National emergencies allow for the purest expressions of sovereign power, testing the government’s commitment to human rights. Some leaders are failing the coronavirus test, experts say.
The ‘Christ of the Pacific’ statue in Lima has caused controversy in Peru because of its financing by a graft-tainted Brazilian construction company. Both religion and corruption loomed large in Peru’s 2020 legislative elections.
CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP via Getty Images
After a bribery scandal that took down four presidents and led Congress to dissolve, some Peruvians are putting their faith in an austere religion called the Israelites of the New Universal Pact.
Outside their usual living environment, tourists feel freer from social constraints. Much to the chagrin of the locals.
Nito/Shutterstock
Social networks tend to encourage behaviour considered deviant by local populations.
Demonstrators clash with a police water cannon during a recent anti-government protest in Santiago, Chile. Several South American countries have been experiencing massive social unrest in recent months.
(AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In the last century, several South American countries faced coups, military dictatorships and social uprisings. Despite economic improvements in recent years, the continent remains mired in unrest.
Venezuelans hoping to cross into Ecuador via Colombia amass at the Rumichaca border bridge in Tulcan, Ecuador, as new visa restrictions limiting migration took effect, Aug. 26, 2019.
Reuters/Daniel Tapia
Citing national security, Ecuador, Peru and Chile have all made it harder for Venezuelan migrants to enter the country, and xenophobia is rising across the region – even in more welcoming Colombia.
Harvesting wheat in the Peruvian Andes.
Shutterstock.
Peruvian glaciers have shrunk by 25% since 1987, causing water shortages in rural villages. But ancient technology could help manage this precious resource.
Pedo Pablo Kuczynski, a former president of Peru, was arrested in April 2019 on charges relating to the Odebrecht scandal.
EPA-EFE/Geraldo Caso
How did civilization emerge from small groups of hunter-gatherers? Some archaeologists focus on cooperation as the vital ingredient – and find evidence for it in the form of feast-related artifacts.
Pioneering chefs from Bolivia to Brazil are stepping out of the kitchen and into public service. The ‘social gastronomy’ movement uses food to create jobs, prevent violence and boost economies.
Shantytown near Lima, Peru.
Inspired By Maps/Shutterstock.com
Over half the calories humans eat today come from corn, wheat and rice. Raising a greater diversity of types of crops and animals (agrobiodiversity) makes diets healthier and farming more resilient.
The pyramids of Giza on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt.
Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters
The belief that ancient Egyptians needed help from supernatural beings to built the Giza pyramids relies, unavoidably, on racism and colonial attitudes.
Remote mountain regions like the Upper Mustang in Nepal are often neglected by the rest of the world.
Timothy Karpouzoglou
Remote mountain regions are closer to the climate problem than we think, particularly in the context of safeguarding essential ecosystem services such as safe and adequate water.
FARC members passing time, waiting for the peace negociations in a camp in Colombia.
John Vizcaino/Reuters
Women’s involvement in armed conflict in Peru and Colombia has a deep impact on societies. But peace processes and political aftermath rarely recognise their role.
Adjunct Researcher at the Center for Mining and Sustainability Studies at the Universidad del Pacífico (Peru) and PhD Candidate in Geography, The University of Melbourne