News of inequality

'Albañilas' – the female builders in Argentina breaking down barriers

07-07-2021 13:35 An increasing number of women construction groups are operating in Argentina, debunking the myth that building is a man's job.

NEW CONSTITUTION

Work starts on Chile's first post-dictatorship constitution

04-07-2021 21:10 New 155-member body charged with writing a new constitution installed in Chile, but swearing-in ceremony overshadowed by protests.

BLOOMBERG

Peak meat? High prices and plant-based trends threaten demand

01-07-2021 08:32 Demand for meat is waning across the globe in what could signal the start of a new broad shift away from animal protein.

HUMAN RIGHTS

UN warns of worst 'cascade of human rights setbacks in our lifetimes'

21-06-2021 11:16 UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet decries worst global deterioration of rights seen in decades, highlighting situations in China, Russia and Ethiopia, among others.

Economy

World Bank forecasts 'modest recovery' for Latin America and Caribbean

09-06-2021 14:51 Latin America and the Caribbean will have "modest economic recoveries" in 2021, the World Bank has warned. Argentina's economy forecast to rebound 6.4% this year.

Peruvian run-off

Inequality fuels rural teacher’s unlikely bid to upend Peru

03-06-2021 10:22 Pedro Castillo’s rise is a consequence of the political upheaval sweeping Latin America, as it’s battered by Covid-19 and an economic crisis that has exposed and exacerbated long-standing inequalities.

Global pandemic

Six Latin American, Caribbean heads call for equitable vaccine access

25-05-2021 09:44 Six presidents of Latin American and Caribbean countries call on the international community for equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines, asking those countries with the most doses to share them.

KEY VOTE IN CHILE

Chileans opt for 'outsiders' to draft post-Pinochet constitution

17-05-2021 10:04 Chile votes for members of a new 155-member body to draft new constitution. President Sebastián Piñera says outcome of election shows his government and political parties are not "attuned to the demands and aspirations of citizens."

TAXING THE RICH

Joe Biden puts taxing the rich back in the spotlight

29-04-2021 00:35 US president unveils plan to nearly double the capital gains tax to 39.6% for US households making over $1 million, in his first speech to Congress.

GLOBAL PANDEMIC

Wealthy nations up Covax funding amid ‘vaccine hoarding’ claims

20-02-2021 05:54 G7 commits 7.5 billion euros to Covax scheme, just two days after UN warned of global vaccine equities.

Poverty and taxation

Wealth tax: inequality solution for Latin America?

19-02-2021 12:52 The income chasm between the rich and poor in Latin America has led to efforts to tax the wealthy – though the reception has been uneven across various countries.

Global pandemic

UN urges global Covid vaccine plan, warns of dangerous inequity

17-02-2021 13:42 Secretary-General António Guterres sounds alarm that just 10 nations have administered 75% of Covid-19 vaccine doses so far – and 130 countries have had none at all.

PRAISE AT DAVOS

Oxfam hails Argentina’s ‘wealth tax’ as law takes effect

30-01-2021 08:21 Charity calls on other nation states to raise taxes on their richest citizens, citing government’s new law as an example.

UNITED STATES

Biden facing 'competing crises' as he takes office

18-01-2021 23:57 Joe Biden has his work cut out for him as he prepares to be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday.

RACE, FASHION & CULTURE

Black models increasingly visible on Brazil's catwalks

24-11-2020 08:36 Afro-Brazilian models Shirley Pitta and Gloria Maria Fonseca Siqueira had dreamed of the runway since they were girls, but in a Brazilian fashion world much whiter than the country itself, it remained a far-away fantasy until recently. In a sign of changing times in Brazil and elsewhere, the pair saw their dreams come true at this year's São Paulo Fashion Week.

HUNT FOR VACCINE

Poorer nations face vaccine wait as West locks down supply

13-11-2020 14:17 While richer nations plan their vaccination programmes through the end of 2021, experts warn that poorer and developing countries face hurdles that could deny billions the first proven protection against the coronavirus.

