http://www.americasquarterly.org/ With the goal of filling this void, the Americas Society and Council of the Americas launched Americas Quarterly—a journal dedicated to deepening policy analysis and debate on economics, finance, and politics in the region. The editorial mission of the journal is to target this new generation and to engage them in a discussion of future policy alternatives, highlight specific reforms throughout the hemisphere, and provide a forum for the exchange of ideas. 2010-03-18T07:21:55Z AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1381 2010-03-17T21:28:43Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. In Wake of Consular Killings, Calderón and U.S. Ambassador Visit Ciudad Juarez Mexican President Felipe Calderón traveled to Ciudad Juarez Tuesday to express his “strongest indignation” over the March 13 murder of three people leaving a children’s party in the violence-plagued border city. Gunmen thought to have links to the Los Aztecas gang killed a U.S. consular worker and her husband driving in one car, and a Mexican man married to another U.S. consular worker traveling in a separate vehicle. The Federal Bureau of Investigation believes there’s a chance the murders were a case of mistaken identity, but investigations continue. U.S. Ambassador Carlos Pascual joined Calderón...

Ruxandra Guidi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1378 2010-03-17T17:26:41Z

"Free, Legal Sex Change Operations Coming to Cuba" could have been a satirical news headline in U.S. papers during the Cold War years—and four decades later, it's still a pretty revolutionary concept. Last week, Cuba authorized gender reassignment surgery. And while it didn't make top headlines last week, it's been brewing for quite some time: the law was passed in 2008, and the country's first and only sex reassignment surgery dates back to 1988. Today, there are supposedly 28 people waiting in line for their state-funded sex change.This is a remarkable step for human rights in Cuba, where homosexual relationships have been notoriously criminalized by the regime and haven't been recognized by the statesince the 1970s. One example is the persecution of writer Reinaldo Arenas, which drew international attention, and was memorialized by Arenas’ own novel-turned-film, "Before Night Falls."As recently as 2004, state police were revisiting Cuba’s archaic and strict...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1377 2010-03-17T16:44:10Z

Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed Canadian voters in his first live broadcast on YouTube yesterday, a 40-minute forum where he answered questions ranging from the legalization of marijuana and Quebec sovereignty to troop deployment in Afghanistan and the protection of pensions. The forum was hosted by Google’s Chief Financial Officer, Patrick Pichette, and more than 5,000 viewers submitted 1,794 questions and cast 169,842 votes. The event provided a platform for people to question the prime minister on the Speech from the Throne address delivered on March 3, 2010. This is equivalent to the State of the Union address in the United States. This YouTube appearance is in line with Prime Minister Harper’s embrace of social media (he has Facebook and Twitter profiles) and his somewhat more distant approach to traditional media outlets during his term thus far. Upon reaching office in 2006, he selected the journalists who could ask questions...

Kara Andrade http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1376 2010-03-17T16:17:51Z

When I left Guatemala in 1982 at the age of five, I joined the immigration tide of thousands of people fleeing Guatemala’s civil war, poverty, gangs, and corruption to cross the Mexican desert and enter the United States. For many of my generation, Guatemala was as far as we could imagine from a law-abiding society where justice prevails. But things are changing. This year has already opened up new chapter in Guatemala's history. Look at what’s happened in just a few short months: - An ex-president went to jail to face money laundering charges.- The murder of Rodrigo Rosenberg—the prominent attorney who appeared on YouTube in May 2009 accusing President Colom of killing him—is resolved by a UN entity with 300 investigators who use cellphone calls and private security camera footage to determine that Rosenberg plotted his own murder.- The director of Guatemala’s national police force, Baltzar Gomez,...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1375 2010-03-16T17:16:59Z

Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes called for Honduras to be readmitted into international forums at yesterday’s meeting of countries located in Central America’s northern triangle. The presidents of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador met with other politicians and business leaders from the three countries (Panama also sent business representatives) to discuss trade ties and diplomatic ties. Funes lobbied alongside President Álvaro Colom of Guatemala for the reintegration of Honduras into the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Central American Integration System (SICA), and offered to mediate Honduras’ return to such international bodies....

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1373 2010-03-15T21:08:36Z

Co-Author: Mitch Seligson The new found momentum for allowing homosexuals to openly serve in the U.S. military springs from attitudinal changes that have taken place since the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy of 17 years ago.  If only this type of generational change were occurring south of our own borders.  Recent surveys demonstrate that levels of political tolerance of gay rights in Latin America have changed little across generations.  The most basic measure of tolerance is that of citizens to accept the right of a citizen (in this case a homosexual) to run for political office.   Sadly, even by this basic measure of tolerance, younger generations in Latin America are only marginally more supportive of political gay rights, especially in the most notoriously intolerant environments for homosexuals, Jamaica and Haiti....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1372 2010-03-15T15:45:39Z

Reports out of Colombia following yesterday’s legislative elections indicate that, as was expected, conservative coalition parties aligned with President Álvaro Uribe will likely maintain their majorities in both houses of congress. The voting was largely free of violence, leading one official to declare: “these are the most peaceful elections we have had on our national territory in the last 25 years.”Other observers, however, contend that widespread vote-buying allegations, voter intimidation tactics, tainted candidates, and voter confusion cast a dark shadow on the Colombian electoral process. Turnout was also low, with only about 40 percent of registered voters showing up to cast ballots.The results of Sunday’s elections were being closely watched by many analysts who believe they will serve as an early predictor of how Colombians will vote in the upcoming May 30 presidential elections. As of mid-day Monday, 94 percent of votes have been counted for senate races. Full results...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1370 2010-03-12T17:22:32Z

The European Union yesterday called on the Cuban Government to immediately release all political prisoners and urged EU institutions to give their “unconditional support to the launching of a peaceful process of political transition to multi-party democracy in Cuba.” The statement comes after the death last month of Cuban dissident Orlando Zapata Tamayo, due to hunger strike. The National Assembly of Cuba did not wait to respond to the resolution saying the EU was, “manipulating sentiments, distorting facts, deceiving people and obscuring reality." The Cuban declaration stressed that medical efforts were made to save Zapata’s life. One reprecussion of the EU resolution is being felt in Spain, where its representative to the European Congress Willy Meyer commented that the scenario will complicate Spain’s efforts to improve the EU relations with Cuba and the end the European common position on Cuba....

Jenny Manrique http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1369 2010-03-11T22:12:35Z

Mientras la campaña presidencial estaba congelada por cuenta del trámite de un referendo reeleccionista para saber si el presidente Álvaro Uribe sería candidato por tercera vez, proyecto que se cayó en la Corte Constitucional—a paso lento y en medio de algunos escándalos—avanzaban las campañas al Congreso de la República que por fin llegan a su recta final este domingo.Cerca de 30 millones de colombianos que es el potencial electoral del país (sin contar con los niveles de abstención que alcanzan cifras hasta del 60%), podrán sufragar este 14 de marzo en más de 10 mil puestos de votación. El reto que tienen los electores es escoger nuevamente un congreso compuesto por 102 senadores y 166 representantes a la Cámara, que no repita las prácticas clientelistas y corruptas en que incurrieron al menos 90 parlamentarios de la pasada administración, quienes fueron vinculados a investigaciones relacionadas con parapolítica y en el peor...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1368 2010-03-11T18:40:17Z

A new study by the Organization of American States and the United Nations on alcohol, tobacco and drug consumption among high school students revealed that Chilean students consume more marijuana and tobacco than their regional counterparts. The study looked at more than 170 thousand students from Perú, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Uruguay.Chile’s consumption rate of marijuana in the sampled age groups was 22.7 percent—more than double the regional average of 11 percent. Alcohol continues to be the most prevalent substance used by students in Chile with 70 percent of students reporting that they drank at least once before. The regional leaders in youth alcohol consumption were Ecuador and Uruguay at nearly 80 percent. Perú and Bolivia, by contrast, had rates of 52 and 43 percent respectively.Among legal drugs, tobacco took the lead. Nearly 70 percent of Chilean students reported having smoked tobacco at least once. This was far above...

Jos� Urtubey http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1367 2010-03-11T17:17:23Z

The year 2010 marks Argentina’s bicentennial. The moment provides an opportunity to reflect on certain aspects of our history as well as our future challenges. One of the most important is the role of entrepreneurship, or more specifically, new entrepreneurship and young entrepreneurs. Social and economic factors in Argentina, such as territory, climate diversity, natural resources and the educational level of our population, set us apart from other Latin American countries and provide a solid foundation for sustainable development and growth. Many industries have been developed throughout Argentina’s history, including agribusiness, information technology, energy and nuclear power, metal and steel, metallurgy, extraction, chemicals, construction, design and tourism. Without a doubt, agribusiness is the industry with the most untapped potential. One of the most important sectors is the timber industry, where I work. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), estimates the world population will be 8 billion...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1364 2010-03-10T17:48:33Z

Colombia’s Partido Social de la Unidad, a coalition of parties that support President Álvaro Uribe, officially presented former Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos as its candidate for the May 2010 presidential elections on Monday.  The next day, Santos chose Colombian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Angelino Garzón as his vice president and said he would offer Uribe a ministerial position if elected president. Garzón and Santos worked together in former President Andrés Pastrana’s cabinet between 1998 and 2002.    A poll conducted by Ipsos Napoleon Franco had Santos leading with 23 percent of the vote on February 27, the day after Colombia’s Constitutional Court blocked a referendum that could have allowed Uribe to seek a third consecutive term. Other candidates include Senator Gustavo Petro, former Medellin Mayor Sergio Fajardo and veteran politician German Vargas Lleras.  The Conservative Party has not yet named a candidate. Since it is unlikely that a...

Sebastian Chaskel http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1363 2010-03-10T17:38:31Z

Colombians have a wide and strange array of options as they go to the polls this Sunday. 2,559 candidates are running for seats in the Senate, the Chamber of Representatives and the Andean Parliament; there seems to be a candidate for every taste. Some popular, if nontraditional candidates include the Partido de Integración Nacional’s (PIN) Benjamin Arrieta, (currently a Senator with the Convergencia Ciudadana party), who proposes free vasectomies and tubal ligations for the country’s poorest citizens and the Partido de la U’s María Fernanda Valencia, a former newscaster who promises to pose nude if elected. Cristián Fredy Murcia Guzmán, the brother of pyramid schemer David Murcia Guzman’s (DMG Holdings) is running for the Senate with Movimiento Apertura Liberal, on a platform that includes calls to restore his brother’s disgraced enterprise. Complicating Sunday’s elections is a relatively new voting system first instituted in 2006.  Intended to strengthen the country’s political...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1362 2010-03-09T19:35:32Z

Colombia and Paraguay signed a declaration on Tuesday pledging to enhance bilateral cooperation primarily on security matters, but also in commerce, investment and tourism. The agreement follows the resolution of a recent diplomatic dispute between the two countries that occurred prior to February’s Río Group Summit in Mexico. At the summit, Paraguayan Minister of Defense Luis Bareiro objected to the presence in Paraguay of Colombian military advisors, who had been assisting the Paraguayan military in efforts to capture members of the armed group Ejército Paraguayo del Pueblo (EPP). In an effort to patch things up, Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo then met with Colombia’s Álvaro Uribe in Mexico, after which he publicly thanked Colombia for its assistance. After signing the agreement today in Asunción, Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermúdez urged Paraguay to continue its efforts to weaken the EPP, which officials allege has been responsible for numerous kidnappings and attacks on police in...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1361 2010-03-08T15:48:27Z

Former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has accepted an invitation to head Petrocaribe’s newly formed political council, Venezuelan foreign minister Nicolás Maduro announced on Saturday. Minister Maduro said that in his new post, Zelaya would "oversee strengthening of political independence and the defense of 'popular democracy' in Latin America and the Caribbean."Petrocaribe, a Venezuelan state initiative created in 2005, gives preferential oil prices to 18 Caribbean and Central American nations. The announcement came at a governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) meeting in Caracas, to which Zelaya had traveled from the Dominican Republic (where he is living under exile) to attend.Zelaya, who was overthrown in a June 28, 2009 coup has been living in self-imposed exile since January 27, 2010, when Porfirio Lobo was sworn in as president....

Clara Mart�nez http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1360 2010-03-06T03:44:46Z

A 8.247 kilómetros de Santiago de Chile, en una pequeña sala de la Escuela de Asuntos Públicos e Internacionales (SIPA) de la Universidad de Columbia, en Nueva York, un grupo de estudiantes monitorea atentamente la situación en Chile, luego del terremoto que el pasado 27 febrero sacudió el centro y sur del país. A través de Twitter, Facebook, blogs, y medios de comunicación, el grupo de voluntarios recolecta información humanitaria como la falta de luz o alimentos y, tras ubicar las coordenadas de la zona, la coloca en un mapa. El resultado es un mapa interactivo que permite, tanto a ciudadanos como a las organizaciones humanitarias conocer en tiempo real cuál es la situación en las zonas afectadas. El programa, conocido como Ushahidi-Chile y disponible a través del portal chile.ushahidi.com, fue lanzado una hora después de que se reportara el terremoto. Desde entonces,  el portal ha registrado más de 630 incidentes. “Al inicio,...

Sebastian Chaskel http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1359 2010-03-06T00:07:53Z

Colombian President Álvaro Uribe and his allies were already taking candidate-like precautions before the country’s Constitutional Court ruled in a 7-2 decision that his run for a third term would be unconstitutional. Juan Manuel Santos, one of Uribe’s closest disciples and a former defense minister, refused to launch his campaign as long as the possibility existed of a third term for Uribe.  Meanwhile, other candidates and pre-candidates for the presidency limited their campaign activity while waiting waited for the rules of the game to be set. Hardly a few minutes after the president publicly accepted the court’s ruling, Santos launched his campaign, asking Colombians to show their support for the current administration’s policies by voting for him.  The next day Santos and Uribe met in Cali, where Uribe expressed his support for Santos’ political project. But Santos is not alone as Uribe’s top pick. The president has also offered his strong backing to Agriculture...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1358 2010-03-05T18:19:18Z

The United States this week announced its intention to prohibit—effective April 20—the import of wild shrimp from Mexico after determining that the country has failed to adequately protect sea turtles. U.S. law (Section 609 of Public Law 101-162) prohibits imports of shrimp unless the harvesting nation has sea turtle protection programs comparable to those in effect in the United States. If the U.S. ban is upheld, it will jeopardize nearly 60,000 tons of Mexican shrimp exported annually. These exports are valued at more than $350 million, representing 42 percent of Mexico’s total seafood exports.Manuel Montes Díaz, president of Mexico’s National Council for the Promotion of Commercial Fish and Aquaculture Products, came out strongly against the U.S. decision saying, “Mexico has a responsible and sustainable fishing industry” with the means to protect turtles.Although the move has provoked a vocal Mexican response, the announcement appears to have been timed to coincide with...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1357 2010-03-05T17:00:21Z

This piece was co-authored with Mitchell Seligson of Vanderbilt University. According to the UN Commission on Trade and Development over 60 percent of the population south of the Rio Grande is under 35 years old.  Latin America’s young people will have an impact on political stability and the economy not just in their home countries but also in the U.S., where Latin America accounts for 20 percent of U.S. exports and is the major source of narcotics consumed in the U.S.  There’s also the issue of immigration, where a backlash against Hispanic immigration has fueled a growing desire to close borders and sometimes spilling over into an ugly racist anger against immigrants already within our borders.  With the huge demographic bubble south of U.S. border, the lack of economic opportunity faced by many of the young means that in the years ahead larger numbers of them will be knocking on U.S....

Liliana Colanzi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1356 2010-03-04T20:23:02Z

Cuenta la periodista Leila Guerriero (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1967) que a algunas personas, cuando se sienten conmovidas por una historia real, se les da por comentar “sería una gran novela” . Pero Guerriero no quiere escribir una novela. Y no porque no le guste la ficción —al contrario, se alimenta de ella vorazmente. Lo que le molesta a Guerriero de la frase (“sería una gran novela”) es la percepción de que el periodismo es un género menor y que una historia solo aspira a trascender cuando está mediada por la ficción. “Yo no creo que haya nada más feroz, desopilante, ambiguo, tétrico o hermoso que la realidad, ni que escribir periodismo sea una prueba piloto para llegar, alguna vez, a escribir ficción”, afirma Guerriero en Frutos extraños (Aguilar, 2009), el compendio de sus crónicas escritas entre 2001 y 2008. El trabajo de Guerriero—que publica en El Mercurio y Paula, de...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1355 2010-03-04T19:15:44Z

The city of Bogotá today entered into its fourth day of an ongoing transportation strike that is generating huge economic losses and sporadic civil unrest. The strike was called by an association of small-scale transportation providers, who oppose the city’s plan to continue implementing the Transmilenio project—a long term effort to revamp the city-wide transit system. The owners of the approximately 16,400 buses that have operated independently in Bogotá claim the new system will decimate their livelihoods....

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1354 2010-03-03T23:21:13Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Leaders from Across Americas Reach out to Chile In the days since an 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile claimed roughly 800 lives and devastated infrastructure, leaders from across the Western Hemisphere have rallied to show their support for relief efforts. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton each traveled to Chile in the wake of the disaster to pledge assistance. Peruvian President Alan García, who has not traveled to Chile in a year due to a maritime-boundary dispute, also visited to pledge humanitarian aid, saying: “We need to strengthen our fraternity, our closeness, and in these moments of need, work toward a...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1351 2010-03-03T19:40:44Z

Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, and Ecuador are showing a display of solidarity with Chile in the aftermath of the February 27 earthquake.  On Tuesday, Bolivian President Evo Morales said he would donate half of his salary to aid Chile, and called for a five-day campaign in Bolivia to raise funds for earthquake relief in Haiti as well as in Chile....

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1350 2010-03-03T00:16:50Z

Once all the post-mortems of the just-completed Olympic Winter Games in Canada are written, one major success will stand out above the others: Canada’s national effort to ensure the success of their athletes on the slopes and frozen surfaces of British Columbia.  Say what you will about Canada’s “Own the Podium” initiative, but the bottom line is that it worked. Canada previously hosted two Olympics: the Summer Games in Montreal in 1976 and the Winter Games in Calgary in 1988.  At neither of these games did the host nation win a gold medal, results that led to snickering about Canadians wanting to be such great hosts that they refused to upset their guests by claiming the top of the podium in any one event, including national sports like hockey.  Indeed, the Canadians were outstanding hosts this time, too, but they did not let that get in the way of a...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1349 2010-03-02T18:01:00Z

Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a message to Venezuela on Tuesday, demanding an explanation from the government for its alleged support of an alliance between Basque separatist group ETA and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC).   On Monday, Spanish High Court Judge Eloy Velasco accused Venezuela of helping the two groups plot attacks on Spanish soil and issued international arrest warrants for six alleged ETA members and seven Colombians thought to be members of the FARC.  The Venezuelan government facilitated communication between the two groups, the Court found, leading to the FARC asking ETA for help coordinating an assassination of Colombian officials visiting Spain, including Colombian president Álvaro Uribe..  Velasco’s 26-page report outlines the contacts ETA is believed to have in Venezuela, and says the groups also collaborated on an assassination plot of former Colombian President Andrés Pastrana in 2000. A statement from the Venezuelan government said the accusations were...

Jenny Manrique http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1348 2010-03-02T17:29:35Z

La noticia más esperada del último año en Colombia, se conoció por fin el pasado viernes: Una abrumadora mayoría, 7 de los 9 magistrados de la Corte Constitucional, hundió el referendo que hubiera permitido al presidente Álvaro Uribe aspirar a una segunda reelección. Pese a que en los últimos días, algunas fuentes del alto tribunal habían filtrado información según la cual, triunfaría la ponencia negativa que frente al tema había expuesto el magistrado Humberto Sierra Porto, todas las cábalas eran impredecibles hasta el pronunciamiento oficial. Es más, el viernes en la mañana se vio al secretario jurídico de la Presidencia, Edmundo del Castillo, en los pasillos de la Sala Plena, un hecho que se interpretó como una jugada para intentar cambiar algunos votos de los magistrados. Pero finalmente el estado de derecho triunfó sobre el estado de opinión del que hiciera eco Uribe, para significar que eran las mayorías...

Liz Harper http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1346 2010-03-02T16:30:32Z

You’d never know it, but there’s a pretty big election coming up later this month at the Organization for American States (OAS). On Wednesday, March 3, representatives from the member states of the OAS (35 in total minus Cuba and Honduras) meet in a special session to formally introduce candidates to become the tenth secretary general. The mission of the OAS, founded more than 60 years ago, is to promote and strengthen representative democracy, development and security, to act as the forum for governments in the hemisphere and to ensure peaceful settlement of disputes. That’s a pretty tall order. The current secretary general, José Miguel Insulza, wants to serve for another five-year term and recently said confidently that he would be confirmed on March 24. He needs to get at least 17 votes. For the last year or so, current and former government officials have been murmuring that Insulza failed...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1345 2010-03-01T16:44:07Z

Seventy judges in the Federal District of Mexico underwent sensitivity training today at the Instituto Mexicano de Sexología in preparation for this Thursday, when same-sex marriage becomes legal in the district. According to the Judicial and Legal Services Council the workshops are intended to ensure that ceremonies are performed without “discrimination”. ...

Jenny Manrique http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1342 2010-02-26T22:29:43Z

Más de un medio latinoamericano pagaría por las grabaciones que tienen en su poder los medios oficialistas mexicanos que presenciaron la pelea verbal entre los presidentes Álvaro Uribe y Hugo Chávez durante la Cumbre del Grupo de Río en Cancún. Los mandatarios de Colombia y Venezuela no solo fueron protagonistas de un incidente calificado como “bochornoso” por sus mismos colegas sino que, fruto de una relación de amor y odio desde que ambos están en el poder, el comercio entre estos vecinos, otrora grandes socios, se redujo en un 15 por ciento solo el año pasado. La pelea colegial, en que Uribe le pide a Chávez que “sea varón, pues usted es valiente para hablar a distancia y cobarde para hablar de frente”, y éste le replica con un “vete al carajo”, vuelve circense el hecho de que las relaciones diplomáticas están seriamente deterioradas desde su congelamiento el año pasado, por...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1341 2010-02-26T21:52:01Z

On February 25, Guatemala’s Constitutional Court ordered the removal of Education Minister Bienvenido Argueta for failing to provide the court with complete information regarding the beneficiaries of President Álvaro Colóm’s flagship social program, Mi Familia Progresa.  This latest development in a months-old political drama augurs poorly for Guatemala’s fragile education system and President Colóm’s claims to be supporting transparency measures in this notoriously corrupt nation.Mi Familia Progresa (MFP) is Guatemala’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, which provides cash payments to poor mothers, conditional upon them sending their children to school and for health check-ups.  CCT programs have become increasingly popular in Latin America, as they have shown demonstrably positive results on school enrolment and child health.  President Colóm has hailed MFP as the cornerstone of his anti-poverty platform in Guatemala, but critics have argued that Colóm has used the program to reward voters who supported him in the 2007 elections. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1340 2010-02-26T19:57:03Z

The first trip to South America by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will take place amidst a series of U.S. policy changes in the region. By confirming that she will attend the new Uruguayan President Jose Mujica’s March 1 inauguration ceremony in Montevideo, Secretary Clinton will have the chance to meet with several of the region’s newly-elected presidents. The agenda will include post-inauguration ceremony meetings with the new Uruguayan president and also with Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. On March 2, she will fly to Chile where she is scheduled to speak with outgoing President Michelle Bachelet and the newly-elected president, Sebastian Piñera. On Wednesday she will travel to Brasilia to meet with President Lula da Silva and on Thursday she will meet in Costa Rica with outgoing incumbent President Oscar Arias and with the incoming President Laura Chinchilla. Advance planning is also taking place for her to...

Kate Prengel http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1338 2010-02-26T00:02:49Z

The Guatemalan president has had a trying year. His country remains one of the murder capitals of Latin America, with an estimated 16 people killed every day. His national police are overstretched and often corrupt. And in May, he himself was (falsely) accused of murdering a prominent Guatemalan lawyer, in a crisis that came close to overturning his government. Yet to hear President Álvaro Colom speak, you would think it had been smooth sailing all the way. Colom, a gentle and reed-thin man in a sweater-vest, told reporters at the UN last week that “as president, I can express my satisfaction” with Guatemala’s fight against corruption in the government and the police force. “I think we’re moving forward,” he added. “I wish it were faster, but I think it is moving forward.”...

Liliana Colanzi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1339 2010-02-25T23:08:01Z

Juan Carlos Valdivia tuvo que reinventarse como cineasta para filmar Zona Sur (2009), la película que narra la decadencia de una familia de la clase alta de Bolivia. “Me harté del cine”, confiesa el director boliviano, que ya tenía una trayectoria destacada en su país gracias a las películas Jonás y la ballena rosada (1995) y American Visa (2005). “Sentía que me debía a mí mismo una obra personal, honesta, sin pudor”, dice. Después de una pausa de tres años, durante la cual no vio nada de cine pero sí se dedicó a leer intensamente, Valdivia regresó para contar una historia que conocía muy bien: la de una familia “blanca” acomodada de la ciudad de La Paz y sus complejas relaciones con los sirvientes indígenas de la casa. Zona Sur es quizás la primera película que refleja los cambios sociales que se producen actualmente en el país, y lo hace...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1337 2010-02-25T20:21:47Z

The governing body for the Mexican Federal Electoral Institute yesterday imposed a $9.5 million fine on the popular television network TV Azteca for its refusal to air more than 16,000 political advertisements for candidates and parties in four states where elections will be held 2010. According to Mexican electoral laws, all radio and television stations are required to allocate up to 48 minutes of programming per day to the electoral institute for candidates political messages.Yesterday’s fine is the largest-ever for such a violation and comes after a similar $5.5 million fine—issued in January to the same network—for its failure to air 8,000 electoral ads in the states of Coahuila, Tabasco and Yucatán. TV Azteca’s actions have generated debate among members of the electoral institute about its role in safeguarding candidates’ access to media.The discord between this particular network and the electoral institute is not new phenomenon. TV Azteca has been...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1335 2010-02-24T23:37:16Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. The New LatAm Group on the Bloc Latin American leaders convened in Cancun, Mexico on February 22 and 23 for the 2010 Rio Group summit, where they agreed to form a new regional alternative that excludes the United States and Canada and that some posit could serve as an alternative to the Organization of American States. The specific details of the body will most likely be figured out at a 2011 summit in Caracas. AS/COA’s Christopher Sabatini discusses the newly created Latin American body on Worldfocus. “[The region’s] feeling its own diplomatic muscle and it wants to assert that,” says Sabatini. ...

Daniel Artana http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1334 2010-02-24T22:19:16Z

Regional or multilateral banks help developing nations through different means. They are instrumental in redistributing funds from richer to poorer nations.  They provide liquidity in periods of stress in world capital markets.  And they provide financing for long-term projects that require financing at maturities that exceed what the country may obtain in the markets at low interest rates. What is the role for a new institution like Banco del Sur? The very concept of Banco del Sur defies basic tenets of international lending and development. Should it ever come to pass, Banco del Sur will have a negative effect on the region’s development and credit worthiness and dearly cost its members. There are other organizations that already provide lending support and services in Latin America based on much more sustainable and market-logical criteria. Simplifying, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is there to provide liquidity (and those that do not like...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1332 2010-02-24T18:56:33Z

Ongoing conflict and lack of state support threaten Colombia’s 1.4 million indigenous people, who face killings, sexual abuse, recruitment as child soldiers and the persecution of their leaders, according to a new report released Monday by the international human rights organization Amnesty International. The group is urging the Colombian government to adopt firmer measures to guarantee indigenous rights. The release of the report follows Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) attacks on three communities in Southeastern Colombia this past weekend.  Colombia’s Interior Minister Fabio Valencia Cossio, who assumed presidential duties while President Álvaro Uribe attended the Rio Group Summit this week, released a communiqué on Tuesday saying that the Amnesty report is too harsh. He contends that the group has failed to recognize the government’s achievements on indigenous rights, which were praised by the United Nations in July. The communiqué also says the cultivation of illicit drugs is a primary reason for the displacement of...

Ruxandra Guidi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1331 2010-02-23T19:51:10Z

Eight out of the ten Americans who faced charges of child abduction soon after the earthquake hit Haiti, walked away from jail in Port-au-Prince last week. Orphanage founder Laura Silsby and her nanny have stayed behind to face more questioning and a judicial system that is trying, but is in shambles.As the case moves forward, incriminating evidence has surfaced: the Americans have been linked to a notorious Dominican sex-trafficker-turned-legal-adviser and to business interests in the U.S. But all of this brings up many more questions about the nature of international adoptions.This case is reminiscent of abduction charges against the French nonprofit Zoe's Ark in Chad in 2007. The organization was accused of airlifting 103 Sudanese children through the neighboring country illegally, with the hope of placing them in foster homes throughout Europe. In both cases, individuals carrying the banner of humanitarian will descended on a country weakened by war, or...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1330 2010-02-23T18:53:18Z

Latin American leaders attending the Rio Group summit in Cancún this week have formed a “tacit agreement” not to formally discuss the possible return of Honduras to the Organization of American States (OAS), said Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom Monday evening.  The heads of state and representatives in Cancún also approved the formation of an alternative organization to the OAS on Tuesday, tentatively called the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, which would exclude the United States and Canada. Despite the fact that  Honduras has restored diplomatic ties with 29 nations, including France, Spain, Italy, Guatemala and Germany, Honduran President Porfirio Lobo was not invited to the Rio Group meetings. Honduras was expelled from the OAS in June 2009 following the military ouster of then President Manuel Zelaya. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, had said previously that he planned to work to mend Honduran relations with Latin America.  Notably, however, a...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1328 2010-02-22T20:22:19Z

A delegation of seven Canadian premiers (provincial governors) completed a three-day visit to Washington DC yesterday where they met with U.S. lawmakers, cabinet officials and public policy professionals. According to the Canadian press, the highlight of the mission was the premiers’ participation, for the first time, in the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, which led to discussions with 20 U.S. governors on issues ranging from environmental protection to energy.The premiers of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island also met with high-level Obama administration officials including the president’s economic advisor Larry Summers, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.The cordial tone of the meetings was a stark contrast to the events unfolding in Vancouver, where the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team defeated the Canadians 5-3 on Sunday. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour boasted about the countries’ relationship saying, "the Canadians...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1327 2010-02-20T00:39:39Z

Roberto Micheletti’s de facto government is back in the news. Last week, news broke in Honduras that the official newspaper, La Gaceta, published two different versions with the same number and date in the last days of Micheletti’s time in the Presidential Palace. The major difference? One version contained a controversial dam contract. After many months of Micheletti promoting his de facto government as the clean and honest side of the Liberal Party, the gacetazo (as the Honduran media has deemed the scandal) will further mar the legacy of Micheletti and his supporters. In their last days in office, presidents often sign controversial decrees that would have proved too controversial earlier in their term. In the United States, for instance, recent presidents have extended pardons to convicts and established vast natural reserves. Presidents must be careful, however, not to over-step in their last days, or else their legacy will be stained...

