Stories written by Estrella Gutiérrez

Latin American Development Depends On Investing In Teenage Girls

Latin America’s teenage girls are a crucial force for change and for promoting sustainable development, if the region invests in their rights and the correction of unequal opportunities, according to Luiza Carvalho, the regional head of UN Women.

More Vehicles in Latin America – More Deaths

The family of Susana Suárez, a 35-year-old Venezuelan dentist, are still in shock over her death in a traffic accident in May. She and a friend were killed on their way back from the beach, and became just two more of the 130,000 victims who died on Latin America’s roads in 2013.

Bicycle Use Booming in Latin America

“I ride 43 km a day and I love it,” said Carlos Cantor in Bogotá, Colombia. “Five years ago I switched my car for a bike,” explained Tomás Fuenzalida from Santiago, Chile.

Ensuring Microcredit’s Primary Goal Is Changing Lives

Microfinance is essentially social, but its expansion and evolution towards diversified financial services for those who are excluded from the conventional system has compelled it to develop new codes and practices to reinforce the message that its goal is people - particularly the poor.

Women Forge a Space for Themselves in Latin American Labour Movement

Misogyny is the word on the lips of women trade unionists in Latin America when asked what they have had to fight against to win spaces in the leadership bodies of labour unions in the region.

New Patient Profile and Treatment for Chagas Disease

Chagas disease, the third most serious infectious disease in Latin America, is developing a “new face” and moving into urban areas, while a new treatment may offer hope for millions of sufferers.

The Brasilia Consensus, a Model for Latin America

Following the extreme neoliberalism of the Washington Consensus, which gave rise to a lost decade in social terms, Latin America is experimenting more successfully with a home-grown formula: the Brasilia Consensus, which combines the market economy and social inclusion.

Venezuela Votes…and Latin America Catches a Cold

Sunday’s elections in Venezuela will determine whether the era of President Hugo Chávez's Bolivarian revolution will continue or come to an end. The result will have an impact not only on this country but on the rest of Latin America.

Social Inclusion the Key to Venezuela’s Elections

Whoever wins Venezuela's presidential elections on Sunday Oct. 7 will do so as a result of the idea of social inclusion, which has become dominant in an electorate whose social and political features have changed radically in the last decade.

Self-Financing that Works for the Poor

"We were used to losing, so a group of us said to ourselves: let's lose something here," said Carmen Caravallo, describing the start of a "bankomunal", a self-managed microfinance fund based on investment, in her rural community in eastern Venezuela.

Q&A: Microcredit Bank “Incorporates Women in the Benefits of Development”

“Our raison d’etre is incorporating women in development, and especially in the benefits of development,” says Nora Castañeda, an economist who has headed the Banmujer bank in Venezuela since it was founded in 2001.

Aerial Tramway – a Means of Transport and Social Inclusion

"It changed our lives" is a sentiment frequently heard from commuters who use Metrocable, the aerial cable car system that connects one of the poor hillside neighbourhoods in the Venezuelan capital with the city’s public transport system.

Aura Canache, in front of one of her sheep enclosures on her small farm. Credit: Estrella Gutiérrez/IPS

Rural Women in Latin America Face Myriad Hurdles

"Sometimes I think of giving it all up,” Aura Canache, a small farmer in Venezuela, told IPS. “My neighbours get loans and aid, but I never have. The farm assistance plans are for men, although there are many women living off the countryside too.”

Q&A: “Gender Budgets Help You Think About People”

Gender responsive budgeting (GRB), a U.N. Women tool to curb inequality, "helps you think about people...and to use resources in a more effective manner," says Lorena Barba.

Helena Ibarra during a break from the kitchen.  Credit: Courtesy of Helena Ibarra

Q&A: “Women Have Yielded the Cooking Profession to Men”

"Women didn't want to be slaves any more, or work professionally at what they were trying to liberate themselves from," renowned Venezuelan chef Helena Ibarra told IPS, explaining why women have taken so long to compete in a workplace as symbolically feminine as the kitchen.

The Ethics of Social Networking for Journalists

The digital revolution is turning people into producers, as well as consumers, of media content. But this new reality has yet to be fully assimilated, and journalists face questions and uncertainties about their social role, their duties and also their rights.

María Lourdes Afiuni, handcuffed, under guard and on trial. Credit: Courtesy of Andrés Bello Catholic University Human Rights Centre

Imprisonment of Judge Reflects Poorly on Venezuelan Justice

"One day more, one day less," says María Lourdes Afiuni when she says hello or goodbye to her thousands of followers on Twitter. The Venezuelan judge has spent the last eight months in prison, because she decided that a defendant should be released on bail pending trial.

Tougher Exchange Rules Breed Unease in Venezuela

The Venezuelan government put a chokehold on the foreign exchange system by closing down the "parallel" currency market, which in a country so heavily dependent on imports may stifle an economy already plagued by recession, inflation and shortages of certain products.

Brazilian women protest Catholic Church's stance on abortion.  Credit: Courtesy of Fórum de Mulheres de Pernambuco

LATIN AMERICA: Abortion – Still Illegal, Still Killing, Despite Growing Awareness

Although most of the governments in Latin America today are described as progressive, abortion is only legal in one country, while in five countries it is banned under all circumstances, even when the mother's life is at risk.

Gladys Acosta, UNIFEM chief for Latin America and the Caribbean  Credit: Courtesy of UNIFEM

Q&A: “Politics Is the Key to All Doors to Equality” for Women in Latin America

"People have to imbibe with their mother’s milk the idea that women have an equal right to participate in politics," says Gladys Acosta, UNIFEM head for Latin America and the Caribbean, who underscores that politics is the key that opens all doors to equality.

VENEZUELA: Radical Cabinet Reshuffle to Give ‘Revolution’ New Boost

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez carried out his most sweeping cabinet reshuffle yet, with the declared intent of giving a new boost to his "socialist revolution" after his first electoral setback, in December’s referendum on constitutional reforms, and of leaving behind the radical image that contributed to that defeat.

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