A reform to the money laundering law puts the spotlight on civil organizations
Honduras Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Obstructed On November 1, a Legislative Decree was published, approved by the National Congress on October 7, which reforms the Special Anti-Money Laundering Law and the Penal Code. Among the most controversial changes is the reform of Article 2 of the Special Law, which now includes within the […]
Lasso declared a state of emergency in the whole country for 60 days
Ecuador Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Obstructed On October 18 President Guillermo Lasso decreed a state of emergency for 60 days, according to the reasons given, in response to a significant increase in violence related to criminal activity and drug trafficking. The measure empowers him to take immediate actions such as the deployment of […]
Legislative Assembly bans mass rallies until December
El Salvador Impact | Negative CIVICUS Rating | Obstructed On October 20, the Legislative Assembly, controlled by the ruling party, sanctioned without prior discussion a legislative decree extending until December 8, 2022 the prohibition of massive public and private rallies, in which social distancing and biosecurity protocols are not respected and where people without a […]
Piñera decrees constitutional emergency in the south of the country over Mapuche protests
Chile Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Obstructed On October 13, President Sebastián Piñera declared a state of constitutional emergency for 15 days in the regions of Biobío (Biobío and Arauco provinces) and La Araucanía (Malleco and Cautín provinces), due to the “serious alteration of public order” attributed to the protests of Mapuche community members. […]
Congress approves law regulating the official production of statistics
Bolivia Impact | Negative Civicus Rating | Obstructed On October 8, the Bolivian Congress sanctioned a law promoted by the Executive Branch that regulates the official production of statistics, specifies the competencies of the National Statistics Institute (INE in Spanish) and keeps it under the orbit of the Executive Branch although with the character of […]
Colombia, one of the most dangerous countries for environmental activism
Colombia Colombia is already one of the most dangerous countries in the world for environmental defenders, with a record 65 murders registered throughout 2020. This is according to the latest report published by the NGO Global Witness in mid-September. A third of these attacks targeted indigenous and Afro-descendant people, while around half affected small-scale farmers […]
IAPA warns press freedom in a state of emergency
Latin America Impacto | Negativo Within the framework of its 77th General Assembly, held between October 19 and 22, the Inter American Press Association presented a report on the state of press freedom in the region. In the Chapultepec Index 2021, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba came out worst, though restrictions to freedoms were noted in […]
How Nayib Bukele is becoming “the world’s coolest dictator”
El Salvador Introduction Since assuming the presidency on June 1, 2019, Nayib Bukele has tightened his grip on power at the expense of eroding democracy and rule of law. At the beginning of this year, the ruling party secured a majority in the Legislative Assembly allowing it to pass laws without negotiating with the opposition […]
A new transparency law without guarantees
Venezuela Impact | Negative CIVICUS Rating | Repressed On September 17, the National Assembly sanctioned the new Law on Transparency and Access to Information of Public Interest. The bill took barely four days to be approved, which was introduced hours after the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet presented her report on […]
The National Assembly rushes a package of laws for judicial reform
Venezuela Impact | Negative CIVICUS Rating | Repressed Between September 16 and 17, the Venezuelan National Assembly approved eight laws, all framed within the judicial reform plan promoted by the government, among them an Organic Amparo Law of Protection of Liberty and Security and a reform to the Criminal Procedure Code. The Amparo Law creates, […]