New York Times National Correspondent Simón Romero

May 10, 2019 – New Mexico-born Simon Romero is a national correspondent with The New York Times who has traveled all over Latin America. A graduate of Harvard College, Romero later studied history at the University of São Paulo. Romero joined the Times in 1999 where he covered financial issues from Brazil and later moved to Houston, Texas. He later became the Andean bureau chief in Caracas, Venezuela, where he covered indigenous politics in Bolivia, the civil war in Colombia and the rise of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

Romero then became Brazilian bureau chief where he covered the changes in the Amazon, guerilla insurgents in Paraguay, climate change in Antarctica and the economic boom in Brazil leading to political upheaval. He left Brazil in 2017 to become a national correspondent based in New Mexico.

Back home, Romero has covered a number of issues related to the American Southwest including the issues U.S. Latinos link to slavery. His story about Latinos and lynching in the American West garnered national attention amid rising racial tensions in the U.S. But Romero has been on the front line in cover the surge of refugees from Central American attempting to enter the U.S. through El Paso and New Mexico

Romero sat down with NMiF correspondent Russell Contreras to discuss the changing landscape of Latin American politics and the Latino legacy in the Southwest.

Guest:
Simón Romero, national correspondent, The New York Times

For Further Reading:

Indian Slavery Once Thrived in New Mexico. Latinos Are Finding Family Ties to It

Lynch Mobs Killed Latinos Across the West. The Fight to Remember Those Atrocities is Just Starting