Noel Alonso http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1326 2010-02-20T00:20:12Z

El 2010 comenzó de manera muy agitada en el Congreso de la Nación de Argentina. Luego de varias semanas de reuniones informales, acusaciones y dichos, la Comisión Bicameral se expidió, por dos votos contra uno, a favor de la remoción de Martín Redrado de la presidencia del Banco Central de la República Argentina. Esta Comisión Bicameral es la estipulada por la Carta Orgánica del Banco Central (Ley 20.539, posteriormente sustituida por la 24.144 del 23 de septiembre de 1992), que regula y especifica la naturaleza, funcionamiento y alcances de esa entidad autárquica del Estado Nacional. Según la ley debe conformarse por los presidentes de las comisiones de Presupuesto y Hacienda y de Finanzas de ambas cámaras. El quinto miembro es el Vicepresidente de la Nación (y Presidente del Senado). La comisión, supuestamente conformada por cinco miembros, se constituyó con tres ya que los miembros del Senado aún no habían sido nombrados. En...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1325 2010-02-19T18:22:49Z

Official sources in both governments have confirmed that Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe will hold talks at the Rio Group Summit in Cancún, Mexico. The summit will take place from Monday, February 22 to Tuesday, February 23, but the exact date and time of the bilateral meeting has yet to be confirmed. This will be the first time the leaders have come together bilaterally since Ecuador severed diplomatic relations with Colombia in 2008.  According to several sources, the meeting comes as the result of an informal conversation they had at the Cumbre de la Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (UNASUR) meeting earlier this month on Haitian relief efforts. Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez has said his government has committed to bringing proposals to the meeting that address a variety of sensitive issues in the hope of “restoring full diplomatic relations.” Ecuador’s president has also expressed his goodwill: “We are...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1324 2010-02-18T23:20:22Z

In a clear signal of continuity of President Tabaré Vázquez' Honduras policy, President-elect José Mujica’s future minister of foreign affairs has said that Uruguay will not recognize Honduras’ new government until “new elements appear that guarantee democratic openness and stability.” Luis Almagro made the statement at a meeting with foreign press correspondents, where he called the November 2009 election in Honduras an attempt to “whitewash” the coup. In December, Uruguay joined its Mercosur counterparts in again calling for Manuel Zelaya’s “return without restrictions” to power. Mr. Mujica, like President Vázquez, is a member of the Frente Amplio coalition, and will take office on March 1....

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1323 2010-02-18T00:09:08Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Haiti Reconstruction Costs Higher than Anticipated A new Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) study estimates that Haiti’s reconstruction could cost as much as $14 billion, far higher than earlier forecasts of $5 billion. The IDB study thus predicts Haiti’s earthquake will be costlier than the 2004 Asian tsunami. Canada to Build Temporary HQs for Haitian Government Following a visit to Haiti this week, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that his country will construct temporary Haitian government headquarters in Port-au-Prince after last month’s earthquake destroyed the government’s buildings. The provisional headquarters will cost $11.5 million. Young and Jobless in Latin America A recent report...

Arjan Shahani http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1322 2010-02-17T13:08:09Z

As headlines continue to report a tale of horror, violence and massacre in what had seemed to be a peaceful country, a growing debate stirs on whether or not Mexico’s government stands a chance to win the war on drugs. The general consensus is that President Felipe Calderón has inherited a cancer that the Partido Revolucionario Institucional(PRI regime) had contained through institutionalization of corruption. This is a cancer that former President Vicente Fox was unable to effectively cope with when he took office, ending the PRI’s hold on power. Now Felipe Calderón is trying to get rid of this disease by beating it with a big stick and empowering the military to crack down on criminal organizations such as the Zetas and Beltrán Leyva’s group , but as Ana María Salazar has stated recently, “Mexicans are paying a huge price” Calderón’s war on drugs seems limited if the goal is to...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1320 2010-02-17T09:43:18Z

A Canadian member of parliament, a gay rights activist from Jamaica, an Argentine National Deputy, and a dental entrepreneur from Mexico are among the young leaders who lend their voices to the Winter edition of Americas Quarterly, released today. The essayists’ views are as diverse as they are, representing new political and social ideas that defy old divisions in the hemisphere. “For many years I’ve been told that youth is the future,” writes Julio Rank Wright, director for Municipal Affairs of the Executive National Council of Arena in El Salvador. “I disagree. We are the here and now. Unless we decide to fill the void created by the previous generation in Latin America, we won’t have anything left worth fighting for.” The up-and-coming leaders are not content with the changes that have already occurred in the hemisphere—rather they express the challenges that their generation still must confront. “If Brazil hopes to be...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1318 2010-02-16T16:03:05Z

The Mexican Attorney General’s Office announced a new federal prosecutor for crimes against the media on Monday following complaints about the government’s investigations into the increasing number of journalist deaths.  Gustavo Salas Chávez, a former employee of the federal crimes investigation unit, will replace Octavio Orellana. The Attorney General’s Office did not give a reason for the replacement, but said Salas Chávez had orders to review all of the outstanding killings.  Sixty journalists have been killed since 2000 in Mexico, according to the country’s National Human Rights Commission.  Almost none of the press-related crimes have been solved.  Orellana, the former special prosecutor, said in December 2008 that most of the journalists who had been killed were not targeted because of their work. The violence has led many journalists to self censor their work on crime and drug trafficking because of security concerns, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Jorge...

Carlos Yescas http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1315 2010-02-12T20:47:36Z

Indigenous people have been migrating to the U.S. from Oaxaca for nearly a century. The first documented large-scale migration began in 1942, when the Bracero Program opened the U.S. border to temporary agricultural workers from Mexico. Although that program ended in 1966, the flow northward continues. But there have been few academic studies exploring how the movement of indigenous peoples across the U.S.-Mexico border has affected the culture and politics of their communities....

John Echeverri-Gent http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1313 2010-02-12T20:43:00Z

International markets, in today’s inter-connected world, play an increasingly important role in shaping domestic economic policy. In Latin America, the impact of economic globalization is especially apparent. But while Latin America scholars have long assumed connections between international political economy and domestic politics, they have only now begun to rigorously explore the linkage. Maria Victoria Murillo’s superb new book, Political Competition, Partisanship, and Policy Making in Latin American Public Utilities, is a welcome contribution to the developing literature on the subject....

Joshua Goodman http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1311 2010-02-12T20:38:36Z

These days it seems Brazil can do little wrong in Washington. But what happened the last time the South American giant was in vogue in U.S. policy circles? This is the subject of Matias Spektor’s Kissinger e o Brasil (Kissinger and Brazil), a fascinating and insightful book by the Argentine-born professor of international relations at Rio de Janeiro’s Getúlio Vargas Foundation. The book traces the short life of an earlier, unfulfilled U.S.-Brazil alliance that reached its high point in February 1976—when U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, greeted like a celebrity, traveled to Brasilia to sign a historic accord committing the Western Hemisphere’s two biggest powers to regular, high-level foreign policy consultations. ...

Abraham F. Lowenthal and Pablo Rojas Mej�a http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1310 2010-02-12T20:30:21Z

Nestled in the Andean foothills of northwestern Colombia, more than 250 miles of mountainous terrain from Bogotá, Medellín is a city transformed. A unique combination of progressive businesses, an active and engaged civil society and visionary political leaders have worked together to lead what was once the poster child for narcotics trafficking, lawlessness, corruption, and both guerrilla and paramilitary-fueled violence into a new modern era. The transformation has thus far been largely overlooked. But in many ways the political innovations and global economic integration of Medellín reflect the deep and far-reaching changes that have been occurring throughout much of Latin America in recent decades, especially in “second cities,” beyond the usual international line of vision. ...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1306 2010-02-12T20:01:50Z

The online Plataforma Democrática library—featured in the Spring 2009 AQ—has reached a new milestone: 8,000 freely-available publications on Latin American democracy. Plus, a new video library has over 50 hours of conference footage...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1305 2010-02-12T19:57:01Z

Brazil, already a world leader in biofuels, has found a way to make walking both comfortable and eco-friendly. Sandals made from recycled tires by Goóc, a company founded in 2004 by a Thai refugee, have attracted customers from Angola to the United States. Today the company has factories in São Paulo and Bahia....

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1304 2010-02-12T19:54:19Z

La Hora Cero (The Zero Hour), a movie set and filmed in Caracas, is the big-screen debut of Venezuelan-born and U.S.-raised director Diego Velasco, whose short films have won over 26 awards. Set during the real-life, 24-hour national health strike that paralyzed the city’s public hospitals in 1996, it follows a fictional hitman (sicario) who takes control of a private hospital to save his pregnant girlfriend—the victim of a shooting in which the culprit is revealed only later in the film. ...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1303 2010-02-12T19:48:18Z

Few Central American cities can compete with the colonial charm and lovely surroundings of Granada, Nicaragua—the region’s oldest city (founded in 1524). Granada is less than an hour’s drive from Nicaragua’s capital, Managua, and nearly as close to pristine Pacific beaches. Here's what to do:...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1302 2010-02-12T19:45:28Z

The new look of New York’s El Museo del Barrio, the city’s leading Latino cultural institution, is attracting art enthusiasts far beyond its East Harlem location. The museum reopened in October, following an 18-month renovation, with both structural improvements and an expansion of its public programming to include more free or low-cost concerts, lectures, films, and cultural celebrations. Further hoping to broaden its reach, El Museo has launched a website that showcases its 600-piece permanent art collection and partnered this year with museums in Colombia, Brazil and Argentina to host Arte Vida—the  first exhibition surveying four decades of performing arts by Latinos in the United States. ...

Mitchell A. Seligson and Daniel E. Moreno Morales http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1301 2010-02-12T19:44:01Z

Tolerance for minority rights is the hallmark of liberal democracies. Indeed, without such tolerance, democracy is fatally flawed. Creating an atmosphere of tolerance for minorities is one of the key challenges in constructing and deepening democracy in our hemisphere.The shameful treatment of African Americans in the United States, for example, persisted for decades after the Civil War, and only began to improve in the middle of the twentieth century— finally declining in the twenty-first century to levels that made the election of an African American president conceivable and then possible. A similar process has occurred hemisphere-wide with increasing tolerance toward the full participation of women in professions and in politics, a process that is still ongoing. ...

Ernesto Rois-M�ndez http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1300 2010-02-12T19:39:25Z

Even in the best economic times, it is impossible to untangle and interpret the contradictory trends in Latin American aviation. Now, in what is for many industries a time of slow economic recovery, the aviation industry is looking promising. New flight routes, new equipment purchases and higher passenger traffic indicate that 2010 may be a positive year for America’s aeronautics industry. The best example of these confusing trends (and Latin American entrepreneurship) is the unexpected emergence of a tiny airline based in a medium-sized town in the interior of Argentina....

Mariana Mart�nez Est�ns http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1297 2010-02-12T19:13:30Z

Threats against U.S.-bound migrants from Mexico are on the rise. Government corruption and inattention to migrants’ security is encouraging organized crime groups to become increasingly bold in kidnappings and ransom demands. Crime is not the only threat. Although the economic crisis has reduced the migrant flow since 2006, deaths have increased during the perilous desert journey that exposes many unprepared migrants to scorching weather during the day, freezing temperatures at night and animal predators. ...

Naomi Mapstone http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1287 2010-02-12T17:50:08Z

Hugo Chávez has a flair for getting under the skin of his opponents, whether he is goading King Juan Carlos of Spain into an exasperated request to “shut up,” or branding then-U.S. President George W. Bush “the devil” during a speech to the UN General Assembly. But the Venezuelan president went beyond his customarily florid rhetoric in November when he used Alo Presidente, his weekly chat show, to announce the deployment of 15,000 troops to the Colombian border to counter what he claimed was the threat of a possible attack by U.S. forces seeking control of the country’s vast oil reserves. ...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1285 2010-02-12T17:31:13Z

Mexican actor Diego Luna, who starred in Y tu mamá también, Milk and Rudo y Cursi, has been spending more time behind the camera since co-founding (with Gael García Bernal and director Pablo Cruz) CANANA films in 2003. In addition to producing 12 films (including Luna’s directorial debut, J.C. Chávez), the company partnered with WITNESS, a New York-based nonprofit, in 2007, to bring attention to human rights abuses in Mexico through documentary film. Luna spoke with AQ about the WITNESS-CANANA partnership and using new media as a tool for social justice....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1284 2010-02-12T17:12:01Z

Members of Ecuador’s opposition parties staged massive demonstrations yesterday in Guayaquil to protest the government of President Rafael Correa. The demonstration was called by Guayaquil Mayor Jaime Nebot in response to the federal government’s decision to slash the city’s budget by $17 million, which the opposition believes was a calculated moved designed to undermine officials from opposition parties. During a 45-minute speech to an audience of an estimated 40,000 people Mr. Nebot called on demonstrators to, “fight to stop the dictatorship.” The mayor declared that protests would remain peaceful for now, but that they would oppose using any available means a shift toward what he called a “Venezuelan type failure.”President Correa reacted immediately to the protests by criticizing Mayor Nabot’s management and stating that the city government “will not receive 20 cents more that what the law stipulates.” The president also accuses the mayor of being a pelucón (wealthy businessman)...

F�lix Ulloa http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1275 2010-02-11T23:28:43Z

The March 2009 election of Mauricio Funes and the broad coalition of social and political forces that supported his candidacy inspired the Salvadoran people and heralded a new era in the history of the smallest country in Latin America....

Kara Andrade http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1247 2010-02-11T21:52:22Z

On a smoggy Thursday afternoon in late January, Mark Camp, director for U.S.-based Cultural Survival Project, drives a big red truck with Massachusetts plates through Guatemala City traffic toward Congress. Camp—who looks more like an insurance salesman with a ponytail of gray hair, suit and polka dot red tie—has organized volunteers from community radio stations to flood the legislature’s halls on this big day for Guatemala’s community radio movement. Some have traveled almost two days by bus to make it in time.  “This is a historic occasion—years of trying and frustration have never brought us this far before,” said Camp nervously waiting outside the steps of Congress. “We think we have a real opportunity this year to get a law passed that will recognize the right of communities to have their own radio station.” For the first time in 12 years of attempts to pass a law to legalize and...

Paula Moreno Zapata (Colombia) http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1226 2010-02-11T19:44:11Z

Young people have the challenge—and the responsibility—of changing the world. I believe we are living through a special moment today that I like to call “the globalization of diversity.” Communities and citizens everywhere are starting to welcome cultural, racial and ethnic differences, rather than see them as weaknesses....

Tom Perriello (United States) http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1224 2010-02-11T19:34:08Z

I belong to Generation X, which I think can be more accurately described as the Community Service Generation. We don’t sit on the sidelines. We have volunteered in record numbers and pioneered nonprofit organizations, using entrepreneurial savvy to solve our communities’ seemingly intractable problems. We took our talents directly into the schools and prisons.But for years we did not vote.We took from our grandparents in the Greatest Generation a call to serve, but we also came of age as then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan preached that government itself was part of the problem. We asked what we could do for our country, but we were not willing to put up with the slow pace and productivity level of the public sector. We wanted results now....

Sebasti�n Mendoza Garrido (Panama) http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1222 2010-02-11T19:27:32Z

Our generation expects gratification. Previous generations did not have instant access to information nor the ability to communicate with the same level of immediacy that the Internet, mobile phones and BlackBerries give us today. We have become less forgiving of delays and inefficiencies....

Julio Rank Wright (El Salvador) http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1220 2010-02-11T19:22:13Z

I had my first crash course in politics in 1989. I was 11 years old, scared and surrounded by bombs and gunfire. The city of San Salvador was under attack in what would become the last push from left-wing guerrilla forces of the Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN) to take the country. They failed, but the event helped me realize—and in some cases even see face to face—the multitude of fellow Salvadorans who shared convictions that I didn’t entirely comprehend. In 1992, El Salvador gave the world a lesson in peacebuilding and reconciliation after the first Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (ARENA) president, Alfredo Cristiani, and FMLN leadership signed a peace accord in Mexico City putting an end to the 12-year civil war....

Adri�n P�rez (Argentina) http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1218 2010-02-11T19:13:17Z

Like many of my fellow citizens, I began participating in politics in the early days of Argentine democracy, following the fall of the military regime in December 1983. Back then, we were convinced that only through political involvement would we be able to contribute to the creation of a truly just and egalitarian society. After many years, Argentina was finally putting together a new democratic era, and the young adults who dreamed of attaining important public responsibility finally understood that their fight for social change would only be possible through non-violent means....

Paulo Rog�rio (Brazil) http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1216 2010-02-11T18:53:13Z

In Brazil we have reached a decisive moment in our history. Abroad, we are now considered one of the so-called emerging countries. At home, ethnic and racial inclusion is an increasingly important part of the national agenda. On the economic front, the giant pre-salt oil reserves recently discovered in the offshore Tupi fields give us the potential to be a major oil exporter in coming decades. And we will soon be hosting both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.However, if Brazil hopes to be a leader among emerging nations, we must overcome serious internal problems such as inadequate income distribution, low investment in education, institutional racism, and digital apartheid....

Alex Leff http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1215 2010-02-11T18:42:01Z

Laura Chinchilla was elected Costa Rica’s first female president in a colorful election on February 7 that delivered a high vote of confidence to outgoing President Óscar Arias. The 50-year-old moderate Chinchilla, who resigned as Arias’ vice president last year to campaign for the country’s top office, won with more than 46 percent of the vote—clearing the 40 percent mark needed to avoid a runoff in April....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1214 2010-02-11T17:07:32Z

A court in Uruguay today sentenced former dictator Juan María Bordaberry to 30 years in prison on charges of “unconstitutional behavior,” “forced disappearance” and “political homicide.” Lower court judge Mariana Motta’s sentence means that Mr. Bordaberry, who has spent the last few years under house arrest for related crimes, will likely be headed back to jail.Mr. Bordaberry was first elected democratically in 1971, but in June 1973 dissolved the government and staged a coup that placed him in charge of a regime supported by the armed forces. The military removed him from power in 1976—earlier than he would have left office under his original mandate. Bordaberry is the second Uruguayan dictator to be sentenced in the last four months. The prosecutor in the case, Hebe Martínez Burlé made clear that the 81-year-old former dictator, who now faces the prospect of spending his final years behind bars, can appeal the case...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1213 2010-02-11T01:16:57Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. UNASUR Pledges $300 Million in Aid for Haiti The Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) held a Tuesday summit in Quito, where delegations from twelve countries and Haitian President René Préval met to discuss how South America would support Haiti relief efforts. At the meeting, UNASUR leaders committed to $300 million in aid, including $100 million for recovery with remaining funds going to a long-term, low-interest loan through the Inter-American Development Bank. The Hemispheric Brief blog offers an overview of the summit as well Haiti’s governance struggles. Signs of Colombia-Ecuador Rapprochement at UNASUR Summit UNASUR’s Haiti summit in Quito gave Colombia and Ecuador another change...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1212 2010-02-10T17:22:09Z

The results of a survey on adult tobacco use around the world were unveiled in Uruguay yesterday, the first country in Latin America to ban smoking in the workplace and in enclosed public spaces. The World Health Organization’s Global Adult Tobacco Survey was administered in the 15 countries with the highest number of smokers per capita, but Uruguay was included because of its government’s dedication to curbing smoking.  Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez, a trained oncologist, attended. Uruguay’s Public Health Minister María Julia Muñoz said at the ceremony that the number of people in Uruguay who smoke every day had decreased by 24 percent in the last few years.  But while 48 percent of adults apparently tried to stop smoking in the past year, only 8 percent succeeded.  In addition to the bans that were passed in March of 2006, Uruguay has since fought smoking by raising cigarette prices and requiring cigarette...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1211 2010-02-10T05:31:25Z

Two recent crises have overtaken the U.S.’s broader policy framework and agenda for the region. First, there was the coup in Honduras, now the tragedy in Haiti. The first was a potentially avoidable political train wreck that ended up dividing the hemisphere, the latter, one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the hemisphere’s history and an opportunity to unite the hemisphere. Together the two countries, whose populations total just under 17 million people, have dominated the U.S. policy agenda in a region with close to 600 million people. In other words, we risk having lost our focus on genuine regional powers such as Brazil and looming political problems such as Venezuela by focusing on the immediate crises of just under 3 percent of the region’s population. But there is hope. For all its heart-wrenching tragedy, Haiti is an opportunity to forge a broader hemispheric coalition and agenda in a way we...

Alan Clutterbuck and Paula Montoya http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1210 2010-02-09T22:57:10Z

Two political cultures coexist in Argentina....

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1209 2010-02-09T22:44:28Z

I was in Madrid for our major conference on U.S.-Spain-Latin American relations the day that the White House announced President Obama was going to skip the U.S.-EU Summit scheduled for May, and it went over like a lead balloon.  Subsequently, the Financial Times (editorial of February 3), Anne Appelbaum (op-ed in the Washington Post) and others opined that it was in fact the right decision. Their reasons: Europe still doesn’t have its act together, Europeans have generally been churlish in support of U.S. priorities in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and, in fact, Europe still lacks a structure whereby the U.S. president can confidently engage its “leadership.”  Or, as Henry Kissinger famously quipped, when you want to talk to Europe, whom do you call?  So the lack of White House interest in the May summit was perhaps unsurprising, and was less of a snub than some have portrayed it.More surprising, however, was...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1207 2010-02-09T17:18:28Z

Leaders of countries including Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Haiti arrived in Quito, Ecuador, on Tuesday to discuss a collective response to Haitian President René Préval’s appeal for aid. It was the first time Alvaro Uribe, president of Colombia, had visited Ecuador since 2008 when he ordered the bombing of a rebel camp on Ecuador’s side of the border. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez had also planned to attend, but cancelled his trip at the last minute to attend to his country’s electricity emergency.  He sent Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro in his place. Rafael Correa, the current president of the 12-member Union of South American States, also visited Port-au-Prince on January 29 to pledge from his country as well as the regional block. Vice President of Bolivia Álvaro García Linera, also attended, along with representatives from Argentina, Suriname, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Development...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1206 2010-02-08T19:14:06Z

Russia displaced the United States last year as Latin America’s largest overall supplier of weapons and defense-related equipment, according to a recently released assessment by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Mexico and Colombia, however, still purchase the majority of their defense munitions from U.S. companies.Over the past year, Russian defense companies have signed new military agreements with Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia for a wide range of military equipment. Venezuela alone, which is the second-largest purchaser of Russian weapons, has bought over $4 billion in arms since 2007.Growing military expenditures in Latin America, which have almost doubled from $24 billion in 2003 to $60 billion in 2008, have been a source of concern for the United States. In Americas Quarterly, Miguel Angel Centeno of Princeton University had previously written on the changing role of many of the region’s militaries....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1205 2010-02-05T20:06:21Z

Chile’s new president-elect, Sebastián Piñera, will announce his first cabinet picks on Tuesday, February 9, after what has been a rather complicated process. During the campaign, Piñera and his closest advisors had committed to a technocratic approach to cabinet selection, however since the election the largest political party in the winning coalition, Unión Demócrata Independiente (UDI) has been pushing to include close political allies in key cabinet assignments. Tension rose this morning when the leader of Renovación Nacional, Piñera’s party, made statements about the political nature of the ministries saying, ”consultants are able to provide technical knowledge but they do not deliver political efficiency.” These early tensions are being called significant since they may influence Chilean politics and policymaking for the next four years. Observers note that the president-elect has a managerial style that is more technical than political in nature. But a more politicized cabinet would have more power to include...

Liliana Colanzi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1204 2010-02-05T19:03:59Z

En 2004, una novela de poco más de 100 páginas sirvió para situar a Yuri Herrera (Actopan, México, 1970) entre los escritores más destacados de la narrativa mexicana contemporánea. Trabajos del reino, el primer libro de Herrera, narra el ascenso y la caída de un compositor de corridos deslumbrado por la vida en la “corte” de un capo del narcotráfico. Se trata además de una reflexión sobre el arte, la violencia y el poder contada con sorprendente lucidez y belleza. La editorial Periférica recuperó Trabajos del reino para el público español en 2008. El año pasado apareció —también en Periférica— la segunda novela de Herrera, Señales que precederán al fin del mundo, sobre el viaje de una muchacha que atraviesa la frontera en busca de su hermano. En diciembre de 2009 Herrera se convirtió en el primer ganador del premio “Otras voces, otros ámbitos” por Trabajos del reino. El galardón, otorgado...

Liz Harper http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1203 2010-02-04T23:12:47Z

This post is a follow-up to my Unleash the Googles entry from last week. But now I would like to specifically focus on the human rights implications of Alan Gross’ detention. Why is the U.S. keeping so quiet… still? This has been a vexing question. There’s no grand geopolitical strategy behind our silence. Alan Gross did not sign a privacy waiver. That simple. Out of respect for this request, the U.S. won’t say anything about Gross—either in his defense or in defense of our policies. This is true even though it’s in our best interests to clarify what Gross was doing and what equipment he was distributing. For now, it’s all very murky, enhancing the cloak and dagger mystique around this 60-year-old guy from the suburbs of Washington DC. This makes the nature of his work seem all the more insidious. We could be rebutting more aggressively the charges that...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1202 2010-02-04T18:22:33Z

In her first public comments, Mercedes Marcó del Pont, the new president of the Central Bank of Argentina, promised today that she would bring about “reasonable” policy changes and that she was “thinking of maintaining the monetary and exchange rate policy with regards to the type of competitive managed float.” ...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1201 2010-02-04T18:00:06Z

With the 11th anniversary this week of President Hugo Chávez’s ascension to power, I started reflecting on what I had learned from the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution.  President Chávez’s behavior and profile, internationally and nationally, provide a powerful lesson on how to challenge and defy traditional wisdom—and with it international norms and precedent.  1) Break All Diplomatic Rules and Decorum and You’ll Get a Free Pass: President Chávez has called U.S. President George W. Bush  “the devil” on the floor of the UN; said on his regular, one-man variety show Aló Presidente that then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice needed a real man and described how he would seduce her; called the Secretary General of the Organization of Americas States, José Miguel Insulza a “pendejo” (to put it nicely, a jerkwad), just to cite a few of the incidents of his intemperate name calling.  And what has the international community...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1200 2010-02-03T21:29:07Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Costa Rica Gears up for Presidential Elections Alex Leff blogs for Americas Quarterly about Costa Rica’s presidential campaigns ahead of the February 7 elections. Campaigns have taken a turn for the quirky, from conservative candidate Otto Guevara’s televised polygraph test to the Social Christian Unity Party’s Luis Fishman’s slogan that “the lesser evil is better.” While Guevara’s support in the polls rose from 13 to 30 percent in September, surveys estimate that President Óscar Arias’ chosen successor, Laura Chinchilla of the National Liberation Party, will win 40 percent of the vote. Congressional Report Examines U.S. Policy toward Haitian Migrants In the wake of the earthquake...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1199 2010-02-03T16:09:42Z

The U.S. government has asked a Miami federal judge to grant Manuel Noriega’s extradition to France after the Supreme Court decided not to consider the former Panamanian dictator’s appeal. Noriega is charged with laundering money through French banks.  His attorney, Jon May, will ask the Miami court for a rehearing on February 19, based on dissenting arguments from Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia. Noriega should not be extradited before then, May said Tuesday. Noriega was convicted of drug racketeering and declared a prisoner of war in the United States in 1992.  He has remained in detention since his sentence ended in 2007, while his lawyers have fought the extradition to France. They claim the Geneva Conventions and Noriega’s prisoner of war status require his extradition to Panama, not to France. The Supreme Court did not rule on that contention.  Justice Thomas wrote in a dissenting opinion joined by Scalia...

Karen Smith Rotabi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1197 2010-02-02T22:41:36Z

Within 18 days of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that ravaged southern Haiti, news agencies reported that members of a U.S. Baptist Church group were arrested in the Dominican Republic for trafficking Haitian children. “This is no real surprise given history” said Kathleen Bergquist, associate professor of Social Work at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Inevitably, during times of disaster or war, there will be individuals and groups who attempt child rescues without the appropriate paperwork or clearance....

Ruxandra Guidi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1196 2010-02-02T18:29:08Z

In spring 1997 I found my way, pretty much by accident, into an upper-level college course at Rutgers University, called “Historical Fiction in Latin America.” I knew little about the instructor, other than the fact that he wrote critically-acclaimed fiction, often about two singular figures in the history of Argentina: Juan and Eva Perón. Little did I know that until my graduation and for many years to come, Tomás Eloy Martínez would single-handedly influence, give shape and inspire my obsession with journalism and my desire to practice it in Latin America. With his patience and kind and humble wisdom, he encouraged me every step along the way. We read books and short stories voraciously, discussing them long after the class period ended. Arráncame la Vida by Angeles Mastretta was a particularly memorable one; Tomás knew her personally and reveled in sharing with us a mix of unofficial and scandalous truths...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1195 2010-02-02T18:02:28Z

President Barack Obama’s proposed budget plan for fiscal year 2011 would decrease aid to Latin America by nearly 10 percent, mostly by cutting military and police support. Released on Monday, the plan—a blueprint of the president’s budget priorities that will now be debated in Congress—calls for economic development aid in the region to stay about the same, while aid for health programs would increase.  Obama’s budget proposal increases overall spending by the State Department, with much of the proposed increase going toward programs in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Colombia and Mexico, currently the largest recipients of U.S. aid in Latin America, would receive less funding in 2011 under Obama’s plan.  Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew said the cuts represent the Plan Colombia and Merida Initiatives moving on to less costly phases.  Most of the helicopters the U.S. promised Mexico to help counter drug cartels under the Merida Initiative, for example,...

