Group items tagged

This source looks at how issues of violence and crime have effected the development of Latin American societies.

In Guatemala the rate of violent deaths of women is outrageously hight and is still growing rapidly. The murdering of women usually involves torture, rape, or mutilation. Norma Cruz,co-founder of the NGO Survivors Foundation, has helped to provide many victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse and the families of murdered women with emotional and social support. According to Cruz, the "increasing number of killings of women in Guatemala is tied to the poverty that is the aftermath of Guatemala's civil war..." Even though her position in the foundation has many risks and harms, it has given voice to many victims and inspired other foundations in Guatemala to help this on-going issue of violence.

Lorenzo Rosebaugh, a catholic priest, was killed in Guatemala in May of last year. Although the crime rate in Guatemala is very high, this killing brought new attention to crime and violence in Guatemala. Religion is very important to Latin American cultures, which makes this death stand out to society.The Guatemalan government needs to take steps to increase security and improve their leadership to help alleviate crime in their country. If the Government does not intervene and help the lives of their citizens, Guatemala could face a deleterious outcome.

In the article printed in the Guatemala Times published on May 21, 2009, the Human Rights Office of the Archbishop of Guatemala calls for the investigation into the murder of Lorenzo Rosebaugh, a catholic priest that was killed in Ixcan on the May 18th. The article continues to discuss the big issue of violence and the lack of leadership that exists in Guatemala today. They call for the government to make a strategic plan in order to protect their citizens against this violence, especially those that are involved in many of the illegal activities that are occurring.

This is a radio show discussing the violence against women as a result of the machismo culture. It also discusses a group of men from Nicaragua that are participating in a program to "unlearn" the aspects of being macho.

The widespread growth of violent crime in Latin America is only getting worse. This epidemic is resulting in drug trafficking, gun crime, kidnapping, gang warfare, and murders. This violence is said to be cause from factor such as poverty, abundance of guns,and lack of police and state helpings. This has become a drastic issue that is leading to thousands upon thousands of unnecessary deaths.

The article entitled "Guatemala's 'Femicide' Crisis" seeks to explain the implications of the unnecessary and brutal mass killings occurring amongst women in Guatemala mostly by male gangs. Because the killings have exceeded such an unusual extent, it has been deemed a "Femicide", otherwise known as a "Gendercide" or a genocide directed mainly against females. The ages of girls or women discussed in this article being raped, beaten, and murdered range from three year old toddlers to middle aged women. Not only do gangs of men perform these acts for no reason other to establish masculinity within their affinity groups. Moreover, the law enforcement agencies are so corrupt that it was said, "justice imposed by the state is non-existent" and "only two per cent of crimes against women are solved." This article seeks to establish the problem that is still going on even after the forty-year civil war while other chosen articles are determined to look for solutions.

This article discusses the experiences of several young women involved in large Guatemalan gangs. Studies have found that almost 40% of gangs are constituted of young women (ages 14-21). These youths are living on the streets, and their fellow gang members often coerce them into group sex and group beatings. They are forced to have sex with most members of the gang, and kill someone, just for initiation. Admist the violence in Guatemala, young children are being orphaned, and end up getting involved in street gangs and violence. The article mentions how sometimes children are beaten at home, and they join a gang to "escape" it, when in reality, they are being beaten by the gangs, "their adopted family", as well. Gang leaders hold intense social control on their members.

The article highlights how President Funes of El Salvador decided to send 2,500 army troops to patrol the streets of the country in an effort to combat crime. The soldiers will patrol the streets of 19 municipalities that have the highest crime rates. El Salvador one of the three Central American countries that have the highest rates of non-political violence in the world. (Guatemala and Honduras are the other two countries)

This article shows that both sides initiate violence in Guatemala. Locals intercepted the policeman, who was accused of extortion, and brutally murdered him. Lynchings, however, are common and are seen as forms of vigilante justice.

Written in 2002, this article talks about improved changes made to children in Latin America in the way of health and education. However, these slight advancements have been met with many new challenges such as the spread of HIV/AIDS and domestic violence. The UN has become very involved in this problem and working on its solution as in many of these developing countries, children make up a great part of the population.

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.

Several countries throughout Latin America have been fighting to end the continual violent attacks. "The More Guns, the more Violence" is one of the measures which will be discussed at the upcoming conference for NGO's. Over seven million rifles are produced each year and many of them are sent to Latin American countries.

This article talks about several groups that work to improve the rights of indigenous women in southern Mexico. Their efforts include informing women of their legal rights, giving them job training and help finding a job, and providing them with shelter if they want to leave their homes because of domestic violence.

This article focuses on how the idea of masculinity or "machismo" influences domestic violence. If a man does not fight back or show his strength then he is not considered a man in the Dominican Republic culture. This article also explores how difficult it is for women to get recognized in Latino culture due to its patriarchal society. Women have to work twice as hard to succeed than men do.

The election of Argentina's president sparked discussion on gender roles in Latin America. Gender issues and constraints have hurt Latin America economically. Although there has been an increase in women leaders, domestic violence and strict gender roles still exist.

This article discusses the struggle to change women's roles in Latin American countries. The main portion of discussion addressing equality for women exist in a mainly academic atmosphere and there is a need to spread to a media more targeted in toward the general population. As long as the stereotypes of men and women remained unaddressed violence toward women and their expectations as only domestic beings will endure.

This article is interesting because it discusses several different factors relating to Venezuela. Venezuela is known to have one of the highest murder rates in the world and gang violence is often one of the leading causes of the continuous mortalities which occur. Although police are investigating the crime, many people assume that violence within the country will unfortunately only continue over time...

This article was written in response to the violence/crime related actions that are happening because of the increased amount of drug and substance abuse in Latin America. The article states that in January (when the article was written), the presidents of Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama were to meet in Panama to discuss what should be done and what measure should be taken to help. One major problem brought up by the article is that the instability that is happening particularly in Mexico could be a danger to the US because of the shared border.

I thought this website would be helpful in better understanding Venezuela through current events. There are many sub-topics within the website that make specific searches easier, including those related to crime, culture, religion, and violence, all of which are new subjects of interest while reading Milde's book, Reasons to Believe.

At this years UN meeting in New York the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez Frias, explains the rise in violence against the Honduran people. this violence has grown because of the return of the de facto regime and the return of president Manuel Zelaya.