Our monthly selection of the best articles on Latin America from around the internet.

1) Billionaire-backed Human Rights Watch lobbies for lethal US sanctions on leftist governments as COVID crisis rages (Ben Norton/The Grayzone)

Regime change hungry HRW is proudly taking credit for crushing new US sanctions on Nicaragua while pushing to escalate Washington’s economic war on Venezuela. The Grayzone presents a deep dive into the “human rights” arm of US empire.

2) We Should Applaud the Cuban Health System — and Learn From It (Medea Benjamin/Jacobin)

Poor and blockaded Cuba not only has better health indicators than the United States, but its international medical efforts save thousands of lives a year. We should be applauding the Cuban health system — and learning from it.

3) Bodies in the Streets: IMF Imposed Measures Have Left Ecuador Unable to Cope with Coronavirus (Alan Macleod/MintPress News)

Ecuador is near collapse under the strain of the coronavirus after the government of Lenin Moreno stripped state services nearly bare at the behest of the IMF.

4) Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro Fiddles While Brazil Burns (Michael Fox & Marc Steiner/The Real News Network)

Brazil’s COVID-19 cases and deaths are higher than neighbouring countries, yet the president takes no action. Indigenous people and the poorest Brazilians are in grave danger.

5) How quarantined Chileans are keeping their protest movement alive (Charis McGowan/Al Jazeera English)

From banging pots to virtual art, activists are organising at home and online to continue protests over inequality.

6) Out of the Ashes of Economic War (Alexander Main/NACLA)

Sanctions and other forms of economic warfare have long caused serious harm for countries on the receiving end of Washington’s efforts to impose its policy agenda. Could a progressive U.S. administration marshal economic power at the service of people, not capital?

7) Argentina Is Showing the World What a Humane Covid-19 Response Looks Like (Jacob Sugarman/The Nation)

Long dismissed as a financial basket case, the nation shows how much is possible when a government puts people before profits.

8) COVID-19 crisis: Attacks on environmental defenders continue in Latin America (Andrés Bermúdez Liévano/China Dialogue)

“Violence has not been quarantined”. That phrase, repeated by social and environmental leaders in Colombia, is sadly true in many Latin American countries. At least five defenders of the environment have been killed in different Latin American countries since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared.

9) The danger of being transgender in Latin America in times of quarantine (Manuella Libardi/Open Democracy)

The measures implemented in Panama, Peru and Colombia have subjected LGBTI people to harassment. Also, they do not work.

Documentary

10) Favela Lockdown: Brazil’s Gangs Fighting COVID-19 (RedFish)

Brazil’s gangs have put the favelas on lockdown to prevent a deadly outbreak of COVID-19. They know that the virus came to Brazil through wealthy jet-setters, and will do “whatever it takes” to stop the gringos from entering the favelas.

While Brazil’s far-right President Bolsonaro is failing to to take the crisis seriously, people living in favelas know they can’t be complacent. An outbreak could be catastrophic for these densely packed communities, where sanitation is poor and access to healthcare non-existent.

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