Tag: Latin America

Luis Gerónimo de Oré: The World of an Andean Franciscan from the Frontiers to the Centers of Power (Review)

In 1586, a 32-year-old Franciscan friar named Luis Gerónimo de Oré began his first job in an Indigenous parish in the Colca Valley in the Peruvian Andes as an “outsider and perhaps more alone among the ‘others’ than he had been at any time in his life” (p. 91). When he left the valley nine years later, he carried with him a set of religious manuals, dictionaries, and grammars that he had written and translated into Quechua and Aymara, that would reshape the Catholic Church’s missionary efforts in the Americas.… Read More Luis Gerónimo de Oré: The World of an Andean Franciscan from the Frontiers to the Centers of Power (Review)

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Mastering the Law: Slavery and Freedom in the Legal Ecology of the Spanish Empire (Review)

In 1629, Catalina Angola and Domingo Angola, two African-born captives enslaved near what is today the northern Colombian city of Cartagena, learned that Catalina’s enslaver was moving her to the city. Fearing their separation, the couple petitioned their parish priest for marriage, hoping the Catholic Church’s respect for the sacrament of matrimony would help them resist the move. Catlina’s enslaver, however, quickly uncovered the stratagem and did everything he could to prevent their union. While unable to intervene legally, he beat Catalina violently and shipped her downriver to separate the two. By the end of the next year, however, it was the enslaver who found himself excommunicated, publicly shamed, and forced to pay hefty fees and fines for his actions. In a society generally viewed as hostile to enslaved Africans, why did Catalina and Domingo win, and what does this tell us about slavery as an institution in the early colonial period?… Read More Mastering the Law: Slavery and Freedom in the Legal Ecology of the Spanish Empire (Review)

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Assassination Days Before Presidential Vote Shakes Ecuador – and Region

For years, Ecuador has been labeled a bastion of peace in a region racked by violence and political unrest. But the recent assassination of anti-corruption presidential hopeful Fernando Villavicencio shattered that perception, highlighting how the small South American nation is facing down a rapidly expanding war on organized crime amid political divisions and limited economic resources.… Read More Assassination Days Before Presidential Vote Shakes Ecuador – and Region

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Ecuador President Dissolves Congress as Impeachment Investigation Expands

Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the Andean nation’s congressional assembly and called for new elections, citing “grave political crisis and internal commotion.” Lasso, a 67-year-old former banker who took office in May 2021, used a constitutional provision known as “muerte cruzada,” to end a congressional impeachment inquiry into corruption and embezzlement allegations. … Read More Ecuador President Dissolves Congress as Impeachment Investigation Expands

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Correa, China y la Asamblea, Afectados por el Informe de la Deuda

El informe borrador –el cual aún no es concluyente– de la Contraloría sobre la deuda pública, presentado el 14 de marzo pasado, es un triunfo estratégico para el presidente Lenín Moreno. No solo permite responsabilizar al expresidente Rafael Correa del despilfarro fiscal, sino que Moreno también puede hacer corresponsable a la Asamblea Nacional de futuros… Read More Correa, China y la Asamblea, Afectados por el Informe de la Deuda

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Ecuador Habló: La Minería es Peor que Correa

El referéndum del 4 de febrero fue significativo. En su nivel más obvio, le dio al presidente Lenín Moreno una sólida victoria política y al expresidente Rafael Correa una derrota asombrosa. Pero más allá de las reacciones en Quito, los votantes en las zonas mineras de la Sierra y el Oriente enviaron un mensaje inequívoco:… Read More Ecuador Habló: La Minería es Peor que Correa

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Lenín Moreno Wins Ecuador Election with Correa Support

Lenín Boltaire Moreno Garcés, a popular former vice-president, won Ecuador’s presidential elections with 51 percent of the vote, defeating Guillermo Lasso, an executive of the nation’s second-largest bank. Outgoing President Rafael Correa, in power since 2007, supported Moreno in an election campaign marred by irregularities.… Read More Lenín Moreno Wins Ecuador Election with Correa Support

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Bailout Risk Grows for Ecuador After Worst Earthquake in Decades

By Nathan Gill April 19, 2016 (Bloomberg) — Before a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador on Saturday, the South American nation’s finances were already in tatters as the government struggled to meet payments to municipal authorities, oil companies and even cancer hospitals. Cut off from global bond markets, President Rafael Correa must now find enough money to… Read More Bailout Risk Grows for Ecuador After Worst Earthquake in Decades

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