Laura Carlsen
Laura Carlsen is director of the Americas Policy Program in Mexico City, where she has been an analyst and writer for two decades. She is also a Foreign Policy In Focus columnist. Email: (lcarlsen(at)ciponline.org)
Articles by this author
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Views Saturday, April 13, 2019 'It Is Not Enough to Simply Oppose US Military Intervention': A Response to WOLA on Venezuela The following open letter is a response to a letter from the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) dated March 8, and published on Common Dreams here . That letter from WOLA was a response to an initial open letter by 124 academics and scholars posted March 5, also on Common Dreams, and... Read more |
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Views Thursday, January 24, 2019 An Open Letter to the United States: Stop Interfering in Venezuela's Internal Politics The following open letter—signed by 70 scholars on Latin America, political science, and history as well as filmmakers, civil society leaders, and other experts—was issued on Thursday, January 24, 2019 in opposition to ongoing intervention by the United States in Venezuela. The United States... Read more |
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Views Thursday, January 24, 2019 The Organization of American States Shouldn’t Be Run by Regime Change Enthusiasts With a Venezuelan opposition leader declaring himself the country’s president and the Trump administration appearing to back a coup, Venezuela is lurching toward a new phase of crisis. And that crisis could be worsened by hardline leadership at the Organization of American States (OAS), the world’s... Read more |
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Views Sunday, September 23, 2018 Central American Women Are Fighting Extractive Industries on their Land—and Winning “They’re diverting the rivers that water our food crops into mining, hydroelectric plants and mono-cropping. They break up our communities, and stealing our happiness, because when we work with Mother Earth and with our plants, that connection makes us happy, but they come in with their plans and... Read more |
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Views Tuesday, November 01, 2016 Who Gains from Colombia’s Vote for Permanent War? In early October, the Colombian people voted NO to peace. Or to be exact, 50.2 percent of 37 percent of the eligible population voted no. In the referendum held on October 2, the majority of voters decided to scuttle the agreement between the government and FARC rebels, which had been reached after... Read more |
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Views Wednesday, October 19, 2016 Plan Colombia, Permanent War, and the NO Vote The Colombian people voted NO to peace. Or to be exact, 50.2% of 37% of the eligible population voted no. In the referendum held Oct. 2, the majority of voters decided to scuttle four years of peace talks dedicated to ending 52 years of bloodshed. The vote came just days after the celebratory... Read more |
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Views Thursday, July 28, 2016 Both Parties Are Playing the Mexico Card Surprisingly, Mexico has taken center stage in this year’s U.S. presidential elections. While it has been cast mainly as the villain, the unexpected spotlight has sent politicians and activists on both sides of the border seeking to get their message out. If they’ve learned anything from the Trump... Read more |
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Views Friday, August 07, 2015 For Journalists in Mexico, Hunted Down for Speaking Out Earlier this summer, Ruben Espinosa fled Mexico’s Gulf coast state of Veracruz after receiving death threats. His work as a photojournalist there had made him an enemy of the state’s governor, who presides over one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a reporter. On July 31, Espinosa was... Read more |
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Views Thursday, July 09, 2015 Expect the Barometer to Rise in Mexico After the polls closed in Mexico on June 7, embattled President Enrique Peña Nieto stepped up to claim a victory that he didn’t win. “In Mexico, democracy advances,” he declared triumphantly in a polished television address. He announced that the Mexican people had expressed their will through... Read more |
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Views Tuesday, March 31, 2015 The 'Biden Plan' for Central America Treats Child Refugees as National Security Threat When the crisis of unaccompanied minors migrating to the United States burst onto the front pages last summer, it seemed at last the U.S. government would come to grips with its legacy of disaster amid the current havoc in Central America. The United Nations documented that most of the children... Read more |