NIU Latino and Latin American Studies

NIU Latino and Latin American Studies The Center for Latino and Latin American Studies (CLLAS) at Northern Illinois University is an inter

Please join us in wishing The Center for Latino and Latin American Studies'Office Manager, Krystyna Kamka, a very Happy ...
06/03/2026

Please join us in wishing The Center for Latino and Latin American Studies'
Office Manager, Krystyna Kamka, a very Happy Birthday!

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Brazil’s Atlantic forest records lowest deforestation in 40 yearsEnvironmentalists hail decline but warn weakened laws c...
06/03/2026

Brazil’s Atlantic forest records lowest deforestation in 40 years

Environmentalists hail decline but warn weakened laws could reverse gains
By Tiago Rogero in Rio de Janeiro, Thu 14 May 2026 06.29 EDT

Brazil’s Atlantic forest, the country’s most threatened biome, last year recorded its lowest level of deforestation since monitoring began 40 years ago, a new report shows.

The forest is Brazil’s most populous biome, and home to 80% of the population and major cities such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. In 2025 it recorded 8,658 hectares of deforestation, marking the first time it has fallen below 10,000 hectares since 1985.

Environmentalists have welcomed the results, which they say could even lead to “zero deforestation” in the Atlantic forest within just a few years, but warned of potential risks that could reverse the downward trend of recent years.

One is the recent approval of the so-called “devastation bill” in Brazil’s congress that drastically weakens environmental law.

The other is the prospect of a far-right government, opposed to environmental protection policies, returning to power in the October presidential election: FlĂĄvio Bolsonaro, the senator and son of the former president Jair Bolsonaro, is tied in the polls with the current president, Luiz InĂĄcio Lula da Silva, who will seek re-election.

“It’s a very worrying scenario,” said Luís Fernando Guedes Pinto, executive director of the NGO SOS Mata Atlñntica, who added that, with a victory for Bolsonaro, “Brazil could lose the opportunity to be a global environmental leader”.

🔗https://bit.ly/4uxNnhE

Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon is a 1958 novel by Brazilian author Jorge Amado, set in the 1920s cocoa boomtown of Ilhéus,...
06/02/2026

Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon is a 1958 novel by Brazilian author Jorge Amado, set in the 1920s cocoa boomtown of Ilhéus, Bahia, that blends romance, social critique, and political intrigue. It follows the story of Gabriela, a free-spirited migrant worker who becomes a cook and love interest for Nacib, a Syrian bar owner, challenging the town's rigid social norms, while also depicting the modernization efforts of Mundinho Falcão against the old guard of powerful colonels. The novel explores themes of love, tradition vs. modernity, race, class, and Brazilian identity through its vibrant depiction of a society on the cusp of change.

Could Brazilian oil emerge as one of the big winners of the Iran war?China and India are among those ramping up imports ...
06/01/2026

Could Brazilian oil emerge as one of the big winners of the Iran war?

China and India are among those ramping up imports of Brazilian crude amid Strait of Hormuz disruptions.
By CaolĂĄn Magee 25 May 2026

China and India are increasingly turning to Brazil to make up for lost oil supplies as the fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran continues to disrupt energy trade through the Strait of Hormuz.

With oil harder to access and Russian supply largely constrained by sanctions, Asian buyers are scrambling for crude from suppliers seen as safer and more reliable.

Brazil, which is already one of the world’s biggest oil exporters, has emerged as one of the clearest beneficiaries.

Sumit Ritolia, a specialist in modelling refinery and oil markets at Kpler, told Al Jazeera: “The disruption caused by the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has increased the importance of Brazil as a marginal crude supplier to Asia.”

“China and India in particular have increased purchases of Brazilian crude to secure barrels that are not exposed to Gulf shipping disruptions,” he added.

Analysts say Brazil cannot replace the Middle East as Asia’s main oil supplier. However, as shipping risks rise in the Gulf amid Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the corresponding naval blockade on Iranian ports by the United States, its oil has become increasingly attractive to refiners seeking to avoid supply shocks.

Asian countries imported about 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Brazil in 2025, according to data supplied to Al Jazeera by trade intelligence firm Kpler. That rose to roughly 1.8 million bpd between January and May this year, highlighting Brazil’s growing role in Asia’s efforts to diversify away from the Gulf.

