Author: Benjamin Witte

Benjamin Witte is a professional journalist and translator based in Montpellier, France. He spent a decade living and working in Latin America and continues to write about the region for an online journal published by the University of New Mexico, in the US. He also works part time as an editor with Worldcrunch.

In The News

Caracas To London To Ankara, Expressions Of Democracy

Post author By lmacret
Post date April 19, 2017

Anti-Maduro protest in Caracas Manaure Quintero/DPA/ZUMA

Democracy has never been an easy thing. That most British of statesmen Winston Churchill famously called it “the worst form of government, except for all the others.” In its ideal form — with regularly scheduled elections, peaceful transfers of powers, constitutions that are upheld, checks and balances respected — democracy can work quite well. Certainly there are examples still in today’s world. But as shown by events taking place right now in Venezuela, Turkey and even on Churchill’s turf, it can also be a deeply messy affair. In Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro is clinging to power against a groundswell […]

Tags brexit, erdogan, france, maduro, may, theresa

In The News

China Is In Driver’s Seat When It Comes To Powering Electric Cars

Post author By lmacret
Post date April 6, 2017

China has put 1 million electric vehicles in circulation Xu Yu/Xinhua/ZUMA

-Op-Ed- LAUSANNE — While plenty of attention has been paid to Donald Trump’s “America First” pledge — as troublesome or laughable as it may seem — relatively little is being said about another protectionist economic strategy, one that could have a far greater impact on Europe and the West. Unlike the U.S. president, with his well-known habit of airing every thought and whim on Twitter, authorities in Beijing have been discreet about their “Made in China 2025” initiative. Don’t be fooled though. It may not have a lot of fanfare, but this is no half-measure. Just as China has already […]

Tags beijing, byd, CATL, china, cobalt, donald trump, electric cars, lithium batteries, oil, Panasonic, xi jinping

In The News

Tallying The Flood Toll In Peru

Post author By lmacret
Post date March 22, 2017

After several weeks of heavy rains, Lima daily Peru21 has tallied the death and damage from flooding that stretches from north to south in the Latin American nation.

Tags el nino, flooding, mudslides, natural disaster, peru, peru floods

Geopolitics LGBTQ Plus

Mockery Or Murder: The Horrors Of Being Transgender In Colombia

Post author By lmacret
Post date June 20, 2016

The LGBT Pride Parade held in BogotÃ¡, Colombia on June 2015 Jhon Heaver

Chased from their homes and communities, many transgender women in Colombia seek refuge in a four-block area in Santa Fe, in downtown Bogotá.

Tags aids, homophobia, lgbt, paramilitaries, prostitution, Santa Fe, transgender, united kingdom, violence

Eyes on the U.S. Geopolitics Ideas Society Trump And The World

Donald Trump Is A Big Jerk — And Good For Democracy

Post author By lmacret
Post date January 7, 2016

Gage Skidmore

Czech President Milos Zeman, Donald Trump and other over-the-top personalities may not offer any practical solutions to society’s problems, but they do have a function in an increasingly uniform political arena.

Tags candidate, controversy, debate, donald trump, milos zeman, politically correct, politics, populism, silvio berlusconi, united states

blog

Extra! Chile Slammed By 8.4-Magnitude Earthquake

Post author By lmacret
Post date September 17, 2015

Chile has been walloped yet again, this time by an “8.4-magnitude earthquake in the central-north zone” of the country, Santiago daily La Tercera reported Thursday. The offshore event struck Wednesday night at 7:54 p.m. local time near the city of Illapel. The government’s National Emergency Office (ONEMI) has so far confirmed five deaths, three from heart attacks and two from fallen debris. Another person is reported missing. ONEMI estimates that one million people have been evacuated in coastal areas in response to a tsunami alert that authorities issued for the entire length of Chile’s extensive Pacific shoreline. Tsunami waves did […]

Tags 8.4, chile, earthquake, michelle bachelet, terremoto, tsunami, ValparaÃso

Geopolitics Green Or Gone

The Unacceptable Environmental Cost Of Colombia’s Endless War

Post author By lmacret
Post date August 23, 2015

After the FARC intercepted a convoy of trucks transporting crude oil in Colombia's state of Putumayo, in July 2014. Cesar Mario GarcÂia/Pacific Press/ZUMA

-Editorial- BOGOTÁ — Colombia’s more than half-century old civil war has been, if nothing else, an environmental calamity. Besides causing tens of thousands of deaths and forcing millions from their homes, the protracted fighting between state forces, left-wing guerrilla forces and right-wing gangs has led to massive amounts of crude oil being poured into the country’s rivers, streams and wetlands. Data released by the oil industry suggests that over the past 30 years, some 4 million barrels of crude have been dumped in Colombia. That’s 10 times the amount the infamous Exxon Valdez tanker released off the coast of Alaska […]

Tags civil war, colombia, exxon valdez, farc, guerilla, Mira river, oil spill, peace talks, transandino pipeline

blog Ideas

Elderly Nazis On Trial, And The Crime Of Germany’s Post-War Legal System

Post author By lmacret
Post date April 22, 2015

93-year-old former SS officer Oskar Groening awaiting trial in Germany ruptly via Instagram/Ligue de defense juive/Worldcrunch montage

Even at 93, Oskar Groening must still be tried for his alleged crimes. But the real question is why German authorities didn’t try him decades ago.

