Pumped Storage Hydropower is an Option for Latin America

Having hydroelectric power without damming rivers, dismantling the environment or displacing populations is possible in Latin America and the Caribbean, with reversible power plants that take advantage of their mountainous geography, and pave the way for only renewable sources to generate electricity.

Mexico’s Judicial Elections: A Democratic Mirage

On 1 June, Mexico made history by becoming the only country in the world to elect all its judges by popular vote, from local magistrates to Supreme Court justices. This unprecedented process saw Mexican voters choose candidates for 881 federal judicial positions, including all nine Supreme Court justices, plus thousands at local levels across 19 states. Yet what the government heralded as a transformation that made Mexico the ‘the most democratic country in the world’ may turn out to be a dangerous deception.

Brazil’s Most Sustainable Capital Puts Value on its Waste

Living with her neighbours, getting to know them and chatting with them is what Lucila Neves enjoys most in the community orchard of Portal de Ribeirão, a neighbourhood in the south of Florianopolis, considered the most sustainable of Brazil's 27 state capitals.

‘In the Face of Funding Cuts, Civil Society Has Taken a Leading Role in the Humanitarian Response’

 
CIVICUS discusses the closure of offices of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Mexico with members of Integral Human Rights In Action (DHIA), a Mexican civil society organisation (CSO) that promotes and defends human rights in contexts of mobility.

El Salvador: Bukele’s Authoritarianism Goes Global

At a White House meeting, presidents Nayib Bukele and Donald Trump exchanged praises and joked about mass incarceration while discussing an unprecedented agreement: the USA would pay El Salvador US$6 million a year to house deportees – of any nationality, potentially including US citizens – in its Centre for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT), a notorious mega-prison. This agreement marked the evolution of Bukele’s authoritarian model from a domestic experiment to an exportable commodity for strongmen worldwide.

Make Use of all Urban Waste, a Utopia in Brazil?

In 2014, Santa Catarina became the first and only state free of open-air garbage dumps in Brazil. Now, 14 of its municipalities are seeking to also free themselves from landfills and make use of nearly all urban solid waste.

‘Truth and Justice Have No Statute of Limitations; The State Must Assume Its Responsibility’

 
CIVICUS discusses struggles for historical justice with Graciela Montes de Oca, a member of Mothers and Relatives of Detained and Disappeared Uruguayans, a Uruguayan civil society organisation that seeks truth, justice and prevention of future crimes like those committed under dictatorship.

‘The Regime Seeks to Consolidate Absolute Control by Eliminating All External Oversight’

 
CIVICUS discusses Nicaragua’s withdrawal from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other international organisations with Wisthon Noguera, an activist, student and deputy coordinator of the National Youth Platform of Nicaragua.

Solar Energy Brings Water to Iconic Salvadoran Village of El Mozote

The worst massacre of civilians in Latin America occurred in the Salvadoran village of El Mozote, where environmental projects are beginning to emerge, slowly fostering awareness about protecting the natural resources of this deeply symbolic site, embedded in the country's historical memory.

Abundance of Renewable Energy Attracts Major Data Centers to Brazil

Brazil hopes to soon reap benefits of its largely renewable energy matrix. Data centers, whose demand is growing with the strides made by artificial intelligence, are the new frontier for these still-uncertain investments.[pullquote]3[/pullquote]

Funding Shortfalls Threaten Haiti’s Future

The humanitarian situation in Haiti has deteriorated significantly in the recent weeks as rates of violence, hunger, and displacement soar amid a severe lack of funding. As armed gangs continue to seize more territory in the capital, Port-Au-Prince, as well as in areas in the Artibonite and Centre Department, humanitarian organizations have found themselves unable to keep up with the growing scale of needs.

Can Money Change the World?

While headlines often focus on crises, inequality, or instability, they rarely highlight one of the most powerful tools for transformation: development finance. Can money change the world? Yes—if mobilized with strategic vision, sustainability, and equity.

Energy Storage Has Yet to Take Off in Mexico

Researcher Edilso Reguera and his team began studying electric battery manufacturing in 2016, but in 2023, they ramped up efforts to develop a lithium-based prototype for motorcycles.

Using AI as an Ally: What the latest UNDP Human Development Report Means for Latin America, Caribbean

The United Nations Development Programme’s 2025 Human Development Report (HDR) says crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic have contributed to ‘the flatlining of decades of progress in the Human Development Index,’ with Latin America and the Caribbean facing unique challenges and opportunities.

Former Energy Ministers from Saint Lucia and Uruguay Named REN21 Renewable Energy Champions

The Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), a global network that advances renewable energy through collaboration and knowledge sharing, has named Dr James Fletcher of Saint Lucia and Dr Ramón Méndez Galain of Uruguay as its first Renewable Energy Champions.

Armed Gangs Expand Their Control in the Centre Department of Haiti

Following a series of brutal altercations in the communes of Mirebalais and Saut d’Eau in Haiti back in late March, local gangs have taken over both communes, spurring heightened displacement and insecurity. This is indicative of the continuing deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Haiti as these armed gangs expand their control beyond Port-au-Prince.

Lawyer-Turned-Activist Bhuwan Ribhu Honored for Leading a Campaign to End Child Marriage

Bhuwan Ribhu didn’t plan to become a child rights activist. But when he saw how many children in India were being trafficked, abused, and forced into marriage, he knew he couldn’t stay silent.

To Save Our Planet, We Must Protect Its Defenders

The most powerful court in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, is preparing to clarify the obligations of States in relation to climate change. In its upcoming Advisory Opinion, the Court must articulate ambitious standards for respecting and protecting the human rights of environmental defenders in the context of the climate crisis.

Mexico Bans GM Corn Cultivation in Constitutional Reform: Action Follows Trade Ruling That Ignored Evidence of Genetic Contamination

On March 17, Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum signed into law a constitutional reform banning the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) corn. The action followed a December ruling by a trade tribunal, under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement, in favor of a U.S. complaint that Mexico's 2023 presidential decree, with broader restrictions on the consumption of GM corn, constituted an unfair trade practice by prohibiting the use of GM corn in tortillas.

The Disappeared: Mexico’s Industrial-Scale Human Rights Crisis

They found shoes, hundreds of them, scattered across the dirt floor of an extermination camp in Jalisco state. These abandoned shoes, once belonging to someone’s child, parent or spouse, stand as silent witnesses to Mexico’s deepest national trauma. Alongside charred human remains and makeshift crematoria meant to erase all evidence of humanity, they tell the story of a crisis that has reached industrial-scale proportions.

Venezuela’s Oil trapped in Hurricane Trump’s Onslaught

Reduced to a marginal oil producer over the past decade, Venezuela has suffered another blow as United States president Donald Trump ordered punitive measures to blockade and further restrict the country’s oil exports.