World | Americas
- First LookPeru’s former president accepted $35 million in bribes. Now he will serve 20 years.
Peru’s national court sentenced former President Alejandro Toledo to more than 20 years for accepting $35 million in bribes from a Brazilian construction company. He will spend it at a prison outside Lima built specifically for former Peruvian presidents.
- First LookExtended power outage sparked protests in Cuba. Then Hurricane Oscar made landfall.
“We haven’t had electricity for three nights,” said one Cuban protestor, amid widespread blackouts. Authorities said the outage stemmed from increased demand but residents say this is just the latest issue in a series of problems with electricity.
- Canada-India relations are at a new low. Why China could be the winner.
The breakdown in India-Canada ties could force western allies into a difficult balancing act in Asia.
- First Look‘India has made a monumental mistake’: Canada expels India’s diplomats in growing rift
Canada expelled India’s top diplomat and five others over the assassination of a Sikh activist as the latest salvo in an escalating conflict since the 2023 crime. India adamantly denies it was involved, and said it will expel six Canadian diplomats.
- Reframing a dictatorship: Argentine human rights museum under fire
In Argentina, decades of well-documented crimes and court hearings are being questioned by the nation’s new populist, libertarian leadership.
- Brazil has struggled to elect women to political office. Upcoming elections could change that.
Many Latin American countries have reached gender parity in politics, but Brazil still lags far behind.
- First LookClaudia Sheinbaum takes the presidential oath in Mexico. Now the hard work begins.
Claudia Sheinbaum will become the first female president of Mexico when she takes her oath of office on Oct. 1. She promises to continue the social policies and constitutional reforms of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, but faces many crises.
- First LookWhy are three of Brazil’s mega dams in the Amazon on the brink of failure?
Brazil’s mega dams rank among the most powerful in the world, but droughts driven by climate change have decreased the dams’ output to as low as 3% of their potential. Hydropower accounts for around half the energy Brazilians use.
- Ten years after 43 students disappeared, Mexican parents still seek the truth
Protests usually express opposition. But in Mexico, where parents of disappeared students have marched for 10 years, grief is stronger than dissent.
- First LookMexico’s beloved Obrador prepares to say goodbye. What is his presidential legacy?
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who leaves office Sept. 30, is admired for his social programs and breaking down barriers between government and voters. However, he also attacked media, granted military more power, and eliminated regulatory agencies.
- Once ‘extinct’ in Canada, the Sinixt people are reclaiming their ancestral home
When a country recognizes the rights of peoples to use their ancestral territory but they live in a different country, it raises tricky questions around access and sovereignty. That’s just what’s happening in Canada with the Sinixt Confederacy.
- Latin America’s populist prototype: Peru’s Fujimori leaves divisive legacy
Former President Alberto Fujimori had been out of office for more than two decades when he died. But his legacy still divides Peru today.
- Tango for all? How Argentine artists are upending stereotypes.
Tango may conjure up images of tight suits and stiletto heels, but an alternative approach to Argentina’s national cultural icon could change that.
- First LookWith protestors at the door, Mexico’s Senate says judges must stand for election
Mexico’s Senate voted on Sept. 10 to have all judges elected by popular vote, a change critics fear will threaten democracy. Hundreds of protestors pushed their way into the chamber, yelling, “The judiciary isn’t going to fall.”
- CommentaryNew editor at The Christian Science Monitor
- Election week could be just as long, and fraught, as in 2020
- In Gaza or Ukraine, peace can look impossible. Here, there’s hope.
- With Senate hopes dwindling, Democrats look, once again, to Texas
- On immigration, Harris and Trump talk tough – with critical differences