This article is an environmental history of Anaconda Copper Company’s disposal of hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic waste from its Potrerillos and El Salvador mines into Chile’s Río Salado and Bahía de Chañaral. First, it uncovers a long history of disputes between copper companies and workers who panned the river for tailings. This early water war in Chile was shaped by competing understandings of water’s legal status. While workers claimed rights under the water law’s definition of water as a bien nacional de uso común, mining companies invoked the mining code and contended that the river’s water and waste were private property under civil law. Mining companies claimed rivers’ water by treating rivers in legal terms as mines and property of the state, bienes fiscales, that could be conceded as private property. They argued that human engineering of rivers in dams and canals, and through pollution, made rivers into a commodity and a form of property akin to subsoil minerals. Second, the article describes how, during the social reformist government of Eduardo Frei (1964–1970) and the revolutionary government of Salvador Allende (1970–1973), the state asserted control over Chile’s waterways while balancing centralized state management of water in the name of development with local users’ claims of long-standing riparian use rights. Third, the article traces the long history of the state and mining companies treating water as an economic commodity, often superseding local use rights, and argues that this history built the foundation for the later privatization of water during the Pinochet dictatorship. The article demonstrates that the privatization of water in Chile under Pinochet had its origins in the resolution of the tension between water and civil law in favor of extending property rights to water and building as a subsidy to transnational mining companies. This meant rolling back state management of rivers and often eroding local users’ water rights. Finally, the article concludes by examining the town of Chañaral’s successful 1987 lawsuit against the El Salvador mine to win an injunction against further pollution of the Salado as part of a moment of broader Latin American “environmental constitutionalism” during the 1980s. While this legal victory reflected a significant change in environmental law and an emergent environmentalist movement in Chile and across Latin America, it struck a blow to hundreds of workers who depended on extracting tailings from the river for their livelihood and who responded with unsuccessful protests.

Elections in many contemporary Latin American democracies unfold in a setting that complicates traditional political communication strategies. Indeed, many countries in the region are characterized by weak political parties, high levels of institutional distrust, and growing disdain for political elites. While a large body of literature has sought to explain which factors weaken parties and increase institutional distrust, less attention has been paid to the question of how these characteristics shape political communication. Drawing on the content of television advertisements created for Chile’s constitutional plebiscite campaigns, and original interviews with the creative and political teams that designed the ads, we explore how each side communicated with voters; the issues they focused on; and to what extent they relied on partisan, policy, generic, or emotional appeals. The analysis identifies important changes in messaging across the three electoral contests and probes an explanation for this variation. We find that in the absence of partisan messages, the constitutional campaigns relied first on policy-based appeals but then transitioned to generic appeals, ultimately opting for “antipolitics” messaging. These changes resulted from the expansion of the electorate and growing distrust in the constitutional convention. The analysis also underscores that pro–status quo plebiscite campaigns are more likely to deploy negative emotional language than campaigns centered on change.

This article examines the diplomatic strategies of Revolutionary Guatemala between 1944 and 1951, situating them within the broader continental realignments that occurred at the onset of the Cold War. Contrary to prevailing interpretations that emphasize covert warfare or ideological rhetoric, it argues that Guatemala’s revolutionary governments pursued a deliberate, multilateral diplomatic agenda aimed at reshaping inter-American relations. Drawing on research in multiple archives in the Americas and Europe, the article demonstrates how Guatemala engaged in initiatives such as the nonrecognition of coup regimes, support for the Larreta Doctrine, and campaigns against Francoist Spain while forging alliances with Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba, and Southern Cone democracies. These efforts reveal both the agency and the limitations of states seeking to promote democracy amid shifting geopolitical pressures. By reframing Guatemala’s role, the article contributes to ongoing debates about Latin American agency, the contested nature of early Cold War alignments, and the evolution of inter-American diplomacy.

This article traces the history of how two generations of US archaeologists navigated their relationship with the Guatemalan government, from the Jorge Ubico dictatorship in the 1930s through the democratic opening of the 1940s and 1950s and the subsequent CIA-sponsored coup. Critiques of modern archaeology have focused on the discipline’s history of ideological and material collusion with different projects of US and European imperialism in the Global South. While the archaeologists discussed here benefited from US hegemony in the region, their own correspondence reflects an ambivalent relationship to formal frameworks of international law and a desire to function as autonomous nonstate actors. Rather than reflecting the political context of a given moment, the archaeologists’ behavior was often determined by a generations-old professional culture based on pragmatism and collective entitlement to the control of antiquities.