Alex Leff http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1193 2010-02-01T20:55:23Z

Costa Rica's presidential campaign has become quite tense in the lead-up to the February 7 elections, but it also has turned rather goofy. One of the latest displays of wackiness took the form of a lie detector test, which several leading candidates actually agreed to take on national television. I was eating dinner at a Japanese restaurant here on the east side of San José, when right-wing candidate Otto Guevara popped on the restaurant's TV screen strapped to a polygraph machine. "Have you profited in any way while carrying out your duties for which you could be legally charged?" a moderator asked Guevara, 49, of the Libertarian Movement. "Have you lied to the media during your election campaign?" she asked. Guevara replied "No" to both, and the machine gave him a green light—Canal 7 told viewers he was telling the truth. The front-runner in the campaign,...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1189 2010-02-01T16:59:57Z

Paraguayan officials have arrested a man accused of participating in acts perpetrated by the Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP)—an armed group that officials say has ties to Colombia’s Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). José Villalba was taken into custody in Concepción (a city near the Brazilian border) during an operation by the national police and armed forces. He is the brother of the man believed to be the EPP’s principal leader.Mr. Villalba is the 10th person to be arrested in recent weeks in connection to the kidnapping of Fidel Zavada, a prominent rancher who was allegedly held by the EPP for 94 days before being released for a $550,000 ransom.Officials say that the EPP is a splinter group of the Free Motherland Party (PPL), which was involved in the 2005 kidnapping and murder of Cecilia Cubas, the daughter of a former Paraguayan president. Up to a dozen individuals who are...

Liz Harper http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1188 2010-01-29T22:43:11Z

U.S.-Cuba dynamics continue to follow the traditional script of mixed signals. The romance is there; the trust is not. Shortly after U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Bisa Williams returned from extended talks in Havana, the Cuban regime seized Alan Gross, a U.S. subcontractor for a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) democracy program in Cuba. Another kicker came on Thursday when the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, told reporters that immigration talks in Havana were scheduled for February 19. Part of the Cuban agenda presented to the government of the United States is a proposal for a new immigration agreement and solidifying cooperation in the fight against people trafficking,” Rodríguez is translated as saying in English by Reuters. Let’s hope that Cuba’s wishes to exchange Gross for the Cuban Five will remain a non-starter. The imprisonment of Mr. Gross (or “Harold,” as he was first named to me in...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1185 2010-01-29T18:50:33Z

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was honored this morning at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, with the forum’s first-ever Global Statesman award. The president was absent from the ceremony after he cancelled his European trip due to a blood-pressure spike that left him hospitalized earlier this week in Recife, Brazil. Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations Celso Amorim received the award on the president’s behalf. In a speech prepared by Lula and read by Mr. Amorin, the president said the, “award increases my responsibility as a leader, and my country’s responsibility as an increasingly active player on the global scene.” On the domestic front, it highlighted achievements in economic growth and poverty relief programs. On the international side, it stressed the need to tackle the global economic crisis and climate change, and called for “the need to establish a new international economic order, one that is more...

Arjan Shahani http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1184 2010-01-28T22:42:16Z

Mexican politics are frustratingly fascinating. This seems like a paradox, but then again, so does our history as a modern state. With presidential elections 2.5 years away, unlikely candidates and alliances are already beginning to form. This leaving me wondering if this country has any recollection of the political roads we’ve traveled and the costs they’ve instilled on us. Let’s retrace our steps for a minute. The Mexican Revolution that started 100 years ago was supposed to set the basis for a system, which would alleviate the poverty gap, provide better worker conditions and at the very least, treat citizens with respect and provide the political rights that people lacked. But this complex era in Mexican history resulted in what Luis Aboites Aguilar called (in a very politically-correct manner) “a political arrangement which made stability possible in the long term.” Along came the time of the PRIismo,...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1183 2010-01-28T19:17:07Z

Carlos Fernando Chamorro, a popular Nicaraguan journalist and outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega, announced this week that he will be leaving Telenica Channel 8 after the station was allegedly sold to relatives of the president. The son of former President Violeta Chamorro (1990-1997) and martyred newspaper editor Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, he hosts a nightly news show, Esta Noche, and a weekly program, Esta Semana. ...

Jos� Ignac�o Beteta http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1182 2010-01-28T17:36:13Z

Academic studies and professional experience have taught me that I should concern myself with what lies beyond my own personal success. Many like me are working to create nationwide projects that aim to reach more people, reduce divisions, combat poverty, and diminish the social anomie in which many people live. We strive to create a more equitable and peaceful world that protects nature and fights poverty and war. ...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1180 2010-01-28T00:02:17Z

For decades, impunity has reined in Central America. Dictatorial rule, coups, murder, and genocide have, for the most part, gone unpunished. This month, however, events in Guatemala have suggested a potential turning of the tide. In the last three weeks, Guatemalan authorities have solved the potentially destabilizing Rosenberg case and arrested ex-President Alfonso Portillo for money laundering $70 million when he was in power. Meanwhile, in Honduras, the rule of law appears as in jeopardy as ever, as the Congress has rewarded de facto President Roberto Micheletti and pledged amnesty for all those involved in ousting President Manuel Zelaya. When it comes to the rule of law, Honduras lags as far behind as ever. Since the Peace Accords brought Guatemala’s 36-year civil war to an end in 1996, Guatemalan activists and international observers have demanded justice for the state-sponsored genocide in the 1980s. For the most part, however—as in most...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1179 2010-01-27T23:28:17Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Honduras Tries to Turn Page with Lobo’s Inauguration Seven months after the overthrow of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya left Honduras in a state of political chaos, the Central American country inaugurated Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo as the new leader on January 27. In his first act as president, Lobo declared amnesty for all involved in what was widely regarded as a coup. He won the November election by a large margin, though its recognition was hotly disputed by several Latin American governments. On the eve of the inauguration, the Honduran Congress also approved amnesty for Zelaya and those involved in his ousting. That, along with a Supreme...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1178 2010-01-27T16:10:32Z

The presidents of Panama, Taiwan, Guatemala, and Dominican Republic arrived in Tegucigalpa Wednesday morning, joining U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Craig Kelly for the swearing-in ceremony of Porfirio Lobo Sosa. The ceremony began at 6:30 a.m. in the National Congress and was scheduled to end at 1:00 p.m.  Dominican President Leonel Fernández left Santo Domingo in his official jet Wednesday morning, planning to return the same day with former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted from power by the Honduran military on June 28, 2009.  On Tuesday, Fernández and Lobo signed an agreement granting Zelaya’s safe passage out of Honduras.  Dignitaries from Colombia, Canada, Israel, Italy, Peru, Morocco, Belize, and Turkey also planned to attend the ceremony, though several Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela, have not recognized Lobo’s electoral victory on November 29, 2009. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1177 2010-01-26T18:17:14Z

A Colombian opposition party called for candidates in the May 2010 presidential elections to work together to prevent President Álvaro Uribe from seeking a third consecutive term in office.  In a January 25 statement on Caracol Radio, Jaimie Dussán, director of Polo Democratico Alternativo party, asked fellow opposition leaders to sign a letter rejecting Uribe’s possible candidacy.  The letter would be delivered to Colombia’s Constitutional Court, which is reviewing a bill calling for a national referendum on the issue.  The bill passed Colombia’s lower house in September after the Senate approved it in August.  Dussán, who considers the referendum illegal, wants conservative politicians including German Varags Lleras and Noemi Sani to join left-leaning politicians in opposing it. Uribe’s supporters hope the referendum can be approved and passed in time for his name to be on the May ballot.  Uribe previously circumvented a constitutional ban on reelection through a national referendum...

Stephen Alderman http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1176 2010-01-26T16:14:56Z

For two weeks Haiti has been at the forefront of our collective consciousness. But looking at long-term rebuilding efforts, aid organizations must recognize a challenge that goes beyond providing basic supplies and rebuilding: helping Haiti’s people to move toward psychological and emotional recovery. On January 11, 2010, the day before the earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, the gap between Haiti’s need for mental health services and the presence of available care was already enormous. Other than the visionary accomplishments of Partners in Health in the central plateau in Haiti, public sector primary health care did not exist, and similarly, community-based mental health care remained a dream. There were few trained professional personnel and none of the infrastructure necessary to run hospitals and health centers. Mental disturbance had already emerged as a major public health concern in Haiti, its incidence exceeding that of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. The reason for this unfortunate...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1175 2010-01-25T19:21:28Z

A tribunal in Guatemala yesterday ordered the arrest of former President Alfonso Portillo (2000-2004) on charges of embezzlement. The decision came a day before a seven-year investigation led to the formal indictment today in the United States of Mr. Portillo by the U.S. District Court in New York on charges of money laundering.Mr. Portillo has been accused of siphoning away millions of dollars in public funds and funneling much of the money through banks in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. During his presidential campaign, Mr. Portillo ran largely on an anti-corruption platform. According to reports, the Guatemalan police have executed four search warrants in different locations but have not yet located the now-fugitive former president. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1174 2010-01-22T18:58:04Z

The Peruvian government and a conglomeration of trucking and inter-provincial transportation-service representatives reached an agreement yesterday to end a three-day strike. The transport stoppage had temporarily crippled Lima’s economy and posed a threat to the capital’s food supplies. The strike originally called for the elimination of Peru’s selective consumption tax on fuel, which the transportation sector claims is excessively burdensome. It began last Tuesday, but was only adhered to by a select group of companies. By Wednesday of this week, however, it achieved near total support as attacks by picketers forced nearly all companies to comply with the strike. Prior to the agreement the government threatened to revoke the license of any company whose employees were caught in any act of violence. A state of emergency was declared in the departments of Lima and Junín. Yesterday’s agreement came when the government proposed a 30 percent reduction of the gasoline tax, which amounts...

Mateo Samper http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1173 2010-01-21T23:32:47Z

It’s hard to believe that President Uribe won’t run for a third term after more than two years of keeping the country in political limbo. In yet another sign that he wants to be re-elected for a third term, he is now stopping the TV transmission of his weekly communal council meetings in towns across Colombia. This may yet be another signal that he does not want to have an unfair advantage over other candidates. Could his “soul” no longer be at the crossroads? ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1172 2010-01-21T19:32:48Z

The Mexican government issued a strong rebuttal yesterday to a recent Human Rights Watch report that criticizes President Felipe Calderón’s use of the military for policing and other civilian matters. The report contends that “Mexico's armed forces have committed serious human rights violations, including killings, torture, rapes, and arbitrary detentions.”...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1171 2010-01-20T23:03:04Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Aftershock Hits Ravaged Haiti A 6.1-magnitude aftershock hit Haiti early Wednesday morning even as the country reels from last week’s ruinous earthquake. At least one person suffered injuries immediately after the aftershock. No deaths or damages were immediately reported. Even in the midst of chaos, officials around the world are considering what efforts can be implemented to aid Haiti’s long-term recovery. In a blog post on NationalJournal.com, COA’s Eric Farnsworth writes: “A long term project will require long term attention, and political will that goes beyond the provision of emergency relief efforts.” Foreign Policy features five views on how to help Haiti rebuild using emergency aid and development....

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1170 2010-01-20T17:26:44Z

Yesterday’s election in Massachusetts to fill Ted Kennedy’s U.S. Senate seat had little to do with Latin America, but the implications of Scott Brown’s victory over Martha Coakley will nonetheless resonate across the region. That’s because the victory of the Republican candidate breaks the Democrats’ super majority of 60 votes in the Senate, and will likely require renewed negotiation and accommodation in order to pass the massive health care bill that has been the top priority of the White House and Congressional leaders since early 2009. Further delay on health care means that other agenda items will have to wait even longer for the political attention required to address them, and the mood on Capitol Hill could well become still more partisan and sour. That’s doubly true for controversial legislation, particularly as we move further into 2010, which is a midterm election year. Since President Obama was inaugurated one...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1169 2010-01-20T05:36:27Z

Skeptical of leaving the country for 10 days, Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner postponed her Asian trip on Tuesday, calling it “too long especially when the country’s Vice President does not fulfill the role that has been assigned to him.” She went on to say that Vice President Julio Cobos cannot serve his role and be a “dissident.” Cobos and Fernández de Kirchner have been at odds most recently over her desire to force Central Bank President Martin Redrado to step down. But the vice president urged her to "reconsider the situation" and go to China, promising that he would not sign any decrees in her absence without consent. The January 25-28 trip would have been the first state visit to China since taking office in 2007. Her agenda was scheduled to have included meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Wu...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1167 2010-01-19T17:47:43Z

Costa Ricans’ confidence in the administration of President Óscar Arias has reached its lowest level in four years according to a poll released by Unimer Research International. An approval rating index maintained by the firm showed a significant drop in the first month of 2010 to 1,697 from 2,260 in November 2009. A drop in voter satisfaction was recorded in a range of areas from the government’s management of public funds to the president’s own performance.The results come three weeks from Costa Rica’s February 7 elections during which Arias’ successor will be decided. Polls indicate that Laura Chinchilla, who resigned as vice-president in the Arias administration to run for president, is the leading candidate. However, it is likely she will face a runoff election against presidential hopeful Otto Guevara. It seems unlikely that Ms. Chinchilla will suffer due to her past association to the current administration, as both candidates are...

Huguette Young http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1166 2010-01-15T22:39:54Z

By suspending Parliament on December 30, 2009, the second December in a row, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was hoping to get some breathing space away from the glare of the House of Commons where his minority government’s every move has been scrutinized. But it hasn’t exactly been a restful time. Harper’s decision to suspend the parliamentary session has been highly criticized by opposition parties and political observers alike. It has even earned him a strong rebuke in The Economist, which called the prime minister’s reasons to prorogue unconvincing. Parliament was set to return on January 25 but will now resume on March 3. The first order of business will be the customary Throne speech to open the session, and will outline the Conservative government’s main priorities. Next up, a new deficit-fighting budget. The hope, observers say, is that the firestorm over the calls by a House of Commons...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1165 2010-01-15T19:04:48Z

Heading into Sunday’s presidential elections in Chile, the latest survey reports a statistical tie between Alianza candidate Sebastián Piñera (50.9 percent support) and Concertación candidate Eduardo Frei. (49.1 percent). But the key to victory is likely to rest with the 7 perent of voters that are reported to be undecided. Voting in Chile is mandatory for all those registered. Candidates finalized their campaigns late yesterday. Mr. Piñera did so by traveling 400 miles (600 kilometers) to three cities, with the message that he will be a president of unity. The Alianza candidate asked Chileans for an opportunity to show that he could establish a hard-working and honest government. Mr. Frei’s last stop was in San Greogorio, one of Santiago’s poorest neighborhoods, where he emphasized that people should not “neglect democracy” by casting a blank vote and highlighted the achievements made under 20 years of Concertación rule. He stated this morning that the...

Richard Andr� http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1163 2010-01-14T23:45:08Z

“Parliament has collapsed. The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed.” Those were the words of Haitian President René Préval as he described the level of damage caused by the 7.0 earthquake and multiple, comparable aftershocks that hit Haiti on Tuesday evening. With pictures and videos flooding in from news sources, relief organizations and even camera phones, the extent of the physical destruction seems unfathomable. Not to mention the psychological trauma of seeing everything from your house to your National Palace, the most proud symbol of Haitians' rich history, reduced to rubble. Corpses now line the streets of Port-au-Prince, and as my cousins described it, the city “smells like death.” For many around the world, the deluge of news covering the earthquake is the first time that the conditions in Haiti are nearly impossible to ignore. And although this earthquake and its aftershocks are perhaps the worst...

Esteban Bullrich http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1162 2010-01-14T21:56:47Z

Democracies cannot flourish with a stagnant citizenry. They require an electorate which from an early age is responsibly engaged, educated in political theory and instilled with the values from which republicanism is constructed. The lessons of democratic citizenship prepare young people to become more than observers of a regime, but actors in an equal and free community. Political involvement builds collective pride in a nation, motivating individuals to take ownership of their government. If a culture is erected around civic indifference, democracy’s strongest weapon (the power to choose governmental direction) is willingly, but perhaps unknowingly, surrendered....

Kara Andrade http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1160 2010-01-14T21:11:34Z

In a country where you can literally get away with murder, Guatemalans were shocked to hear that the murderer of attorney Rodrigo Rosenberg, whose infamous video accused President Alvaro Colom of assassinating him, was Rosenberg himself who plotted his own death in a tangled web of intrigue. The intellectual authors of the murder were his ex-wife's cousins, pharmaceutical company owners Jose Ramon Francisco and Jose Estuardo Valdez Paiz, who where identified by 11 suspects arrested in September 2009, and who had been asked by Rosenberg to help him find a hitman to deal with an extortionist....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1158 2010-01-14T16:04:44Z

On Tuesday, Honduras’ Congress approved a decree handed down in December by interim President Roberto Micheletti to end Honduras’ membership in the Bolivarian Alternative to the Americas (ALBA), a regional organization started by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Presidential spokesman Rafael Pineda, in an apparent reference to Venezuela, explained that the decision to leave was taken because “some of the countries in the organization have not treated Honduras with the respect it deserves.” Pineda also cited Venezuelan threats during the initial stages of the Honduran coup last year to invade Honduras in support of deposed President Manuel Zelaya.Honduras joined the regional organization on August 25, 2008, during a meeting between former President Zelaya and President Chávez. However, it was not until October 9 that the membership agreement was ratified by the Honduran Congress—then, ironically, presided over by Mr. Micheletti himself. ...

Ruxandra Guidi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1156 2010-01-13T22:00:41Z

The presidential palace was, at least at the time of my visit a little over a year ago, one of the most solid-looking buildings in Port-au-Prince. Located at the center of the Champ de Mars plaza, the white structure was said to have been modeled after the White House and meant to inspire reverence. But as we drove around the potholed streets surrounding the plaza and saw the piles of garbage and rows of crumbling buildings located within a few blocks, I remember thinking of the everyday plight of ordinary Haitians. Sadly, the building and its neighborhood have now collapsed. And no one knows how many people may be trapped in the rubble. Yesterday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake has left the presidential palace in ruins, as well as the national cathedral located downtown and a large hospital in the suburb of Pétionville. As the news continue to trickle in, I fear...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1155 2010-01-13T21:39:37Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Haiti Rocked by Destructive Earthquake A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, resulting in widespread chaos and substantial casualties. “Parliament has collapsed. The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed,” said Haiti’s President René Préval in an interview with The Miami Herald, who described the catastrophe as “unimaginable.” The United Nations and other agencies have warned that the rampant devastation is hampering efforts and The International Red Cross says as many as three million people have been affected and tens of thousands may have been killed by the earthquake, the epicenter of which lies just outside the Haitian capital. Images and reports of...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1153 2010-01-13T16:38:24Z

Immediate international assistance is critical for Haiti after yesterday’s magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit near the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Today’s Daily Focus is dedicated to how AQ Online visitors can help.All reports coming out of Haiti point to a catastrophic loss of life, the widespread destruction of already frail infrastructure and a looming humanitarian disaster. Haitian President René Préval described “unimaginable” destruction in his first public statement since the earthquake, reporting that “Parliament has collapsed. The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed.”Haiti’s capacity to respond to such events is extremely limited and foreign aid and assistance provided by governments and non-governmental sources will be crucial. AS/COA Online provides a comprehensive list of ways to support relief efforts. One such way is through Yele Haiti, the non-profit organization founded by Haitian musician Wyclef Jean, who spoke with Americas Quarterly for the Fall 2009 issue. Text the word...

Ruxandra Guidi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1152 2010-01-12T22:29:46Z

The Coca-Cola Company must not be happy about this: a new soft drink is hoping to someday make its way into the American market, and what's worse, it basically has the same name, except for an extra “l.” Bolivian President Evo Morales has been talking about the drink for years, and this month, his vision was finally materialized under the name "Coca Colla" printed on a red label. The choice for the name is no accident. Coca leaves are the main ingredient, and colla (or kolla, in both the Quechua and Aymara languages) are the people of the Andean highlands where coca has been chewed for centuries. Once upon a time, Coca-Cola's recipe called for five ounces of coca leaves per gallon of syrup. But these days, coca is more often identified with being the main ingredient of the drug, cocaine. As a former coca grower and union leader, Morales...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1151 2010-01-12T17:51:31Z

Today, the Venezuelan government announced its electricity rationing plan will now include power outages across the country. The directors of the National Electric Corporation were scheduled to explain how the power outages will be distributed in each region of the country at a press conference this morning, according to Electricity Minister Ángel Rodríguez. ...

Juan Cruz D�az http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1148 2010-01-11T17:15:35Z

El 10 de diciembre pasado asumieron los nuevos miembros del Congreso que comenzarán a sesionar este año. Hay muchos temas candentes y muchas expectativas, pero para que se cumplan, la oposición debería actuar de manera coordinada. Con la nueva composición, el oficialismo (Frente para la Victoria y aliados) se ha debilitado en la Cámara de Diputados y—si bien ha perdido fuerza—en el Senado el oficialismo está equilibrado con la oposición. Pero, como están las cosas, el gobierno aun tiene herramientas para seguir teniendo iniciativa política. Hay muchos temas que en el 2010 ocuparán un lugar preponderante: algunos de ellos son las discusiones sobre la nueva ley de medios, los decretos de necesidad y urgencia, el campo, la transferencia de recursos a las provincias, la utilización de reservas para hacer frente a obligaciones externas y la independencia del Banco Central. Los últimos dos han tomado una dinámica dramática en los últimos días...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1149 2010-01-11T16:51:21Z

Chile will become the first South American country to enter the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), under an agreement signed this morning in Santiago between Finance Minister Andrés Velasco and OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría. Chile is the thirty first country and second Latin American nation (Mexico entered in 1994) to join the group, which includes a membership that represents 70 percent of global  wealth. In the past two decades, Chile’s economy has grown at an average annual rate of 5 percent, and the percentage of the population living below the poverty line has fallen from 39 percent to 14 percent. When the invitation was announced in December, Gurría praised Chile’s “prudent fiscal policies, including putting aside the copper bonanza ‘for a rainy day’,” and institutional reforms in the past 20 years. Estonia, Israel, the Russian Federation, and Slovenia are currently seeking OECD membership, and the organization is “working closely” with...

Jason Marczak http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1147 2010-01-08T23:09:37Z

Last week marked an important victory for gay rights in our hemisphere. Seven years after Buenos Aires became the first Latin American city to permit same-sex civil unions, two men legally married in the country’s southern province of Tierra del Fuego. The couple had originally planned to marry in Buenos Aires, but the wedding was moved after a local judge issued an injunction to block the ceremony. Governor Fabiana Ríos called the marriage "a breakthrough in human rights and social inclusion." The Argentine marriage has now been referred to the country’s Supreme Court, but whatever the Court decides, gay couples’ right to marriage is gaining steam. Almost five years ago, Canada became the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage. Five U.S. states—Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Iowa—and Washington DC have followed suit. (A lawsuit filed yesterday challenges last month’s legalization of gay marriage in...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1146 2010-01-08T16:32:44Z

The leader of the Honduran Army, General Romeo Vásquez, and five of his top officers were charged this week with “abuse of power” in connection with the June ouster of deposed President Manuel Zelaya. The country’s chief prosecutor, Luis Alberto Rubí, did not appear to question the military’s initial detention of Mr. Zelaya, which had been ordered by the courts, but rather their decision to forcibly remove the president from the country.Since his November 19 election, President-elect Porfirio Lobo has consistently advocated for amnesty and reconciliation between the military, the interim government and the deposed president. This public stance has lead to widespread speculation that the charges against General Vásquez and his subordinates will likely be dropped when they reach the Supreme Court as part of a deal to ease the country’s tensions.Deposed President Zelaya reacted to news of a possible amnesty in a communiqué from the Brazilian embassy, where...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1143 2010-01-07T19:44:54Z

Colombian authorities announced yesterday the capture of Henry López Sarmiento, the accused mastermind behind the December 21, 2009, kidnapping and murder of Caquetá Governor Luis Francisco Cuéllar. Sarmiento, a member of the Teófilo Forero front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), was arrested while visiting family in Medellín....

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1142 2010-01-06T23:36:16Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Fernández Pushes for New Central Bank Head Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has sought to replace Central Bank Governor Martín Redrado after he turned down a presidential order to use $6.6 billion in reserves to pay off debt. Former Central Bank head Mario Blejer was named as a potential replacement. However, Redrado rejected the notion that he will resign and said that, according to the Bank’s charter, the decision to dismiss him lies with the Argentine Congress. Buenos Aires Mayor Announces Presidential Bid Mayor of Buenos Aires Mauricio Macri announced intentions of a 2011 presidential bid this week. A member of the conservative Propuesta...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1141 2010-01-06T18:47:19Z

The government of Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner asked Central Bank President Martín Redrado to leave his post on Wednesday after he refused her request to transfer $6.6 billion in Central Bank reserves to help pay government debts. Argentine government debts are expected to rise to $13 billion this year. President Kirchner appointed former Central Bank President Mario Blejer, to the post. But Blejer has rejected the appointment and Redrado has refused to step down. According to the Central Bank’s charter, Redrado can only be dismissed for misconduct or failure to carry out his duties after the President has consulted with a congressional committee chaired by the Senate President (Vice President Julio Cobos). In the past, Cobos has disagreed with some of the government’s economic policies. Redrado, who says only Congress has the authority to fire him, says he plans to stay until September, when his term ends. The Merval stock...

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1140 2010-01-06T17:17:59Z

Latin America is losing another champion in the Senate, Chris Dodd (D-CT), who has announced that he will not seek re-election in November.  The five-term Senator was facing a tough fight and soft poll numbers, and the announcement was not really unexpected by political observers.  Nonetheless, coupled with the recent passing of Senator Ted Kennedy, the Western Hemisphere is losing another strong voice for the region.  Senator Dodd is the Chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee, and both formally and informally he has played an important role regarding U.S. policy in the region.  It’s true that over the past couple years a presidential run and then the financial crisis diverted the Senator’s attention somewhat away from the region.  Then again, the presidential elections and the financial crisis diverted everyone’s attention away from other priorities.  But at a time when Western Hemisphere issues are not prominent...

Caroline Stauffer http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1138 2010-01-05T20:40:23Z

The calls for a path to legal residency for millions of people residing in the United States without formal documents are growing louder.  Four immigrant students started off the new decade by setting off for Washington DC from Miami to draw attention to the nation’s undocumented population.  But those who don’t personally risk deportation are also making the case that conditional legalization makes economic and social sense for the United States. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently said that comprehensive immigration reform, with a path to legalization, is of national interest.  Under current immigration policy, "We're committing what I call national suicide," Bloomberg said December 27 on NBC's Meet the Press.  "In fact, we do the stupidest thing, we give them education and then don't give them green cards."Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) introduced legislation on December 15 that included a provision for earned legalization, along with tougher border enforcement...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1137 2010-01-05T17:09:57Z

The Bolivian government accused Peruvian President Alan García on Monday of auctioning Peru’s natural resources to transnational companies and repressing his country’s indigenous population. The accusations from Iván Canelas, Bolivia's presidential spokesman, were made in response to a statement from García over the weekend that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez orders Bolivian President Evo Morales to verbally attack Peru.  Canelas authored a piece in a Bolivian state-run newspaper claiming that García intervenes in other country’s foreign affairs to detract attention from Peru’s internal problems.  Morales has long condemned the García government’s decrees ending certain restrictions on mining and oil drilling in regions inhabited by native Amazonian people.  On December 30, the Peruvian Awajún leader responsible for coordinating an investigation into the June deaths of 33 indigenous protesters said he would not sign the final report because it was biased.  The protesters were demonstrating against the opening of rainforest land to oil, mining...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1136 2010-01-04T17:50:55Z

A Native American group in British Columbia has won a ruling by the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) that will likely lead the federal government to defend its record on indigenous land rights at an international tribunal that the commission will set up later this year.The Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group, whose traditional territory consisted of nearly 750,000 acres of land on the east coast of Vancouver Island, contends that Canada has continuously violated tribal members’ human rights since it converted the tribe’s land to private property in an 1884 land grant to a railway company. According the group’s website, their goal is to secure the titles to tribal lands and regain control over local resources. The group is also seeking compensation for the territory it claims was illegally taken from its members.At the heart of the case is the issue of whether the current British Columbia...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1135 2009-12-25T04:09:39Z

The global economic decline has hit Central America hard. Unemployment has increased, remittances from emigrants have declined and governments face rising deficits and debt that jeopardize their ability to meet increased social demands. The story is similar in much of the world, but the situation is particularly precarious in these countries, because they are among the poorest nations in the Americas and have weak economic and social safety nets. Governments in the region have responded to the economic decline by promoting fiscal adjustments to improve their balance sheets. El Salvador recently passed a gasoline tax and revised its value-added tax, and President Mauricio Funes hopes to pass tax increases on liquor, tobacco and luxury goods. In Honduras, de facto President Roberto Micheletti proposed sweeping reforms, before withdrawing the media-dubbed paquetazo due to pressure from Congress and president-elect Porfirio Lobo to put off major legislation until the new government assumes power....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1134 2009-12-25T03:34:46Z

The Daily Focus will resume on Monday, January 4, 2010. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1133 2009-12-22T19:50:55Z

For the first time, Peruvian officials have publicly identified the Shining Path guerrilla group’s military commander, Orlando Alejandro Borda Casafranca. The region where the group operates, Valley of the Apurimac, has become Peru’s largest producer of cocaine, which officials believe has helped fuel a resurgence of guerrilla violence in recent months.Few details are known about Mr. Borda-Casafranca, 42, who allegedly disappeared in a remote jungle region while still a teenager. What little is known, including the identity of his family, was provided by two Shining Path members who deserted earlier this year and have been cooperating with federal authorities.The Shining Path is Peru’s most infamous terrorist group, whose actions are believed to be responsible for at least half of the 69,000 people estimated killed in violence that occurred from 1990 to 2000. An estimated 40 Peruvian soldiers have been killed in recent months with the resurgence the Apurimac region. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1132 2009-12-21T17:15:00Z

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced on Sunday that an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft flying from Colombia violated Venezuelan airspace over the northwest state of Zulia near the countries’ shared border. According to Mr. Chávez, who yesterday described the incident as an act of war, the plane uses U.S. technologies.In response, Chávez has ordered his military to be on alert in the future and to shoot down any such aircraft if they violate Venezuelan airspace. A U.S. Embassy spokesperson has said the mission has no information about any flyover and had not been contacted by Chávez's administration.These most recent allegations follow a particularly tense period in Colombian-Venezuelan relations and a rise in anti-U.S. rhetoric. Last month there were reports that Venezuela would destroy border bridges if Colombia moved forward with plans to escalate its military presence on the border and Chávez last week accused the Netherlands of allowing the United States to...

