Latin America

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s extreme poverty has plunged due to a monthly federal handout during the coronavirus pandemic, but threatens to bounce back once the government ceases the stopgap welfare program, a report said Tuesday.

Perú’s Executive Branch sought to excluse LGBTI+ identified people as a vulnerable population.

About 500 migrants are stuck on the border with Costa Rica, forced into overcrowded camps with little food, shelter and water.

Hurricane Hanna registered as a Category 1 storm when it came ashore on Padre Island near Corpus Christi.

Before the pandemic, local authorities counted more than 200,000 families waiting for adequate housing in São Paulo, a city of 12 million.

The Indigenous Garifuna community is fearful after a group of five men was kidnapped by unknown assailants this past weekend.

Since March, the Colombian military has been carrying out counter-narcotic operations, resulting in the deaths of small-scale farmers.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Even before the new coronavirus hit, Argentina’s health care workers were struggling, most of them often working more than 12 hours a day at multiple jobs to make ends meet amid the country’s overheated inflation.

There are currently more than 288,000 students enrolled in Puerto Rico’s public school system.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Wednesday downplayed the importance of wearing face masks during the pandemic, calling his treasury secretary’s assertion that using them would be a factor in reactivating the economy “disproportionate.”

Latino Rebels Radio: July 22, 2020

According to prosecutors, the children were forced to make and sell crafts in market places.

It is long overdue that these realities be noted and discussed in order to be transformed.

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — A special police unit collected 420 bodies over the preceding five days in two Bolivian cities, and 80% to 90% of the deceased were thought to have succumbed to COVID-19, authorities said Tuesday.

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Romina Caira has hidden in her bathroom, the door closed tightly so she doesn’t wake her 4-year-old daughter. Mariana Fevre finds privacy in her parked car or sitting in the stairwell of her apartment building.

Four other government officials —including Secretary of the Interior Antonio Pabón Batlle and Senator Evelyn Vázquez Nieves— will also be investigated.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The number of homicides in Mexico has grown during the new coronavirus pandemic, including a 9.2% spike in killings of women, according to government figures released Monday.

COVID-19 continues to make inroads into the Brazilian Amazon, and the New York Times reports that health workers may be partly responsible.

On July 14, Peru’s department of health (MINSA) announced 333,867 positive COVID-19 cases and 12,229 deaths, becoming the fifth country with most positive cases in the world. As of July 17, Johns Hopkins reported 341,586 positive cases in Peru.

Videos showed long lines at the airport on Wednesday, and some travelers were unaware of the new requirements.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean said Wednesday the region’s per-capita gross domestic product is likely to drop by 9.1% in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.