This article focuses on how Peruvian elites mobilized representations of masculinities as part of discourses on national progress and as essential elements in their assertions of hierarchy. By addressing intellectual elites’ discourses in two cultural magazines, El Perú Ilustrado and Variedades, and various literary works during the 1884–1912 period, the article presents three arguments. First, elites’ diagnosis of the country’s backwardness emphasized Peruvian men’s deficient masculinity, which included the elites’ own white creole masculinity. Thus, intellectual elites placed great importance on catching up with European “masculine” traits as pathways to progress and modernization. Second, discourses on masculinity were central elements by which elites asserted their legitimacy. Elites mobilized discourses on masculinity selectively—either as self-restraint or as physical prowess—to reinforce their hierarchical status vis-à-vis subaltern men. Third, intergenerational conflicts between the elites’ younger and older cohorts also transpired in terms of masculinity. Each generation depicted the other as embodying abject effeminacy. As a whole, by incorporating the analytical lens of masculinity, the article provides new insights into the construction of elites’ identities and of long-standing hierarchies in Latin America.

Populist presidents often mobilize popular support for their institutional reforms by claiming to promote a democracy that is genuinely responsive to the majority. However, most of the time, they are doing the exact opposite—undermining democracy. Voters, then, should decide whether to support the incumbent’s undemocratic behavior and reforms. In this article, I argue that voters will embrace the gradual subversion of democracy when they approve of the executive’s performance in office, particularly when the populist president is a prominent and influential figure. I test this argument using survey data collected in Mexico under Andrés Manuel López Obrador—an influential populist leader who enjoyed widespread approval and advanced autocratization in the name of democracy. The results indicate, indeed, that López Obrador’s presidential approval not only reinforced the belief that Mexico is a democracy but also increased voters’ support for the president if he decided to disregard the rule of law, curb the opposition’s rights, or cancel the separation of powers. These findings suggest that populist presidents might be able to persuade voters to embrace the subversion of democracy disguised as democratic improvement.

This study presents a revised estimation of the prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) among migrant women and second-generation girls in Italy as of 1 January 2023. The study is based on an enhanced indirect estimation of the prevalence among migrants and data on first- and second-generation women legally residing in Italy as of 1 January 2023. The study estimates that approximately 88,600 women aged 15 and over have undergone FGM/C in Italy, representing 46% of migrant women from practising countries. Notably, around one-third of these women are over 50 years old, indicating that FGM/C remains a significant health concern beyond childbearing age. Among foreign-born women, 46.5% are estimated to be affected, compared to 22.5% of Italian-born women. The research also identifies approximately 16,000 girls under 15 at potential risk, with the highest numbers among those of Egyptian, Nigerian, and Senegalese descent. Methodologically, the study underscores the importance of refining indirect estimation techniques to account for the socio-demographic selectivity of migration. While the overall prevalence of FGM/C is decreasing, the persistence of the practice among specific communities calls for targeted interventions. The findings emphasise the need for culturally sensitive awareness campaigns, strengthened legal frameworks, and accessible healthcare services. Furthermore, this research contributes to the European discourse on FGM/C by providing a replicable estimation model adaptable to other non-practising countries receiving migrants from FGM/C-prevalent regions. Periodic replication of such estimates can provide valuable insights into evolving FGM/C trends, aiding policymakers in resource allocation and intervention strategies to eradicate the practice.

