The Conversation

Venezuela’s Power Struggle Reaches a Tense Stalemate, as Human Suffering Deepens

Even in a country where crisis has become the norm, the past month has been eventful.

  • Apr 4, 2019
  • 4:47 PM

Oil’s Corrosive Impact on Democracy Is the True Socialist Gateway Drug

The bogeyman of Venezuelan “socialism” has had repercussions throughout the Americas.

  • Apr 4, 2019
  • 10:58 AM

Mexican War on Drugs Has, in Places, Decreased Life Expectancy

In Mexico, life expectancy increased for more than six decades, but as we found in our new research, this rate slowed down between 2005 and 2015, and in some states even reversed.

  • Apr 3, 2019
  • 9:35 AM

How Mexican Advertising Featuring Rich White People Perpetuates Racism and Classism

My recently published research examines how this aspirational advertising demonstrates racial and social inequalities in Mexico, and reinforces colonial thinking in the country.

  • Mar 26, 2019
  • 9:19 AM

The Promise and Peril of the Dominican Baseball Pipeline

Enmeshed in a system that encourages them to specialize in baseball at an early age, Dominican players are left with little to fall back on when baseball doesn’t pan out.

  • Mar 25, 2019
  • 2:07 PM

There’s No Way to Stop Human Trafficking by Treating It as an Immigration Enforcement Problem

The Trump administration’s efforts to slow the pace of immigration are making conditions more precarious for undocumented workers and causing an uptick in human trafficking.

  • Mar 22, 2019
  • 9:38 AM

For Native Americans, US-Mexico Border Is an ‘Imaginary Line’

“Our relatives are all considered ‘aliens,’” said the Yaqui elder and activist José Matus. “They’re not aliens…. They’re indigenous to this land.”

  • Mar 19, 2019
  • 10:26 AM

Mexico’s Frontera Sur: Life Carries On in This Place of Permanent Mobility

The day we arrive in Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas, the southern Mexican state that borders Guatemala, all is quiet.

  • Mar 16, 2019
  • 10:25 AM

Which Countries Have the Most Immigrants?

The proportion of immigrants varies considerably from one country to another. In some, it exceeds half the population, while in others it is below 0.1%. Which countries have the most immigrants? Where do they come from? How are they distributed across the world?

  • Mar 11, 2019
  • 6:09 PM

Brazil and Venezuela Clash Over Migrants, Humanitarian Aid and Closed Borders

Relations between the two countries are deteriorating fast, too.

  • Mar 7, 2019
  • 10:03 AM

Mexico Is Being Held to Ransom by Oil Thieves and Systemic Corruption

People in Mexico have been generally supportive of the president’s measures to prevent theft, despite widespread shortages and explosions at pipelines where oil has stopped and tapping has occurred.

  • Mar 2, 2019
  • 8:21 AM

Citizens in the West Should Care About Discriminatory Immigration Policies

Our research shows that these types of policies remain fairly common among liberal democracies.

  • Feb 28, 2019
  • 8:19 AM

Cuba Expands Rights But Rejects Radical Change in Updated Constitution

This is how social change works these days in Cuba, my home country and the subject of my academic research.

  • Feb 27, 2019
  • 4:06 PM

Venezuela Crisis: Trump Threats to Maduro Evoke Bloody History of US Intervention in Latin America

Despite near global condemnation of Nicolás Maduro, any U.S. intervention in Venezuela would be controversial.

  • Feb 26, 2019
  • 9:20 AM

Trump May Seek More Punishment of Cuba

Activating Title III would represent a quantum leap in hostility.

  • Feb 22, 2019
  • 10:22 AM

US Sanctions on Venezuelan Oil Could Cut the Output of Refineries at Home

Refineries located along the U.S. Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Texas were just about Venezuela’s last source of hard currency.

  • Feb 21, 2019
  • 9:17 AM

How Smallpox Devastated the Aztecs and Helped Spain Conquer a Civilization 500 Years Ago

Within just two years, Aztec ruler Montezuma was dead, the capital city of Tenochtitlan was captured and Cortés had claimed the Aztec empire for Spain.

  • Feb 19, 2019
  • 2:39 PM

Parkland Shooting: One Year Later, Congress Still Avoids Action on Gun Control

Why are the public’s pleas on this and other issues ignored?

  • Feb 14, 2019
  • 11:21 AM

Venomous Yellow Scorpions Are Moving Into Brazil’s Big Cities, and the Infestation May Be Unstoppable

It is a hallmark of what those of us in the complex problems field call a “VUCA” world—a world that’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.

  • Feb 11, 2019
  • 4:31 PM

Hope and Anguish in a Mexican Refugee Shelter: Researcher Records Stories of Central American Asylum Seekers

Tochán responds to the basic needs of the men, including the provision of beds, clothing, meals and toiletries.

  • Feb 10, 2019
  • 10:03 AM

López Obrador Clashes With Courts After Vowing ‘Poverty’ for Mexican Government

At a press conference on February 1, the Mexican president said his government would embrace what he called “Franciscan poverty” if it would “transfer funds to the people” and achieve “development, jobs and welfare.”

  • Feb 8, 2019
  • 9:00 AM

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