Latin Pulse

Cuba, diplomacy and the Cuban refugee crisis in Central America provide the primary themes this week on Latin Pulse. The program discusses the diplomatic, business, and tourist openings that continue to improve between Cuba and the United States, including a discussion of new reforms announced this week regarding travel and economic concerns.  The program also shares the view from Central America about the problem of Cuban refugees there.  The news segment of the program covers the alarm this week from health officials about the outbreak of the zika virus in the Western Hemisphere and especially how Brazil is responding. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Eric Hershberg, the director of American University's Center for Latin American & Latino Studies (CLALS); and  Carlos Sandoval Garcia of the Universidad de Costa Rica. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Associate Producer: Natalie Ottinger. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)   (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Brazil politics Mexico zika Cuba diplomacy immigration United States health issues Margaret Chan business World Health Organization El Salvador Costa Rica Central America Barack Obama WHO economics refugees embargo tourism Raul Castro currency justice Guantanamo Venezuela Guatemala Nicaragua Panama Ecuador

Latin Pulse registers its 200th episode this week, so the program looks back at the audience's favorite programs since the program became an online radio project.  Themes included in the program include migration, the Drug War, the civil war in Colombia, indigenous issues, and the construction of the Belo Monte Dam in Brazil. The program also includes a discussion of religion, including Santeria and about the folk saint Santa Muerte.  The news segment of the program analyzes the surprise diplomatic move this week by President Mauricio Macri in Argentina to reach out to the United Kingdom. The program includes interviews with: Maureen Meyer of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA); Gimena Sanchez of WOLA; Eve Bratman of American University; Michael Atwood Mason, Director of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage; and Andrew Chesnut of Virginia Commonwealth University. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Associate Producer: Natalie Ottinger. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)   (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Brazil politics Mexico Argentina Cuba diplomacy immigration United States Drug War Falkland Islands violence U.S. Border Patrol Afro-Latin American issues Belo Monte Dam Los Malvinas United Kingdom David Cameron Mauricio Macri drug cartels indigenous issues military Colombia FARC religion cocaine aerial fumigation The Amazon media media Santeria Santa Muerte health issues indigenous religion narco-religion

Looking ahead at what appear to be the key issues for 2016 in Latin America is the mission for Latin Pulse this week.  The program includes an in-depth and extended discussion with a director of one of the top research centers reviewing Latin American affairs and includes in-depth discussion of Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, and United States policy towards the region.  The news segment of the program discusses the move this week to extradite Mexican cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to the United States after he was recaptured in Mexico. The program includes an in-depth interview with: Eric Hershberg, the director of American University's Center for Latin American & Latino Studies (CLALS). Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Associate Producer: Natalie Ottinger. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)   (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Brazil politics Mexico Venezuela Cuba corruption economics United States Drug War Barack Obama China oil commodities Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman poverty Nicolas Maduro Diosdado Cabello human rights Central America infrastructure Argentina Ecuador Chile Guatemala justice Dilma Rousseff Mauricio Macri Bolivia Uruguay recall referendum diplomacy immigration Caribbean region Joe Biden Trans-Pacific Partnership NAFTA trade

Latin American films provide the central focus for Latin Pulse this week.  The program completes its two-part conversation on the film Olvidados, which recounts Operation Condor and its human rights abuses from a Bolivian perspective.  The program also reviews the top Brazilian film of the past year, The Second Mother.  The news segment of the program delves into the controversy between the new National Assembly in Venezuela and that country's Supreme Court over accusations of electoral fraud and the power politics behind the swearing in of three new members of the National Assembly. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Carla Ortiz, the producer of Olvidados; and Kathy Corley of Webster University. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Associate Producer: Natalie Ottinger. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)   (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Brazil politics Bolivia Venezuela elections films culture United States racial issues Afro-Brazilian issues security terrorism military School of the Americas Latin American films The Second Mother City of God torture Nicolas Maduro Diosdado Cabello human rights Henry Ramos gender issues Bolivian cuisine Olvidados internet business Operation Condor

Politics and diplomacy provide the main themes for Latin Pulse this week.  The program marks the anniversary of the diplomatic opening between Cuba and the United States with an interview recorded in Havana.  The program deals with the prospects for the end of the embargo.  The program also follows the complicated corruption scandal in Brazil that has now intersected with the political movement to impeach and unseat President Dilma Rousseff.  The scandal has now evolved into a political crisis as all branches of the Brazilian government are involved in which politicians should be prosecuted and removed from office. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Bob Holden, former Governor of Missouri and now with Webster University; and Matt Taylor of American University. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Associate Producer: Natalie Ottinger. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)   (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Brazil politics Cuba diplomacy business trade embargo Dilma Rousseff Raul Castro Barack Obama tourism impeachment economics corruption poverty Petrobras justice PT agriculture China Communism oil PMBD Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva United States Eduardo Cunha Workers Party

