I’m adding a new category to the blog today: Political & Social Awareness.

This blog is primarily aimed at travelers to South America from North America and Europe. Generally, I feel that travelers from these parts of the world to South America are usually well-educated and, most often, upper middle-class and above. (The latter group is almost always well-educated, by definition). Of course, financial stability and a good education doesn’t necessarily mean that one is an intelligent, informed individual. But I do sense that many travelers to the Southern Hemisphere have an interest in political and social issues. Yet, quality information about these issues with South America rarely make the press in North America and I doubt in Europe, either.

While there is a significant number of academics who study Latin America in the US and publish a wide variety of reports and findings, these analyses are almost always read by other academics. So, I thought that I would occasionally try to highlight some interesting topics on political and social issues in Latin America for the would-be traveler to these parts.

I will rely not just on South American news sources but also on research reports and documents published in North America and Europe. As a former librarian, tracking down quality information sources is one of my specialities. Also, while this blog is focused on South America, I will cover relevant issues in the broader Latin America and the Caribbean in the Political & Social Awareness category. Rarely, does one issue not somehow impact another.