The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
President Gustavo Petro is leading the way in promoting a fossil fuel phase-out in South America and beyond, but there are challenges and contradictions in Colombia’s actions at home.
Topic:
Climate Change, Fossil Fuels, and Energy Transition
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to target Venezuelan migrants relies on a false narrative about Tren de Aragua and the Venezuelan state, and sets a dangerous precedent for immigrant rights.
Topic:
Immigration, Deportation, Gangs, and Tren de Aragua
Political Geography:
South America, Venezuela, and United States of America
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
In the face of rifts over securitization issues and calls for conservation, Aris Mining intends to launch the Soto Norte mine in Santander, Colombia, in 2029.
Topic:
Environment, Mining, Conservation, and Securitization
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
In the face of the femicide crisis in Colombia, a second crisis persists: hundreds of children are left orphaned each year and without support from the state.
Topic:
Crime, Children, Gender Based Violence, Femicide, and Orphans
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
Activists link the disappearance of land defender Julia Chuñil to the state’s militarization of the region and its deep ties to rapacious forestry companies.
Topic:
Disappearance, Land Rights, Indigenous, Deforestation, and Mapuche
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
The discovery in historic neighborhood Comuna 13, a neighborhood known for its art as much as its dark past, has reignited the debate over paramilitarism in the country.
Topic:
Arts, Tourism, Memory, Paramilitary, and Mass Grave
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
In 2022, Guyana became the first country in the world to issue carbon credits on a national scale. Indigenous people say they were excluded from the negotiations and criticize the loss of autonomy in their territories.
Topic:
Negotiation, Indigenous, Autonomy, Carbon Emissions, and Carbon Credits
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
Brazil’s highly militarized policing disproportionately impacts poor and racialized communities. By providing funding and training, the United States has helped exacerbate the crisis.
Topic:
Training, Police, Militarization, and Police Brutality
Political Geography:
Brazil, South America, North America, and United States of America
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
After a two-year investigation, a comprehensive report, BBC documentary, and whistleblower dossier reveal alleged widespread contamination, health impacts, and surveillance by Colombia’s state-owned Ecopetrol.
Topic:
Oil, Surveillance, Journalism, Investigations, State-Owned Enterprises, and Contamination
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
In the face of Javier Milei’s deepening attack on civil rights, massive mobilizations in Argentina honor the victims of state terrorism on the Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice.
Topic:
Protests, Memory, Civil Rights, Truth and Reconciliation, and Javier Milei
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
For transmasculine activists uprooted from the lands and waters they called home, embroidery and poetry become practices for expressing nostalgia and building community in Bogotá.
Topic:
Arts, LGBT+, Community, Transgender, Forced Displacement, and Embroidery
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
The Spring 2025 issue of the NACLA Report explores travesti-trans politics across the Americas, an antifascist and transversal politics with the power to reshape our world.
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
In the face of discriminatory narratives and laws in Argentina, activists advocate for anti-racist, transfeminist initiatives during this year’s International Women’s Day.
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
In the days after the Trump inauguration, Brazilian students gathered at the largest student congress in Latin America to debate the future of left resistance.
Topic:
Donald Trump, Leftist Politics, Students, and Activism
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Digital Silk Road (DSR), China’s ambitious initiative to shape critical digital infrastructure around the world to advance its geopolitical interests and technology leadership. A decade after its launch, digital infrastructure and emerging technologies have only grown more vital and contested as demand for connectivity, digital services, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) expand. Against this backdrop, the DSR has become increasingly central to China’s broader strategy to challenge and ultimately supplant the U.S.-led digital order, and in doing so, reap potentially vast security, economic, and intelligence advantages. To assess the DSR’s impact 10 years after its inception—and explore how the United States and its allies can offer a more compelling and coherent alternative—the CNAS Technology and National Security team has undertaken a major research project that produces in-depth case studies of four diverse and geostrategically critical nations—Indonesia, Brazil, Kenya, and Saudi Arabia—and culminates in a full-length report.
The second case study focuses on Brazil. For the study, researchers from the CNAS Technology and National Security team spent a week in the country interviewing local policymakers, journalists, technology firms, civil society, and academics, along with U.S. diplomats, development experts, and companies. Drawing on these interviews and desk research, this case study seeks to shed light on the current dynamics and stakes of the U.S.-China competition to shape Brazil’s digital ecosystem.
Topic:
National Security, Geopolitics, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Silk Road (DSR)
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:
Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:
Using the soft balancing concept and a comparative methodology, I analyze the diplomatic strategies mobilized by Brazil towards the US in South America from 2003 to 2022. The empirical results suggest that in the last two decades, Brazil moved away from the role of “soft balancer” during Lula’s and Rousseff’s mandates (2003–2016) to a “tactical convergence” in Temer's (2016–2018) to “bandwagoning” in Bolsonaro's (2019–2022). The main drivers for these different strategies are domestic and regional changes. Approaching this thematic contributes to a better understanding of Brazilian regional priorities and abilities to deal with the US in the region.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Competitive Balance, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:
Brazil, South America, and United States of America