La Garganta Poderosa

‘We must fight to correct inequality,’ says Messi in rare political interview

16-10-2020 00:46 Argentine footballing superstar criticises prevailing global social inequalities, as he delivers rare political comment in special interview marking 100th edition of La Garganta Poderosa.

US 2020 Election

US vice-presidential debate takeaways: pandemic looms over a more civil fight

08-10-2020 13:13 US Vice-President Mike Pence and Democratic vice presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris faced off on Wednesday in the only vice presidential debate of the US 2020 Presidential Election.

US Racial Unrest

Dismay over Breonna Taylor spills into America's streets

24-09-2020 14:22 No officers were charged for the killing of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was shot in her home in Louisville, Kentucky, causing another wave of protests in the United States over racial injustice.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Virginia García Beaudoux: ‘Feminism makes diversity visible’

19-09-2020 08:59 Professor, advocate, author and communications specialist Virginia García Beaudoux has been studying sexism in politics since the late 1990s. In an interview with the Times, she discusses female leadership, diversity, prejudice and more.

by Anina Hoffman

Global Pandemic

Pandemic threatens to undo a decade of Latin American progress

21-08-2020 16:07 6.4 million people have contracted Covid-19 across Latin America, leaving many unemployed and food insecure.

US Election 2020

How Black women cleared a path for Harris to be the VP pick

19-08-2020 17:05 Kamala Harris' selection as the Democratic VP candidate is a historic event in the United States, as she will be the first Black woman and first Asian American woman named to a major party presidential ticket in the US.

COPING WITH THE PANDEMIC

Pandemic exacerbates challenges facing Argentina’s disabled community

08-08-2020 08:54 For those living with disabilities, the virus crisis has posed a unique threat to their ability to access basic healthcare, education and to their own individual autonomy.

by Jennifer Heiman

MERCOSUR’S VIRTUAL SUMMIT

Mercosur vows unity in face of pandemic, as Macron cools on trade deal

04-07-2020 07:49 President Alberto Fernández calls for unity in face of the coronavirus pandemic during virtual summit, as reports in France suggest Emmanuel Macron has gone cold on Mercosur-EU trade deal.

Killing of George Floyd

Hundreds line up for George Floyd's memorial in Houston

08-06-2020 15:00 A public viewing was held Monday in Houston for George Floyd, the man who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, following two weeks of protests worldwide.

PROTEST IN BUENOS AIRES

Demonstrators march on US Chamber of Commerce over death of George Floyd

06-06-2020 09:40 The rally, called by the left-wing Frente de Izquierda Unidad, was in support of the “popular uprising” being witnessed in the United States, organisers said.

Crisis in Venezuela

Over a dozen nations move to isolate Maduro's government

04-12-2019 11:02 The 1947 Rio Treaty signatories vowed to cooperate in pursuing economic sanctions and travel restrictions for Maduro government associates accused of corruption, drug-trafficking, money-laundering or human rights violations.

POVERTY AND INEQUALITY

Latin America’s poverty trap

30-11-2019 08:44 The real problem is that poverty is on the rise once again, and it’s not just the fault of President Mauricio Macri’s disastrous management of the economy.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

CHILE PROTESTS

Piñera apologies to Chile, unveils raft of social measures

23-10-2019 07:17 "I recognise this lack of vision and I apologise to my compatriots," Pinera said in an address from the presidential palace in Santiago as he tries to halt violent protests over economic inequality which have swept the country and claimed 15 lives.

DEMONSTRATIONS IN CHILE

Piñera seeks end to Chile's crisis after 15 die in violent clashes

22-10-2019 12:55 Chile president to meet with other political parties in bid to end street violence; Presidential hopeful Alberto Fernández and Security Minister Patricia Bullrich weight in on crisis.