Religion and politics, the so-called taboo subjects provide the central themes for Latin Pulse this week.  The program provides a preview of Cuba's favorite religious celebration, the feast day of San Lazaro.  The program explores the mix of faiths that honor that day on Dec. 17, including the practitioners of Santeria and those with Christian beliefs.  The program also goes in-depth on reaction to the surprising landslide win of opposition groups in Venezuela in that country's Congressional elections. The program includes excerpts from an international press conference that analyzes the political scene in Venezuela. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Michael Atwood Mason,* the Director of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage; and David Smilde† of Tulane University and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Associate Producer: Natalie Ottinger. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  *Michael Atwood Mason is also the author, editor, and curator of a cultural blog called Baba Who? Babalu! †David Smilde is also the curator, editor and author of the WOLA blog, Venezuela Politics & Human Rights.   (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America elections politics Cuba Venezuela religion Santeria Catholicism Afro-Cuban issues minority issues Nicolas Maduro democracy Nigeria economics inflation poverty health capitalism socialism agriculture Babalu-Aye diplomacy Chavismo military Feast of San Lazaro Vladimir Padrino Lopez United States Leopoldo Lopez John Kerry

Latin Pulse returns from holiday hiatus this week, with a program about culture and politics.  The program previews the film Olvidados, about Operation Condor, that will soon make its cable debut on HBO Latino.  The film tells the story of Operation Condor from a Bolivian perspective.  And the program catches up with the results of the Argentine presidential elections and analyzes how a shift to a conservative government means historic changes for that country.  The news segment of the program looks at the move this week to begin official impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff in Brazil. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Carla Ortiz, the producer of Olvidados; and Chris Sabatini of Columbia University & Latin America Goes Global. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Associate Producer: Natalie Ottinger. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America elections politics torture CIA culture films Argentina Operation Condor human rights intelligence services Dilma Rousseff Brazil Augusto Pinochet impeachment economics Bolivia authoritarianism Chile capitalism Communism violence indigenous issues education Mauricio Macri Nestor Kirchner Daniel Scioli Republican Proposal Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner International Monetary Fund United States justice Peronists IMF

Reflections on a special trip to Cuba provide the main themes on Latin Pulse this week.  The program includes interviews with a U.S. delegation on a cultural and educational exchange in Cuba, including the delegation's leader, the former governor of Missouri.  The program also includes viewpoints on the U.S. embargo of Cuba and the possibility of business development on the island.  The discussion ranges through politics, economics and shared interests between the U.S. and Cuba.  The news segment of the program discusses the capture of Syrians using illegal passports in Honduras to possibly enter the U.S. illegally. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Bob Holden, former governor of Missouri and now with Webster University; and Chris Gutierrez, SmartPort of Kansas City. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Associate Producer: Natalie Ottinger. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America elections politics immigration terrorism Mexico Honduras Syria U.S. Congress Barack Obama Hillary Clinton United States refugees Panama Canal Puerto Rico economics Cuba tourism internet Nicaragua Brazil business trade transportation embargo Spain agriculture manufacturing infrastructure Russia commodities

Femicide and violence against women in Latin America provide the themes on Latin Pulse this week.  The program focuses on murders aimed at women in Central America and Mexico, the region with the worst global statistics as assembled by the United Nations.  The program also discusses linkages between such violence and unauthorized immigration.  The program discusses the causes behind femicide and includes analysis about the need to improve the justice in the region.  The news segment of the program covers the constitutional changes in Bolivia to allow President Evo Morales to run for re-election in four years if he wishes. The program includes an in-depth interview with: Karen Musalo of the University of California. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Associate Producer: Natalie Ottinger. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America elections politics Bolivia violence Mexico Guatemala femicide Evo Morales Central America El Salvador United States homicide United Nations civil war human rights economics Honduras machismo genocide Nicaragua rape torture impunity street gangs organized crime domestic violence police justice crime immigration asylum

Trade, finance and economics provide the main themes on Latin Pulse this week. The program gives an in-depth analysis of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and what obstacles it faces in the U.S. Congress and the U.S. political system.  The program also reviews the current status of the debt crisis in Puerto Rico and dissects how the island territory piled up billions in debt.  The news segment of the program covers the results of presidential elections in Latin America, with a focus on why the presidential race in Argentina is headed to a second round of voting. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Chris Sabatini of Columbia University & Latin America Goes Global; and Mauro Guillen of the Lauder Institute of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Associate Producer: Natalie Ottinger. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America elections politics trade Argentina finance Guatemala China debt crisis Daniel Scioli Puerto Rico United States TPP Barack Obama Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders Alejandro Garcia Padilla economics default Mexico Peru Chile Canada NAFTA labor U.S. Senate Trans-Pacific Partnership environmental issues Central America Dominican Republic U.S. Congress agriculture unions Colombia Vietnam Australia commodities Honduras textiles Brazil Mercosur business