Ruxandra Guidi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1131 2009-12-21T17:05:21Z

For the past couple of months, we've seen a one-of-a-kind rush in the media to cover stories on deforestation, climate change and carbon markets ahead of the climate conference in Copenhagen (COP15). It was about time that these issues joined the mainstream: for most Americans, the need to lower global carbon emissions had been a distant and elusive reality. Most of us have failed to consider our country's climate debt and, as individuals, we've felt powerless besides making the choice to ride our bikes to work or drive hybrid cars. Needless to say, this view doesn't even consider the growing number of Americans who are overall skeptical of the concept of climate change. But getting back to Copenhagen: it's important to remember that the massive meeting in Denmark wasn't in and of itself the solution. A recent story on NPR put COP15's dysfunctional politicking into a clever perspective: "If you're...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1130 2009-12-18T17:35:21Z

The Colombian rock star Juanes and Ecuadorian musician Juan Fernando Velasco symbolically exchanged their countries’ flags on Thursday on the Rumichaca Bridge, one of many border crossings between their countries. Antonio Navarro, the governor of Colombia’s Nariño province was among the 500 people who attended the ceremony, which is part of a bilateral effort to reestablish diplomatic relations. Official diplomatic ties between the two neighbors were suspended in March 2008 after an unauthorized incursion by the Colombian Army into Ecuadorian territory. Juanes and Velasco stated jointly that the broad ties between their countries should overshadow any diplomatic disagreements between Bogotá and Quito. Juanes, who in November was awarded the 2009 National Prize for Peace, has long been recognized for his work on behalf of victims of armed conflict. His initiatives also include efforts to boost mutual understanding between nations through music, as was the case in Havana earlier this year....

Kara Andrade http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1129 2009-12-17T22:16:05Z

In a pretend conversation written in Una Hoja de Papel, a child asks his grandfather what Guatemala's Lake Atitlán—Central America’s deepest lake—was once like. "It was very beautiful, crystal clear waters, you could see through the waters to the pebbles on the shore," the grandfather recalls. "It was once nominated as one of the seven wonders of the natural world. The couples chose this destination to spend their honeymoon. Undoubtedly, an enigmatic place of quiet waters and unparalleled splendor." "But, what happened?" the grandson asked. "Simple, we stood idly with our arms crossed," the grandfather said. Today Lake Atitlan—located within an hour’s drive of Antigua—is drowning in a film of green scum. NASA pictures taken just a few weeks show the lake as massive swirls of blue-green algae or cyanobacteria that, besides looking ugly and foreboding, literally make the lake stink. A result of long-term, excessive pollution.The situation has gained...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1127 2009-12-17T18:44:19Z

Brazil’s Senate ratified Venezuela’s entry into Mercosur on Tuesday, but approval from Paraguay remains a final hurdle to expanding Latin America’s largest trade bloc. Miguel Carrizosa, head of the Paraguayan Senate, said Wednesday that Venezuela should be kept out of Mercosur "as long as President Hugo Chávez continues intervening in foreign affairs.”  But Senator Emilio Camacho, who will take over the Senate presidency when Congress resumes session in March 2010, said Thursday morning that the debate could be reopened after the winter recess. Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, of the Patriotic Alliance for Change coalition that has the support of Camacho’s National Encuentro Party, is in favor of Venezuela joining Mercosur.  He has previously removed the vote from the agenda of the opposition-controlled legislature. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has long advocated the acceptance of South America’s largest oil exporter into the bloc formed by Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay...

Lila Barrera-Hern�ndez http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1126 2009-12-17T16:57:18Z

Peru’s appetite for investment has again led it deep into the Amazon jungle. This time a new hydroelectricity project, the Inambari Dam, is poised to bring irreversible social and environmental changes to the region. ...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1125 2009-12-16T22:55:55Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Immigration Reform Debate Revived with New House Bill Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) introduced, with the backing of nearly two-dozen lawmakers, a new comprehensive immigration reform bill on December 15. The proposed legislation represents the first immigration bill submitted since 2007 reform attempts fell apart. “We have waited patiently for a workable solution to our immigration crisis to be taken up by this Congress and our president,” said Gutierrez in a press release. “The time for waiting is over.” In a new AQ blog post, AS/COA Director of Policy Jason Marczak reports on the new bill and looks ahead to an anticipated Senate version expected early in the...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1123 2009-12-16T16:32:23Z

In the most dramatic proposal for political reform in decades, Mexican President Felipe Calderón announced yesterday a 10-point plan aimed at revamping Mexico’s political system. Among the many reforms, the proposal would allow independent candidates to run for office and relax term-limit rules for legislators, allowing lawmakers and mayors to hold office for up to 12 years. The legislation would also reduce the number of seats in the chamber of deputies by 20 percent to 400 seats, and reduce the number of senators from 128 to 96. Calderón also included a provision that would require, for the first time, a runoff election in presidential races in which no candidate obtains more than 50 percent of total votes cast. If passed, the reforms would dramatically alter Mexican politics. According to Calderón, “the idea is to give citizens more power, to give them the capacity to shape public life and to strengthen...

Jason Marczak http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1121 2009-12-16T00:32:56Z

This afternoon Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) reminded the American people what awaits in 2010: a much-needed national discussion on immigration reform. Joined by lawmakers from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Black Caucus, Asian Pacific American Caucus, and Progressive Caucus, Gutierrez introduced his long-awaited Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009. Or, CIR ASAP as the bill’s acronym fittingly spells out. And while his legislation is unlikely to be the bill that ultimately passes, it puts pressure on Congress and the Obama administration to step up their efforts at finding a workable solution to one of the United States’ most challenging domestic issues. By introducing CIR ASAP now—before Congress leaves town for the holidays—Gutierrez is sending a message that “there is no excuse for inaction in the New Year.” Of course, health care reform must first be voted on in the Senate, and if passed, reconciled with the...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1122 2009-12-15T23:52:50Z

Lynchings are wreaking havoc again in rural Guatemala. In a recent 15-day span, nine people have been lynched here by citizens who chose to take justice into their own hands. And in the past year, lynch mobs have attacked over 250 people, resulting in at least 42 deaths. The numbers are scary, and they reflect the reality that Guatemala has not forgotten a crucial part of its grisly past. In addition to the deaths caused, the lynchings reflect the inadequacy and inaccessibility of state justice institutions and the legacies of violence from civil war and state-sponsored genocide. Lynching may seem like an antiquated concept to Americans, but it remains a very real part of rural Guatemalan life. The practice of linchamientos differs somewhat from the mob-led hangings of African-Americans that once plagued the American South. Instead, Guatemalan lynch mobs resort to stoning, beating or pouring gasoline on victims and setting them...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1120 2009-12-15T17:53:47Z

A senior member of the agency tasked with protecting Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom was shot and killed yesterday in a coordinated attack involving multiple assailants in Guatemala City. The victim, Rubén Sagastume Pozuelos, was the agent in charge of protecting President Colom’s children.The attack is the latest in a series of incidents involving the Secretariat for Administration and Security (SAAS). In September, the director of SAAS was detained on espionage charges following the discovery of covert audio and video recording equipment in the president’s offices and residence. It also follows a series of death threats against the president received by the agency, which were issued by the Mexico-based Golfo drug cartel. Colom, who himself was accused of coordinating the assassination of a political opponent earlier this year, has significantly increased the size of the Guatemalan National Police force in an effort to curb drug trafficking and reduce the country’s extremely...

Miguel Centellas http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1119 2009-12-15T16:40:10Z

Evo Morales won a popular mandate. That is the simplest way to describe the results of Bolivia’s recent presidential election. But celebrating Morales' triumph—a landslide 63 percent victory and a ten-point improvement from 2005—should not obscure the obstacles he will face during his second term. These obstacles, both political and economic, will require deft handling and significant pragmatism. This will prove difficult, especially since expectations—particularly among the 60 percent of the population living in poverty—are unrealistically high. ...

Liliana Colanzi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1116 2009-12-14T22:30:25Z

El escritor y cineasta chileno Alberto Fuguet vivió durante años fascinado por el personaje de Carlos, su tío favorito y el rebelde de la familia, quien un día decidió desaparecer en la inmensidad de los Estados Unidos. Sorprendido por la falta de interés del resto del clan Fuguet en contactarse con Carlos, Fuguet contrató un detective y, en menos tiempo del que esperaba, lo encontró. Missing: Una investigación, narra el proceso que llevó a Carlos a escapar de una familia disfuncional para lanzarse a una vida nómada de cuartos de hotel y trabajos inestables en un país desconocido y muchas veces hostil. Pero también este libro, que Fuguet denomina novela de no-ficción, es el mapa de las inquietudes, las razones y los temas que hacen a un escritor. El escritor más representativo de la generación McOndo y autor de Por favor, rebobinar (1998) y Cortos (2004), explora en este libro...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1115 2009-12-14T18:07:39Z

A January 17 runoff  is now set between Sebastian Piñera of the Alliance for Chile coalition and former President Eduardo Frei of the ruling Concertación coalition. On Sunday, with 98 percent of votes counted, Piñera won the first round with 44 percent of votes cast compared to 30 percent for Frei. The two candidates are now vying for the support that went to independent Marco Enríquez-Ominami, who secured 20 percent of first-round votes. Ominami refuses to endorse either candidate. Political scientist Ricardo Israel of the University of Chile said the second round will be “very tight” as it was in the last two presidential elections “with the only difference being that for the first time, the opposition candidate has the advantage." Chileans also voted for members of Congress on Sunday, with over 500 candidates vying for all 120 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 18 of 38 seats in the Senate....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1114 2009-12-11T18:20:56Z

Thirty-nine members of the Havana-based human rights group Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White) were reportedly assaulted yesterday during a peaceful protest to commemorate International Human Rights Day. An estimated 200 government supporters attacked the women near the Museum of the Revolution as they set free a group of doves and distributed copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. An additional ten people were detained in a separate protest in a park in the neighborhood of El Vedado during which a British diplomat was also forced to leave the premises by pro-government groups. According to Ladies in White director Laura Pollán, this year’s attacks were the worst since the group was founded in 2003. The organization was founded to protest the detention of 75 dissidents during Cuba’s Black Spring.Susan Purcell, Director for the Center for Hemispheric Policy at the University of Miami in Florida perceives mob violence as a...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1113 2009-12-10T16:44:56Z

President Barack Obama has a 61 percent approval rating in Latin America, a December Gallup Poll finds. The poll, reflecting public opinion in 17 countries between July and September 2009, also showed that support for U.S. Leadership in Latin America increased from 39 percent in 2008 to 51 percent this year.   Meanwhile, Obama’s domestic approval rating dropped to 47 percent on Dec. 9.  Support for Obama was strongest in Chile, where 72 percent of respondents had a favorable image of the U.S. President, and in Colombia (68 percent) and Uruguay (64 percent).  Obama’s approval rating was lowest in Paraguay (40 percent), Nicaragua (42 percent), Bolivia (46 percent), and Venezuela (48 percent). The poll is released as Latin American leaders, notably Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, have stepped up criticism for U.S. policy in the hemisphere.  Obama has been criticized for recognizing the election of Porfirio Lobo in Honduras,...

Liz Harper http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1112 2009-12-10T15:09:42Z

Arturo Valenzuela is finally settling in as assistant secretary for the western hemisphere on the 6th floor of the State Department. But, the distinguished diplomat who most recently served in that job—Tom Shannon—is still waiting for his next post due to another hold on his nomination to be ambassador to Brazil.  Back in early November, when Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) lifted his holds on Arturo Valenzuela as assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere and Tom Shannon as ambassador to Brazil, newcomer Senator George LeMieux (R-FL) slapped a hold on Shannon’s nomination the very next day.  Senator DeMint’s hold was ostensibly due to concerns of how the U.S. handled Honduras, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Ecuador.  Conspicuously absent was Cuba. Right then and there, that should have been a red flag of more complaints to come against Shannon, as Cuba is the ostensible focus for these new questions. As soon as...

Eliot Brockner http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1108 2009-12-10T01:34:37Z

The announcement last July that Colombia would lend the use of certain military bases to U.S. forces unleashed a well-worn debate about sovereignty and U.S. involvement in the Latin America. Five months later, the rhetoric continues. As recently as December 8, 2009, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez complained the base would destabilize peace in the region at the latest Mercosur summit in Montevideo, Uruguay. In the midst of this uproar relating back to fighting the drug trade, Panama has taken action with its own counternarcotics strategy. On December 1, 2009, Panama quietly announced the establishment of the first of 11 bases at Isla Chapera, an island in the Perlas Archipelago in the Gulf of Panama. The principal purpose of the bases will be counternarcotics efforts. Ironically, the island belongs to a high-ranking Colombian drug trafficker who stands accused of money laundering in Panama. With the establishment of these bases in both...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1107 2009-12-09T21:59:20Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Mercosur Rejects Honduran Elections, Stalls on Other Matters Leaders of the Mercosur countries—Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay—along with Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez gathered for a two-day presidential summit in Montevideo. They rejected Honduras’ November 29 elections, saying the elections took place in an illegal context. The presidents also agreed to move forward on free-trade negotiations with the EU but made little headway on their external tariff code, infrastructure projects for smaller countries, or a mechanism for the body’s Parliament to approve legislation. Leaders from the bloc also said they expect Venezuela to become a full member of Mercosur, pending approval by Brazil’s Senate and Paraguay’s Congress. Brazilian President Luiz...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1106 2009-12-09T19:19:56Z

A new poll out today by the Centro de Estudios de la Realidad Contemporánea reports that Sebastián Piñera, running under the Alliance for Chile coalition, leads the presidential polls with 44.1 percent support, compared to 31 percent for Eduardo Frei of the governing Concertación coalition. Independent candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami is projected to gain 17.7 percent of the votes, while Jorge Arrate’s support is at 7.2 percent. If Piñera wins, it will mark the first time that a conservative government has ruled Chile since the end of the Pinochet era in 1990.“I wouldn’t rule out a [Piñera] win in the first round,” said Carlos Huneeus, director of the Centro de Estudios de la Realidad Contemporánea, who noted that “the right is in the best condition than ever” of attaining power. Nonetheless, if Piñera doesn’t win the outright majority in the first round, there will be a runoff in January with the...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1105 2009-12-09T01:48:25Z

With the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) nearing completion of its first pass through Honduras’ election results, a more subtle (albeit still incomplete) analysis has become possible. What is certain is that the National Party won an unprecedented victory. What remains in question is precisely why. Answering this question requires a closer examination at voter participation trends in previous elections and inferential analysis of what took place in 2009. Below, I first present the results, before offering a hypothesis to explain them. The Results Porfirio Lobo and the National Party won a landslide victory at every level of government. In the presidential elections, the National Party took upwards of 55 percent of votes cast, while the Liberal Party—long the numerically dominant party in Honduras—could not even muster 40 percent. In the Congress, the National Party won over 70 seats of a total of 128. And, in the mayoral races, the National Party has...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1104 2009-12-08T15:50:24Z

Beginning this week, companies may begin submitting preliminary bids on an estimated $20 to 30 billion project to build a high-speed rail line linking Brazil’s two biggest cities. The project, which is the first of its kind in Latin America, will provide rapid transportation in a region inhabited by some 40 million people—a full 20 percent of Brazil’s population.According to reports, 60 percent of the cost of the project will be financed by Brazil’s development bank, and the remaining 40 percent from the winning bidder who, upon completion, will be permitted to operate the line for up to 40 years.Work on the new rail link should be completed in 2015—in time for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The new train will travel a total of 510 kilometers (317 miles) at a maximum speed of 347 kilometers (217 miles) per hour. Sources say the total travel time on...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1103 2009-12-07T18:04:28Z

Bolivian President Evo Morales was elected for another five-year term on Sunday, winning 62.5 percent of the national vote and 78.5 percent in La Paz. With the previous constitution prohibiting consecutive re-election, it is the first time in 45 years that a Bolivian president will serve two consecutive terms. The runner-up, Manfred Reyes Villa of the Plan Progreso Bolivia-Convergencia Nacional party (PPB-CN), won 27.6 percent of votes nationally and 9.4 percent in La Paz.The governing party, Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) also obtained a majority of seats in the senate. Having won 24 seats, MAS now controls two-thirds of the chamber and has senators in regions that have traditionally opposed the president. The government has announced that its new senate majority will allow it to accelerate reforms. The first legislation that will be introduced on December 12 is a Federal Autonomy law (Ley Marco de Autonomía) that will shape the legal...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1102 2009-12-04T20:07:25Z

The Venezuelan government’s move to close four private banks plunged the price of the Bolivar and the country’s widely traded 2027 global bond as jittery investors pulled money out of the financial system to put it overseas.  President Hugo Chávez tried to assure investors yesterday that his ultimate aim was to strengthen and improve the country’s financial system. "The government is putting out fire ... We are fixing the problem," he said. "We will all emerge stronger."Chávez has nationalized key components of the economy, including oil, telecommunications and power, but he had mostly kept the banking system in private hands. However, shortly after announcing he had “no problem” nationalizing banks that broke the country’s laws and failed to lend to the poor, Chávez seized four private banks and liquidated two of them.Although the banks hold less than six percent of the country’s deposits, more than 30 percent of these holdings...

Jenny Manrique http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1101 2009-12-03T19:28:52Z

Veinte (20) meses después de que aviones colombianos bombardearan la frontera con Ecuador—lo que dio al traste con las relaciones diplomáticas entre ambos países andinos—una serie de nombramientos y acciones que pretenden recomponer el diálogo, sigue sin resolver el eje sustancial de la disputa en la que se acusa a Colombia de haber violado la soberanía y la integralidad territorial ecuatorianas, tras la incursión militar en Angostura que terminó en la muerte de 26 personas entre ellas el número 2 de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), Raúl Reyes.Desde que a fines de septiembre se trazó en Nueva York la "hoja de ruta" en la que los cancilleres Fander Falconí de Ecuador, y Jaime Bermúdez de Colombia se comprometieron a dar pasos para recomponer las relaciones, se reintegraron las comisiones de negocios, se reactivó la Comisión Binacional de Asuntos Fronterizos (COMBIFRON) y se prometió nombrar agregados militares antes del...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1100 2009-12-03T16:13:51Z

The southern province of Abancay in Peru’s Apurímac region, known for copper and iron mines, is under police and military control to prevent further disruption from protesters who demand a greater share of the region’s budget. The state of emergency, declared Wednesday, will last for 60 days.  Civil liberties have been suspended and public transportation is restricted in Abancay City, the region’s capital.  Protesters accuse David Salazar, president of the seven provinces in the Apurímac region, of allocating half of the region’s funds to the province of Andahuaylas, which has a historical rivalry with Abancay province.  On Nov. 20, clashes between police and union members who had gone on strike demanding the resignation of Salazar left 87 people injured.    The Peruvian government fears the strikes and protests could effect mining operations in the region that are heavily backed by foreign capital.  Total investment in Peru’s mines amounts to around...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1099 2009-12-02T22:04:35Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Lobo Wins Controversial Honduran Election The National Party’s Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo came out the clear winner in Sunday’s controversial presidential election, pulling in over 55 percent of the vote to mark a double-digit victory over his leading contender, the Liberal Party’s Elvin Santos. Reporting from Tegucigalpa, AQ blogger Daniel Altschuler writes about speculation over voter turnout figures. The Honduran electoral tribunal placed the figure at 61 percent while observer group Hagamos Democracia announced counts closer to 48 percent. Read the National Democratic Institute’s assessment of the electoral process. Leaders from 22 countries joined at the Ibero-American summit this weekend in Estoril, Portugal, where divisions ran high over...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1098 2009-12-02T21:39:09Z

This is not another posting about Honduras.  We’ve had enough of those and the back and forth. This is broader: about the general sense of drift of this administration’s policy in the region.  (Warning: this is a précis of a future article.)  Is partnership really possible today in the Americas? For all the rhetoric and desire for collective action, the hemisphere is too divided, U.S. politics too polarized, and a number of Latin American countries too willing to shirk responsibility for that to happen.President Barack Obama’s administration walked into office and the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago talking about partnership in the hemisphere—a welcome refrain from recent years.  But if current events are any indication, the region doesn’t want partners it wants a punching bag.  Partnership assumes a level of shared values, responsibility and future.  The last eight months demonstrate everything but.  First, the sad debate at...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1096 2009-12-02T16:38:59Z

Sixty prominent African-Americans signed a four-page declaration to the Cuban government, calling on Havana to confront racism and demanding that President Raúl Castro end “the unwarranted and brutal harassment of black citizens in Cuba who are defending their civil rights.” The "Statement of Conscience by African-Americans" also petitioned for the immediate release of Darsi Ferrer, a well-known Afro-Cuban physician and civil-rights activist, who has been in jail since July while under investigation for the illegal possession of two sacks of cement. Signatories to the declaration include Princeton professor Cornel West, actress Ruby Dee Davis, and former congresswoman Carrie Meek. Afro-Cuban author Enrique Patterson called the declaration “historic.”Alberto González, spokesman for Cuba's diplomatic mission in Washington, called the accusations against the Cuban government “absurd” and accused the declaration of being “part of a campaign of subversion against Cuba.” Afro-Cubans make up at least 62 percent of the 11.4 million people in...

Frank Calzon http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1095 2009-12-02T15:54:36Z

Sanctions are not uncommon when dealing with tyrants, as we have seen recently in the discussions weighing what to do about North Korea and Iran.  The United States levied sanctions against Libya after its terrorists downed a PAM AM flight over Scotland in 1996; the world imposed sanctions on the white supremacist government in South Africa in 1986; many governments in 2003 placed sanctions on the brutal military regime in Burma. Most recently, the United States and many other governments put sanctions on the “interim” government in Honduras that seized power in a coup but held elections on November 29. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1093 2009-12-01T16:44:53Z

Buenos Aires-based civil court judge Marta Gómez Alsina effectively blocked Latin America’s first gay marriage yesterday when she filed an injunction to stop today’s marriage of Alex Freyre and Jose Maria di Bello until the  case could be reviewed by the Supreme Court.The couple, whose initial marriage license application was denied in April, won the right to marry when a judge ruled on November 10 that that laws limiting marriage to a man and a woman violated their constitutional right to equality under the law. Local reactions to the November decisions were mixed as Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri announced that he would not appeal the judge's decision, while Catholic Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio released a statement expressing his disapproval. Argentina’s capital has been at the forefront of gay-rights issues since 2002 when it became the first major city in Latin America to approve civil unions for gay couples. However, while...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1091 2009-11-30T23:01:07Z

Porfirio Lobo will be Honduras’s next President.  Consistent with recent polls, Lobo, the National Party candidate, won a resounding victory over Liberal Party candidate Elvin Santos.  The results were unambiguous, and Santos quickly conceded victory while Lobo and the National Party celebrated their victory.  This sharply contrasts with the 2005 elections, when doubts remained about the results for over a week and speculation about vote-rigging abounded.  In 2009, conversely, the question is not who won, but how many people voted.  The turnout question will now become the centerpiece of the debate on the election.After rampant speculation regarding possible Election Day protests and violence, Sunday’s elections took place under relative tranquility.  The military and police were out in full force on Sunday to protect the elections, and security concerns were high enough to warrant canceling flights from the United States.  There was some reported repression of protesters in San Pedro Sula,...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1090 2009-11-30T21:00:42Z

The Honduran elections on Sunday brought a decisive victory to National Party candidate Porfirio Lobo, winning 55.9 percent of the votes according to figures by the Honduran election authorities. Elvin Santos of the Liberal Party conceded defeat with 30.09 percent of the votes cast. These numbers were consistent with independent verification but a discrepancy does exist with respect to the rate of voter turnout. The electoral tribunal reported a 61.3 percent voter turnout rate while Hagamos Democracia, which conducted the electoral tribunal’s quick count, noted that 47.6 percent of Hondurans voted. Following his win, Mr. Lobo said, “I am announcing a government of national unity, of reconciliation. There’s no more time for divisions.” Nonetheless, the hemisphere remains divided on the legitimacy of the elections with some refusing to recognize the results. Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela have said they will not recognize the votes. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1089 2009-11-25T19:04:54Z

Peru’s Minister of Production, Mercedes Aráoz confirmed yesterday that Peru will formally propose a South American regional security force at the meeting of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) Defense Council in Ecuador next Friday. “The idea is to have in the framework of Unasur a clear agenda of non-aggression among the region’s countries, consolidated in a Peace Protocol”, said Aráoz. “The Peace, Security and Cooperation Protocol,” created by Peruvian President Alan García, aims to reduce military expenditure by all UNASUR members in addition to the creation of a regional security force.The proposal has reportedly been well received by leaders of Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Colombia and Uruguay. Minister Aráoz most recently met with Uruguayan President Tabaré Vásquez and said the President “received the proposal with great enthusiasm.”The proposal comes at a time of diplomatic tension in the region. Peru’s recent allegations of Chilean espionage and incidents between Venezuela...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1088 2009-11-24T22:22:49Z

In a move that was long anticipated by investors, Fitch Ratings downgraded Mexico on Monday to BBB—only two grades above non-investment grade, or junk status. The change by Fitch has been attributed to falling oil production and declining tax revenues due to this year’s expected 7 percent contraction of GDP. Moody's Investors Service, another major ratings agency, said last week that a downgrade of Mexico's credit rating may come "at some point" but that it will not be lowered "for now."Mexican Finance Minister Agustin Carstens, who had sought to avoid the downgrade, indicated prior to the move that “a downgrade would not be good, but it would not be disastrous either.” According to Mr. Carstens, Mexico will secure as much as 75 percent of its $8 billion international financing needs next year through multilateral organizations such as the World Bank, thereby eliminating much of the country’s need to finance its...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1087 2009-11-23T20:14:21Z

El Salvador’s Archbishop, José Luis Escobar Alas, commended President Mauricio Funes yesterday for his decision to award the country’s highest honor to six Jesuit priests assassinated by the army in 1989—an event that sparked international outrage and helped lead to the war’s end three years later. At a press conference held yesterday in San Salvador, Archbishop Escobar Alas said, “We, as a Church, sincerely see these gestures as a sign of reconciliation, of unity and peace.” A week ago today—on the twentieth anniversary of their deaths—Funes presented the families of the priests with the National Order of José Matias Delgado. “For me, this act means [we] pull back a heavy veil of darkness and lies to let in the light of justice and truth,” Funes said. “We begin to cleanse our house of this recent history.” In surprise comments, Minister of Defense David Munguia Payes said that the army would also...

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1086 2009-11-23T12:54:21Z

Sunday marked the three-year anniversary of the signing of the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (FTA).  The signing provided a tangible signal of U.S. support for the U.S.-Colombia relationship broadly, and, more specifically, for job creation in the United States through export expansion to a large and growing Latin American economy.  On strategic, foreign policy, counter-narcotics, and economic grounds, the deal appeared to be a no-brainer for the United States to conclude.  It still does.  Unfortunately, that’s not how many policy and interest group advocates see it, raising one objection after another in an attempt to derail the agreement.And derail it they have.  Despite its many advantages, and the fact that our market is already open to Colombian products through unilateral trade preference programs while theirs remains closed to ours, the agreement remains stuck on high center, without any action taken until Colombia reaches some undefined, and perhaps indefinable, level of...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1085 2009-11-20T22:38:26Z

Earlier this week, Mary Anastasia O’Grady shamelessly pulled the God card to defend the Honduran coup. Specifically, she handed her Wall Street Journal column over to the coup-supporting Cardinal Rodriguez to curry favor for the June 28 ousting of President Manuel Zelaya from power. Her article ignores the Church’s troubling historical role in Honduran politics, instead granting this institution legitimacy as the defender of democracy. O’Grady should have known better. O’Grady’s piece is one in a long line of conservative attempts to justify the overthrow of a democratically-elected president. Christopher Sabatini and I have already debunked these arguments, so I will not do so again here. But this week’s novelty was O’Grady’s use of a deeply controversial Church leader as a mouthpiece for the argument she has been making for months. In her article, she explains why Cardinal Rodriguez supported the coup—what he argues was a “constitutional succession”—namely, that Zelaya...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1084 2009-11-20T21:06:43Z

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday in the latest of a series of meetings with Middle Eastern leaders.  In an effort to expand his country’s role as a peacemaker, Lula also hosted Israeli President Shimon Peres for a four-day visit to Brazil last week. Peres invited the South American leader to join the Middle East peace process in the first visit by an Israeli president to Brazil in 40 years.  Abbas also welcomed Brazil’s participation in negations with Israel.  Lula agreed to be an instrument in the peace process and stepped head-first into one of the region’s many contentious issues, with a statement that Brazil "understands that any new settlement in Palestinian territory should immediately be halted." Just as Brazil begins to further engage the region, Lula said the United States has no place as a broker in Middle East peace talks. “As...

