics.
Visiting Scholar, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University; Director of Studies at the Changing Character of War Centre, and Senior Research Fellow, Dept. of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford
Co-Director, Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention, and Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New York