A 9200-year-long Holocene record of pollen, magnetic susceptibility (MS), and sedimentation rates from Pup Lake, northern Lower Michigan, USA, along with comparative pollen data from regional paleoecological sites and optically stimulated luminescence dates from inland sand dunes across the Great Lakes region, reveals emerging relationships among climate, vegetation, and erosion. Tsuga (hemlock) pollen was used to track local- and regional-scale hydroclimate variability owing to the taxon’s moisture sensitivity and close association with modern lake-effect snowfall gradients. Two periods of elevated MS and Tsuga values, 6800–5200 cal yr BP and 3200–800 cal yr BP, are interpreted as millennial-scale phases of greater effective moisture that drove key changes in forest composition and resulted in accelerated erosion. Overall, the lake’s MS record broadly tracks changes in Tsuga pollen frequencies and sedimentation rates, particularly during the Late Holocene, suggesting the emergence of a well-defined lake-effect climate system between 5200 and 1000 cal yr BP. Additionally, Pup Lake’s MS record exhibits notable connections with widely recognized hemispheric-scale climate deterioration episodes, including the 9.2, 8.2, and 5.2 ka BP events.

This essay reviews the following films:

Cuando las aguas se juntan. Dir. Margarita Martínez Escallón. Prod. La Retratista. Colombia, 2023. 85 minutes. Distributed by Cineplex.

Cantos que inundan el río. Dir. Luckas Perro (also known as Germán Arango Rendón). Prod. Pasolini en Medellín. Colombia, 2022. 72 minutes. Distributed by Briosa Films.

Del otro lado. Dir. Iván Guarnizo. Prod. Gusano Films, Salon Indien Films, RTVC Play. Colombia-Spain, 2021. 83 minutes. Distributed by DOC:CO Agencia de Promoción y Distribución.

This essay reviews the following works:

Flaco’s Legacy: The Globalization of Conjunto. By Erin E. Bauer. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2023. Pp. viii + 290. $30.00 paperback. ISBN: 9780252087158.

Indigenous Audibilities: Music, Heritage, and Collections in the Americas. By Amanda Minks. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023. Pp. 256. $28.99 paperback. ISBN: 9780197532492.

Fernando Ortiz on Music: Selected Writing on Afro-Cuban Culture. By Robin D. Moore. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2018. Pp. ix + 282. $69.50 hardcover. ISBN: 9781439911730.

Sounding Latin Music, Hearing the Americas. By Jairo Moreno. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2023. Pp. x + 364. $35.00 paperback. ISBN: 9780226825687.

La conquista discográfica de América Latina. By Sergio Ospina Romero. Buenos Aires: Gourmet Musical, 2024. Pp. 314. Paperback. ISBN: 9789873823954.

A Respectable Spell: Transformations of Samba in Rio de Janeiro. By Carlos Sandroni. Translated by Michael Iyanaga. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2021. Pp. xxxix + 275. $28.00 paperback. ISBN: 9780252086083. Originally published as Feitiço decente: Transformações do samba no Rio de Janeiro (1917–1933). Rio de Janeiro: Jorge Zahar and Editora UFRJ, 2001.

Decolonial Metal Music in Latin America. By Nelson Varas Díaz. Bristol, UK: Intellect, 2021. Pp. 256. $34.95 paperback. ISBN: 9781789387568.

Inca Music Reimagined. By Vera Wolkowicz. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022. Pp. xvi + 272. $97.00 hardcover. ISBN: 9780197548943.

Wang Yuanlu 王圓籙—the individual who accidentally stumbled upon the ‘library cave’ or Cave 17 at the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang in June 1900—is behind one of the world’s most significant discoveries. Yet, in the years that followed, he was also responsible for the scattering of the cave’s contents and selling large chunks to Marc Aurel Stein in 1907 and to Paul Pelliot in 1908. How could the self-appointed guardian of this major Buddhist complex part with one of what is often described as its crowning jewels? This article delves into Wang Yuanlu’s motivations and highlights his agency, demonstrating that he was instrumental in shaping the now so-called Stein collection. One of the key sources for this investigation are the published writings of Marc Aurel Stein, which provide the most detailed descriptions of Wang and his activities during the period of the dispersal of the contents of Cave 17. These are supplemented by information drawn from the relevant parts of Stein’s diaries, Paul Pelliot’s writings, and primary sources and recent scholarship in Chinese that shed a different light on Wang’s doings. The article starts by studying Wang’s relationship with the Mogao Caves and their wider ecosystem. It then looks at the subsequent dispersal of the newly found hoard through his transactions with Stein in 1907 and 1914, which are contrasted with his dealings with Pelliot.