Voces: Central America & the Caribbean


An Unprecedented Migration Crisis: Characterizing and Analyzing its Depth

Manuel Orozco, Patrick Springer ˙ ˙ Voces

Photo of migrants in Panama Servicio Nacional de Migración de Panamá / Twitter
This piece offers a look at the current migration trends and points to large differences that characterize this situation as a crisis: the scale, composition, nature, and management of migration is outside conventional or historical patterns. Aspects of this unprecedented migration pattern are not within the control of government authorities and policy makers. The recent migration wave to the US border has been referred to as a crisis. Media references point to the drama of people arriving and passing through the Darien, Central America, and Mexico to characterize the problem. Others have pointed out the increasing arrivals into US cities in numbers that are hard to manage by local communities.Read more +

In Guatemala, a Presidential Transition or a “Slow-Motion Coup”?

Francisco Villagrán de León ˙ ˙ Voces

Photo of Guatemala Javier Gallego / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED
When Bernardo Arévalo won a landslide victory in Guatemala’s runoff presidential election on Aug. 20, it was the first time in memory that people took to the streets to celebrate an election result. Against all early expectations, the 64-year-old sociologist, former diplomat and son of the country’s historically most revered…Read more +

Fighting for Reproductive Justice in El Salvador

Laura Shaw ˙ ˙ Voces

Photo of People holding a banner and signs Colectiva Feminista
In 1967 the United Nations and its member states officially recognized women’s rights as international human rights. Despite this historic declaration many of those rights, specifically reproductive rights, are threatened today. As a region, Latin America has some of the world’s most restrictive anti-abortion laws. El Salvador, in particular, has…Read more +

The Biden Administration has pledged significant aid to Central America. But where should it go and how should it get there?

Rachel Schwartz ˙ ˙ Voces

Floods El Salvador GWP / Flickr / CC BY-NC 2.0
Given its commitment to reviving multilateralism and bringing together diverse stakeholders, the Biden administration is well-positioned to use these instruments to implement its more holistic regional agenda. After decades of privileging police and military assistance and waiting for government uptake of institutional strengthening efforts, it is time to look beyond Central American states and reinvest in civil society-based anti-corruption coalitions that can be the engines of political and economic change.Read more +

The Toxic Intersection of Violence Against Women in the Northern Triangle and the Trump Administration’s Anti-Immigration Policies

Tamar Ziff ˙ ˙ Voces

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol / Flickr / Public Domain
 “There is a broad underestimation [by US immigration court judges] of how dangerous the situation on the ground is in Central America. Most people… live in a constant culture of violence. For example, most of my teenage clients have witnessed someone being murdered on the streets, and this is the…Read more +

High Rates of Violence Against Women in Latin America Despite Femicide Legislation: Possible Steps Forward

Leonie Rauls, Tamar Ziff ˙ ˙ Voces

Sergio / Flickr / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
In Latin America, violence against women and girls is pervasive and practiced with relative impunity. According to a November 2017 United Nations Development Program Report, Latin America has the highest rate in the world of gender-based sexual violence against women, and in Central America two of every three women killed…Read more +

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