Tags auschwitz, Demjanjuk, germany, holocaust, nazi, Oskar Groening, ss, world war ii

LGBTQ Plus Society

How The Union Of A French-Moroccan Gay Couple Sparked A Culture War

Post author By lmacret
Post date March 13, 2015

Men holding hands in Toulouse, France Guillaume Paumier

CHAMBÉRY — Seen from afar they might be mistaken for a father and son. Dominique is 56. Mohammed is 23. But talking to them and seeing how they interact, it’s clear they’re a couple in love. They agreed to meet early in the morning, in a fast food restaurant in the Landiers industrial zone in Chambéry, southeastern France. It’s an impersonal place, where people come and go without paying much attention to others around them. Dominique and Mohammed prefer it that way. The couple shows up late, which somehow makes sense. It’s their privilege. They’re in love. The rest of […]

Tags civil union, court of cassation, france, gay marriage, morocco, PACS

Future Smarter Cities

Imagining An Economy Built Around Plants, Not Plastic

Post author By lmacret
Post date March 10, 2015

Extracting sugar cane juice in Colombia Sol Robayo

-OpEd- BOGOTA — As unlikely as it may sound, many of the countries we closely associate with planning and foresight are turning their attention to Colombia for inspiration on how to address the parallel problems of industry pollution, energy production and food security. The South American country boasts enviable geographical and climatic conditions, exceptional biodiversity and above all, a varied and preponderant farming sector. Together these factors are sparking talk about what some call the “new economy” or “bioeconomy.” This new way of looking at economic growth may help rectify the serious environmental harm done by the excesses of the […]

Tags bioeconomy, biomass, colombia, environment, fossil fuel, pollution, renewable

blog Geopolitics

ISIS In The Sinai: Terror Group Takes On Egyptian Regime

Post author By lmacret
Post date February 16, 2015

Egyptian security checkpoint near sites attacked last month in Sinai town of Arish Ahmed Gomaa/Xinhua/ZUMA

A group calling itself “Defenders of Jerusalem” is throwing its lot in with ISIS, making the battle between Cairo and Islamists ever more since the army ousted the Muslim Brotherhood.

Tags Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, cairo, egypt, isis, jihad, sinai

Smarter Cities Society

How One African City Is Taking Back The Streets, Literally

Post author By lmacret
Post date February 12, 2015

Bulldozing in Bukavu Skyscraper City forum

Local planners in Bukavu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are clearing out homes and businesses that encroached over the years along the city’s main avenues.

Tags city planning, Congolese Rally for Democracy, contruction, corruption, democratic republic of congo, drc, illegal contruction, road work, roads

Geopolitics Ideas

Watch Two Continents Fall Into China’s Imperial Trap

Post author By lmacret
Post date February 5, 2015

China's CSCL Africa tanker John Murphy

Governments in Latin America and Africa are scrambling to build so-called “stategic trading partnerships” with China. But is it really a win-win situaiton?

Tags celac, chile, Chinese investments, colonialism, daniel ortega, extractive industries, gold, investment, nicolas maduro, oil

Food / Travel

Thirty Hours Aboard The Rickety Upper Egypt Railway

Post author By lmacret
Post date January 31, 2015

The Upper Egypt line near Aswan zolakoma

CAIRO — As I hop on the Wednesday night Upper Egypt train from Cairo, I hear a newbie ask when we will get to Aswan, my destination and the end of the line. His question is met with collective laughter from a group of old Nubian men who seem to make the trip often. “You just relax and don’t even ask this question,” one of them answers. “We will get off when the train lets us go.” The man seems to have made his peace with the uncertainty that comes with using the Egyptian railway system, with all its downfalls […]

Tags Aswan, egypt, Egyptian trains, railroad, Upper Egypt train fire

Society

New Film Visits The ‘Chaordic’ Crush Of Cairo’s Tangled Streets

Post author By lmacret
Post date January 27, 2015

Traffic jam in Cairo Martyn Smith

CAIRO — Ironically enough, the roads to the Cairo premier of Sherief Elkatsha’s traffic-centered documentary Cairo Drive weren’t at all crowded. The special screening at the recent Zawya cinema happened on arguably one of the coldest days the capital has ever seen.

Tags arab spring, cairo, Cairo Drive, Cairo Garbage, documentary, documentary film, egypt, hosni mubarak, Mikala Krogh, mubarak, Sherief Elkatsha, traffic, We are Watching You

Ideas

In Venezuela, The Maduro Reign Is Doomed

Post author By lmacret
Post date January 25, 2015

Maduro, holding on to the past? Miguel Angulo/Xinhua/ZUMA

Political repression is one thing, but if store shelves are empty, the so-called “revolution” is destined to crumble.

Tags alba, bolivarian republic, bolivarian revolution, CAN, Henrique Capriles, hugo chavez, nicolas maduro, oil revenue, petrodollar, U.S. Cuba relations, venezuela

Society

Honesty Proves To Be The Best Policy For Poland’s First Openly Gay Mayor

Post author By lmacret
Post date December 14, 2014

Robert Bierdron, Poland's first MP and mayor Kuba Bozanowski

SLUPSK — One of the first things journalists wanted to know after the recent mayoral election in Slupsk, a small city in northern Poland, is what the winner planned to do with the Pope John Paul II portrait hanging in his mayor’s office. Will he remove it? Does he plan to rid the office of religious symbols? Obviously irritated, Mayor-Elect Robert Bierdron fired back with some queries of his own. “What are you even asking me about?” Bierdron responded. “Why don’t you ask me about my plans for Slupsk?” Already known throughout the country as the first openly gay member […]