States & the Law

States have the responsibility of upholding the law. But in Latin America they frequently fail to do so. Basic civil rights go unprotected, sometimes with dramatic consequences. However, coalitions of democratic politicians, public administrators, civil society groups, and international advocacy networks, have focused on these rights and have attained some significant gains.

The following sources cover these issues: (1) human rights & transitional justice; (2) corruption, transparency & the law; (3) violence, drugs & the state; (4) freedom of press & speech; (5) displacement & refugees; (6) the church & religion; and (7) international & comparative law.

Human Rights & Transitional Justice
  •    GUATEMALA
      • The Art of Political Murder
        • Documentary on Guatemala, on the truth behind the murder of Guatemalan Bishop Juan Gerardi, who was killed after trying to hold the country’s military accountable for the atrocities committed during its civil war. Available for rent here.
      • Finding Oscar
        • Documentary on Guatemala, on the Dos Erres massacre in Guatemala in December 1982 and the subsequent search for justice
      • Granito: How to Nail a Dictator
        • Documentary on Guatemala, that examines human rights atrocities under the Ríos Montt regime in Guatemala in the 1980s
      • Guatemala: Memory of Silence
        • Copy of the 1999 report of Guatemala’s truth commission, covering the country’s civil war between 1960s-1990s
   PERU
Corruption, Transparency & the Law
   BRAZIL
      • Exporting Corruption: Beyond Brazil’s Car Wash Scandal
        • Brief documentary on Brazil,  examining money laundering and corruption scheme in the Lava Jato case in Brazil
      • The Mechanism
        • Brazilian political drama series on Operation Lava Jato, an anti-corruption investigation; it is loosely based on true events. Available for rent here.
      • What Happened in Brazil?
        • Documentary on Brazil (part of a series), on the largest corruption scandal in Latin America
Violence, Drugs & the State
  •    mexicO
      • The 43
        • Documentary on Mexico, disputing the Mexican government’s account of the disappearance of 43 students in Iguala, Mexico, in 2014. Available for rent here.
      • Ayotzinapa, El paso de la Tortuga
        • Documentary on Mexico (in Spanish), about 43 Mexican students forcibly disappeared in 2014 and the unsatisfactory investigation that followed. Available for rent here.
      • Blood on the Wall
        • Documentary on Mexico, about cartel violence and organized crime, touching on migration, weak state capacity, policing and corruption. Available for rent here.
      • Cartel Land
        • Documentary on Mexico, focusing on two modern-day militias, including one led by José Mireles in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, in 2013. Available for rent here.
      • Devil’s Freedom
        • Documentary on Mexico (in Spanish, with English subtitles), on violence in Mexico in the 2010s; it includes interviews with victims and perpetrators. Available for rent here.
      • Informes del Mecanismo Mecanismo Especial de Seguimiento del Asunto Ayotzinapa (MESA)
        • Reports of the special committee set up to investigate the forcible disappearance of 43 Mexican students  in 2014; it includes a video.
      • Narco Wars
        • Documentary on Colombia and Mexico; a six-part series on cocaine cartels in Colombia and Mexico. Available for rent here.
      • Parents of Ayotzinapa Students
        • Article on the efforts undertaken by the parents of missing students since the Ayotzinapa disappearance in 2014
  •   el salvador
      • Gangs of El Salvador
        • Documentary on El Salvador, on gang violence and the war between the government and the most powerful gangs in El Salvador
  •   guatemala
      • Guatemala: Meet the Maras
        • Documentary on Guatemala, on the maras, violence, and the police in Guatemala. Available for rent here.
  honduras
      • Honduras: Blood and the Water
        • Documentary on Honduras, on the 2016 assassination of activist Berta Cáceres who fought for indigenous and land rights
  BRAZIl
      • A Question of Perspective
        • Documentary on Brazil (in Portuguese, with English subtitles), on the Rio de Janeiro-based Red Command (Comando Vermelho – CV). It covers the origins of this criminal gang in the 1970s and its activities.
      • Favela Frontlines
        • Documentary on Brazil (in Portuguese, with English subtitles) on the battle between the police and drug traffickers in Brazil. Available for rent here.
      • PCC – Poder Secreto
        • Four-part documentary on Brazil (in Portuguese, with English subtitles) on rise of Brazil’s largest crime organization, the São Paulo-based First Command of the Capital (Primeiro Comando da Capital – PCC), a group founded in 1993. Available for rent here.
      • Point Blank (À Queima Roupa)
        • Documentary on Brazil (in Portuguese, with English subtitles), on police violence and corruption perpetrated in Rio de Janeiro in the early twenty-first century. Available for rent here.
  •    COLOMBIA
      • Falsos Positivos
        • Documentary on Colombia, about innocent victims killed by the Colombian military
      • Narco Wars
        • Documentary on Colombia and Mexico; a six-part series on cocaine cartels in Colombia and Mexico. Available for rent here.
      • Pablo Escobar: King of Cocaine
        • Documentary on Colombia, on Pablo Escobar, leader of the Medellín cartel and the biggest cocaine drug lord in the history of Colombia
      • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
        • Brief backgrounder on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
Freedom of Press & Speech
Displacement & Refugees
The Church & Religion
    • The Religion and State Project
      • University-based project that provides data on the separation of religion and state in Latin America and the rest of the world
International & Comparative Law
University of Southern California