Americas
Americas
Fair Observer provides insightful analysis of the widely differing countries on both American continents./div>
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360° Analysis / brazil / Middle Class / Social Welfare / Finance & Economics / BRIC / Global Change / AmericasBrazil, while quickly becoming an emerging economic power, is still struggling to improve the socioeconomic problems brought on from the legacy of its autocratic past. This is the final part. Read part one here. Policy Options For Brazil’s Future For Brazil to completely emerge from the quagmire of poverty, corruption and inequality, the people and government must engage in a public debate, as well as a frank and open discussion about how to construct viable poverty alleviation models. This discussion must pertain to Brazil’s structural conditions, and her policy weaknesses. Still, it must not ignore her world renowned strengths and her lesser known attributes. Even...
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360° Analysis / brazil / Middle Class / Social Welfare / Finance & Economics / BRIC / Global Change / AmericasBrazil, while quickly becoming an emerging economic power, is still struggling to improve the socioeconomic problems brought on from the legacy of its autocratic past. This is the third of four parts. Read part one here. Is the Nordic System the Answer? Finland and the Scandinavian nations — Sweden, Norway and Denmark — take a markedly different approach to advancing their national social and economic well-being. While basking in the Brazilian tradition that prides itself on the ouster of the Portuguese colonizers, I was surprised to see that nationals of Finland and the Scandinavia report a high degree of trust in their peers and government. Unlike South America’s...
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Peru / Peruvian / Politics / Focus Article / AmericasAmidst a booming extractive sector and increasing awareness of indigenous peoples’ rights at multilateral levels, Peru has finally adopted respective legislation. However, the recent implementation of the law reveals significant gaps. With increasing foreign investment and a booming extractive sector, Peru is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies but faces major challenges in distributing its fortune. Inequality and skewed participation rates in national decisions related to large-scale development or investment projects, have intensified social conflicts. Passing of the Law Massive protests, road blocks, and violent conflicts reveal that those most affected by the...
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360° Analysis / brazil / Middle Class / Social Welfare / Finance & Economics / BRIC / Global Change / AmericasBrazil, while quickly becoming an emerging economic power, is still struggling to improve the socioeconomic problems brought on from the legacy of its autocratic past. This is the second of four parts. Read part one here. It’s the Politics, Stupid. Brazil’s intense class stratification results from her legacy of colonialism, the slave trade and autocratic rule under the auspices of a wealthy elite that controlled most of the nation’s resources. An environment of autocratic rule discouraged the impoverished from voicing their distress in meaningful ways or through public dissent. Brazil, while its dirty wars were not as dirty as some of its neighbors, still had...
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360° Analysis / Hugo Chavez / Politics / Putin / Russia / Europe / BRIC / AmericasFollowing the death of Hugo Chavez, what is next for Venezuela’s relationship with Russia? Signaling an eagerness to maintain cozy ties with Venezuela, President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called for even stronger relations and praised the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as “a close friend of Russia.” But analysts warned that Russia’s energy and arms contracts with the Latin American country might be up in the air, and, adding a whiff of conspiracy, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov hinted that Chavez’s death had been caused by his enemies, presumably the U.S. Chavez died Wednesday at a Caracas hospital of complications from cancer. Vice President...
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360° Analysis / brazil / Middle Class / Social Welfare / Finance & Economics / BRIC / Global Change / AmericasBrazil, while quickly becoming an emerging economic power, is still struggling to improve the socioeconomic problems brought on from the legacy of its autocratic past. This is the first of four parts. Brazil is widely known for her beautiful, multicultural heritage, and offers a variety of practically anything one can imagine. She is famous for her ethnic cuisine, her varieties of music, her parades and her rich dances. She is also admired for her landscape, her breathtaking beaches and especially for her gracious and hospitable people. She is a country that is rich in natural resources and has a variety of emergent industries (oil, agriculture, timber, and manufacturing) which are helping...
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360° Analysis / Politics / United States / Europe / Arts & Culture / Middle East / Americas / Africa / AsiaBy Hannah StormEach week, at least two journalists die doing their job somewhere in the world. Hannah Storm, of the International News Safety Institute, discusses the dangers of the profession. In the first 20 days of this year, at least 10 journalists and media workers were killed doing their jobs. These 10 people weren’t household names, famous journalists whose deaths – like those of Marie Colvin and Tim Hetherington – generated column inches and inspired a collective call for better safety standards for media around the world. And yet, every one of these 10 deaths tells the story of a life unjustly cut short as one person tried to shine a light into the darkest corners of...
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Politics / United States / Europe / 360° Context / Arts & Culture / Middle East / Americas / Africa / AsiaAs more and more journalists are being targeted for their professional activity, the concepts of media freedom and journalist safety deserve a closer look — from the relative comfort of Europe to the killing fields of Syria and beyond. Background When Judge Gurfein ruled in favour of the New York Times for its right to publish the Pentagon Papers, he concluded that “a cantankerous press, an obstinate press, a ubiquitous press must be suffered by those in authority in order to preserve the even greater values of freedom of expression and the right of the people to know”. Indeed, the notion of uninhibited media is so engrained in our perception of democracy, that it carries...
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China / Chomsky / Freud / Japan / Laos / North Korea / Politics / United States / Europe / Focus Article / BRIC / Arts & Culture / Middle East / Americas / Africa / Asia / OceaniaFair Observer's five best articles of February. By February, the new year loses its newness and 2013 is no exception. While all of us have settled into 2013, the world continues to be as eventful as ever. Italy has had yet another election. Kerry is off on his first foreign trip as Secretary of State. Karzai is asking the US to curtail its role, and the conflict in Syria shows no signs of resolution. The world economy is wobbly with the Eurozone in deepest distress. At Fair Observer, we try our best to make sense of the world and please find our best articles for February below. As always, we want to know what you think and please email us at info@fairobserver.com to tell us how we can...