World Press Photo highlights Latin America

Latin American photographers took four regional wins in the 2026 World Press Photo Contest, with Argentina, Colombia and Mexico all represented in this year’s selections. (worldpressphoto.org) World Press Photo said it chose 42 winning works from 57,376 photographs submitted by 3,747 photographers across 141 countries. The foundation said the 2026 World Press Photo of the Year winner and two finalists will be announced on April 23, 2026. (worldpressphoto.org) In the South America region, Argentine photographer Tadeo Bourbon won in Singles for “Milei’s Argentina,” and Argentine photographer Pablo E. Piovano won in Long-Term Projects for “The Human Cost of Agrotoxins.” Colombian photographers Ever Andrés Mercado Puentes and Ferley A. Ospina were also selected in Stories. (worldpressphoto.org) Bourbon’s image shows police detaining Father Jorge “Chueco” Romero during a pensioners’ protest in Buenos Aires on May 14, 2025. World Press Photo said clergy from Opción por los Pobres had joined weekly demonstrations against pension freezes and cuts to medical coverage. (worldpressphoto.org) World Press Photo said Piovano’s long-term project traces the health effects of agrochemical exposure in rural Argentina. The foundation said pesticide use in the country rose from 40 million to 580 million liters annually after the 1996 approval of herbicide-resistant soybeans, with 60% of cultivated land now sprayed. (worldpressphoto.org) The two Colombian winners were recognized for projects rooted in local communities rather than breaking-news scenes. The South America winners page lists Mercado Puentes’ “Manacillos: A Return to Life” and Ospina’s “Name the Absence” in the Stories category. (worldpressphoto.org) Mexico’s César Rodríguez won the North and Central America Long-Term Projects category for “Mexico, A Changing Climate.” World Press Photo said the work documents coastal erosion in Tabasco, water scarcity near Monterrey and the State of Mexico, and the displacement tied to climate extremes. (worldpressphoto.org 1) (worldpressphoto.org 2) The foundation said 52% of Mexico’s territory lies in arid or semi-arid zones, and that environmental disasters displaced about 2.7 million people internally over the last two decades. In Tabasco, Rodríguez’s project says coastal erosion has consumed more than 500 meters of land since 2005. (worldpressphoto.org) This year’s regional selections leaned heavily toward stories about protest, public health, cultural survival and climate pressure. World Press Photo’s regional juries said the South America winners reflected political tension alongside “resistance and resilience,” while the North and Central America jury emphasized photography as a record that can hold people accountable. (worldpressphoto.org 1) (worldpressphoto.org 2) The Latin American winners now move into the final stage of the contest before the overall award is named on April 23. Until then, the regional list already shows how much of this year’s competition turned on stories from the Americas. (worldpressphoto.org)