Maarten van Aalst http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1083 2009-11-19T21:43:31Z

When not one, but four, hurricanes pummeled poverty-stricken Haiti between September and November of 2008, relief agencies struggled to deliver emergency aid before the next storm rolled in. Four years earlier, the United States received a costly and deadly reminder that natural disasters wreck havoc on wealthy countries, too. Hurricane Katrina left 80 percent of New Orleans flooded as levees failed to keep out water, emergency response was insufficient, and thousands took refuge in a Superdome that did not meet Red Cross Safety standards. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1081 2009-11-19T19:38:23Z

The 16-year-long trade dispute between European and Latin American officials could be over by the end of this week, the European Commission announced today.  A draft settlement obtained by the Financial Times requires the European Union (EU) to gradually cut tariffs on bananas from $260 per ton to $114 if Latin American countries drop all pending litigation in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The agreement could clear the way for more individual trade agreements between the EU and countries in Central and South America. The “banana wars” constitute the longest trade dispute in WTO history.  When the EU established a preferential policy for imports from former British and French colonies in 1993, countries in Latin America that produce bananas at lower prices than Caribbean and African countries objected.  Ecuador launched the most recent round of complaints at the WTO, seconded by the United States, home of Dole Food Company and Chiquita...

Ruxandra Guidi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1078 2009-11-19T07:13:45Z

A good friend, who is a former foreign correspondent for the Associated Press, recently told me about the pressure he got from his editors during a recent reporting stint along the U.S.-Mexico border.  "They only wanted me to come up with the big story on the drug war, to find breaking news over and over again," he said.  "But nothing that big was happening in Tijuana; the action was in Ciudad Juárez instead."   By "action," he was referring to the dozens of weekly reports of attacks, torture, murders, disappearances, and even what appears to be random violence in Juárez, directly across from El Paso, Texas—one of the safest cities in the United States.  Between March and September of this year, at least 40 people who received treatment for drug addiction at rehab facilities in Juárez were killed by gunmen; the reason why they were targeted remains unclear.  Last month,...

Peter M. Siavelis http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1077 2009-11-18T22:38:23Z

November 18, 2009...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1076 2009-11-18T21:55:49Z

Brazilian federal police announced yesterday that, beginning next month, they intend to use unmanned spy planes for surveillance purposes in the slums of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The planes, which are equipped with high definition video cameras and radars, will monitor activities in those cities and along the country’s borders with Paraguay and Bolivia to combat drug- and gang-related crime. The deal follows an October 2009 incident in which drug gangs shot down a police helicopter during a gun battle between rival gangs in Rio de Janeiro. Security has become a top priority for the federal and local governments in Brazil as the country prepares to host both the 2014 World Cup and the Olympics in 2016.The Heron drones are manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. and were part of a $350 million security deal signed between Brazil and Israel last week during Israeli President Shimon Peres’ state...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1080 2009-11-18T20:00:00Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email....

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1074 2009-11-17T21:36:21Z

In Singapore recently for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders meeting, I was reminded again of the global influence, for good or ill, of American politics and culture.  Given the 13 hour time difference, one wakes up in the morning just as U.S. television is in prime time.  That means that if you turn on the hotel television to CNN, Fox, or in my case, in Singapore to CNBC, one is treated to the daily shout-fests that now pass for political dialogue in the United States.  In this case the topic happened to be the decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed, or KSM for those who want to portray themselves as insiders, in a U.S. court in New York.  Turning on the television to Lawrence Kudlow (host of CNBC's The Kudlow Report) prior to my first cup of tea (this was Singapore not Lima), I...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1073 2009-11-17T21:25:59Z

Since the June 28th coup removed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya from power, the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti has vigorously defended the upcoming elections as the way out of the political crisis.  In recent weeks, the central question has become whether the international community will recognize the upcoming presidential elections.  With the breakdown of negotiations and Zelaya’s recent declaration that he will not accept restitution from the Congress (itself increasingly unlikely), the Organization of American States (OAS) will almost certainly not send election observers.  Conversely, Panama, Colombia and the United States have indicated they will recognize the elections, which undermines the previous international consensus on the Honduran crisis.  Meanwhile, last week, independent presidential candidate Carlos H. Reyes pulled out of the race because President Zelaya had not yet been restored.  Cesar Ham, the other pro-Zelaya candidate, will decide this week whether to end his presidential bid, as well.  But...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1072 2009-11-17T21:03:43Z

Chile and Uruguay have been ranked the least corrupt countries in Latin America in 2009 by Transparency International, a global nongovernmental organization that releases annual ratings based on its Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The results of the Berlin-based organization’s annual survey are being reported throughout the hemisphere today.  In addition to being the most transparent in Latin America, both countries rank among the 30 least corrupt countries in the world, which the report calls “a benchmark and inspiration for the Americas.”  The CPI is a survey of surveys of experts, government employees and business persons, based both in-country and abroad. Among the 31 countries from the Americas included in the 2009 results 10 countries scored above 5 (out of 10)—indicating a reasonable level of transparency—while 21 scored lower than 5, indicating a serious corruption problem. In these countries, weak institutions, poor governance practices and the excessive influence of private interests...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1071 2009-11-16T21:04:37Z

Peruvian President Alan Garcia cut short his trip to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Singapore, returning to Lima this morning to deal with a brewing spying case. Mr. Garcia abruptly announced his return—which comes a day earlier than had been scheduled—in order to publicly address an alleged incident of Chilean espionage involving an officer from the Peruvian Air Force. This newest diplomatic spat between the two countries had already provoked the cancellation of a meeting yesterday between President Garcia and his Chilean counterpart, Michelle Bachelet.The spying accusations follow the arrest on October 30 of Peruvian Air Force official Victor Ariza Mendoza, who is accused of passing secret documents detailing Peru’s projected future military acquisitions to Chilean intelligence officers in exchange for money. Peru has brought charges of treason against Mr. Ariza and indicated that it plans to bring charges against two Chilean officials as well.Chilean President Michelle...

Caroline Stauffer http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1069 2009-11-13T23:03:55Z

Hundreds of print media directors and journalists gathered this week in Buenos Aires for an annual conference on press freedom in the Americas. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez used the occasion for his government to organize another one of its counter gatherings. The parallel summit organized by the Venezuelan embassy was reportedly held to discuss “media monopolies and the unification of public opinion” in Latin America, with participants coming from Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, and Honduras. There is really nothing new or surprising about Chávez’ action. This is the president who, when the group met in Caracas last year, staged a “mock trial” in protest, charging the Miami-based Inter American Press Association (IAPA) with “media terrorism.” The IAPA has routinely condemned Chávez’ treatment of independent media, and the 65th annual General Assembly that began November 6 was no exception. Conclusions drawn from five days of meetings included concern that he has...

Michelle Morton http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1068 2009-11-13T20:22:39Z

Less than five years ago, few analysts could have predicted China’s role in the global economy would be as significant as it is today. But the economic recession has helped to catapult China into becoming an engine for global economic growth.China’s growing influence in the world—and particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean—is currently the source of much debate in Washington. (In fact, a Fall 2009 AQ book review on this very topic has already generated two Letters to the Editor.)  Some worry that Beijing is trying to undermine U.S. influence in the region, while others see China’s interest in our hemisphere as merely a reflection of its drive for a bigger piece of the world’s economic pie. China has quickly become one of the region’s most important trading partners. In 2009, it overtook the United States to become the top trading partner of both Brazil and Chile.  Beijing also...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1067 2009-11-13T19:47:26Z

The foreign ministries of Colombia and Ecuador officially named charges d’affaires at their respective embassies in Quito and Bogotá today. Ecuador appointed Andrés Terán, current ambassador to Uruguay, and Colombia appointed Ricardo Montenegro, current Director of the Office for Territorial Sovereignty and Frontier Development, to serve in the diplomatic posts.  The announcement establishes the highest-level diplomatic ties between the two countries since President Rafael Correa suspended relations in March 2008. That decision came as response to a Colombian military operation that had entered Ecuadorian territory in pursuit of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas.Foreign Ministers Jaime Bermúdez of Colombia and Fander Falconí of Ecuador have worked steadily in recent months to improve bilateral relations, following statements in September by President Correa that he was ready to nurture a thaw in bilateral relations. The announcement fulfills pledges made by both governments on November 3 that the mutual appointments would occur...

Huguette Young http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1066 2009-11-13T04:11:01Z

Trained as a criminologist and a sociologist, Maria Mourani, a Montreal Member of Parliament (MP) with a special interest in street gangs in Canada, thought she had seen it all. But when she delved into the universe of the Central American street gangs in El Salvador, the Mara Salvatrucha and the Pandilla 18, the former parole officer walked into what she describes as a “living hell.” Through contacts, Mourani was able to meet with members of two rival gangs in El Salvador (the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS13, and the Pandilla 18), take pictures of their tattoos and visit prominent members in overcrowded prisons. This provided a rare insight into a culture of violence unlike anything she had seen before. [Photographs of gang members and their tattoos can be seen here.] She calls these gangs “by far the most violent and most dangerous gangs in the world.” In her newly-published book released in French, Gangs...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1065 2009-11-12T19:15:52Z

Norway has committed up to $250 million to preserving tropical rain forests in Guyana, a country that has been praised internationally for pursuing the Low Carbon Development Strategy launched by President Bharrat Jagdeo last year.Environmental advocacy groups called Norway’s plan “monumental” for its new approach of rewarding a government for combating climate change.   Norway will make an initial payment of $30 million into Guyana’s Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation development fund.  Additional financial support will be awarded at a level determined by Guyana’s success in limiting emissions, according to a memorandum signed Monday by Norwegian Environment Minister Erik Solheim and President Jagdeo.  Norway has donated more money globally to slowing tropical deforestation — $530 million per year — than any other country in the world.      In advance of next month’s Copenhagen Climate Conference, some leaders in the hemisphere, including U.S. Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA) and Brazilian...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1064 2009-11-11T13:50:42Z

On Friday, Peru and Thailand will sign a free-trade agreement in Singapore at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum that will eliminate tariffs covering 5,000 commercial products. Last year, trade between the two countries was valued at $350 million. But the agreement also will help Thailand enter more broadly into the Americas. “We aim to use Peru as our gateway to South America as it is a member of key regional trading blocs and it already has FTAs with the United States, Canada and Mexico," according to Deputy Thai Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot. Thailand’s main imports from Peru consist primarily of tin and fish, while Peru imports mostly electrical appliances, auto parts and clothing from Thailand. In Asia, Peru has already signed a trade deal with China and is negotiating pacts with Japan and South Korea. ...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1063 2009-11-10T23:05:12Z

The stakes for the United States in the Honduran political crisis are higher than ever. At the end of October, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton celebrated the unprecedented overturning of a coup through dialogue. That assessment has now proved naïve, and the State Department finds itself in the awkward position of distancing itself from the rest of Latin America after saying it would recognize the Honduran elections whether or not Manuel Zelaya is restored to power. This crisis is an extremely important moment for Honduras, but it also now has the potential to undermine the Obama administration’s efforts to mend the United States’ relationship with Latin America. Since President Obama took office, his administration has worked hard to heal the wounds left by President George W. Bush in Latin America. Obama’s most symbolic moves came with respect to Cuba, as he condoned the island nation’s re-admission into the Organization of...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1062 2009-11-10T21:25:14Z

Bolivia’s National Electoral Court (CNE) agreed yesterday to host 127 observers from the Organization of American States (OAS) to monitor the national elections scheduled to take place on December 6. These observers will join 110 representatives from the European Union, more than 30 from The Carter Center and a number of individuals from other international groups. In total, more than 300 election observers will be on hand—making them the most heavily monitored elections in more than three decades of Bolivian democracy.Ms. Renate Weber, chief of the EU delegation, signaled that the large number of observers was a reflection of the importance of these elections in which Bolivians will vote—under the new “plurinational” constitution—on the composition of the entire National Congress and in referendums on the question of autonomy for five of Bolivia’s nine departments and in 12 indigenous municipalities.The stated purpose of the missions, which received an official invitation from...

Jenny Manrique http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1061 2009-11-09T23:39:19Z

Lo único que le faltaba al clima de guerra fría que se desató entre Colombia y Venezuela por una reciente serie de asesinatos, deportaciones y capturas de ciudadanos de ambos países—señalados algunos de ser espías y paramilitares—era la propuesta del presidente Hugo Chávez de levantar un muro en la frontera que une a los dos países.  Mientras el mundo se prepara para conmemorar hoy los 20 años de la caída del muro de Berlín, en Latinoamérica los ánimos belicistas desatados por la ampliación de personal militar estadounidense en siete bases colombianas—documento que por cierto fue suscrito el pasado 30 de octubre aquí en Bogotá—vuelven a poner en el centro de la polémica, un cierre de fronteras en pleno siglo XXI.Hay que ver a los ciudadanos que trabajan en Cúcuta y Villa del Rosario (Colombia) y San Antonio y Ureña (Venezuela) cruzando por el río Tachira y por trochas antes solo...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1060 2009-11-09T14:39:53Z

Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez says she was detained and beaten Friday, as she and fellow bloggers were walking to an anti-violence protest. She and Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo were forced into a car in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, where she says three men who refused to identify themselves beat them and then left them in another neighborhood. A third blogger, Claudia Cadelo, was also briefly detained, but did not report injuries. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1059 2009-11-06T19:35:24Z

Developments early this week in Honduras appeared to bring the promise of an end to the country’s political crisis and the restoration of democracy there. The media reported globally that a U.S.-led effort had succeeded in reconciling the demands of deposed President Manuel Zelaya with those of de facto President Roberto Micheletti. Under the terms of the agreement, the Honduran congress was supposed to vote on whether to restore Zelaya to office and the November presidential elections would then be recognized and held without either Micheletti or Zelaya as candidates. A unity government was to have been formed by last night that would govern until the new president took office. The U.S. and the rest of the international community would then recognize the new administration and democratic governance would be restored. In a stinging rebuke to widely disseminated comments by senior U.S. officials that the crisis was over, today’s reports...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1058 2009-11-06T15:52:32Z

Just south of Honduras, in Nicaragua, another constitutional crisis is brewing over re-election.  And while attention is focused on Honduras, many of the actors that stood on the sidelines leading up to the June 28 coup in Honduras are standing on the sidelines again as political totalitarian ambition and institutions head toward a train wreck. In this case, Sandinista President Daniel Ortega has sparked a constitutional crisis of his own by—like his friend Honduran President Manuel Zelaya—pushing for a constitutional reform to allow himself to run for re-election in 2011.  In this case, though, six members of the Ortega-packed Supreme Court supported the reform (under the curious and specious decision that Article 147 of the constitution was “inapplicable.” Huh?), and the Nicaraguan Congress refused to question it.  The President of the Supreme Court declared his opposition to the ruling, but the pro-Ortega Sandinista congressional representatives spurned the opportunity to overturn...

Ruxandra Guidi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1057 2009-11-05T22:22:37Z

Home to the Panama Canal and stuck between the tourist haven of Costa Rica and an increasingly stable and prosperous Colombia, Panama has been in the middle of an economic boom for years.  But many of us don't even know it. Even during the current economic recession, the country’s GDP grew by 9.2 percent GDP last year and is projected to grow by 3 percent this year—among the highest in Latin America. New luxury towers are crowding Punta Pacífica, one of Panama City´s most exclusive residential areas, including a $260 million condo-hotel development courtesy of Donald Trump.  Many Panamanians are no longer comparing their country to Miami, but earnestly call it "The Abu Dhabi of Latin America." So, just 20 years since the U.S. invasion that removed General Manuel Noriega from power, what is fueling all this wealth? Last month, while in Panama City, I was amazed to witness a...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1056 2009-11-05T18:30:02Z

On December 9, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will formally announce the establishment of a Brazilian Truth Commission.  Brazil is the only country in Latin America that has not yet held trials or investigated deaths, disappearances and torture under military rule.  While there were fewer abuses in Brazil under dictatorship than in Argentina or Chile, nearly 500 people were killed by security forces or disappeared between 1964 and 1985.  A 1979 Amnesty Law has effectively prevented any Brazilian officials from being criminally charged for human rights abuses, though the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights concluded on April 9, 2009, that amnesties and statutes of limitations cannot be applied to crimes against humanity committed by the dictatorship.  Although there has been no formal investigation, Catholic and Protestant priests covertly wrote and released “Brasil: Nunca Mais” in 1986.  Once released, the report led to city-based inquiries, local reparations programs and communities...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1055 2009-11-04T22:51:14Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Deal Reached on Honduran Political Stalemate but Zelaya's Return Uncertain After four months of a political impasse, negotiators for deposed Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya and interim leader Roberto Micheletti reached a deal that, if approved by the country’s Congress, would allow for a power-sharing government. A delegation from Washington, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon, was involved in this last round of negotiations that prompted the accord. OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza announced that, given the deal,  a general assembly would be convened on November 16 to lift sanctions against Honduras. Ex-Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, a member of a verification committee tasked with...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1054 2009-11-04T19:09:45Z

At a press conference yesterday, Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca spoke of diplomatic relations between the United States and Bolivia, announcing that the two countries have negotiated “a new framework of mutual respect,” which is expected to be signed in La Paz, Bolivia, at the end of the month. Choquehuanca did not indicate any plans to reinstate their ambassadors, but said they are working on “issues related to political dialogue, trade, the fight against drug trafficking, and cooperation.” Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been strained since Bolivian President Evo Morales expelled U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg last September on charges of conspiracy. The United States responded by ousting Bolivian Ambassador Gustavo Guzmán the next day. Under the auspices of the U.S.-Bolivia Dialogue, the two countries met in La Paz in May and in Washington DC last week. The Bolivian delegation is led by Foreign Minister Choquehuanca and Under Secretary...

Anastasia Moloney http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1053 2009-11-04T00:17:27Z

It is rare to see unedited and spontaneous portrayals of Colombia’s conflict by the very people who have taken part in the country’s war. But a thought-provoking art exhibition at Bogotá’s Museum of Modern Art (also known as Mambo) offers a unique and moving insight into Colombia’s armed conflict. On display are oil paintings produced by 35 men and women who fought for different sides in Colombia’s war. They belonged to different groups, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), and are ex-combatants from right-wing paramilitary groups and members of the country’s armed forces. (Below is a photograph I took at the exhibit, and more of my photos are at the end of this post.) The paintings depict the horrors of Colombia’s war—hostages tied to trees, massacres, villages being attacked, mass graves, torture, people fleeing, and corpses floating in orangey-red rivers. The project, the...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1051 2009-11-03T20:09:27Z

A water rationing regime began today in Caracas and may last as long as six months depending on climatic conditions. During this period, residents throughout the Venezuelan capital and other affected cities will go without running water for as long as 48 hours per week. The rationing is the latest development in the government’s efforts to combat the effects of an unusually dry rainy season, which Venezuelan meteorologists attribute to the effects of the el niño weather phenomenon. Prior government efforts to curb residential water consumption include a campaign by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to promote “revolutionary showers”—3-minute showers he says should include “one minute to get wet, another to soap up, and the third to rinse off and avoid stinking.” The ultimate objective of these initiatives is to cut water use by a total of 20 percent in the next few months. Critics of the Chávez administration contend that...

Alex Leff http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1050 2009-11-03T00:37:16Z

“Wow, a public official actually quit on her own accord.” These words of amazement are being expressed by many Costa Ricans today in response to the decision by this country's public works and transport minister to resign after a bridge collapsed and killed five people. Perhaps Karla González' resignation shouldn’t come as such a shock. Media and residents have long accused the Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) of inexcusable negligence for its failure to repair infrastructure—a necessary precaution that could save lives. But it was nevertheless stunning to see González' bold show of responsibility in a region (and a world) where officials often shirk away from admitting failure. Unfortunately, proof of MOPT's inefficiency came during a tragedy on October 22. That day a rickety wooden suspension bridge snapped apart while a bus carrying almost 40 passengers was crossing it. The vehicle plunged into the Tárcoles River. Never...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1048 2009-11-02T19:32:40Z

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced today the creation of a 225 million reais ($128 million) line of credit for recycling cooperatives—groups representing self-employed collectors of recyclable materials. The line of credit will be available over the next two years and will be financed by loans from the Brazilian Development Bank, known as the BNDES. More details of today’s announcement are forthcoming.The collectors, or catadores, work throughout the country, pushing two-wheel carts to collect the country’s recycling. According to the government news agency, Agencia Brasil, there were 230,000 collectors in Brazil as of last year. President Lula also called on mayors to form local cooperatives and to not outsource the collectors’ work to private companies. “If a mayor decides to terminate the employment of 200 to 300 employees in the recycling industry and give the job to a private company, then what will happen is instead of providing...

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1045 2009-10-30T21:52:34Z

The news today from Tegucigalpa is good. After months of political impasse in Honduras, a delegation led by Assistant Secretary of State Tom Shannon and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Craig Kelly found a way to get representatives of both Micheletti and Zelaya to agree on a path that will provide a credible means forward to the elections scheduled for November 29. This is important, because as I’ve noted many times, including in The Christian Science Monitor and other blog postings here, it is the elections that provide the surest, most appropriate escape valve for the crisis that has threatened to overwhelm Honduras and occupy U.S. policymakers who could usefully be focused on other matters. Steps to undermine or undercut the elections are counterproductive. At the same time, for the elections to be credible, they must be open, transparent and fair, and preparations must therefore begin in earnest immediately. Thus the...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1043 2009-10-30T20:49:17Z

After nearly ten hours of debate on Thursday, Haiti’s Senate voted by a simple majority to remove Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis from office. She did not attend the special session where 18 of 29 Senators voted against her. Appointed by President René Préval in September 2008, the Prime Minister has been criticized for her lack of political leadership and alleged involvement in corruption. Expectations for Haiti’s future had been further raised with the appointment of former President Bill Clinton as United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti in May. But the vote was not without controversy. Senators supporting Pierre-Louis called the session unconstitutional and cited Article 107 of the Haitian Constitution. “If a special session is held in the Senate, Senators are under the strict obligation of respecting the agenda established by the government,” according to Senator Rudy Hérivaux. During her tenure, Pierre-Louis had mainly focused on consolidating international support after the series...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1042 2009-10-30T18:43:57Z

October 30, 2009...

Adolfo Garc� http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1034 2009-10-30T16:31:57Z

October 30, 2009 The party in power loses votes. This phrase sums up one of the most consistent rules in Uruguayan electoral history for the last 60 years. As was made perfectly clear during the first round of presidential voting on October 29, the government of Tabaré Vázquez is no exception to this rule. ...

Brian Wanko http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1040 2009-10-30T00:55:09Z

What exactly does Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, a leader of a secular government whose people are largely Catholic, have in common with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a leader of a nonsecular government where 90 percent of the population belongs to the Shi’a branch of Islam? The connection of one of the most divergent governments in the world with one of the most divergent governments in the Western Hemisphere can’t help but create bewilderment. This relationship, as well as a handful of others that Iran is pursuing in the region, came under question this week before a joint hearing of subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. Congress is increasingly concerned with Iran’s growing presence in this hemisphere—clearly shown by the presence of 16 lawmakers at a Capitol Hill hearing on Tuesday. Lawmakers, alarmed by Chávez’ recent trip to Iran and Ahmadinejad’s trip to Brazil in late November,...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1039 2009-10-29T17:26:33Z

Venezuelan authorities recovered yesterday the body of Jose Luis Arenas, 21, who was abducted and murdered over the weekend in the Venezuelan state of Táchira, near the town of El Pinal.  Mr. Arenas is the last of 12 amateur soccer players  kidnapped on October 11 by unidentified perpetrators and held for several days before being slain. There was one survivor of the massacre, an 18-year-old boy, who was found alive on Sunday and hospitalized. The incident has renewed tensions between the Venezuelan and Colombian governments. President Hugo Chávez has alluded that the men may have been spies for Colombia’s state security agency, while spokesmen for the regional government of Táchira have blamed units of the National Liberation Army (ELN), a Colombian paramilitary guerilla group. On Monday, Venezuela denied permission for a Colombian government plane to land in Venezuela to repatriate the remains of the dead and despite pleas from Colombian...

Liliana Colanzi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1038 2009-10-28T23:15:49Z

Dicen que no existe el momento ideal para traer hijos al mundo, pero cuando la cronista peruana Gabriela Wiener estaba embarazada, todo parecía jugar en su contra: acababa de perder su trabajo en una revista, su situación legal en España se balanceaba en la cuerda floja, le detectaron un cáncer a su padre, se enteró del suicidio de una amiga y, para completar el cuadro, aún se estaba recuperando de una dolorosa cirugía. Nueve Lunas, el libro que surgió de ese difícil periodo, es un retrato de la maternidad que oscila entre el periodismo gonzo y la crónica autobiográfica. Pero también se trata de una exploración sobre los tabúes que se tejen en torno a la maternidad: el aborto, el odio a la madre, el sexo con embarazadas. Nueve Lunas es un recuento fascinante y honesto sobre la soledad, las dudas y los miedos de la gestación—a perder la...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1037 2009-10-28T22:28:49Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Mujica to Face “Pink” Alliance During the first round of Uruguay’s presidential elections on Sunday, the Broad Front coalition’s José Mujica lost the majority needed to avoid a November runoff against the National Party’s Luis Alberto Lacalle. Mujica won a large majority at the polls, pulling in 48 percent—20 points above Lacalle. However, Mujica signaled concern about the “Pink” alliance made up of the National and Colorado Parties. While the Broad Front maintains a majority in Congress, it could lose its majority control in the lower house. Read a new Americas Quarterly web exclusive on the Uruguayan elections by Adolfo Garcé of the Institute of Political Science...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1036 2009-10-28T21:11:35Z

In 2006 Yale University, in collaboration with Columbia University, developed an Environmental Protection Index (EPI) that it applied in full in 2008. The goal: to create a comparative index of environmental policy to understand what governments are doing to protect their citizens’ health (environmental health) and the global environment (ecosystem vitality). The individual measures within those categories and their weights are displayed below. But here’s the problem: the EPI relies on the best environmental data available. In practice this means that 89 countries or territories aren’t included—24 of them in our hemisphere (see lower right in the charticle). Lack of credible data also prevented the inclusion of several key topics listed below....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1035 2009-10-28T20:42:07Z

Released this week, an Ipsos-Reid poll reports that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative party now commands approximately 40 percent of the Canadian public’s support, with the Liberal party’s popularity dropping 4 percentage points since the beginning of the month. Liberal support is now at 25 percent. This means that if elections were held today the Conservatives, a minority party, could gain a majority of the seats in the House of Commons. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1033 2009-10-27T19:52:37Z

President Tabaré Vázquez signed a bill earlier this month permitting couples in any legal union, including same-sex couples in civil unions, to adopt children, but the law continues to cause confusion according to local reports. Lawyers and judges have criticized the law for lacking specifics and granting the Uruguayan Institute for the Children and Adolescents (INAU) too much power in the new adoption procedures. Uruguay’s Senate unanimously approved the adoption law on September 9, 2009, as English-language media highlighted the move as a triumph for gay rights in Latin America.    The country has passed a number of progressive laws in the past year, including legislation allowing same-sex couples to enter into civil unions. On October 12, 2009, the Senate also approved a bill that legalizes sex changes for people older than age 18 and permits citizens to change their genders on official identification documents.     There are, however, limits to Uruguay’s progressive...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1029 2009-10-26T19:36:13Z

Senator José Mujica of the Broad Front coalition received 47.5 percent of the vote and ex-President Luis Alberto Lacalle finished with 28.5 percent of ballots in Uruguay’s presidential election on Sunday. The top two candidates, with neither securing at least 50 percent support, will face off in the second round of voting on November 29. Running a distant third, Colorado Party candidate Pedro Bordaberry received 17 percent of votes. Mujica assured his supporters of a clean sweep saying, “We have more support than the other top two parties combined…How can we not be happy about the indisputable fact that we are headed to victory.” Lacalle issued a similar message: “We will be in control of the executive branch on November 29.” Official reports set voter turnout at 90 percent of the country’s eligible 2.6 million voters. Mujica, 74, plans to continue many of the policies from the administration of President...

Ruxandra Guidi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1027 2009-10-23T22:14:21Z

Last month, around a thousand peasants marched and blockaded the streets of Cuenca, Ecuador, and many more came out in protests throughout the Ecuadorian Amazon, calling for the cancellation of a new water law.  If passed, the law would privatize water services, limit community and neighborhood water management, relax current measures on water contamination, and (to the great frustration of the activists) prioritize water access to private companies.  The demonstrations also came in reaction to a new mining measure, which would allow two Canadian companies—Corriente Resources Inc. and Kinross Gold Corp.—to resume gold explorations in contested areas of the Amazon where indigenous communities live. The situation has only worsened since the beginning of October, leading to violent raids by police.  In the community of Macas, in the Southern Upano Valley, the attack left at least one confirmed dead and almost 50 injured.  President Rafael Correa has accused the leading...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1026 2009-10-23T21:13:47Z

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega moved a step closer to running for another term this week when six justices of the constitutional branch of the Supreme Court deemed “unenforceable” a term-limit provision contained in Nicaragua's constitution. According to opposition leaders and legal experts, a 1995 amendment to the Nicaraguan constitution allows a maximum of two non-consecutive terms. The ruling by the six justices, who are all affiliated with Ortega’s Sandanista party, requires formal approval by the full 16 judges of the court, but the head of the constitutional branch, Francisco Rosales, has said that the ruling will likely stand and the country's electoral court has indicated that it will also comply with the decision.Many Latin American countries are dealing with the issue of presidential term limits. Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, Bolivia’s Evo Morales and Ecuador’s Rafael Correa have all sought constitutional changes that will allow them to continue running for reelection. The...

