Basic freedoms under threat in Latin America

Welcome to the “Number of the Week,” where we choose a single figure that helps understand what is going on in Brazil. This week, we discuss how the government in Cuba is cracking down on protesters to tighten its grip on power, according to data from Human Rights Watch (HRW).

1,320

Cubans in prison or facing prosecution for protesting

Latin America experienced an “alarming setback of basic freedoms,” according to Human Rights Watch’s latest World Report. The organization says the region is facing some of its gravest human rights challenges in decades, with significant increases in attacks on the independence of courts, on press freedoms and on civil society.