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Monday, August 31, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
LATIN AMERICA: The Divorce of Agriculture and Biodiversity
Latin America's vast biological diversity has contributed little to the region's commercial agriculture, despite being the birthplace of two of the world's four most widely consumed food crops: maize and potatoes.BRAZIL: Agribusiness Undermines Environmental Leadership Role
Brazil is a world leader in agriculture and on several environmental issues, but it will find it hard to reconcile both fronts, judging by the many battles lost by former environment minister Marina Silva, in spite of the political clout she wielded for over five years.
BRAZIL: Leading Agroscience Has Few Links to Small Farmers
Brazil has the most advanced agricultural science and technology system of the world's tropical countries, with an array of environmental and high-production solutions, but which rarely reach their intended target: the small farmer.POLITICS: 1968 and the Birth of Diversity
The year 1968 has become a symbol, but not necessarily one that is easy to sum up. High-profile violent events involving multitudes of people marked it as revolutionary, but it is hard to define the nature of that revolution. Endless enigmas and controversies still surround it.
Top-Rated Agro-Science Has Achilles Heel
Brazil achieved excellence in agricultural technology as the result of a state network of research centers that played a key role in the country's farming boom.BRAZIL: Sugarcane Alcohol Tarnished by U.S. Maize Ethanol
Recent efforts by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to clearly mark the difference between Brazilian ethanol and the agrofuels produced by the United States are an admission that signing an agreement with Washington to promote a global bioethanol market was a serious political mistake, say analysts.ENVIRONMENT-BRAZIL: Controversy Over Indigenous Land and Biofuels
The legal status of an indigenous territory in the far north of Brazil, and biofuels, are two hot potatoes at the Third National Conference on the Environment being held in the capital city, which is focusing on climate change.
PARAGUAY: Torture Victim Still Fears Colorado Party ‘Mafia’
The Colorado Party has become a "criminal mafia" during its 61 years in government in Paraguay, and it will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in spite of its defeat in last month’s elections, says Anuncio Martí, a Paraguayan citizen living in exile in Brazil.DEVELOPMENT-BRAZIL: Activists Opposed to Rebuilding Amazon Highways
Nearly four decades after they were first planned, three highways through the jungles and swamps of Brazil’s Amazon region are being rebuilt. Neglected in the past when they became economically obsolete, they are once again a focus of environmental criticism.
LATIN AMERICA: Eliminating Poverty at Low Cost
The success of pioneering efforts to reduce inequality and poverty using relatively few resources has led to an expansion in Latin America of direct aid, targeting the most vulnerable families, especially in rural areas.AGRICULTURE: What Is Really Causing ‘Agflation’?
The old laws of the marketplace are no longer working. Food prices have been rising for six years because of surging demand, and increased production is not restoring the balance as it used to in the past. In fact, prices have been going up even faster over the last year.
AGRICULTURE: Brazil Shares Technology with Africa
The people of Brazil have reason to believe that they are making a real contribution to reducing hunger and environmental threats in the world by developing agricultural technology that has begun to be shared with poorer countries.Eliminating Poverty at Low Cost
Monetary aid to the poorest of the poor, with certain conditions to be met, has born fruit in Latin America, and at relatively low cost to government.BRAZIL: The Body Beautiful – Women’s Ladder to Success
Brazilians, especially women, are among the global leaders in taking meticulous care of their bodies and exhibiting them to advantage. This is a significant factor in climbing social and economic ladders, establishing identities and competing successfully in markets, from employment to romance.BRAZIL: Northeast Trades Drought for Floods
The northeast of Brazil, known for its droughts and poverty, has been drenched by torrential rains since early March. Floods have left over 400,000 people homeless and 33 dead, but the abnormal conditions are not due to global warming, according to meteorologists.
BRAZIL: Amazon Ghost Highway to Be Brought Back to Life
BR-319, a road blazed 35 years ago through the heart of the Amazon jungle and now impassable due to neglect, has sparked a new battle between environmentalists and the Brazilian authorities, who have decided to rebuild it.
BRAZIL: Clean Gasoline Fuels Soybean Production
The Brazilian government has decided to move up the deadlines for obligatory addition of biofuels to gasoline and diesel fuel, a measure that will boost the production of soybeans, the oilseed crop with the lowest yield and that causes the most environmental damage.
Amazon Ghost Highway Revived
The decision of the Brazilian government to rebuild a highway nearly 900 kilometers long in the middle of the Amazon jungle has reopened a heated environmental debate.BRAZIL-SPAIN: This Country Reserves the Right of Admission
Increasing numbers of Brazilians are being refused entry at Spanish airports, sometimes in humiliating fashion, as the influx of Brazilian immigrants to Europe grows, and the deportations are causing diplomatic friction between the two countries.BRAZIL: Growing Foreign Appetite for Land
It is a question of "national sovereignty, not xenophobia," said the president of Brazil’s land reform agency, INCRA, explaining the need to regulate foreign land ownership in Brazil.
BRAZIL: Developing "Clean" Petrochemical Products
Glycerine, a by-product of biodiesel, is currently an environmental and economic problem for companies involved in the production of plant-based fuel in Brazil and other parts of the world. It can't be dumped, because it would harm the environment, and storing it racks up additional costs.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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