South America in the spotlight: news and facts about the region
The political and economic scenarios have always been an issue in Latin America, particularly in South America. Although they show great potential and have enjoyed periods of thrivingness, countries like Argentina or Venezuela have faced numerous crises. Likewise, the warfare and drug issues have severely struck countries like Peru and Colombia for a large part of their history.
Nonetheless, South American countries seem to find a way to overcome all these problems and still manage to survive. This region still produces a high level of talent and social advancement, despite the negative events that strike them.
This ongoing contrast may be what makes this region interesting. Hence, we chose news from South America to create this post, hoping to reflect some of this region’s complexity.
A Chilean indigenous language dies as an old member of the community passes away
Cristina Calderon lived in Villa Ukika, a small town in the southern country of Chile. She used to sell knitting socks for a living and belonged to the Yagans indigenous community. Her death symbolizes the end of a cultural legacy as she was the last person alive to speak the community’s language: the Yamana.
This ethnic group used to live in the Southern regions of Chile and Argentina and had quite a unique tongue. It was very difficult to relate to any language family as it had particular words. Maybe this is why the Yagans, which still dwell in the area, stopped learning the language, leaving Cristina as the last person on Earth who could speak it.
Before she passed away, Cristina poured her knowledge into a Yamana-Spanish dictionary leaving thus a unique opportunity. Thanks to this, it’s possible for linguists and scholars to study the Yamana language and recover at least a part of this lost legacy.
Brazil completes statue taller than Rio’s famous Christ the Redeemer
This ambitious project is soon to be completed. With an initial deadline by the end of last year, the government granted an extension to January 2022.
The Christ Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro is a popular tourist attraction and is considered a symbol of Brazilian culture all over the world. But now, it will have a competitor. The new statue will be called Christ Protector and it will raise upon the Encantado region offering stunning views of the Taquari Valley and Lake Garibaldi.
Christ Protector will be 16 feet taller than its counterpart in Rio with a total of 146-feet height. The width of the statue (hand-to-hand) will be 118 feet, while Christ Redeemer has only 92.
Visitors can enjoy more than the stunning height and power that the statue will convey: they will be able to access a viewer located in the statue’s heart. The local government is already paving the way to make access easy for tourists and visitors.
Argentina negotiates with the IMF again while the Argentinian peso reaches its maximum
Towards the end of January, the Argentinian president and a representative of the IMF got together to discuss the refinancing of the country’s debt. This comes from a loan of 44,000 million dollars that the entity granted to the country during Mauricio Macri’s term.
This situation has been repeated many times as this is the twenty-second agreement of the parties in a period of 60 years. Many Argentinian journalists have analyzed the effect that these meetings have on society and the economic environment.
With this kind of experience, the Argentinian people see what’s coming. They know this translates into two problems: political turmoil and economic crisis. A large part of the country sees the IMF as the source of all their economic problems and blames their politics for the debt and inability to reduce it.
In January 2022, the Argentinian peso also suffered reaching a maximum of 211:1 in the informal rate, also known as ‘dollar blue’. However, the government promises to keep the inflation level below 50% (between 38% and 42%) thanks to this agreement.
This currency experience high levels of volatility showing a sharp increase curve in ten years, with a dramatic peak in the year of the pandemic and a year before that (2019 and 2020).
History of the dollar blue’s value in the last 10 years
- Feb 10, 2010 – 1:3.94
- Jan 27,2011 – 1:4.15
- July 18, 2012 – 1:6.74
- May 6, 2013 – 1:10.08
- Sep 24, 2014 – 1:15.95
- Aug 20, 2015 – 1:15.84
- Jul 26, 2016 – 1:15.55
- Aug 2, 2017 – 1:18.08
- Sep 30, 2018 – 1:40.00
- Oct 28, 2019 – 1:75.75
- Oct 25, 2020 – 1:195.00
Ecological alert: The only bear species in South America is endangered
The environmental crisis has also reached south America and a clear example is this endangered species. The Spectacled bear is the only bear in South America and lives in dry forests and mountain regions from Venezuela all the way down to Bolivia.
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has declared this species to be under threat with only 10,000 specimens remaining alive. The main causes are global warming, climate changes, and interaction with human beings.
On one hand, the animals’ habitat is being affected by droughts, floods, and other environment-related issues. This drives them to get food beyond their habitat sometimes attacking cattle. Humans then retaliate killing the bears and completing the vicious circle.
Associations such as the Spectacled Bear Conservation Society in Peru are working towards saving this species. Plans to create and maintain protected areas are being implemented.