Americas

Brazilian investors buy Miami real estate. Haitian earthquake survivors attend South Florida schools. It's clear what happens in Latin America and the Caribbean has a profound effect on South Florida.

WLRN’s coverage of the region is headed by Americas editor Tim Padgett, a 23-year veteran of TIME and Newsweek magazines.

He joins a team of reporters and editors at the Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald and NPR to cover a region whose cultural wealth, environmental complexity, vast agricultural output and massive oil reserves offer no shortage of important and fascinating stories to tell.

Carne Asada, Hold The Meat: Why Latinos Are Embracing Vegan-Mexican Cuisine

By editor • Jul 19, 2018

Tall, dreadlocked Josh Scheper knew he was out of place as he surveyed the scene at a Santa Ana, Calif., parking lot on a Sunday morning this past April. And the 46-year-old loved it.

Hundreds of people waited in line at stalls for vegan food, but few people looked like the Los Angeles resident. Nearly everyone in the crowd was young and Latino, as were the chefs. The food on sale was Mexican — but not hippie-dippy cafe standbys like cauliflower tacos, or tempeh-stuffed burritos. Instead, chefs reimagined meaty classics that were honest-to-goodness bueno.

Soccer Helped The World Forget Latin America's Dysfunction. Is It Now A Reminder?

By Tim Padgett • Jul 11, 2018

COMMENTARY

Right now The Beautiful Game doesn’t look so pretty on this side of the pond.

When Belgium knocked Brazil out of the World Cup in Russia last Friday, it meant no team from the Western Hemisphere would make it to the tournament’s semi-finals for the first time since 2006. Soccer pundits immediately began waxing about the seemingly waning role of the Americas on the global fútbol stage.

Miami-Dade School Board Member: Immigrants' Fear Of Deportation Could Lead To Inaccurate Census

By Jessica Bakeman • Jul 9, 2018

The last time the federal government asked about citizenship status on the U.S. census was 1950. Now federal officials plan to do it again in 2020.

Venezuelan Migrants Look Beyond Colombia For Refuge

By Alexander Gonzalez • Jul 3, 2018

About two million Venezuelans are fleeing the economic and political crisis in their country and seeking refuge in neighboring countries, including Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Latin American Presidential Library Center Looks Set For...Fort Lauderdale?

By Tim Padgett • Jul 2, 2018

The burn scars on Jaime Paz Zamora’s face and body are the most vivid reminders of why many consider him a hero of Latin American democracy.

In 1980, Paz was a vice presidential candidate in Bolivia, campaigning in an election meant to restore democratic rule after decades of military dictatorship.

One day, the small plane carrying Paz and his staff crashed after takeoff. Everyone on board was killed – except Paz. Authorities later called it an assassination attempt by military leaders.

Mexico's PRI Should Do More Than Lose On Sunday. It Should Leave.

By Tim Padgett • Jun 27, 2018

COMMENTARY

Latin American governments often get a boost from the success of their national soccer teams. But Mexico’s emocionante advance at the World Cup on Wednesday probably can’t save the country’s ruling party from humiliating defeat in Sunday’s presidential election.

Even If Housing Aid Ends This Week, Puerto Rican Evacuees Say They Won't Go Back

By Tim Padgett • Jun 25, 2018

Ariana Colón’s 1-year-old son Sebastian shows off his first word – “Mamá” – as she speaks with me over the phone from the hotel room in Kissimmee, Florida, where they’ve been living this year.

Along with Sebastian’s father, they arrived there shortly after Hurricane Maria devastated their home island, the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, last September.

The family has benefited from a federal program for disaster victims called Transitional Sheltering Assistance. It pays their hotel tab while they find gainful employment and permanent housing.

But meeting landlord conditions for that housing has proven as difficult for Puerto Ricans like Colón as it so often does for longtime Florida residents.

Nicaraguan Protesters Spur Miami, Washington In Drive To Oust Ortega

By Claire Thornton • Jun 18, 2018

Broward To Be Site Of A Presidential Library. Guess Who It Honors.

By Larry Barszewski • Jun 15, 2018

Palm Beach has Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago and John F. Kennedy’s former estate. Miami-Dade County is home to Richard Nixon’s Key Biscayne compound.

But it’s Broward County that’s looking to land South Florida’s first presidential library. It just won’t be for a U.S. president.

Instead, it will house the work of leaders from countries in Latin America and the Caribbean who have promoted democracy. Don’t expect it to feature dictators like former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega or others who used their office to enrich themselves.

Rubio's Hypocrisy On Trump, North Korea – Call It Rubiocrisy – Is Bad For Latin America

By Tim Padgett • Jun 13, 2018

Ramon Espinosa; Evan Vucci / AP via Miami Herald

COMMENTARY

Intellectual honesty is rarely a politician’s strong suit. But Florida Senator Marco Rubio showed us just how epic his hypocrisy is when he didn't denounce President Trump’s bromance this week with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. So epic it can only be explained by a line from another epic, “Lawrence of Arabia.”

To wit: There’s a big difference between a politician who merely hides the truth and a politician who’s forgotten where he put it.

Americas

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