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Recent Posts
- The Complex Web of Environmental Devastation in the Amazon November 28, 2016
- Very Quick Thoughts on Castro November 26, 2016
- What Presidents Do Post-Coup September 6, 2016
- Today in “Terrible Historical Analogies” (or, Brazil in 2016 is not Iraq in 2005) September 5, 2016
- A Final, Farcical Footnote to Impeachment in Brazil September 3, 2016
- Some Quick Thoughts on the Latest Polls in Brazil July 18, 2016
- The Lived Effects of the Rio Olympics July 17, 2016
- Early Thoughts on What a Temer Administration Looks Like May 17, 2016
- Thoughts on the Immediate Fallout of Dilma’s Removal May 16, 2016
- Dilma Removed from Office for (at least) 180 Days May 12, 2016
- Impeachment of Dilma Takes Inconceivable Turn May 9, 2016
- RIP – Patricio Aylwin April 19, 2016
- Thoughts on Brazil’s Impeachment Vote Yesterday April 18, 2016
- Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies Votes to Impeach Dilma Rousseff April 17, 2016
- Anti-Corruption Sentiment and Popular Culture in Brazil April 1, 2016
- Defending Democracy in Brazil March 31, 2016
- Talking about Brazil’s Political Situation (with Bonus US-Cuba Relations Discusion) March 29, 2016
- Today in Even Worse, More Inaccurate Historical Analogies (or, “Pinochet Wasn’t a Populist”) March 28, 2016
- Today in Terrible and Inaccurate Historical Analogies (or, “Trump is not a Caudillo”) March 27, 2016
- Early Reflections on Brazil’s Odebrecht Documents March 24, 2016
- On Brazil’s Political Crisis March 20, 2016
- The Zika Virus and Militarizing Medicine January 26, 2016
- It’s Always Health and Education… January 25, 2016
- On Lynchings and the Weakness of the State January 24, 2016
- Catching Up on Impeachment, Corruption, and Brazilian Politics December 21, 2015
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Category Archives: Torture
Links Around Latin America
Several stories of note from around the region lately: Last week, Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Timochenko met in Cuba to finalize a peace plan that could finally end a struggle that’s lasted over 50 years. Boz … Continue reading
Posted in Argentina, Argentina's Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Around Latin America, Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Civil Conflict in the Americas, Colombia, Corruption, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionárias de Colombia (FARC), Guatemala, Human Rights Issues, Human Rights Violations, Latin America, Latin American Art, The Malvinas War, Torture
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Manuel Contreras, Head of Chile’s DINA, Dead at 86
Manuel Contreras, who headed the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (National Intelligence Directorate, or DINA) from 1973-1977, some of the most repressive years of Augusto Pinochet’s regime, has died at the age of 86. As head of DINA, Contreras was directly responsible for … Continue reading
Posted in Augusto Pinochet, Chile, Deaths, Human Rights Violations, The "Disappeared", Torture
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Get to Know a Brazilian – Ivens Marchetti
This is part of an ongoing series. Previous entries can be found here. As we continue our look at the lives of the fifteen political prisoners exchanged for US ambassador Charles Elbrick, whom armed leftist groups took hostage in September … Continue reading
Posted in Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Get to Know a Brazilian, Guerrilla Movements in Latin America, Human Rights Violations, Torture
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On This Date in Latin America – September 16, 1976: Argentina’s “Night of the Pencils”
Given the recent discussion of memory and military dictatorships, it seems worthwhile to recall one of the many horrific events of Argentina’s military dictatorship: La Noche de los Lápices, or “Night of the Pencils.” The Night of the Pencils had … Continue reading
Posted in Argentina, Argentina's Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Buenos Aires, Human Rights Issues, Human Rights Violations, Military Dictatorships, On This Date in Latin America, The "Disappeared", Torture
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The Brazilian Truth Commission after One Year
The truth commission investigating repression and state-sponsored violence during Brazil’s military dictatorship of 1964-1985 has recently completed a full year of work, and issued a report of some of its major findings after one year: Part 1. Hiding of Documentation from … Continue reading
Posted in Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Human Rights Issues, Human Rights Violations, Impunity, Police Violence, The "Disappeared", Torture, Truth Commissions
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Around Latin America
-Yesterday, Chile marked the fortieth anniversary of the coup that overthrew democratically-elected president Salvador Allende and ushered in the 17-year military dictatorship that killed over 3000 people and tortured tens of thousands. Even while the date was commemorated, the search … Continue reading
Posted in Argentina, Argentina's Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Around Latin America, Augusto Pinochet, Brazil, Chile, Coups in Latin America, Cuba, Guatemala, Guatemala's Civil War, Guerrilla Movements in Latin America, Human Rights Violations, Indigenous Peoples, Labor in Latin America, Multinational Corporations in the Americas, Protests in Latin America, Racism, Strikes, The "Disappeared", Torture, United States
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Chiquita Trying to Shirk Responsibility for Aiding Terrorist Organizations
Banana companies have long had a horrible history in Latin America, based upon political corruption, economic exploitation, and even the overthrow of democratically-elected regimes. Yet the horrible practices of multinational fruit companies in the region is not a relic of … Continue reading
What Force-Feeding Looks Like
Though reports on the story have been relatively slight in comparison to far more trivial matters that gobble up more TV time, for at least the past four months, detainees at Guantanamo have been on a hunger strike, protesting the … Continue reading
Posted in Cuba, Human Rights Issues, Prisoners' Rights, Strikes, Torture, United States
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When Public Anger & Political Frustration Ignore History
As readers of this blog know, I’ve written extensively about the Brazilian military dictatorship from a variety of angles, including how the military came to power amidst civilian calls for the military to remove constitutional president João Goulart. The idea of … Continue reading
The Legacies of Torture in Central America
As scholarship and human rights reports have repeatedly demonstrate, the effects of torture on the human mind and body have long-term ramifications, and many of those victims continue suffer from both the psychological and the physical effects of torture decades … Continue reading