Juan Cruz D�az http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1024 2009-10-22T20:20:11Z

Desde Buenos Aires estamos viviendo con mucha intensidad los procesos electorales de nuestros vecinos. Hace un tiempo, escribí sobre algo de lo que está pasando en Chile. Ahora es el turno de Uruguay, aunque debo confesar que no me produce el mismo grado de entusiasmo. A diferencia de lo que ocurre en Chile, donde los personajes de siempre se enfrentan a opciones más novedosas, en Uruguay encontramos viejos conocidos como principales candidatos. Este domingo (25 de octubre), Uruguay tendrá sus elecciones para definir quién reemplazará al Presidente Tabaré Vázquez. La coalición de gobierno, el Frente Amplio, lleva como candidato al viejo dirigente tupamaro José Mujica, quien seguramente recibirá la mayor cantidad de votos. El candidato del Partido Nacional, el ex-Presidente Luís Lacalle, muy crítico del gobierno del Presidente Vázquez, será el que ocupe el segundo lugar. En un tercer lugar, probablemente sin chances, llegará el candidato del Partido Colorado, Pedro Bordaberry.El...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1023 2009-10-22T18:52:22Z

CNN premiered its much-hyped “Latino in America” special with Soledad O’Brien last night without allowing an anti-Lou Dobbs ad to air, as protests took place outside the network’s offices around the country.  The four-hour “Latino in America” documentary discusses migration, but does not mention the network's Lou Dobbs Show—a nightly program that frequently takes a hard line against immigrants, advocating for strong border enforcement and severe punishment for undocumented immigrants.    Media Matters and America's Voice reportedly attempted to purchase ad space during the documentary, but were turned down.  The ad accused CNN of airing "60 minutes of anti-immigrant hate” during Dobbs' show. With the movement calling for CNN to terminate Dobbs gaining strength, the controversial talking head reportedly invited one of his most vocal critics, Roberto Lovato of New American Media, on the show. In four weeks, Lovato gathered more than 50,000 signatures for a petition urging CNN president Joe Klein...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1022 2009-10-21T22:28:52Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Honduran Talks Stall over Decision on Zelaya’s Future Negotiations aimed at resolving the ongoing Honduran political impasse came to a standstill again this week. The main point of contention continues to be whether deposed leader Manuel Zelaya should be allowed to return to office. “Last week, Honduras’s World Cup qualification left the country glowing with optimism. Now, irrepressible hope and joy have again given way to a grimmer reality: political negotiations have hit a wall,” blogs Tegucigalpa-based Daniel Altschuler for Americas Quarterly, who writes about the proposals being passed back and forth between Zelaya and the interim government. Read an AS/COA analysis on the halting...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1021 2009-10-21T20:30:53Z

The city of Puebla in Central Mexico launched a pilot program yesterday that includes a fleet of 35 taxis designed for women who want to avoid harassment by male taxi drivers. The pink-colored Chevrolet taxis come equipped with beauty kits, GPS systems, and alarm systems in the event of an emergency. The drivers are exclusively female and stop only to pick up women and children.“Some of the women who have been on board recall how male taxi drivers cross the line…In the Pink Taxi they won’t have that feeling of insecurity,” said taxi driver Aida Santos . In a profession typically dominated by males, the venture is also a new source of employment for females,. Pink Taxi de Puebla, a privately financed company, invested 5.8 million pesos ($440,000) in the project, and the state government trains and licenses the drivers.A similar proposal for women-only taxis was introduced in Mexico City...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1020 2009-10-21T14:47:04Z

This isn’t another confirm Tom Shannon as Ambassador to Brazil or confirm Arturo Valenzuela as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs essay—though I support both of those positions, and understand that things may be moving. This is an expression of wonder at the inability of the U.S. government to walk and chew gum at the same time when it comes to Latin America policy.  Let me be clear.  I’m not one of those persistent whiners who always complain about the lack of attention paid to Latin America.  The last administration of George W. Bush paid plenty of attention to the region, traveling there more frequently and receiving more Latin American heads of state in the White House than any past president, and launching a series of serious initiatives for the region: the free trade agreements with Peru, Panama and Colombia, the Merida Initiative with Mexico, and a...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1019 2009-10-21T14:35:46Z

Last week, Honduras’s World Cup qualification left the country glowing with optimism.  Now, irrepressible hope and joy have again given way to a grimmer reality: political negotiations have hit a wall.  After finding agreement on the first seven of eight points on the agenda, the Guaymuras Dialogue negotiators have reached a predictable impasse on the most contentious point: Manuel Zelaya’s restitution.  Since Friday, the two teams have been sending proposals and counter-proposals back and forth.  Zelaya’s side has called for the Congress as adjudicator, while Roberto Micheletti’s side has insisted that the Supreme Court settle the issue. Now, the Micheletti negotiators have proposed getting reports from both branches of government before settling the issue, which Zelaya’s team has rejected.Zelaya’s negotiators have now accused the other side of obstructionism, and they’re right.  On first glance, it seems reasonable to ask the Supreme Court to settle a clearly constitutional issue.  But, as...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1018 2009-10-20T21:01:44Z

Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay are working toward a proposal that, by 2020, would completely eliminate deforestation of the Atlantic forest basin. After centuries of agricultural development 93 percent of the forest, which originally covered over 193,000 square miles, has been destroyed. The negotiations follow comments earlier this month from Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, Brazil’s lead climate negotiator, that his country intends to dramatically reduce deforestation in the Amazon rain forest within the same timeframe.Discussions in Latin America on climate change have blossomed in recent months, in preparation for December’s UN climate change conference in Copenhagen. Rodney Taylor of the World Wildlife Federation has said that a “zero deforestation” goal would require the establishment of strict limits on logging in protected areas, government support for environmentally responsible companies and efforts to educate communities throughout the region.  Despite emitting significantly less carbon than China and the United States, countries like Brazil are...

Emilie Bahr http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1017 2009-10-20T02:46:10Z

President Barack Obama appeared in New Orleans last week for his first visit since taking office in January. For locals, it was an event that spoke to both the hope and frustration that are inextricably linked to life in the city since Hurricane Katrina. Obama’s four-hour visit, in which he toured a charter school in the city's devastated Lower 9th Ward and later spoke across town in another heavily damaged section of the city at the University of New Orleans, was both highly anticipated and heavily criticized. New Orleanians overwhelmingly support a president who says the right thing when it comes to the city, even though he has yet to stray markedly from his predecessor in terms of making New Orleans' priorities national ones. Others have shown consternation at the timing of the president's visit, wondering why it took him so long to touch down in the city...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1016 2009-10-19T20:13:34Z

President Tabaré Vázquez came one step closer to his goal of Uruguay becoming “one of the hemisphere’s information technology leaders” when he personally delivered a laptop to the last Uruguayan student in a state-run primary school without one. Last week, as part of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative, Uruguay joined Niue, a country in the South Pacific, in distributing laptops to every child. In Americas Quarterly, President Vázquez wrote: “Our children must have the opportunity to compete and succeed in the IT-based economies of the new century." Miguel Brechner, director of the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay and head of Plan Ceibal (the program in charge with distributing laptops) emphasized this point: "This is not simply the handing out of laptops or an education program. It is a program which seeks to reduce the gap between the digital world and the world of knowledge." Other countries, such as Rwanda,...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1015 2009-10-16T19:40:06Z

At a Project Syndicate climate change meeting this week, billionaire George Soros announced a $1 billion investment in clean-energy technologies and the establishment of the Climate Policy Initiative. This new organization, which Soros will donate $100 million over the next 10 years, will advise and develop climate change policy in the U.S., Brazil, China, and Europe.  The Soros announcement comes in the same week that Americas Quarterly published its new issue on the environment. In it, five experts, when asked how to best protect the environment, addressed the need for greater public knowledge of environmental policies.Increased public understanding of the consequences of a lack of action are critical for moving forward climate change legislation in the United States and to a global consensus when countries meet in Copenhagen in December. But the prospects for significant action on climate change this year are appearing to be fading. Pre-Copenhagen talks in Bangkok,...

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1014 2009-10-16T14:01:59Z

Honduras' soccer win in San Salvador on October 14, guaranteeing a World Cup berth for the Catrachos in South Africa in 2010, has potentially muddled negotiations to resolve the political crisis that erupted on June 28.  As I noted in this space last week and also in Sports Illustrated, the prospect of a Honduran berth in the World Cup would provide the de facto government with the opportunity to use the result to rally the population around the flag, potentially providing an excuse to remain intransigent in the face of immense international pressure.  Indeed, with the declaration of yesterday as a national holiday, that is exactly what the Micheletti government did.  But wait, it gets even more cynical, because just as the determining game was getting underway in San Salvador, a Micheletti spokesman was walking away from an apparent agreement in principal that had been struck by the opposing parties...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1013 2009-10-15T23:00:53Z

Howie Mandel wasn’t there, but he may as well have been as yesterday the small group of dedicated Latin Americanists waited to hear if the negotiations had been successful in resolving the crisis in Honduras. The morning opened up with news that the negotiators were optimistic and that they were 90 percent there. Then came the news from the Commander of the Army, General Romeo Vásquez, that a deal to resolve the impasse was close at hand. Then the news! A deal had been struck. Then the downer. No deal, said de facto President Roberto Micheletti.  In the statement he warned the national and international media “to be cautious in their reporting about the negotiations as they have a responsibility not to interfere with the dialogue.” Before that, Micheletti clearly left his options open: “Today, the negotiating teams began discussing the most difficult issue in the negotiations—the possible reinstatement or...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1010 2009-10-15T21:57:06Z

Adrián Pérez was only 12 when former Argentine President Raúl Alfonsín came to power in 1983. But Pérez remembers it as a moment of promise for his generation, a time when the country seemed prepared to finally turn the page on its near half century of fractured politics and military rule. Pérez has not lost his faith in that promise. In fact, he has become a leading crusader for nonpartisan reform. Now 38, he represents the province of Buenos Aires as a national deputy in the lower house of Congress. Elected in 2003 with the Affirmation for an Egalitarian Republic Party (ARI), he is the president and co-founder of the center-left Coalición Cívica (Civic Coalition), which counts 18 members of Congress among its participants. ...

Liz Harper http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1004 2009-10-15T15:31:33Z

For months, the Senate has unnecessarily held up President Obama’s appointments for the U.S. ambassador to Brazil and the assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs. These actions have prevented the administration from assembling its Latin America team and have held hemispheric policy hostage to a few, lone voices. We are stuck in gear. But if some conservative Republicans get their way, we risk being thrown into reverse, back to the Cold War. This time instead of communism, it’s through the prism of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.A more conspicuous and tangible evidence of the Cold War revival has been the recent campaign by some conservative Republicans against the nomination of Tom Shannon as ambassador to Brazil. This is the same Tom Shannon who was appointed and served as assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs under George W. Bush. The closed-door briefings and talking points that circulated in...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1012 2009-10-15T14:42:16Z

Minor miracles can happen, after all. After beating El Salvador, Honduras qualified for the World Cup when the United States scored a goal to tie Costa Rica in the final minute. In seconds, Hondurans’ emotions flipped 180 degrees—from exasperation at thinking they had come up just short to jubilation at qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. From coffee country to the Caribbean coast, Hondurans celebrated with fireworks, flags, honking cars, and screams of joy. As one announcer remarked, one can only hope that the country’s political leaders follow the national team’s cue and make this a great week for Honduras. And, against the odds, a political resolution may be on its way. In recent days, the Guaymuras Dialogue has brought relative calm to the political crisis. Progress has remained frustratingly slow, but each team seems to have brought a welcome dose of maturity to...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1008 2009-10-15T12:48:10Z

The climate bill sponsored by U.S. Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA) gained unexpected Republican support this week.  Co-authoring an op-ed in the New York Times with Kerry, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed his support for the legislation.  The Clean Energy Jobs and Power Act (S. 1733) calls for the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent (from 2005 levels) by 2020.  The Senate is scheduled to take up the bill on October 27.  In June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, its version of the climate change bill.  Released today, Senator Kerry, in the Fall issue of Americas Quarterly, praises several Latin American countries for progress on environmental protection and calls for the United States to help the region become a leader in combating climate change. Such hemispheric cooperation could help to make good on promises for a new,...

Miguel Centellas http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1001 2009-10-14T22:44:11Z

Bolivia captured international attention with the 2005 election of President Evo Morales, the country’s first indigenous president. Since then, many books and articles have explored Bolivia’s place in the regional turn toward new Left politics—with some defining the election as part of a broader global struggle against the excesses of neoliberalism, and others celebrating the rise of indigenous political power as a new form of postcolonial liberation. Much of the literature, written by outsiders, rarely focuses on the ideas, principles and choices of those actually shaping Bolivia’s new politics. ...

Gary Bland http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/999 2009-10-14T22:39:56Z

On April 26, 2004, the municipality of Ilave, Peru, a town with a majority of indigenous Aymara people in the Peruvian altiplano (highlands), was the scene of a tragedy that sent shock waves through the nation and abroad. Then-mayor Cirilo Robles Callomamani, elected less than two years earlier, was beaten to death by a mob of angry citizens. His bruised and tortured body was dragged through town and dumped near a bridge that his administration had failed to repair—and which was apparently one source of the crowd’s fury. The incident raised many questions about the underlying causes of the violence, and most particularly, about its relationship to the contemporary political and socioeconomic environment of Andean Peru....

Jorge Pontual http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/997 2009-10-14T22:29:22Z

The relatively recent trend of tourism in the favelas, the huge slums of Rio de Janeiro, perplexes many middle-class Brazilians who would rather leave the reality of poverty hidden from the eyes of foreign visitors. Gringo na laje: Produção, circulação e consumo da favela turística (Gringos on the Rooftop: The Production, Circulation and Consumption of Slum Tourism), a short book by sociologist Bianca Freire-Medeiros focusing on tourism in Rocinha (the largest favela in Rio), is a welcome and fresh look at the subject....

Gabriel Marcella http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/995 2009-10-14T22:23:51Z

China’s expanding role in Latin America has sparked a cottage industry among academics and think tanks that are focused on the potential for geopolitical competition with the United States. R. Evan Ellis’ China in Latin America: The Whats and Wherefores represents an important—although in some aspects, overly alarmist—contribution to the growing literature in the field. ...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/993 2009-10-14T22:17:59Z

Step aside, sunbathers. From December 3 to 6, 2009, Art Basel Miami Beach, the most prominent art fair in the U.S., will again transform the city into the country’s temporary art capital. The show, founded in 2002 as the winter version of Switzerland’s famed Art Basel, is expected to attract the work of artists from 33 countries and an estimated 40,000 international visitors. At least 250 art galleries participate in the event, which has “put Miami on the map of the contemporary art world,” according to Frederic Snitzer, a member of the art fair’s selection committee. ...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/992 2009-10-14T22:16:48Z

The growth of emerging economies like China and India offers real opportunities for some of the hemisphere’s exporters. A May 2009 book published by the Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC) focuses on what Argentina must do if it wants to reach the new global middle class. Market Hunters: Trade and Export Promotion in the Argentine Provinces, written by Lucio Castro and Daniel Saslavsky, argues that the concentration of Argentine exporters hampers expansion and recommends improvements in infrastructure, business environment and inter-governmental coordination. Available in English and Spanish....

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/991 2009-10-14T22:14:03Z

Santiago a Mil: January 3-31, 2010 Summertime in Santiago, Chile, means all the world’s a stage—or at least all the city. For three weeks every January, Chile’s capital hosts Santiago a Mil, a mix of mainstream, experimental and street theater performed in various locations. The city-sponsored festival was launched in 1994 with five plays performed by local companies. It now includes some 50-odd theatrical performances and concerts, including 20 international groups. Many artists offer theater classes and workshops in the community....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/990 2009-10-14T22:10:47Z

Leaders in Washington partnered with music producer Emilio Estefan and Hollywood actress Eva Longoria at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to bring the National Museum of the American Latino a step closer to reality. The event marked the kickoff of a 23-member commission that will outline the vision for the new museum and help to raise the estimated $250 to $500 million needed for the project. Supporters celebrated the group’s launch, which coincides with Hispanic National Heritage Month, as a landmark event that testifies to the recognition of the Latino community for its cultural and historical accomplishments.  U.S. Representative Xavier Becerra (CA), who sponsored the House of Representatives bill in 2003 that initiated the commission, hopes the museum will encourage reform in Washington.  “For this reason, it is very important that we document and archive all that we have done for this country as Americans and descendents of Latinos.” ...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/989 2009-10-14T22:09:39Z

Latin America has yet to bring home a Winter Olympic Games medal. Could the February 12–28, 2010, games in Vancouver, Canada, be a historic turning point? Although teams have yet to be officially announced, a good indicator of the region’s chances is the number of athletes who competed in the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. Some 30 athletes from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Venezuela qualified for the Turin games. Brazil and Argentina are fielding the most hopefuls in 2010, with 16 Brazilians and 17 Argentines vying for a slot in Vancouver.  AQ looks at four of the region’s athletes who have already qualified—or are close to qualifying....

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/988 2009-10-14T22:01:51Z

1. Support indigenous culture. Paraguay is home to about 500 indigenous communities or villages, including five different linguistic groups. To learn about their cultures, visit Museo Boggiani in San Lorenzo, about 18 miles (30 kilometers) from  Asunción, where the director, Jorge Vera, is likely to guide your tour. 2. Bask in the glow of the Palacio de los López. The stunning all-white nineteenth-century presidential palace is best viewed after dark—when it is aglow with bright lights—from across the street at the patio bar of the Manzana de la Rivera cultural center....

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/987 2009-10-14T21:57:17Z

Every January, over 20,000 music enthusiasts descend upon the picturesque coastal city of Cartagena, Colombia, for the annual Cartagena International Music Festival (CIMF). Over the course of eight days, renowned musicians from across the globe fill the city’s plazas, churches and theaters with classical music. It’s not just the Caribbean locale and classical music that make this festival special. The CIMF, founded three years ago by Italian-American harpist Victor Salvi and his wife, Julia, a Colombia native and arts devotee, is dedicated to introducing Colombians, especially young people, to the masterpieces of classical composers.  ...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/986 2009-10-14T21:12:33Z

For Sofia Maldonado, the world is a canvas. Literally. Her colorful designs embellish building facades, highways and even swimming pool floors. Her work has been showcased at New York’s PINTA art fair and the Havana Biennial, but her favorite pieces are some of her now-scuffed-up murals, skateboards and rinks in Cuba and in her native Puerto Rico.The Brooklyn-based muralist, 25, has made a career of bringing art to skate parks and skate culture. While her art also includes more gallery-friendly media, like paint on canvas, she prefers large outdoor spaces. “I don’t limit my work to museums and galleries,” she says. “I like to put my artwork in the eyes of people who don’t often go to art shows.”...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/985 2009-10-14T21:11:15Z

Adrián Pérez was only 12 when former Argentine President Raúl Alfonsín came to power in 1983. But Pérez remembers it as a moment of promise for his generation, a time when the country seemed prepared to finally turn the page on its near half century of fractured politics and military rule. Pérez has not lost his faith in that promise. In fact, he has become a leading crusader for nonpartisan reform. Now 38, he represents the province of Buenos Aires as a national deputy in the lower house of Congress. Elected in 2003 with the Affirmation for an Egalitarian Republic Party (ARI), he is the president and co-founder of the center-left Coalición Cívica (Civic Coalition), which counts 18 members of Congress among its participants. ...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/984 2009-10-14T21:08:26Z

As Chile has become a growing presence in the international market, high quality wine and salmon exports have become integral to its global brand. So when Chilean salmon are found to have unhealthy amounts of antibiotics in their system or a Cabernet Sauvignon becomes bitter, it threatens to damage the market for some of the country’s most important exports.Virginia Garretón, 40, a molecular biologist and CEO of Austral Biotech S.A., is at the vanguard of efforts in Chile’s emerging biotechnology industry to develop technology that will help to maintain the profitability and high quality of these products and other food commodities....

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/983 2009-10-14T21:06:25Z

September 2010 marks the bicentennial of Chile’s independence from Spain (at the hands of the liberator Bernardo O’Higgins). If the group Un Techo Para Mi País (A Roof for My Country or Techo) achieves its goal it will also mark the liberation of millions of Chile’s poor from substandard living conditions. Created over a decade ago by Jesuit priest Felipe Berríos, Techo has set the ambitious goal of eliminating all of the substandard housing in Chile’s shantytowns by 2010. ...

Jorge F�brega http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/982 2009-10-14T20:54:37Z

In 2006, high-school students in Chile took to the streets to protest the country’s education system, sparking President Michelle Bachelet’s first major crisis. Known as the Penguin Revolution (a term that refers to the students’ white and black uniforms), the protests accomplished what decades of public debate had failed to do: force a political agreement to reform institutional practices in place since the 1980s. The student movement—perhaps the most successful in the country’s history—responded to widespread complaints that despite public education funding, the system’s guiding principles perpetuate socioeconomic differences. As a result, needed change has come to Chilean education. But there is still much work to be done....

Antonio Ugalde and N�ria Homedes http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/980 2009-10-14T20:48:32Z

The debate over health care reform in the United States has echoes in Latin America. But across the region, a variety of attempts to improve health care delivery—with Chile, Cuba and Colombia offering starkly different approaches—has resulted in quality care still being largely inaccessible. Some Latin Americans benefit from access to good local and international health care, but the majority struggle to obtain basic care....

Coletta A. Youngers and John M. Walsh http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/978 2009-10-14T20:39:09Z

Latin American frustration with the “war on drugs” is growing. Harsh anti-drug laws have failed to stem apparently rising drug use, and incarceration rates are climbing—up 40 percent on average in Mexico and South America over the last decade—with more drug users and low-level dealers behind bars. But high-level drug traffickers carry on with impunity....

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/965 2009-10-14T18:15:16Z

Read more about how to help in Haiti. Multi-platinum and Grammy-award-winning musician and producer Wyclef Jean made a name for himself in the 1990s both as a solo artist and as a member of The Fugees with his political and socially oriented hip hop. These days, he makes as many headlines as the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador to Haiti in his efforts to bring attention to development in his native Haiti. Wyclef speaks with AQ about his nonprofit, Yéle Haiti and pushing green initiatives...

Carlos Alberto Montaner http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/964 2009-10-14T17:51:39Z

This June, the Organization of American States (OAS) revoked a 1962 resolution that expelled the Cuban government on the grounds of its political and military links to the former Soviet Union. Many supporters of revocation argued the decision was overdue: after all the Soviet Union no longer exists, and the OAS had long since outgrown one of the key roles envisioned for it in 1948 as an instrument of Washington’s Cold War strategy. ...

Hector Morales http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/963 2009-10-14T17:33:05Z

In early June, the Organization of American States (OAS) in its General Assembly in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, approved an historic resolution on Cuba and created a pathway for that country to rejoin the OAS as member in good standing. This resolution was agreed to by consensus from all 34 member nations. It bridged a historic divide in the Americas and reaffirmed a shared commitment to democracy and fundamental rights for its citizens. U.S. diplomacy, the people of Cuba and the whole hemisphere are the beneficiaries of this achievement. ...

Danielle Renwick http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/950 2009-10-14T16:02:12Z

Tonight Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism will host the 71st annual Maria Moors Cabot Prize for outstanding reporting on Latin America and the Caribbean. New York Times veteran Anthony DePalma, O Globo columnist Merval Pereira and Christopher Hawley, Latin America correspondent for USA Today and The Arizona Republic will be present to collect their awards, which include a $5,000 honorarium. However Cuban blogger and dissident Yoani Sánchez, who was awarded a special mention from the awards committee won’t be there. Sánchez confirmed on Monday that Cuban authorities denied her request to travel to New York to accept the prize.  The Generación Y author has won international accolades for the blog she founded in 2007. In 2008 she won Spain’s prestigious Ortega y Gasset prize for digital journalism; later that year Time distinguished her as one of the year’s 100 most influential people. Her blog is translated into 15 languages...

Dr. Daniel Becker http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/945 2009-10-14T15:27:54Z

Cities are crucial to public health. They are sources of cultural, technological and economic innovation, but they can also be breeding grounds for injustice, disease, environmental destruction, and violence....

Ricardo Lagos http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/941 2009-10-14T01:00:00Z

Climate change will determine the path and future of human development for this and future generations. It will transform how we think and act into a more global way of understanding our collective destiny. With that comes the obligation to measure each country and each society’s impact on our global environment.Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are responsible for global warming have increased dramatically since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The spike in emissions and the risk they present demand coordinated, innovative answers.First, the facts....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/936 2009-10-13T16:15:23Z

Over the weekend, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner signed a government-backed bill into law that restricts the number of media outlets companies can own in a single market. The law also requires 70 percent of radio and 60 percent of television content to be produced in Argentina.  It further directs cable television companies to carry channels operated by nongovernmental organizations, universities and indigenous groups and calls for select companies to sell some of their media assets within a year.  The bill passed the Senate by a 44-24 margin on Saturday after nearly 20 hours of debate.   Argentina’s lower house had passed the bill on September 17 after opposition lawmakers walked out in protest.  Critics say the law will give the government too much control over the press.  The Vienna-based International Press Institute said the law will damage press freedom in Argentina and is specifically concerned about the power the government...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/922 2009-10-12T15:05:13Z

Hondurans had high hopes for two things last week: qualifying for the World Cup and settling the political crisis.  Unfortunately for the catrachos (Hondurans), they came up short in both.  And the country’s two failures mirrored one another. High hopes dominated Honduras in the run-up to Saturday’s World Cup qualifying match against the United States.  But after coming out hot and scoring first, Honduras surrendered three straight goals.  The team’s captain then sealed its fate when he missed a penalty kick to tie the game with four minutes remaining.  At the end of the night, fans were left incredulous. One television announcer bemoaned the Honduran players’ lack of “emotional equilibrium,” while another commentator pleaded with viewers not to shoot their guns in the air in despair.  Bullets that go up also come down, he explained, without the slightest trace of irony. Honduras’ loss shared various elements with the...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/921 2009-10-09T18:29:41Z

President Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Republic and President René Préval of Haiti agreed on Thursday to work together to eliminate mosquito-transmitted diseases on the island. The deal was struck under the auspices of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The 10-year, $200 million program is focused on the eradication of malaria and filariasis.The Dominican Republic and Haiti are the only Caribbean countries still affected by malaria.  According to authorities from both countries, 33,000 malaria cases with 200 deaths were reported in 2007; 90 percent of the cases were on the Haitian side of the border. A pilot project run by the Carter Center began in 2008 with a $200,000 investment in the border towns Dajabon, Dominican Republic, and Ouanaminthe, Haiti. Hopes are high for the program’s success, with only minimal resistance by a few government officials—a good sign considering the lack of political will in the past. Repeated emphasis has...

Huguette Young http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/920 2009-10-08T22:17:03Z

Don’t adjust your set. Just when things were settling down on the Canadian election front, things are heating up again...Under Michael Ignatieff’s leadership, the Liberal Party of Canada seems more determined than ever to defeat Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority Conservative government. Three weeks ago, Harper survived a Liberal ways and means motion in the House of Commons with the pro-independence, Québec-based Bloc Québécois and the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) as unlikely allies.The vote not only kept the Conservatives in power but it also saved the Liberals from a likely bad showing at the polls. Undaunted, they signalled last week that they would try again to topple the Conservatives, saying the government doesn’t have the confidence of the House.  But a non-confidence motion introduced in the House of Commons last week failed to win enough support. But the trump card is in NDP Leader Jack Layton’s hands. After repeatedly calling...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/919 2009-10-08T15:26:49Z

Ecuador’s President, Rafael Correa, along with 20 ministers and government officials traveled to Caracas on Wednesday for discussions with the government of President Hugo Chávez—one of three annual meetings between the two Andean countries. The leaders pledged to achieve a “political, social and economic union.” In 10 new bilateral agreements, Venezuela and Ecuador promised further cooperation in sectors including mining, tourism, infrastructure, educational exchange, and military technology.   The leaders also reviewed existing energy agreements.  Petroecuador extracts oil from Venezuela’s Faja del Orinoco reserve while Petróleos de Venezuela has an exploratory well in Ecuador’s Guayaquil Bay.  Venezuela and Ecuador, the only two Latin American countries in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, will begin joint construction of an oil refinery near Aromo, Ecuador, in 2010.    President Correa also took the opportunity to respond to critics of his decision in late September to accept the donation of six Mirage combat planes from Venezuela.  ...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/918 2009-10-08T14:05:51Z

Exactly 30 years ago (1979) the late Jeanne Kirkpatrick wrote a famous, though controversial, article in Commentary that for a group of conservative foreign-policy analysts guided policy toward Latin America during the administration of President Ronald Reagan.  The basic thesis of the argument was that as autocratic regimes differed, so should U.S. policy toward them.  On the one hand were totalitarian regimes, more encompassing in their control over society and the state and thus more oppressive and durable.  On the other were traditional authoritarian regimes, less complete in their domination over politics and society, less suffocating, more temporary.  (Not coincidentally the former were also often of the Left and opposed to U.S. interests; the latter often more rightwing and shared the U.S.’s anti-communist orientation.)  The implication was that the U.S. should weigh human rights abuses differently under these two different dictatorial systems. Today we’re seeing a similar cognitive and moral...

