Protect and Serve? The Status of Police Reform in Central America

July 7, 2009

This report paints a portrait of the police in Central America today. It draws on interviews conducted by in-country experts with government officials, current and former police, representatives of international aid agencies, and civil society leaders in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Beginning with the reforms that emerged from the peace and political transition processes in the region, the report ...

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DR-CAFTA and Workers’ Rights: Moving from Paper to Practice

May 1, 2009

In this new report WOLA finds that while the funds directed towards implementing the White Paper recommendations support novel and commendable projects, the money is insufficient to resolve the long-standing labor problems plaguing the region. Despite the promises by the governments and U.S. funding, labor conditions in the DR-CAFTA countries have not improved and violations continue unabated. WOLA also finds ...

Advocates Against Impunity: A Case Study on Human Rights Organizing in Guatemala

January 12, 2009

In 2001, a group of human rights organizations based in Guatemala launched an advocacy campaign calling for the creation of an international commission to investigate and assist in prosecuting the illegal armed groups and clandestine structures deeply entrenched in the Guatemalan state. A legacy of the country's 36-year internal armed conflict, these groups morphed into organized criminal networks and are ...

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The Promise and the Perils of Agricultural Trade Liberalization: Lessons from Latin America

July 16, 2008

As a region, Latin America enacted the most sweeping reforms to its trade policies in the world. Following the Washington Consensus policies, government after government opened its economy significantly to foreign investment and goods. In agriculture, the new policies have generated dramatic increases in agricultural trade, but have they produced sustainable rural development?