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This article talks about Venezuela's plan to start exporting gasoline to Iran. President Chavez and Ahmadinejad have been discussing the bilateral cooperation between their two countries not only for the export of gasoline but as a way to send a message to the United States. With these talks have come up the topic of nuclear power and the programs of these two countries.

Legalizing abortion has been a slow process in Latin America. Only a handful of countries, including Cuba and Guyana, have legalized abortions in the first trimester. In 2007, when this article was written, there was a legal debate deciding whether or not to legalize abortion in Mexico. The Roman Catholic Church is adamantly opposed to legalizing abortion, and studies found that people in rural areas were antiabortion. Thousands of women die in Latin America from unsafe and illegal abortions, and it is apparent that the illegality of abortion does not reduce the number of women getting them.

Bryan Derballa is from my hometown, and has done a great deal of excellent photojournalism work-recently traveling to Venezuela during the referendum vote Hugo Chávez (the current controversial president of Venezuela) put forth to eliminate the law limiting the amount of years he could run for re-election and remain in office. I frequent his blog, featuring Derballa's work along with other artists from North Carolina, California, and New York. The photos document both the support and protest towards Chávez during the referendum vote last February.

In 2005, Mexico declared that a sexual attack by a husband is still defined as rape. In 1994, the country ruled that it was simply "an undue exercise of conjugal rights". Under this ruling, women could not report rape by their husband. The article states that 47 percent of women report being the victims of violence, and 84 percent of domestic violence victims are silent.

In many Latino cultures masculinity is defined by the heroics of sport. Mexico is no exception; their most sacred and national masculine symbol could very well be their national soccer team. I chose this web page for its vivid imagery documenting the "idols of the Tricolor."

This sight documents the abuses done to homosexual couples in Mexico. I think this page gives good insight into how ashamed Mexican culture is of its gay community. The purpose of this organization is to seek social change through peaceful means but unfortunately it seems that simple letter writing campaigns will not stop discrimination on such a massive scale.

The video presents stories and images of the great poverty characterizing Haiti today. Issues of child extortion, abuse and slavery are addressed, and while Haiti may not necessarily be considered a part of Latin America by all, it is worth noting how such great poverty affects a culture, similar to countries such as Mexico and Guatemala.

The video addresses issues of violence both inside and outside the prisons, suggesting that the inside of the prisons are simply a reflection of the outside culture. Notions of machismo and what it means to be a man can also be drawn from certain images in the video, but other images suggest the crossover between genders when male drug addicts are shown doing handicrafts as therapy to help them overcome such addictions.

This small excerpt describes how masculinity in Latin America is affirmed through the concepts of "machismo". It speaks of the man's dominant role, both inside and outside of the home. It also briefly states the roles of Latin American women. The "machismo" culture does not allow for women to have much of a choice. It sets boundaries for women.

This article discusses how abortion has not only become an issue of "maternal morality, but maternal mortality". Since many women have denied permission to get abortions, they find others to give them the abortion or they will even do it themselves, putting their lives at risk. In this article, we see the consequences of the absence of sexual education, reproductive health resources, and family planning organizations for women.

Many countries-Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, and Cuba-are considering it mandatory to teach sexual education in primary schools. Many believe that the exclusion of sexual education has impacted the number of cases of sexual abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, and teenage pregnancies. The goal is to bring awareness to these issues in hopes of decreasing the rates and to teach children how to make choices responsibly.

Almost all of Latin America is required to provide sexual education classes for their students, however, these laws are widely ignored. Many children do not receive the proper knowledge about sex until the age of 12 or 13, even though a study conducted in Cuba shows that this is the age children are becoming sexual active. Without the knowledge of the issues of sex it leads to an increase in sexual abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, and many abandoned babies. The article also states that children in Argentina do not receive sexual education at all because of the conservative sectors in the area. Many committees and groups are lobbying to help make sexual education more prevalent in students education.

This article discusses the role of sexual education and how it affects the prevention of STDs, unplanned pregnancies, sexual abuse, and HIV/AIDS. Many countries in Latin America have laws stating that sexual education must be taught at schools, however in many of these countries this is not happening. Studies have shown that because these children are not receiving sexual education there are higher rates of unplanned pregnancy, STDs, sexual assault, and earlier ages of engaging in dangerous sexual activities.

This article is about poorer women in Peru dealing with the conflicting issues of whether birth control is right or wrong. It gives a specific example of a woman who killed 2 of her 6 children because she could not afford to take care of them anymore. The poorer people who are also Catholic are having to deal with the large amounts of children and the small amount of money. Some women are up for going to non-natural birth control meathods, but some say their husbands are afraid this will make them more promiscuous.

Mexico has always been recognized for its high crime and this article emphasizes the notion that despite increased security measures throughout the country, crime rates continue to flourish. In 2006, after numerous attacks of violence and gang crime, security measures were advanced. However, despite Felipe Calderon's fight to end the attacks, it is noted that currently, organized crime violence in Mexico is accountable for approximately 20 deaths per day.

This is article is especially relevant to the discussion we had in class earlier today about sex education in Latin America. At the beginning of August, Heath and Education ministers from different Latin American countries, joined together and discussed the notion of sexual education. They concluded that providing comprehensive sexual education courses throughout schools, will actually serve as prevention towards HIV/AIDS.

Dalia Acosta's article addresses the gender equality issues throughout Latin America. Her interview of Julio César Gonzaléz presents an engaging, and possibly controversial, argument that women are not the only victims of Latin America's dominant and rigid patriarchal system and hierarchy: men also face an oppression, although different, due to the socially constructed concept of masculinity.

This article explains the issues of gender roles in Latin America. Julio César González, the Cuban General coordinator of the Ibero-American Masculinity Networkstates, "Until we scrutinise men's social roles and the concept of masculinity, we'll just be drawing circles around the women victims of the system." After completing 20 years of research in gender studies he tried to implement his findings in the real world, but faced resistance from people who only wanted to continue with the traditional stereotypes. Although the Cuban authorities have allowed women to be integrated into once all-male domains, there is still a long way for women to go to reach full equality.

This article from the LAtimes.com demonstrates an interesting outlook on drug possession throughout Latin America. Issues such as drug trafficking and recreational drug use throughout countries such as Mexico and Columbia have increased over the years. However, many proposed laws aimed at decriminalizing drug use have not been approved...This article discusses specific drug-related situations in Argentina, Brazil, and Columbia.

This webpage, although short and succinct has a lot to offer about the basic principles of Human Rights in Latin America. Many of the links at the bottom of the page are also valuable in shaping our understanding of the peoples' rights throughout different countries. The United States grants freedom to the people and allows its citizens many rights and privileges that other countries do not. This website is especially interesting because it discusses the different levels of crime and punishment for each Latin American country.

Many people in Latin America are living with HIV and although this region is often overlooked, it has a very high number of people living with the disease. Most levels of the infection in Latin America are found in men who have sex with men or MSM. This information, though, is often hidden due to the 'machismo' culture of men in Latin America.

this article talks about the prevelance of HIV/AIDS in latin america. It says that HIV is found mostley in "men who have sex with other men" and how not many people know this because of the machismo mentality in latin america.

More than half of Latin Americans living with HIV live in the regions four largest countries. The highest levels of HIV are found within men who have sex with men. Latin American countries make little effort to provide AID services that address the needs of men who are sexually active with other men. Drug use is also a major factor in the spread of HIV.

I read this article a few months ago in the Times and found it to be an interesting look into the lives of what some may call a branch of Latin American counter-culture. One of the reasons this article caught my attention is because of the normalcy of Cumbio. She seems like an ordinary person whose only claim to fame is her photos.