Indigenous men and women wearing masks at the wake of Cacique Messias Martins

Spotlight

Perspectives in Times of Change

Photo by Lisette Morales McCabe

“Perspectives in Times of Change” reflects on social, economic, cultural and political transformations in these times of change in Latin America, the Caribbean and Latinx communities in the United States. The Spotlight is an outgrowth of the former Spotlight, Perspectives in the Era of Covid, which ran throughout the pandemic.

 If you would be interested in contributing articles or photographs, please contact June Carolyn Erlick, jerlick@fas.harvard.edu.

Articles

The Dress Reimagined

The Dress Reimagined

Every morning, you decide what clothes to wear. Whether plain or elaborate, your choice of apparel reflects a quiet act of self-definition. Through her exhibit, Addressing the Dress, Mexican artist Angeles Salinas reclaims the dress as a site of transformation, threading together themes of personal struggle, cultural inheritance and feminine agency to assert control over her evolving identity.

Narrating the Future: A Call for Reflection and Humanity

Narrating the Future: A Call for Reflection and Humanity

As I prepared my speech for the graduation ceremony —my first as President of INCAE, an institution that, from Latin America, has cultivated leadership with purpose in more than 20,000 graduates over six decades—I found myself reflecting in silence on a few uncomfortable questions: Do we truly lead for the longstanding future or merely for today— perhaps for tomorrow at best?

Inside Peru’s Lurigancho Prison

Inside Peru’s Lurigancho Prison

Lurigancho Prison in Lima, Peru, is the largest and most overcrowded prison in the country. With a prison overpopulation and overcrowding of 9,735 inmates (August 2024 Statistical Report from the National Penitentiary Institute, INPE), despite having an actual capacity for only 3,204, and with a ratio of more than 100 inmates per security officer (compared to six inmates per officer in the United States, it stands as a grim giant.

Remembering Pope Francis

Remembering Pope Francis

  The world has lost one of the most charismatic pontiffs of the last century with the passing of Pope Francis, the first Latin American prelate of the church’s 1.3 billion Catholics. Francis was a reformer who made himself available to the faithful, and traveled to 66 countries, including eleven in Latin America.

“Roots, Bloody Roots”: Family Clans and the Evolution of Narco-Violence

“Roots, Bloody Roots”: Family Clans and the Evolution of Narco-Violence

In May 2024, Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich wrote on X, “We are going to lock them all up” after criminals in Rosario threatened to kill her. She issued the statement in response to random attacks by criminal organizations causing the deaths of civilians in the Argentine city of Rosario where two taxi drivers, a gas station employee and a bus driver with no apparent ties to organized crime had been murdered by hitmen.

Latin America: Where the Streets Have No Law?  Ride-hailing, 10 years later…

Latin America: Where the Streets Have No Law? Ride-hailing, 10 years later…

Imagine a typical morning in Latin America: in Mexico City, people gathered on bustling sidewalks, checking their smartphones as they look for the closer Uber; in Buenos Aires, traditional taxis and modern ride-hailing apps like inDrive coexist amid the city’s vibrant energy; in Bogotá, the familiar rumble of the TransMilenio adds to the urban symphony as passengers shift between public transit, Cabifys and DiDi Taxis.

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