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/917 2009-10-07T22:49:58Z

This Saturday the eyes of much of the hemisphere will be on Honduras as the United States sends its finest warriors into the country to do battle with their Honduran counterparts.  No, we’re not talking an invasion by the Marines, but rather a critically-important soccer match between the two nations in qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.  That fact that the game occurs smack dab in the middle of an ongoing political crisis in Honduras—with deposed President Manuel Zelaya remaining under self-imposed house arrest in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, and the Organization of American States (OAS) having just sent a delegation to the country to attempt to resolve the matter— is not being allowed to get in the way of the match.  FIFA has spoken, and despite some misgivings by observers, no leader in their right mind dares take on soccer’s global governing body, a group...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/916 2009-10-07T22:38:46Z

The political crisis has brought out the worst of Honduras.  The media has already documented many of the country’s ills since June: the reliance on the military to address internal political problems and the sharp polarization with Cold War echoes as well as political violence, repression and censorship.  One nasty phenomenon, however, has slipped under the radar: the frightening nationalist sentiment, xenophobia and racism that have been on display since June 28—the day of the coup.  Hondurans on both sides of this crisis have continually failed to recognize that substantial domestic support exists for both Manuel Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti, and that these domestic forces are willing and able to mobilize themselves.  They have proceeded by first defining “us”—the true Hondurans who...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/915 2009-10-07T21:48:21Z

The initial public offering (IPO) today in the Brazilian unit of Spain’s Banco Santander raised $8.1 billion for its parent company—the world’s largest IPO this year. But shares in Santander (Brazil) fell 3.7 percent in its first day of trading due to concerns that the stock was overvalued. “Santander is giving investors something they want, which is exposure to Brazil… there’s an element of Brazil being in fashion,” said Inigo Lecubarri of London’s Abaco Financials Fund. With more than 2,000 branches already in Brazil, Santander plans to open 600 more branches by 2013 with some of the money raised. The IPO sale gives Santander’s Brazil division a market value equivalent to that of Deutsche Bank and Société Générale of France....

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/914 2009-10-07T21:09:03Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. OAS Sends Mission to Honduras It’s been over two weeks since deposed Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya snuck back into his country and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy. Three months after his removal from power and with the clock ticking down to the November 29 presidential elections, a stalemate drags on between Zelaya and the de facto government headed by Roberto Micheletti. The Organization of American States (OAS) will give talks another try starting October 7, when a delegation arrives in Honduras. The OAS mission includes high-level officials from Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Canada, Jamaica, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Brazil, the United States,...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/913 2009-10-06T22:25:57Z

Colombia’s Minister of Defense, Gabriel Silva, announced on Tuesday that he is preparing to present evidence of new FARC camps in Ecuador to his counterpart, Ecuadorian Defense Minister Javier Ponce.This most recent disclosure comes amidst a recent thaw in Colombian-Ecuadorian relations more than a year and a half after the countries broke off diplomatic ties following a Colombian incursion into Ecuador during a combat mission against FARC forces in March 2008.Mr. Silva indicated that Colombia’s President Alvaro Uribe has requested the full disclosure of Colombian intelligence on the alleged camps. As a sign of the delicate diplomatic negotiations currently under way, he also insisted that, “The Colombian government has never said it has suspicions of links between the government of Ecuador and the FARC.” ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/912 2009-10-05T22:17:42Z

Rafael Ángel Calderón led Costa Rica from 1990 to 1994 and had planned to run in the February 2010 presidential elections, but is now facing the possibility of five years in jail. The sentence—delivered on Monday—is expected to be appealed. Under house arrest since 2004, Calderón was found guilty of embezzling at least $8.6 million from a $40 million Finnish loan for the country’s social security fund. The money was then distributed among government employees, businesspeople and politicians.He is the country’s first former head of state to be tried for corruption....

Jenny Manrique http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/911 2009-10-05T20:47:09Z

Intervencionismo o mediación. Según el espejo con que se mire, el papel del Presidente venezolano Hugo Chávez en la política doméstica colombiana, tiene tantos detractores y seguidores como en su propio país. Su cercanía con las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC)—que según los computadores del extinto Raúl Reyes y miembros de la inteligencia colombiana incluye financiamiento y tráfico de armas para la guerrilla—ha causado que mientras Estados Unidos lo considera una figura desestabilizadora para la región, el gobierno colombiano de Álvaro Uribe haya tenido que aceptar a regañadientes sus buenos oficios para dialogar con el grupo insurgente y así lograr liberaciones de secuestrados. No obstante, la necesidad de mantener relaciones diplomáticas con un vecino con el que se comercian más de 7.000 millones de dólares anuales y con el que se comparten 2.219 kilómetros (1,379 millas) de frontera—límites ,en donde dicho sea de paso, es innegable la presencia de grupos armados...

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/910 2009-10-02T21:04:59Z

The announcement today by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that Rio de Janeiro will be the host of the 2016 Olympic Summer Games is a fitting acknowledgement by the international community that Brazil’s time has arrived.  It is also a bouquet to the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and an effort to get the Games—finally—to South America.  Beating out Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago (my hometown), the Rio selection was immediately hailed by many across the region and offers the opportunity for Brazil to showcase itself to the world, much as China used the 2008 Games in Beijing.The Olympics are part of a strategic approach to sport that Brazil has recently employed as yet another means to raise its international profile.  Starting with the XV Pan American Games in 2007, also held in Rio, and the upcoming World Cup soccer championship in 2014, the Olympics offer Brazil the...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/908 2009-10-02T18:45:49Z

The bill introduced on Thursday by the Liberal Party and backed by the opposition, including the Polo Patriótico party, would fund up to 40 percent of campaign expenses for parties that include more women on their political lists. Five percent of those funds would be distributed according to the exact number of women elected. The first debate over this bill and the newly introduced law on political reform has placed both the Liberal Party and opposition in agreement that the existing Law on Quotas is insufficient. It provides increased funding if a party puts forward a list with more than 30 percent female candidates, but only 10 percent of women actually participate. But opposition to the bill exists. For example, Senators Armando Benedetti (La U) and Luis Fernando Velasco (Liberal Party) argue that the percentage of women should not be raised beyond the current levels. If passed, this would be the first step...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/907 2009-10-01T20:20:37Z

Events in Honduras have taken a turn for the worse in the past ten days, and, sadly, there have been no capable leaders from whom Hondurans can expect progress.   Roberto Micheletti and Manuel Zelaya have shown themselves to be political novices without the maturity and intellect to guide this country out of this crisis.De facto President Roberto Micheletti can’t seem to make up his mind about whether he wants to be a good democrat or a good autocrat.  First, last week, Micheletti let the military and police run amok in the capital.  The result: hundreds of people detained and injured and as many as 10 killed.  Then, on Sunday, Micheletti declared a state of exception in the country, suspending for up to 45 days (with the possibility of renewal) the inviolability of personal freedom, freedom of assembly, free speech, freedom of movement, and due process.  He then proceeded to raid...

Eliot Brockner http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/906 2009-10-01T19:45:21Z

A giant park in the center of Colombia’s capital city has come to symbolize the ongoing struggles of the nation’s internally displaced people.  For more than four months, Bogotá’s Tercer Milenio Park was the de facto squatting grounds for over 1,000 families who left their homes because of internal violence, land seizures and overall insecurity throughout Colombia.  On September 9, the Bogotá Institute of Sport and Recreation (IDRD) announced a $200 million plan to restore the park, hoping to transform what resembled a refugee camp into a space that could be enjoyed by the public. The IDRD plan is the final chapter of a back-and-forth saga between the government and representatives of the displaced people in Tercer Milenio Park, under the mediation of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). After rounds of negotiations in late July and early August, representatives from the government and leaders...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/904 2009-10-01T15:55:21Z

Already facing the rest of his life in prison, former President of Peru Alberto Fujimori, 71, received an additional six years on Wednesday for charges of corruption.  At Fujimori’s fourth and final trial in two years, the Lima court also fined him $9 million for authorizing wiretapping and bribes during his 10-year rule that ended in 2000. Fujimori had plead guilty to the corruption charges on Monday, cutting short a trial at which 60 Peruvians were prepared to testify against him.  By pleading guilty, critics believe Fujimori sought to avoid further embarrassing his daughter Keiko Fujimori, considered a frontrunner in the country’s 2011 presidential race. Fujimori also avoided probing into an era in which the government is thought to have set up a vast spy network to combat the Shining Path terrorist organization, and then used the network for political gain. Last April, Fujimori received a 25-year sentence for human rights...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/905 2009-09-30T23:12:39Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Signs of a Solution to the Long Honduran Impasse? It’s been three months since the overthrow of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and two months remain until the presidential election. This week’s episode of the Honduran telenovela saw de facto leader Roberto Micheletti issue a decree silencing the opposition media and suspending civil liberties. He also gave Brazil a 10-day deadline to take a position on Zelaya’s status in Brazil’s Tegucigalpa embassy, where the overthrown leader took refuge last week. But, as AS/COA’s Christopher Sabatini blogs for Americas Quarterly, Micheletti seems to have “overplayed his hand.” Honduras’ Congress voiced opposition to the coup and Honduras’ top military commander predicted...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/903 2009-09-30T22:47:45Z

The attorney general of Venezuela, Luisa Ortega Díaz, requested on Tuesday that Interpol seek the detention of former President Carlos Andrés Pérez (1974—1979, 1989—1993) for his role in the deaths of 300 people during the Caracazo street protests in 1989. These protests were sparked by Pérez’ economic reform package and its elimination of gas subsidies. The detention order is “included in Interpol’s code red, but this is not a guarantee that he will be captured. This depends on the government of the country where he is residing at the moment,” Ortega said last night. The 87-year-old Pérez resides in the United States. He was accused by the attorney general for his “responsibility in the instruction and implementation of Plan Ávila”—a military plan to squash the protests that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights later found had resulted in massive human rights violation. President Hugo Chávez led a...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/902 2009-09-29T21:23:12Z

It appears that Roberto Micheletti, the de facto president of Honduras, overplayed his hand on Sunday when he announced a decree that closed down two media outlets (Radio Globo and Canal 36), dissolved the right of assembly and permitted police to detain suspects without warrents. Just for good measure he also gave the Brazilian embassy a 10-day ultimatum to release elected-President Mel Zelaya, saying that the government would not respect the embassy as Brazilian territory (a violation of diplomatic protocol and what would amount to—according to the Brazilian government—as an invasion of Brazilian territory).  And he threw out the OAS delegation that had arrived, saying they had come too early.  In a move familiar to President Zelaya before he was unconstitutionally removed, the Honduran Congress said that it would not support Micheletti’s decree.  A visibly shaken Michelletti issued a televised mea culpa and said the decree would be suspended.  But...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/900 2009-09-29T19:04:08Z

Since Manuel Zelaya’s surreptitious return to Honduras last week, the media has focused on the hordes of Zelaya supporters trying to make their way to the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa and the military and police repression that these would-be protesters faced.  But there are three faces to Honduran society these days, not two.  No doubt, these predominantly urban actors are crucial in this country’s short-term political crisis.  But understanding the broader domestic political reality, and what may follow this crisis, also demands consideration of rural areas.The first face of the current Honduran crisis is the pro-Zelaya Resistencia (Resistance).  Tens of thousands of Zelaya supporters from all over the country took to the streets this week.  They were met by a repressive military machine.  Hundreds arrested and injured, detainees corralled in the stadium and several people killed—these scenes provided a tragic reminder of the military repression that plagued Latin America in...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/901 2009-09-29T17:24:04Z

Posted at 3:10 p.m. Hundreds of Indigenous people staged protests in several provinces across Ecuador on Monday, voicing concerns over what they perceive to be increased privatization of national resources. The catalyst for the protests is a bill being considered by Congress that indigenous groups say will allow transnational mining corporations to exploit water reserves close to their lands. In northeastern Ecuador, police intervened to stop the protests, resulting in two injuries. Leaders of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), who had called for the protests two weeks ago, agreed to suspend the demonstrations Monday. Marlon Santi, president of CONAIE, confirmed Tuesday morning that his group would temporarily halt demonstrations to meet with the government of President Rafael Correa. But Security Minister Miguel Carvajal said Tuesday that protests in some parts of the country had continued, and that the government would not meet with indigenous representatives until all demonstrations stopped. Nevertheless,...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/897 2009-09-28T21:24:39Z

Nearly thirty leaders from Africa and South America, led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Libyan President Mu’ammar al-Ghaddafi, met over the weekend in Venezuela at the second annual South America-Africa Summit. The goal is to enhance cooperation and create more strategic partnerships, especially in areas of finance and energy. Seven South American leaders agreed to fund a $20 billion institution to fund development projects in Africa and South America, with Venezuela pledging a $4 billion contribution. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet discussed the possibly of funding it as well. President Chávez announced a partnership with South Africa’s state oil company PetroSA for “oil exploration and development in hydrocarbons" along with energy alliances and projects with other African countries. Also present at the meeting was Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who spoke of the “twenty-first century [as the] century of Africa and Latin America.” Ghaddafi’s platform at the summit...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/896 2009-09-25T20:07:55Z

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) revealed at its annual conference in New York on Thursday 21 new projects, totaling a $258 million investment, for Haiti in 2010. These initiatives will be carried out together with other organizations such as actor Matt Damon’s Water.org—an initiative to improve sanitation and access to water for an estimated 50,000 people in Haiti. The U.S. Agency for International Development and Habitat for Humanity also pledged $4.5 million in 2010 to carry out repairs from last year’s hurricane that damaged 1,500 homes. The Clinton Global Initiative’s contribution last year—an estimated $170 million—ran 31 programs on the island. The CGI was founded in 2005 by former President Bill Clinton, who was appointed UN Special Envoy to Haiti in May. Clinton met with Haitian President René Préval yesterday. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/895 2009-09-24T22:08:30Z

China will construct a $300 million communications satellite in Bolivia, President Evo Morales announced Thursday. Morales discussed future plans for cooperation with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, in New York during the annual United Nations General Assembly session.  The two leaders’ discussion comes a week after the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN agency, pledged to assist Bolivia with orbital positions and frequency bands. The project could be financed with Bolivia’s own resources, Morales told AFP Thursday, adding that securing access to preferential credit from a country like China would help his country.  He anticipates the satellite’s launch into orbit within three years.  Morales also explained that a satellite would greatly benefit the country by connecting poor Bolivians with the modern world through improved Internet access. This remains a challenge in Bolivia where ITU reports that only 10 out of every 100 people are Internet users—far below Chile, 32 per 100, and Venezuela,...

Ruxandra Guidi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/893 2009-09-24T12:34:35Z

At first, reports were that that Mexico’s La Parota hydroelectric dam had been scrapped for good due to limited funds.  After five long years of opposition rallies, blockades, legal battles, and widespread intimidation, the peasant community of Cacahuatepec in the state of Guerrero, Mexico, could finally give up their fight and claim victory. But as it turns out, there was no such cancellation.  Mexico’s state power company, the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), had postponed construction of the 900MW hydroelectric dam citing the country's “sufficient generation margin, the difference between capacity and peak demand.” This is a huge letdown for the people of Cacahuatepec. Back in 2006, I worked on a story about how the dam would affect the surrounding indigenous peasant community. Located near the tourist destination of Acapulco, residents make a living growing a variety of crops and community-owned lands, known as ejidos. Construction of the $1 billion hydroelectric...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/894 2009-09-23T23:35:30Z

So he’s back in Honduras.  How Zelaya got in is still a mystery and to the de facto President Micheletti a source of some concern, primarily if it may mean that some segments of the armed forces may have been complicit. That concern will increase as the  nervous Micheletti asks the armed forces to enforce his curfew and crack down on pro-Zelaya demonstrators .  The clamp down has already caused a number of injuries and reportedly between one to six deaths, prompting a public statement from Amnesty International condemning the government’s heavy handed tactics. In any democratic transition, the point of change comes when moderate segments of the armed forces decide that the cost of repressing escalating social unrest is too great and break with the government.  Such a scenario is looking possible in Honduras.  (Remember also the statement of some junior military officers in late July endorsing the San José...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/892 2009-09-23T22:25:12Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Zelaya Sneaks Back into Honduras, Catapaults Brazil into Center of Crisis Three months after the military forced him out of Honduras, deposed President Manuel Zelaya reentered the country and gained sanctuary in the Brazilian embassy on September 21. Since then—and at the time of this report—the country remains in a tense standoff. The interim government of Roberto Micheletti closed airports, declared a curfew, and cut water supplies and electricity to the embassy. Police forces broke up protests with tear gas, with some canisters falling inside the embassy’s compound. Such moves did little to please Brasilia, where the House approved a motion repudiating Honduras’ blockade of the...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/891 2009-09-23T18:14:09Z

After a year and a half of severed diplomatic ties, the foreign ministers of Ecuador and Colombia met last night in New York to begin talks about restoring relations. Fander Falconí, Ecuador’s minister of foreign affairs, said the discussions “have begun a process…and we aspire to achieve what our countries desire. Our countries have [peaceful intentions], and this is the message that we want to project.” Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermúdez also expressed a desire for “a normalization of relations.” The demise of relations between Ecuador and Colombia began March 3, 2008, after the Colombian army crossed the Ecuadorian border in pursuit of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas in Ecuadorian territory. The raid left 25 dead including the head guerrilla leader “Raúl Reyes.” ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/890 2009-09-22T20:16:25Z

Brazil occupied a central role in Honduras’ ongoing political crisis on Monday when it permitted ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and members of his family to take up residence in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa. Zelaya’s return to Honduras has sparked protests outside the embassy that left scores of demonstrators injured on Tuesday. Another 200 people have been detained by police following efforts by de facto President Roberto Micheletti to stifle protests by quickly imposing a curfew on Monday. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defended his government’s decision to grant asylum to Mr. Zelaya, saying that “Brazil only did what any democratic country would do.” The Brazilian President also admitted to speaking with Mr. Zelaya over the phone and to warning the former Honduran leader against doing anything that could provoke an invasion of Brazil’s diplomatic mission.The Brazilian and international media are reporting on Tuesday that the embassy's lights,...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/889 2009-09-21T22:39:13Z

Fame, even political fame, seems to depend more and more on your ability to grab the public fascination—even if it’s lack of respect—than any real attributes.  Just the mere aura of media attention confers importance, talent and relevance now-a-days.  Just ask the vacuous Paris Hilton, or the duly-elected president of Honduras, Manuel “Mel” Zelaya, whose latest tactics indicate that more than resolving the constitutional crisis in a serious manner, he’d prefer to just be in the news. For whatever.   Just today (Monday, September 21) Zelaya appeared suddenly in the Brazilian embassy claiming he had crossed mountains, rivers and the military-manned border to re-appear in Honduras to defy the government’s arrest order.  And then he gave a friendly wave to supporters from the Brazilian embassy.  This isn’t helpful.  Sure the man was deposed in a coup.  (Just a quick side note: as Mary O’Grady wrote in today’s Wall Street Journal,...

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/886 2009-09-21T20:35:53Z

Even in the best of times, under Democratic and Republican Administrations and Congresses alike, Washington’s appetite for things Latin American is limited.  On occasion, a crisis breaks through the public consciousness and attracts top-level attention for a period of time, but the ability to sustain a policy that does more than just lurch from crisis to crisis really doesn’t exist.  When such crisis does occur, however, Washington becomes fixated on the issue and almost completely neglects other issues in the hemisphere.  Such is the case right now.  Since June 28, Washington’s primary focus on the region has been on Honduras. Even the confirmation of the U.S. ambassador-designate for Brazil, Tom Shannon, has been held up by the Senate over dissatisfaction of U.S. policy actions to sanction the government of de facto Honduran President Roberto Micheletti.  The Senate hold on Tom Shannon, a highly-regarded career diplomat who has served both Democratic...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/887 2009-09-21T19:27:21Z

Last week, tens of thousands of Hondurans took to the streets of their capital, Tegucigalpa, to commemorate Independence Day.  One group, dressed in the white and blue of the Honduran flag, followed the Civic-Military March to the National Stadium, where soldiers marched, paratroopers landed dramatically, and the crowd cheered for de facto President Roberto Micheletti.  The other group, equally large, dressed in red and marched down Morazán Boulevard for La Resistencia (the resistance), and clamored for the return of President Manuel Zelaya to power while booing the military planes flying toward the stadium.  From among the Micheletti supporters, the megaphones exclaimed: “Honduras is the wall that finally stopped Chávez!”  Meanwhile, the red shirts cried out, “Which is the way?  Getting rid of those sons of … [who deposed President Zelaya]!”  This year, Independence Day revealed the deep divisions in Honduran society following the coup. Now, with President Manuel Zelaya having...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/885 2009-09-21T18:48:24Z

Former presidents of Peru and Bolivia spoke out against the recent media shutdowns in Venezuela and expressed an overall concern about the media’s future at an emergency meeting of Inter American Press Association (IAPA). At the meeting, held in Caracas on Friday, former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo called the media shutdowns “a virus that’s expanding” and an action taken on by “real authoritarian governments.” Bolivia’s former president, Carlos Mesa, harped on Toledo’s comments saying that “everything that restricts freedom of speech is unacceptable.” Ecuador closed a television station accused of espionage last month and Bolivia also has closed media outlets. Former Argentine President Nestor Kirchner also recently proposed a law to break up Grupo Clarin, a media conglomerate, calling it a monopoly that has been abusing its power in Argentine politics. President Hugo Chávez has denied accusations that his government is trying to silence opposition voices. Chávez’ government has announced...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/884 2009-09-17T16:07:41Z

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez repeated yesterday his intention to jumpstart a nuclear energy program and announced the creation of an atomic energy commission between Venezuela and Russia. Chávez attempted to dismiss concerns over the possible future militarization of the proposed program: “We’re not going to make an atomic bomb, so don’t bother us like with Iran.”The pronouncement follows news of a $2.2 billion loan from Russia that Venezuela will use to finance arms purchases, including 92 Soviet-era T-72 tanks, short-range missiles and anti-aircraft weapons systems. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the issue saying Venezuelan arms purchases  “outpace all other countries in South America and certainly raise the question as to whether there is going to be an arms race in the region.” Venezuela has already bought more than $4 billion worth of Russian arms since 2005.Earlier this month, President Chávez met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to discuss...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/883 2009-09-17T00:00:00Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Clinton, Vázquez Worry over LatAm Arms Race Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington September 15 where, during a press conference, they expressed concern about the possibility of a Latin American arms buildup. Clinton referred in particular to Venezuela’s announcement that it would purchase $2.2 billion worth of arms from Moscow, saying: “[W]e urge Venezuela to be transparent in its purchases, clear about its purposes. They should be putting in place procedures and practices to ensure that the weapons that they buy are not diverted to insurgent groups or illegal organizations, like drug trafficking gangs and other criminal cartels.” Vázquez...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/882 2009-09-16T14:57:58Z

Journalists and bloggers, including myself, have been focusing their Central American news coverage on the Honduran political crisis.  But, over the last month, it’s become clear that another crisis is unfolding just next door in Guatemala.  Drought has hit the rural areas, and hundreds of people have already died in a country plagued by chronic malnutrition.  Initially, this crisis hit Guatemala’s “dry corridor,” but it has now affected at least six other departments in the western part of the country, where the concentration of indigenous people is higher. President Álvaro Colom has declared the crisis a “public calamity,” and, if Congress approves this classification, it will hasten the flow of international aid and speed up domestic budget allocations.  No doubt, we must all hope that the government and the international community can act swiftly to prevent this crisis from getting further out of control.  But we must also hope that the...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/881 2009-09-16T14:42:41Z

Samuel Moreno, the mayor of Bogotá, pledged today that his city plans to have a 15-mile (24-kilometer) long metro system in operation by 2015—a key component to forming a more integrated public transportation system in a city with over 7 million inhabitants. The estimated cost for the work to be designed by the Spanish consortium Sener-Transporte Metropolitano de Barcelona (TMB) is $2 billion with 70 percent financed by the state and 30 percent by the city. Plans for the metro system have been in the works since 1999, but were put on hold in 2002 for political and financial issues. The metro “will define the future of urban development in this city over the next 50 years,” proclaimed Moreno, who has held the mayor’s seat since 2007. Moreno ran for mayor with the promise of a metro system, which he describes as the fastest, safest and least contaminating of all public transportation...

Nicole Spencer http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/880 2009-09-16T12:40:56Z

President Barack Obama receives his first visit from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the White House today. As a testament to the strength of the U.S.-Canada relationship, this will be the seventh time Obama and Harper have met since the new President took office. Health care is not likely to make the agenda, but trade, energy and the environment, Afghanistan, and border management are expected to be discussed.Americans might not know much about these issues, but maybe they should. For example, Canada is a top trading partner of the United States, with nearly $750 billion in two-way trade in 2008. The U.S. economy is not only fueled by Canadian trade, but also, literally, by Canadian energy. Canada has the world’s second-largest proven oil reserves, after Saudi Arabia, and is consistently one of the top three suppliers of oil to the United States. Along with the need for coordinated environmental...

Huguette Young http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/879 2009-09-15T22:29:11Z

Members of Parliament returned to work this week in pre-campaign mode. In just a few weeks—by the end of this month or early October—legislators and voters will know the fate of a possible fall vote. This would be Canadians’ fourth vote in five years.Fuelled by election speculation, federal parties have reserved buses and planes and booked meeting halls. Discussions with television networks to organize leaders’ debates are already underway.The man behind this frenzy: Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff. At a Liberal caucus meeting in northern Ontario two weeks ago, he vowed to bring down Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority Conservative government at the first opportunity.  But the timing couldn’t be worse. Polls show Canadians are suffering from election fatigue.  On October 14, 2008, they were thrown into yet another unwanted election, showing their discontent at the voting booths and with voter turnout at just 58 percent. Last year’s election returned Harper’s...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/878 2009-09-15T19:03:53Z

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo officially inaugurated the Brazilian-financed $5 million Takutu River Bridge in the Brazilian town of Bon Fin. The bridge is expected to facilitate tourism and trade between the two countries and give seaport access to the landlocked Brazilian state of Roraima. Both presidents spoke of stronger bilateral ties and plans for future collaborations. The bridge “is the first physical link between two countries which for so long have turned their backs to each other, said the Brazilian President. “We are integrating Guyana and Brazil bringing prosperity to our people.” The Guyanese President called the opening a “dream come true after more than a generation of anticipation." At the inauguration, Lula talked of a potential 350-mile (560-kilometer) road that would link the bridge with Guyana’s capital, Georgetown. He also discussed the construction of the Lethem to Linden highway, which will...

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/875 2009-09-14T21:24:10Z

Prior to the economic crisis that began exactly one year ago with the Lehman Brothers collapse, Latin America was on an economic tear.  For over five years the region had enjoyed historic economic growth, reducing poverty and building the small but growing middle class.  Growth was based primarily on the commodities trade; Asian nations, particularly China, were sucking up virtually everything Latin America could grow, mine or drill. Many Latins are now looking at the prospects for renewed mid-term growth in Asia as the key to restoring their own economic fortunes.  On the surface, that makes sense.  But if the idea is simply to return to the previous model exporting primary commodities, with a healthy dose of politics thrown in, the result may not be as lucrative for Latin America as the immediate past proved to be.  Primary commodities face competition no matter where they come from; there is generally...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/876 2009-09-14T17:03:30Z

Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff gave a speech at the Canadian Club of Ottawa today in which he criticized the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper for “giving up on Canada’s place in the world,” and allowing Canada’s international reputation to deteriorate to the point that “Canada is becoming the country that dares not speak its name.” Among other things Mr. Ignatieff claimed that Mr. Harper has ceded Canada’s responsibilities in Afghanistan, let trade with China and India falter and failed to stand up for Canadians abroad.This week’s speech follows news on September 1 that the Liberals intend to topple the Canadian government, forcing Canada’s second national elections in less than one year. Since 2006, concerns that Canadians are weary of federal elections have allowed the Conservative party to govern without a majority of parliamentary votes. Today’s speech is part of a pre-election strategy for Mr. Ignatieff and a...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/874 2009-09-11T22:54:42Z

The U.S. State Department announced today that “the Colombian Government and Armed Forces are meeting statutory criteria related to human rights and paramilitary groups,” clearing the way for the transfer of all Fiscal Year 2009 funds obligated for the Colombian armed forces. The certification—made to Congress on September 8—takes into consideration the country’s work “to promote respect for human rights by its Armed Forces” but recognizes that “there is no question that improvement must be made.” But the statement also found "troubling and unacceptable" allegations by the media and non-government organizations of illegal domestic wiretapping and surveillance. The State Department can now release about $32.1 million in withheld funds to combat drug trafficking and illegal groups operating in Colombian territory, according to a spokeswoman in the State Department’s Western Hemisphere bureau. ...

Huguette Young http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/873 2009-09-11T22:47:05Z

Puzzling, mystifying. There’s no clear explanation why Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is sticking to his guns by refusing to repatriate Omar Khadr—the only Westerner still imprisoned at the U.S. detention center in Guantánamo, Cuba, under terrorism-related charges. Khadr was only 15 years old when arrested in Afghanistan in July 2002 for allegedly throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier during a firefight. Khadr maintains that he did not. After being treated for wounds at the Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, he was transferred to Guantánamo where he alleges he was subjected to various kinds of torture.Is it personal? Is it ideological? Are there political calculations that come into play? Is he playing it safe with his electoral base in western Canada by refusing to appear soft on terror? Whatever his reasons, Harper will now get his chance. The Supreme Court of Canada announced last week that it would expedite...

Ruxandra Guidi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/872 2009-09-10T21:03:35Z

I was raised in Caracas, Venezuela, in the 1980s by a single mother who worked in a lab as a physicist and microbiologist. She was too busy doing experiments during the day to pick me up from school, located almost an hour away from her office. So when the last bell rang, I would run outside, climb onto a special schoolbus full of children whose parents were also scientists, and, after wasting another hour in traffic, I would get dropped off at my mom's lab—the Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC).  This was where I spent all my afternoons, surrounded by centrifuges, water tanks, lab animals, and test tubes. The place was full of fascinating people, many of whom would also spend considerable amounts of time teaching at the Universidad Central de Venezuela in downtown Caracas, going abroad on scholarships or doing research at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution here...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/871 2009-09-10T20:06:39Z

Uruguay’s Senate approved on Wednesday a controversial law that enables same-sex couples to adopt children after at least four years of cohabitation. This measure follows the Ley de Union Concubinaria (Law on Civil Unions) that passed in January 2008 and grants same-sex couples the same rights as married couples, pending compliance with certain stipulations. In response, opponents to the law voiced concerns through the Archbishop of Montevideo, Nicolás Cotugnoover, who, along with the Partido Nacional said that the measure disrespects “human nature itself.” Government officials defend the law, saying that it will simplify adoption procedures and increase transparency. The procedure is to be regulated by the Uruguayan Institute for the Children and Adolescents (INAU) yet, like with heterosexual couples, will still have to be authorized by a court. The law had failed to muster enough votes for passage in the Senate in July, and passed the Chamber of Representatives on...

