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Hispanic, Latinx and Caribbean Weekly News Analysis

News Summary
Date
News Title
11/25/25 to 12/02/25
Week 48

Economic News and Events

  • CNN Americas reports that monthly inflation in Caracas has surged back into the 20–30% range, with the bolívar losing around 70% of its value in just three months. (Pozzebon, 2025)
  • Argentina’s economic activity grew 5% year‑on‑year in September and 0.5% month‑on‑month, beating expectations and supporting forecasts of around 3.9% GDP growth in 2025, even as annual inflation is still projected to be close to 30%. (Tobias, 2025)
  • In Costa Rica, tourism revenues and employment are dropping, with an estimated 22,000 jobs lost and many firms facing thinner margins as they earn in dollars but pay costs in the national currency. (The Tico Times, 2025)
  • Honduras remains the poorest country in Latin America (excluding Haiti) by the share of people living on less than about US$3 per day. (BBC Mundo, 2025)

Political News and Events

  • Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro accused President Donald Trump of trying to seize Venezuela’s vast oil reserves under the cover of anti‑narcotics operations. (Rowlands, 2025)
  • Trump’s declaration that Venezuelan airspace is “completely closed,” has reduced commercial flights and left thousands of passengers stranded, while Caracas denounces the move as a “colonialist threat” and rights groups label recent lethal maritime operations possible extrajudicial killings. (Alonso, 2025)
  • The Tico Times reports that President Daniel Ortega’s government has moved around 40 political prisoners from jail to house arrest amid US pressure. (The tico times, 2025)
  • Costa Rica revisits the 1948 abolition of its army, highlighting how this decision shaped its reputation as a “demilitarized democracy” and continues to define its regional identity. (The tico times, 2025)

Cultural News and Events

  • Argentina's 34th annual LGBTQ Pride march held in November expresses both celebration and resistance under President Javier Milei’s right‑wing government. This reinforces Buenos Aires’s role as a symbolic hub of progressive Latin American culture and a reference point for LGBTQ activism across the region. (Buenos Aires Times, AFP, Perfil, & NA. 2025)
  • Latin American intellectuals and artists emphasize that the region has long served as a “laboratory” where politics and culture are tightly intertwined, with literature, music and visual arts often anticipating or critiquing political shifts that later affect diaspora communities. (de Cabo, 2025)

Social News and Events

  • Costa Rica’s worsening social crisis, characterized by rising structural violence, polarization and a spike in femicides, even as the country maintains a reputation for stability. At the same time, coverage of Costa Rica’s army‑free model highlights how past decisions to channel resources into health and education helped create a more equal society. (The Tico Times staff, 2025)
  • Hate crimes against LGBTQ people in Argentina increased by about 70% in the first half of 2025 compared with a year earlier, including a notorious triple femicide targeting lesbians in May 2024. (Buenos Aires Times, AFP, Perfil, & NA. 2025)

References