Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies, Fall 2017

Night sky with cacti
A photo of Harley Shaiken. (Photo by Jim Block.)

COMMENT: Fall 2017

By Harley Shaiken | Commenting on the Fall 2017 issue of the Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies.

A photo of U.S.–Mexico Futures Forum participants in the field: a visit to Jerez, Zacatecas, Mexico, in 2011.  From center to right: Harley Shaiken, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, and Gil Cedillo. (Photo by Dionicia Ramos.)

U.S.–MEXICO FUTURE FORUM: 15 Years of Engagement

By Harley Shaiken | Looking at the 15-year history of the U.S.–Mexico Futures Forum.

A photo of Ram Ramanathan and Soffía Alarcón-Díaz confer before the start of the panel on climate change at the 2017 U.S.–Mexico Futures Forum. (Photo by Perla Nation.)

U.S.–MEXICO FUTURE FORUM: Collaborating for Our Common Future

By James Gerardo Lamb An overview of issues facing both Mexico and the United States, including inequality, globalization, and political instability.

A damaged coastal amusement park seen from an aerial tour of Hurricane Sandy damage to New Jersey’s barrier beaches, November 2012. (Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert.)

U.S.–MEXICO FUTURES FORUM: Climate Change: Existential Threats in a Time of Denial

By James Gerardo Lamb Ram Ramanathan and Soffía Alarcón-Díaz lead a conversation on the moral obligation to combat the threats climate change poses to both Mexico and the United States.

A woman holds a photo of her husband, one of “Los Otros de Iguala,” the other disappeared whose cases have gained new attention. (Photo by Dario Lopez-Mills/AP Photo.)

U.S.–MEXICO FUTURES FORUM: Macro Trends: Security, Violence, and Migration

By James Gerardo Lamb | Highlights of a conversation on crises of violence and human rights, including forced northern migration from Central America and the disappearance of 43 students in Ayotzinapa.

A Chinese container ship in San Francisco Bay: NAFTA negotiators failed to take into account the explosive growth of China’s economy. (Photo by Thomas Hawk.)

U.S.–MEXICO FUTURES FORUM: On the Table: NAFTA, Wages, and Development

By James Gerardo Lamb | The panel engages in discussion and examination of the effectiveness of NAFTA, inequality and wages.

A young girl hauls away family possessions though deep mud after a flood in Honduras. (Photo by Globovision.)

U.S.–MEXICO FUTURES FORUM: Fleeing the Storms

By Stephanie Leutert | An explanation of the link between climate change and the northward migration of certain Central American populations.

A woman watches neighbors loading possessions on a truck as they flee their homes following gang threats in Tunamiles, El Salvador. (Photo by Salvador Melendez/AP Photo.)

MIGRATION: Stitching Together a New Life

By Lauren Markham |An investigation into the violence driving the current Central American migration crisis through personal narratives, cultural memory, and data.

A Latin American military-style boys’ band poses with their instruments, 1903. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons.)

CENTRAL AMERICA: From Positivism to YouTube: Music and Nationalism

By Leonel AlvaradoExamining the relationship between the evolution of Central American national anthems and the imposition of changing nationalistic values.

This man worked at the Ingenio San Antonio sugarcane refinery in Chichigalpa and now suffers from late-stage chronic kidney disease. (Photo by Carlos Martinez.)

RESEARCH: Silent Massacre: The Politics of Chronic Kidney Disease

By Carlos Martinez | Tinker Research Grant recipient presents his findings on the reasons behind the staggering prevalence of chronic kidney disease in Cetnral America.

A charcoal drawn portrait of Octavio Paz. (Portrait by Arturo Espinosa.)

LITERATURE: Octavio Paz, Media, and Mexican Politics

By Priscela DorellaQuestioning the controversy behind the political affiliations of Mexican author Octavio Paz, as well as his motives for establishing himself as a public political persona.