🔗https://bit.ly/4f3wQxc

El Tunco is a little surf village in El Salvador. It is located 8km west of Puerto La Libertad, 35km from the capital Sa...
05/29/2026

El Tunco is a little surf village in El Salvador. It is located 8km west of Puerto La Libertad, 35km from the capital San Salvador and 35km from San Salvador airport. Only a few years ago this place was unknown and quiet, but is now the most visited town of El Salvador - by backpackers and surfers all year long, and by Salvadorians on the weekends for the nightlife. There are now around 20 hostels, bars, restaurants and everything needed to practice surf. Playa El Tunco, a beautiful black sand beach, is actually the gateway to surfspot El Sunzal, and is a few kilometers away from El Zonte and Punta Roca, 2 other famous surfspots.
The sunset in El Tunco is spectacular, with its big rock formation in front

Oscar Romero was Archbishop of San Salvador. He was assassinated on Monday March 24th 1980 as he was celebrating Mass in...
05/28/2026

Oscar Romero was Archbishop of San Salvador. He was assassinated on Monday March 24th 1980 as he was celebrating Mass in the chapel of the Divine Providence cancer hospital where he lived. Thirty five years later, he was declared a martyr of the Church, killed out of hatred of the faith, and was beatified on May 23rd 2015. He was canonised by Pope Francis on October 14th 2018.

Born on August 15th 1917, Oscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdamez was sent to study for the priesthood in Rome and was ordained in April 1942. He embraced a simple lifestyle; he was a popular preacher who responded with real compassion to the plight of the poor. He gave dedicated pastoral service to the diocese of San Miguel for 25 years – a greatly-admired workaholic in a cassock!

There followed seven years of pastoral famine in the capital city, San Salvador, as an ecclesiastical bureaucrat. Ordained Auxiliary Bishop in 1970, he gained a reputation as a stubborn and reactionary prelate. Seemingly unsympathetic to the new social justice thrust of the Latin American Church, he was suspicious of the clergy and the Base Christian Communities of the archdiocese working alongside the exploited rural poor, promoting social organisations and land reform.

A brief spell back in the countryside as Bishop of Santiago de Maria opened Romero’s eyes as he reconnected to the semi-feudal misery and hardship of the campesinos and witnessed the murderous repression being suffered at the hands of the security forces. In February 1977 he was the surprising choice to be the new Archbishop of San Salvador.

Read more below
🔗https://www.romerotrust.org.uk/who-was-romero/

The Center for Latino and Latin American Studies is pleased to present our newsest offering; Undergraduate certificate i...
05/27/2026

The Center for Latino and Latin American Studies is pleased to present our newsest offering; Undergraduate certificate in Latino and Latin American Studies!

Interested in learning more? Please reach out to CLLAS Program Assistant, Dr. Darius Jackson at [email protected]

Check this out ! LATS 101 Introduction to Latino Studies in person section offered fall 2026.✅Tuesday / Thursday👉9:30 ...
05/27/2026

Check this out ! LATS 101 Introduction to Latino Studies in person section offered fall 2026.
✅Tuesday / Thursday
👉9:30 to 10:45 a.m.
▶Latino Center 121

Explore the history, culture, and experiences of Latinos in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics covered; immigration and migration; colonialism and imperialism; community formation; labor markets; race and racial formations; gender and sexuality; political activism; religion; and popular culture. You are going to have so much fun!

Judge dismisses criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deportedBy TRAVIS LOLLER, Updated 4:41...
05/27/2026

Judge dismisses criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported
By TRAVIS LOLLER, Updated 4:41 PM CDT, May 22, 2026

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday dismissed a human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, finding that the Justice Department’s pursuit of criminal charges was designed to punish him for challenging his mistaken deportation to El Salvador last year.

The ruling amounted to an extraordinary rebuke of a Justice Department that under President Donald Trump has repeatedly been accused of targeting defendants for political purposes. The Trump administration touted the charges against Abrego Garcia last year at a press conference in which then-Attorney General Pam Bondi declared, “This is what American justice looks like.”

“The evidence before this court sadly reflects an abuse of prosecuting power,” U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, in Nashville, Tenn., said in his ruling granting Abrego Garcia’s motion to dismiss for “selective or vindictive prosecution.” Without Abrego Garcia’s “successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the government would not have brought this prosecution.”

Abrego Garcia’s deportation became an embarrassment for Trump officials when they were ordered to return him to the U.S. In his motion to dismiss, Abrego Garcia claimed that both the timing of the criminal charges and inflammatory statements about him by top Trump officials demonstrated that the prosecution was vindictive.

Full Story
🔗https://bit.ly/43tKNxk
Timeline
🔗https://bit.ly/4e5UsjM

! Check out our LATS 101 Introduction to Latino Studies offered fall 2026.✅Tuesday / Thursday2 to 3:15 p.m.Latino Cente...
05/26/2026

! Check out our LATS 101 Introduction to Latino Studies offered fall 2026.
✅Tuesday / Thursday
2 to 3:15 p.m.
Latino Center 121


Explore the history, culture, and experiences of Latinos in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. Immigration and migration; colonialism and imperialism; community formation; labor markets; race and racial formations; gender and sexuality; political activism; religion; and popular culture. It's a really fun class!

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