Group items tagged

This article discusses how Latin America has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world, and how women's organizations continue to fight for the right to safe and legal abortion. It is believed that to a certain extent, religion has influenced the criminalization of abortion. However, the women's movement in the region has made progress towards attaining the right to legal abortion.

Mexico City is banning stores from packaging goods in plastic non-biodegradable bags. They passed the law in March and signed it in August giving the remainder of retailers who haven't already responded to this new act a year to abide by it. Mexico city is striving for an ambitious recycling program in their fairly new act towards going green. Mexico city has joined other cities around the world by restricting what is said to be one of the most omnipresent types of ocean litter killing marine life. There is some talk by officials that the city may even elect a "bag fee" stating that people could still get the old plastic bag only is they pay for them. Mexico City is trying to make a huge effort to abide by this law of banning bags especially in restaurants, stores and dry cleaners.

This blog discusses how Evangelicalism works as a frame for civil society in Venezuela due to the restrictions that the church enforces. This particular blog post also happens to be written by David Smilde, the author of the current book we are reading.

Mexico City is facing a problem; there are not enough priests to handle the 2.5 million Catholics. The strict restrictions on Catholic priests are making it difficult to attract a younger generation of priests. Catholicism is also losing it's monopoly on Latin America, as between ten to thirty percent of the population identify as evangelical. The article argues that the Catholic Church must acknowledge these issues in order to have a chance of lasting in Latin America.

Brazil's current Senate president, José Sarney, has been the center of many controversial newspaper reports of corruption for using nepotism. This recent scandal has been the launching point for many Latin American government's to speak out against the media and their dislike for free press, believing that their should be more censorship.