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This week, I found the story of the "Madres" to be quite riveting, and is a further example of the consistent theme of the marginalized going up against their oppressors, a narrative consistent in the course. The personal, in this circumstance, is indeed political. The most interesting component of their story is the ideas within the madres expanding their agenda. I find it quite interesting that once members of las madres expanded their rights claims, some would, as the text mentions, balk at the idea of it. It becomes a Ship of Thesus type of situation I suppose, where if the conceptions and ideas of a group begin to morph and shape as time goes by, is this group still the same group? It's a tough situation to figure out. I'd like to think that a group is able to uncover what the core values of the group are and are able to explore it from there. I suppose an organization typically applies themselves to a core ethos, and that core ethos must be informed of many of the organization's actions and decisions. In the case of las madres, I think that though the group applies itself to feminist and feminine rights in Argentina, the core foundation of the group is reliant upon mothers who care for their children. Whilst some members would love to expand their agenda, is it the obligation of other members to carry their notions with them? I'm not too sure what the answer is for that.  read full post >>

This week, I found the story of the "Madres" to be quite riveting, and is a further example of the consistent theme of the marginalized going up against their oppressors, a narrative consistent in the course. The personal, in this circumstance, is inde... read full post >>

  Week 12: This week we saw how Latin American countries continued to be failed societies. The drug phenomenon in Latin America is interesting because of the realism it embodies, it does not matter if it is the state or a guerrilla, the drug market corrupted everyone. On the other side, this week we read […] read full post >>

  Week 12: This week we saw how Latin American countries continued to be failed societies. The drug phenomenon in Latin America is interesting because of the realism it embodies, it does not matter if it is the state or a guerrilla, the drug market corrupted everyone. On the other side, this week we read […] read full post >>

This week one of the things that I would like to talk about is the Argentine regime of the 1970s and 1980s, where there were widespread protests due to the disappearance of various individuals as a result of their perceived dissidence against the state’s authoritarian government.  What intrigued me about this was the prominent involvement […] read full post >>

As the course draws to a close, it has become evident that the Latin American reality, despite a lot of beauty, is one that has consistently been categorized by violence, repression and inequality. The last few weeks have felt particularly depressing, probably because we are looking at the not so distant past. Yet, although this […] read full post >>

What I found very interesting this week is how profit in the drug wars is so reliant on the criminalization of the drug trade. The resistance of the state actually benefits the cartels, as it makes the prices soar. As more restriction is placed on drugs, the higher the demand is, thus the cartels make […] read full post >>

I was already at attention when Dawson mentioned in the beginning of the text of how Latin American ideas of justice were more hypothetical than realistic. Living in a first-world country with a strong and legitimate legal system (obviously not totally perfect), we often forget that these bodies of governmental structure can be used in … Continue reading Week 12: Truth to Power read full post >>

I find it difficult to imagine a world where “surveillance and torture” equals “peace and security”, but sadly, even more than sadly, this was the reality for many people in certain Latin American countries. As the reading highlights, there were many, many accounts of the government killing, kidnapping, and torturing their own citizens. In the … Continue reading "Week Twelve" read full post >>

I always love a week that talks about the role media plays. I know how important media is, but I don't think about it so consciously until I get to these readings. I interact with media so frequently that it's just a part of my daily life to check the ... read full post >>