Presidential politics and elections in Latin America provide the main themes on Latin Pulse this week. The program goes in-depth on this weekend's presidential elections in Guatemala and Argentina.  In Guatemala, comedian Jimmy Morales is the front-runner by a wide margin but some are asking if he is a true break with Guatemala's military past.  And in Argentina, Daniel Scioli leads the pack as the handpicked successor of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, but can he make his own way?  The news segment of the program covers the latest developments with the debt crisis in Puerto Rico. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Eric Olson of the Wilson Center; and Peter Hakim of the Inter-American Dialogue. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Associate Producer: Natalie Ottinger. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America elections politics corruption Argentina Venezuela Guatemala China Jimmy Morales Daniel Scioli Puerto Rico debt crisis China Nicolas Maduro Sandra Torres Manuel Baldizon Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner Front for Victory Alliance Otto Perez Molina Alejandro Garcia Padilla National Convergence Front economics default crime military CICIG Peronists justice oil U.S. Senate United Nations human rights campaign finance Mauricio Macri Sergio Massa inflation Nestor Kirchner protest movement

Politics and the competencies of governments in Venezuela and Brazil are the central themes on Latin Pulse this week. The program includes an in-depth discussion about the state of democracy in Venezuela and how it has deteriorated due to crackdowns on opposition leaders.  The program also includes a discussion of the political repercussions of the Petrobras corruption scandal in Brazil and further calls for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.  The news segment of the program covers the murder of an activist for transgender rights in Argentina. The program includes in-depth interviews with: David Smilde of Tulane University; and Carlos Pereira of the Getulio Vargas Foundation. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Associate Producer: Natalie Ottinger. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Brazil politics corruption Argentina Venezuela democracy elections LGBT issues Dilma Rousseff human rights Leopoldo Lopez violence Nicolas Maduro gender issues election fraud Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva economics energy crime impeachment Petrobras oil justice media Hugo Chavez Ernesto Samper Henrique Cardoso UNASUR OAS social welfare

War and peace are the central themes on Latin Pulse this week. The program includes an in-depth discussion about breakthroughs in the peace process that could end 51 years of civil war in Colombia.  The program also discusses tensions in the border regions between Venezuela and Colombia, and on Venezuela's border with Guyana and what those tensions mean in the current political climate.  The news segment of the program covers new calls for impeachment to remove President Dilma Rousseff from office in Brazil. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Adam Isacson of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA); and David Smilde of Tulane University. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Assistant Producer: Brooklynn Engel. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Brazil politics corruption Colombia Venezuela Guyana business United Nations Dilma Rousseff civil war Drug War FARC Nicolas Maduro Rodrigo Londono human rights Juan Manuel Santos economics energy diplomacy impeachment Petrobras oil justice economics peace talks El Salvador Central America military media insurgents paramilitaries Guatemala ELN violence crime deportations UNASUR David Granger border dispute Ban Ki-Moon

Brazil and its struggles with corruption and development provides the central focus on Latin Pulse this week. The program discusses in detail the various corruption scandals that have created political gridlock in Brazil.  The program also has the latest on the development of the controversial Bello Monte dam and how that project is the source of environmental and cultural damage in the Amazon region.  The news segment of the program covers the speech by U.S. President Barack Obama at the United Nations calling for the U.S. Congress to strike down the economic embargo against the country. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Matt Taylor of American University; and Eve Bratman of American University. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell;  Technical Director: Jim Singer; and Associate Producer: Natalie Ottinger. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America Brazil development politics corruption culture Cuba business United Nations Barack Obama Raul Castro environment indigenous issues hydro-electric dams U.S. Congress Dilma Rousseff Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Fernando Collor de Mello Bello Monte Dam embargo energy diplomacy impeachment Petrobras oil justice economics protest movement Itaipu Dam human rights Workers Party

Culture and politics provide the themes on Latin Pulse this week. The program looks backward at the end of the popular Univision program Sabado Gigante and how it survived despite criticisms of its content.  The program provided a cultural link on Saturday evenings to many audiences throughout Latin America.  Latin Pulse also reviews the upcoming presidential elections in Argentina and how the final stage of the presidency of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner casts a shadow on the process.  The news segment of the program reviews the trip to Cuba by Pope Francis and its implications for politics and diplomacy. The program includes in-depth interviews with: Constanza Mujica of Universidad Catolica; and Amy Williams of Latin America Goes Global. Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; and Associate Producer: Natalie Ottinger. (To download or stream this podcast, click here.)  (The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 42 MB.)   podcast news Latin America media television politics Chile culture Cuba Argentina United States Pope Francis Sabado Gigante elections Mario Kruetzberger Augusto Pinochet Daniel Scioli Mauricio Macri Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner United for a New Alternative Alliance Alliance for Change embargo Colombia diplomacy Univision immigration internet sexism racism Sergio Massa Peronists inflation Venezuela economics social welfare financial crisis vulture funds China Russia banking corruption Dilma Rousseff Brazil