Latin America
-
Forget the nanny state. Get ready for the conservative freak-out about the drug-dealing nanny state. Uruguay has been moving toward full-on legalization of marijuana recently. Not just legalization, but state-controlled distribution of the drug. According to a recent article by AFP, the bill is expected to become law within the next few weeks and will take effect…
-
Note: The following was adapted from an essay I wrote for a class on US-Latin American relations. The original text can be found here along with a bibliography (pdf). The roots of the current “drug war” can be found in the 1909 anti-opium conference held in Shanghai, which was marked by the first of many US efforts to…
-
I wrote this for a class on Brazil’s ongoing transition from “developing” to “developed” country. Some snippets: Residents of Brazil’s favelas (and other slum-like urban settlements, which will be distinguished below) exist in a strange limbo of legality. They often have no title to the lands they occupy, their living is often made in informal…
Mike LaSusa 