Anastasia Moloney http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/870 2009-09-10T16:45:36Z

In Colombia, after the President, the second most important political post is the minister of defense. In late July, a new minister of defense, Gabriel Silva, was chosen following the resignation of Juan Manuel Santos who left the post to become a possible presidential candidate.At first glance, the former Colombian ambassador to the U.S. (1993), head of the influential National Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers and socialite, Silva is not the most obvious choice for a job that traditionally has required a belligerent style.But Silva is a wise choice to oversee Colombia’s armed forces. And if anyone can improve the battered image of Colombia’s military machine following a string of high-profile and damaging human rights scandals, it is Silva.During his six-year tenure as head of the country’s important Coffee Growers Federation, Silva was seen as a savior-like figure for turning around the fortunes of Colombia’s some 600,000 coffee growers and...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/869 2009-09-09T22:21:17Z

Three months before Honduras’ scheduled elections, tensions remain high in Tegucigalpa.  Walls and campaign propaganda are covered with pro-Zelaya graffiti; explosives have destroyed several fast food establishments and targeted certain media outlets; and a bomb scare took place near the airport this week.  The military remains positioned at strategic locations in the city, closing streets without prior notice.  While most people’s lives have returned to relative normalcy, groups supporting President Manuel Zelaya and de facto President Roberto Micheletti take to the streets daily.  Schools remain closed from Monday through Wednesday each week, as the teachers unions have allied with other organizations to confront the de facto government.    Despite these disruptions to daily life, leaders of both major parties support the de facto government, and no governmental institution supports Zelaya’s return.  In Tegucigalpa, most people seem to think that Zelaya’s return is impossible and that elections in November are the only...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/867 2009-09-09T22:05:10Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Calderón Undertakes Housecleaning Mexico’s President Felipe Calderón announced that his government plans to close down the secretariats of tourism, agrarian reform, and public service in an austerity measure that could save hundreds of millions of dollars. The three agencies will be absorbed into others. The move followed a cabinet reshuffling that involved replacing the attorney general, the head of state oil firm Pemex, and the secretary of agriculture. An Associated Press report suggests Calderón’s decision to replace Attorney General Medina-Mora with Arturo Chávez represents a choice to go with a stronger approach toward fighting drug cartels. However, women’s rights groups have protested the choice, saying Chávez did little...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/866 2009-09-09T20:33:32Z

Mexican President Felipe Calderón announced yesterday that the government proposes to eliminate three departments and increase taxes in an effort to boost the country’s economy and turn attention to poverty-fighting programs. According to Finance Minister Agustin Carstens, these measures are estimated to reduce government spending by 218 billion pesos ($16.3 billion and 1.8 percent of GDP) and will hopefully help achieve a balanced budget in 2012. Part of the proposal specifies that Mexico’s tourism, agricultural reform and civil service ministries will be “phased out.” President Calderón called the proposal “a drastic and unprecedented adjustment in the exercise of public spending” which “considers the seriousness of the circumstances that we’re facing.” He also alluded to the importance of poverty-alleviation saying that “in the difficult situation in which millions of Mexicans are living...in a country that faces serious needs…the government should be synonymous with service, not privilege.”...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/865 2009-09-08T16:21:28Z

The Brazilian government concluded on Monday a pact with France worth an estimated $12.3 billion that includes provisions for future equipment purchases and a broad transfer of military technology to Brazil. The deal, announced in Brasilia between Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Nicolas Sarkozy, includes a $4 billion to $7 billion Brazilian order for 36 French Rafale fighter jets, 50 EC-725 helicopters and the sharing of technology for constructing five submarines in Brazil.The competition to provide Brazil with new, high-tech equipment has been fierce.  The U.S.-based Boeing Company offered up its F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft and Sweden's Saab attempted to sell its Gripen NG fighters. These competitors had also said they were willing to share technology with Brazil. Throughout its preliminary negotiations, Brazil has repeatedly stated that technology-sharing took priority over cost.  Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim indicated the deal could eventually allow Brazil to build Rafale jets...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/864 2009-09-03T23:31:20Z

The Office of Foreign Assets Control at the United States Department of the Treasury released new regulations on Thursday related to U.S. economic sanctions on Cuba. The new regulations are designed to reflect the directives contained in a memo released by the White House in April. According the department’s website, today’s amendments change the Cuba sanctions regime in three major areas: family visits, family remittances, and telecommunications. News reports indicate that the changes have virtually eliminated restrictions on Cuban-Americans’ travel to Cuba to visit “close relatives” and to send money to family members on the island. Regarding telecommunications, the regulations appear to permit a variety of new activities ranging from the construction of a fiber-optic cable between the U.S. and Cuba to roaming agreements between U.S. mobile communications providers and their Cuban counterparts. ...

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/863 2009-09-03T22:18:13Z

Honduras’ deposed President Mel Zelaya was here in Washington the week prior to Labor Day urging the United States, without a hint of irony, to re-install him in power as soon as possible.  At the same time, he told a late summer audience that as the diplomatic process grinds on without clear prospects for resolution, he was building support for another attempt to re-enter Honduras.  His last two attempts having failed, first by air and then by land, his next option would appear to be by sea, a la Fidel’s famous journey in the Granma.  At the very least, this would do away with a reprise of the Honduran version of the hokey-pokey (you put your right foot in, you take your right foot out, you put your left foot in and then you shake it all about….), or the Python-esque flying circus aspects of his first attempt in July. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/861 2009-09-02T21:52:16Z

The U.S. Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, David Johnson, announced yesterday the release of $214 million of the $1.4 billion Mérida Initiative package. The sum has been spent or committed to training Mexican federal investigators and providing technology that would help control the narcotics and weapons flowing across the U.S.-Mexico border. The first $50 million has been spent on helicopters that will be delivered to the Mexican military this fall. Johnson added that the U.S. is also concentrating efforts to help Mexico improve its internal law enforcement systems, through lie detector tests and background checks, in an effort to root out corruption. The Mérida Initiative is a multi-year program that provides equipment, training, and technical assistance to Mexico’s government to combat organized crime, specifically the drug cartels responsible for trafficking $40 billion worth of illegal drugs annually to the U.S. Beyond support for Mexico, the U.S. has also committed...

Alex Leff http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/860 2009-09-02T20:32:11Z

If Costa Rica were to go to the polls today voters would elect the country’s first female to the government’s highest office, says the latest CID-Gallup poll.Laura Chinchilla, the ruling Partido Liberación Nacional's (PLN) candidate who stepped down from her post as vice president last fall to begin a race to the February 2010 presidential election, enjoys 43 percent of voter support. That’s 17 percentage points over her closest rival, Ottón Solís, who became known for his opposition to the free-trade agreement with the U.S. (DR-CAFTA) that Chinchilla’s boss, President Oscar Arias, fought to push forward. The founder of the Partido de Acción Ciudadana party, Solís lost by a hair to Arias in the 2006 vote. ...

Eliot Brockner http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/859 2009-09-02T15:12:02Z

How far can $21 million go? In terms of Brazil’s real GDP, it is a drop in the bucket. In terms of its impact on regional relations, it is far more significant. On August 23 , Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced that Brazil would open up its market to $21 million worth of tariff-free Bolivian textiles. The amount accounts for .001 percent of Brazilian GDP according to the IMF. Not surprisingly, it was not the amount that made the announcement newsworthy. While addressing thousands of Bolivians on an official state visit there during the week of  August 21, Lula declared that the sum is equal to the amount that Bolivian textile manufacturers would lose because of Washington’s refusal to renew the terms of the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) that used to guarantee certain Bolivian exports, including the textiles in question, tariff-free entry to the...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/858 2009-09-01T16:14:35Z

Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA will have to import at least six shipments of gasoline and other refined petroleum products to meet local demand due to production stoppages at key local refineries. Reports from local sources at Venezuela’s largest national refineries, Amuay and Cardón, on the Paraguaná peninsula, indicate that technical problems coupled with scheduled maintenance-related stoppages have paralyzed output and contributed to supply shortages to the local market. Gasoline in Venezuela is the cheapest in the world, costing around $.04 per liter. This most recent news comes amid reports that President Chávez and his economic cabinet are considering a hike in gas prices, which have remained unchanged in recent years despite the region’s highest inflation in other sectors of the economy. Reports also indicate that the government has begun restricting gasoline sales to Colombian motorists who cross the border to fill their tanks.The last time the Venezuelan government proposed...

Liz Harper http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/857 2009-08-31T22:59:57Z

As Americans eulogized Senator Edward Kennedy over the weekend, I also want to take pause and remember his contribution to our nation’s relations with Latin America. He will be remembered as an effective liberal senator who knew how to work the Capitol, a flawed person who came to grips with his inner demons, and a man who used his name imbued with all its power and mystique of the Kennedy dynasty to tirelessly defend human rights and social justice—both here and abroad. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/856 2009-08-31T22:46:11Z

The Paraguayan government requested a bilateral meeting with Bolivian authorities on Saturday to discuss Bolivia’s recent announcement that it will purchase up to $100 million in military equipment with credit from Russia. The deal, which is reportedly for helicopters, airplanes and other military equipment, was announced on August 12 by Bolivian defense minister Walker San Miguel. Bolivian officials have repeatedly contended that the arms purchases pose no threat to its neighbors, yet its decision to expand its military capacity has even caught the attention of the U.S. which last year tried to block a Bolivian arms purchase from the Czech Republic.  In response, the Morales administration responded to U.S. actions by expressing his intention to instead purchase similar equipment from Chinese or Brazilian suppliers. ...

Jenny Manrique http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/855 2009-08-27T20:42:06Z

La estrategia parece calcada de hace cuatro años. El presidente Álvaro Uribe mueve toda la maquinaria de los partidos uribistas para que propongan la reelección sin que la iniciativa parezca suya, permanece callado, deja caldear el ambiente político y luego aparece para dar la estocada final, ahora con un nuevo término: el estado de opinión.Uribe confirmó este mes que se lanzaría por tercera vez a ocupar el sillón presidencial si el legislativo aprueba un referendo que permite reformar de nuevo la Constitución y que, como iniciativa popular, contó con el respaldo de cinco millones de firmas ciudadanas. El estado de opinión sería en las palabras del mandatario, “la fase superior del Estado de Derecho” en la que los gobernantes se deben someter al escrutinio de la opinión pública.Con un 60 por ciento de futuros votantes que lo reelegirían (menos que la anterior reelección pero suficientes para ganar en primera vuelta),...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/854 2009-08-27T19:18:22Z

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper conducted a five-day-long tour of his country’s Arctic regions last week in a trip that has provoked a serious debate on the federal government’s future policies toward the far-northern territories. Some critics have called the trip a pre-election publicity stunt designed to drum up support for Mr. Harper’s Conservative party. However, The Economist reports that the Harper government has “allocated more funds to the Arctic territories than the two previous Liberal governments managed during a dozen years in power.” Efforts to assert Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic have long been a priority for Mr. Harper's government, particularly in light of growing global competition for control of the region. Governments see one of the effects of global warming as allowing for now-hidden natural resources to be accessible in the future.In addition to visits to public works projects and groups of constituents, Mr. Harper visited Canada’s ground...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/853 2009-08-26T21:35:02Z

The Nicaraguan government announced yesterday that they will begin construction at the end of September to reroute the San Juan River, which runs along the country’s border with Costa Rica. Eden Pastora, the head of the committee for development of the San Juan River, said that the $1 million project is intended to “recover the 1,700 cubic meters per second of water that was lost after Costa Rica rerouted it toward its Colorado River between 1945 and 1950.” Costa Rica responded, issuing a statement on Tuesday that said a ruling by an international court "forcefully denies Nicaragua's pretension that it has the right to dredge the San Juan River.” Disputes over the river date back nearly 200 years. For both countries the river is seen as offering the promise for another canal route across Central America. But last month, the United Nations’ International Court of Justice unanimously reaffirmed Nicaragua’s sovereignty...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/851 2009-08-25T14:30:13Z

President Alan García of Peru announced on Monday his belief that Bolivian President Evo Morales has successfully negotiated an “under-the-table” maritime deal with Chile that will grant sea access to the landlocked republic. The announcement provoked swift denials from both governments and is the latest development in the acrimonious diplomatic relationship between Bolivia and Peru. Chilean foreign minister Mariano Fernández called Mr. García’s allegations a “provocation” against Chile, but also expressed a commitment to settling the dispute peacefully. According to a treaty dating back to 1929, Peru is permitted to approve any future bilateral agreement between Bolivia and Chile that pertains to ocean access that would require the use of territory that Peru lost to Chile in the War of the Pacific in 1884. Bolivia’s efforts to secure sea access have intensified in recent years as it has sought new markets for its expanding natural gas exports. ...

Daniel Altschuler http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/848 2009-08-20T22:44:43Z

August 20, 2009 Since the Honduran military seized and expelled President Manuel Zelaya, the country’s de facto government has been losing the battle for international legitimacy. De facto President Roberto Micheletti and his allies have tried to convince the world that Honduras experienced a “constitutional succession,” not a coup. But beyond failing to show how expelling a sitting president squares with the constitution, the Micheletti camp has failed in the realm of diplomacy. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/847 2009-08-20T22:29:02Z

On Wednesday, a ban went into effect in Mexico City that prohibits the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags in all stores. The law affects all production facilities and service providers in a metropolitan area with approximately 19 million inhabitants. Mexico City is the second city in the Western Hemisphere to enact such a ban, following San Francisco’s groundbreaking legislation in 2007. Los Angeles has also considered a ban on plastic bags if the state does not impose a 25-cent fee by July 2010 for shoppers that request bags. The Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, Achim Steiner, argued for a global ban back in June: “thin-film single-use plastic bags, which choke marine life, should be banned or phased out rapidly everywhere. There is simply zero justification for manufacturing them anymore, anywhere." ...

Ruxandra Guidi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/846 2009-08-20T19:18:57Z

Cité Soleil is a flat, dense slum built out of cardboard and tin on Port-au-Prince's western shore. Children play in the sewage; working-age men and women sit in the shade, escaping the searing midday sun, waiting for something to happen; young boys catch seagulls and pigeons with nets, and bring them home for dinner.Since the mid-1990s, armed gangs terrorized the local population and even drove the local police out, making the slum an absolute no-go zone for officials and development aid workers. Taming Cité Soleil was vital to stability in the capital. That made it a priority for the country's largest international aid donors—the U.S., Canada, and France—who focused on security to lay the groundwork for development. Shortly after Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in 2004 (under pressure from the U.S. and Canada due to a sharp rise in organized violence) the United Nations created its Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/844 2009-08-19T21:29:13Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Washington and Bogota Agree on Defense Pact On August 14, the United States and Colombia finalized a defense agreement that will allow the U.S. military to operate out of Colombian bases to coordinate counternarcotics operations. The agreement comes in the wake of the closure of a U.S. base in Manta, Ecuador. In a U.S. Defense Department news briefing, U.S. General James Cartwright said the goal of the pact is “to be able to provide to the Colombians what they need in order to continue to prosecute their efforts against the internal threats that they have.” The accord awaits signature by the U.S. and Colombian governments. Still,...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/843 2009-08-19T19:26:33Z

Two weeks ago I started a serialized essay on Latin America’s middle class that will appear every other week on the AQ blog. As I wrote at the time, Latin America’s middle class has received a lot of attention of late, including worry about its size, praise and high expectations for its growth and debate about its future. It’s also sparked a fair amount of speculation by businesses about its market potential. But as I wrote two weeks ago, Latin America’s middle class is much more heterogeneous and, quite frankly, poorer and marginalized than many of us in developed countries would believe.  In the last post, I talked about the definition of the middle class.  In this one I talk about access to banking.  And not to give away the punch line: it’s lower than you think.  In later ones I’ll talk about wage security, education, access to health care,...

Eugenio Fern�ndez http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/840 2009-08-19T19:17:18Z

In 2008, in the midst of the debate over oil reform, Mexican President Felipe Calderón promised to build a new refinery. Now, one year down the road, the refinery’s location and a $9 billion investment have finally been chosen in a process that was the victim of a slow-moving bureaucratic machine. Whenever it had seemed that the final decision will at last be announced, some other delay appeared. The process to pick a spot, secure land and actually begin the construction has revealed many of the inefficiencies of the Mexican state, including the lack of a trustworthy land registry and the inability of both federal and state governments to move forward with their decisions.Calderon's choice—or failure to make one—surprised quite a few. Instead of keeping the old Mexican tradition of vertical orders, he started a contest for the refinery. States who felt they could manage the facility were to send proposals...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/842 2009-08-19T16:51:56Z

Marina Silva, a former environment minister who left President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government in 2008, announced today that she is leaving the President’s Workers' Party (PT) and “in talks with the Green Party in this period of transition" —a move toward what may be a possible presidential run in next year’s election. According to a Datafolha poll released last weekend, a Silva candidacy (3 percent support) would trail that of the current Chief of Staff Dilma Rousseff (37 percent—PT) and São Paulo Governor José Serra (16 percent—Brazilian Social Democracy Party). Adding to the speculation, the former Brazilian culture minister and renowned artist Gilberto Gil said that “the possibility exists” that he would join Marina Silva as her vice-presidential candidate if she invited him, as reported by Brazil’s Folha de São Paulo. “She wants to talk about her candidacy, about the party, about the Green Party” he said....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/841 2009-08-18T23:23:37Z

In a greater effort to target tax-evasion and thwart potential efforts of smuggling and corruption, the Mexican government has replaced its 700 customs agents with over 1,400 newly trained and better-educated customs inspectors who have undergone extensive background checks. Announced on Sunday, Mexico’s customs authority spokesman Pedro Canabal said that “this change is part of our response to new demands in the fight against contraband” and also noted that the new deployments would improve Mexico’s tax collection, but the main benefit would be to prevent the entry of pirated and cheap goods that flood Mexico’s domestic industries. Military soldiers aided with some of the border controls during the transition. This effort follows the government’s previous overhauling of the police force—all done in an attempt to root out corruption and tackle the drug cartels. The border crossings will also have more dogs trained to identify drugs and other banned items and...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/839 2009-08-17T17:33:22Z

On Sunday, José Luis Escobar Alas, the Archbishop of San Salvador, responded to those who want to reopen the murders carried out during the country’s civil war (particularly that of former Archbishop Oscar Romero) saying that a repeal of the Amnesty Law would bring about a “difficult situation” for the country. He said that “as a Church, we have pardoned them” but that the Supreme Court of Justice and the Legislative Assembly should “make the decisions” in this matter.President Mauricio Funes recently commented that Romero’s assassination “cannot go unpunished” and has asked the Legislative Assembly to elect an attorney general “with sufficient courage” to address the issue.Oscar Romero, the former Archbishop, was assassinated during a public mass on March 24, 1980. The UN truth commission—created as part of the 1992 Chapultepec Peace Accords—determined in its report that Roberto D’Aubuisson, the founder of the political party ARENA (Alianza Republicana Nacionalista), “gave...

Liz Harper http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/838 2009-08-17T16:50:07Z

Even now that Bogotá and Washington concluded their talks over the U.S.-Colombian military deal on Friday, questions linger over how and why it sparked so much controversy.  The general consensus—even by the Pentagon’s own admission—is that Bogotá and Washington mangled the public message.  Now that more details are coming out about the deal, it’s clear that it didn’t need to be such a lightening rod. And even if it did, why did the U.S. allow Colombian President Álvaro Uribe to twist in the wind? The core of the deal is to grant the U.S. access to seven of Colombia’s military bases (five air and two naval) to help build up Colombia’s current assets and capability (particularly on surveillance and intelligence gathering). The deal seeks to “provide to the Colombians that what they need in order to continue to prosecute their efforts against the internal threats that they have,” as Vice...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/837 2009-08-13T20:33:26Z

Two separate explosions on Wednesday afternoon left seven people injured in La Paz, including Armonia Colque, wife of opposition leader Fidel Surco and two police officers. Although no one has officially claimed responsibility for the attacks, President Evo Morales has voiced his belief that the bombings were carried out by the “neo-liberal right” as part of a strategy to disrupt Bolivia’s December elections. Although both attacks were undertaken using letter bombs, authorities have not yet established a connection between the incidents.Ms. Colque’s husband, Fidel Surco, who is a leader of the Consejo Nacional del Cambio (Conalcam) political party, denied President Morales’ comments and claimed that the attacks were in fact the start of a “dirty war” intended to terrorize social movements and opposition figures at the beginning of the general elections campaign. This sentiment was echoed by presidential candidates Manfred Reyes Villa and Samuel Doria Medina, who also denied opposition...

Liliana Colanzi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/836 2009-08-13T19:50:03Z

Después de las relativamente tranquilas celebraciones del Día de la Patria en Bolivia, la atmósfera empieza a cargarse de nuevo ante la proximidad de las elecciones presidenciales previstas para diciembre. Las encuestas mencionan a candidatos como el ex vicepresidente aymará Víctor Hugo Cárdenas, el alcalde de Potosí René Joaquino, los ya conocidos políticos Samuel Doria Media, Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga y Manfred Reyes Villa, y el empresario cruceño Oscar Ortiz. También se baraja el nombre de la politóloga Jimena Costa, una de las críticas más lúcidas del gobierno actual. Sin embargo, todo parece indicar que Evo Morales tendrá la victoria asegurada. Pese a los esfuerzos de la oposición, las encuestas señalan que Evo todavía convoca el apoyo abrumador de la región andina del país, donde la mayoría de la población es indígena—81 por ciento de los votos en El Alto, 66 por ciento en La Paz, 52 por ciento en Potosí...

Jenny Manrique http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/835 2009-08-12T21:32:57Z

Es la tercera vez en cinco años que el Presidente Venezolano Hugo Chavéz mete en el congelador las relaciones con Colombia. Por eso la palabra crisis en esta frontera binacional ya no es nueva. Retiro de embajadores y personal diplomático, amenaza de expropiaciones a empresas colombianas en Venezuela, suspensión de importaciones (10.000 carros que no rodarán en tierras venecas), tímido cierre de fronteras y una verborrea de avanzada militar hacia ellas. Un libreto repetido, que no por serlo, le quita a esta pelea su gravedad. Aunque en la explosión diplomática no faltó el ingrediente del supuesto apoyo por parte del gobierno de Chávez a las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), esta vez por el hallazgo en poder de esa guerrilla de lanzacohetes suecos vendidos a militares venezolanos hace más de dos décadas, el verdadero combustible de esta ruptura tiene nombre propio: Estados Unidos. No es un secreto que el...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/834 2009-08-12T21:17:07Z

Guatemalan police report that the number of female homicides is on the rise, with nearly 500 victims so far this year—a pace that is likely to eclipse the 672 such murders in 2008. Known as “femicide,” these murders are attributed to machismo violence carried out through juvenile gangs and groups of organized crime. Their targets are women between the ages of 13 and 30 and the murders are taking place primarily in and around Guatemala City. The most recent such murders occurred north of Guatemala City, where the victims were found wrapped in sheets and their bodies showed evidence of physical torture. A Guatemalan Human Rights Commission report noted that an estimated 98 percent of the cases reported remain in impunity even though Guatemala passed a law against femicide in 2008, recognizing it as a punishable crime. ...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/833 2009-08-12T20:50:45Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. North American Leaders Meet in Guadalajara The leaders of Canada, the United States, and Mexico met in Guadalajara, Mexico on August 9 and 10 for the North American Leaders’ Summit. The discussion centered on security, trade, coordinating response to the H1N1 virus, climate change, and clean energy. A Bloggings by boz post says that while all the leaders made a point of formally discussing these issues, “there weren’t any major new agreements.” Read AS/COA coverage of the summit. ...

Ruxandra Guidi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/832 2009-08-12T20:41:10Z

There is little doubt that President Barack Obama's success in the election was due in great part to his online campaigning and digital media savvy—on top of his political skill, charisma and youthful good looks, of course. President Obama has almost 2 million followers on Twitter, and his blog is read by an estimated 13 million people. These social media tools don't just keep him cool, so to say; they have allowed his administration to engage constituents and fans alike on policy issues like health care reform, even as Obama's popularity has diminished over the past month. In Brazil, the latest newcomer to the blogosphere is none other than President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. O Blog do Presidente (The President's Blog) was launched in July, but the buzz started earlier this year, when the government announced that it was experimenting with layouts and ideas, and even considering signing up...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/831 2009-08-11T20:30:33Z

Colombian rock star Juanes is defending his decision to play a “Peace Without Borders” concert in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución. The concert, which is currently scheduled for September 20, has drawn criticism from some elements of the Cuban-American community in South Florida who contend that “apolitical concerts do not exist.”Juanes has responded to the criticisms through traditional media channels as well as by his account on the website Twitter, asking “Why are the promotion of unity between peoples and the dismantling of borders bothersome?” Juanes’ spokesman, Fernán Martínez, has also weighed in saying, “this is an event of peace, of harmony, of relations. It's a white concert for the civil society of Cuba."Concert organizers are currently waiting for the Cuban government to grant permission to use the plaza, which could accommodate more than 100 thousand fans. Up to 12 other musicians would accompany Juanes’ performance—potentially even from the United...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/826 2009-08-10T19:04:42Z

The 12-member bloc of South American nations that constitutes the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) is scheduled to hold its third meeting in Quito, Ecuador today to discuss a wide range of issues ranging from the coup in Honduras, to Brazilian-Paraguayan electricity trading.  Notably absent from the meetings are Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who decided not to attend the summit or to send Foreign Relations Minister Jaime Bermudez.A major topic of discussion at this year’s meetings is likely to be the issue of Colombia’s recently-announced plan to offer the United States the use of seven Colombian military bases. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who has been highly critical of an increased U.S. presence in Colombia, has “frozen” his countries diplomatic ties to Bogotá over the issue. Colombia also has had no formal diplomatic ties to Ecuador in the more than a year since it conducted a cross-border raid into Ecuadorian...

Liz Harper http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/825 2009-08-07T19:13:14Z

Summer is sticky but not so sweet here in the nation’s capital, as Honduras is yet again butting into U.S. politics and policymaking. Even as Congress readies to run out of town, it never came around to confirming what really are no-brainers: nominees Arturo Valenzuela as assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere and Tom Shannon as ambassador to Brazil! Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation as the newest Supreme Court Justice would ideally open the gates to more confirmations but the possibilities look bleak that these two positions will be filled anytime soon. Instead, certain Republican Senators—led by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC)—are determined to voice their dissatisfaction to the Obama administration over its Honduras policy. DeMint asked Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry to hold over the nominations of Valenzuela and Shannon, which he did. And when the committee approved their nominations and their nominations went to the floor in late July, DeMint’s office...

Alex Leff http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/824 2009-08-07T16:53:20Z

Thirty some-odd years after Moscow and Managua traded diplomatic missions, the one-time Cold War allies appear to be growing closer than ever. Russia’s deputy prime minister, Igor Sechin, met with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega at the end of last month—reportedly the third official Russian trip to Nicaragua in a year—signing several deals meant to make ties even tighter. Sechin came in the company of high government officials from Russia’s energy and fisheries departments, and signed agreements aimed at boosting bilateral cooperation in both these areas. Sechin has said Russia that is particularly interested in the potential for crude oil exploration in Nicaragua....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/823 2009-08-07T16:12:05Z

David Murcia Guzman, the architect of Colombia’s biggest pyramid scheme, was found guilty of money-laundering and illicit enrichment on Wednesday in a Bogotá courthouse. The conviction could carry a sentence of 12 to 15 years in prison. The scheme, carried out under the name DMG holdings collected as much as $4.8 billion in investments. When Guzman was apprehended in Panama last November and it was revealed that as many as 500,000 investors had lost their money, riots ensued across the country. Many of Guzman’s victims are seeking financial redress.Murcia Guzman’s attorney, Gustavo Salazar, contended that the prosecution of his client was a “buffoonery” of the Colombian government....

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/821 2009-08-06T21:28:23Z

Many hopes and assumptions are pinned on the middle class in developing countries, not least in Latin America. The Economist has praised its growth; economists and statisticians have struggled to define and measure it; and many have hailed it as the answer to the region’s political and developmental ills. But for all this talk, we really don’t know much about this middle class. Who are they? Where do they work, and what is the nature and stability of that work? Do they have access to basic public goods such as health care, pensions or insurance? And now how have they been affected by global economic and financial crisis? Many observers impute to this vague, amorphous category of the emerging economies’ middle class a whole set of assumptions based on concepts of the European or the United States middle class that drove economic development and ushered in an era of political...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/820 2009-08-05T23:43:28Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email....

Brian Wanko http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/819 2009-08-05T21:55:11Z

Magicians, tricksters and clowns have employed illusions created by the sleight of hand for generations. Some of the recent developments out of Venezuela seem to validate that President Hugo Chávez has mastered this time-honored tradition.I was reminded of the parallel while recently walking by a shell game on the street. The fellow was using cheap plastic cups and a ball made of waded tape to draw an audience who were all captivated by the fast moving hands and cups. A stack of dollar bills was on the small folding card table, so this man was certainly winning more than losing. President Chávez, like this street magician, has managed to divert attention from growing domestic troubles through his recent, inflammatory rhetoric aimed at Colombia. As has been widely reported, the Venezuelan president again recalled his ambassador to Colombia last week—this time in response to Colombia’s announcement that they found three Venezuelan...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/818 2009-08-05T20:39:50Z

On Tuesday, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe began a tour of seven Latin American countries to talk to leaders uneasy about a new U.S.-Colombia military pact that grants the United States access to seven military bases and is expected to increase the number of U.S. troops on Colombian soil. His meetings come ahead of an August 10 gathering in Ecuador of the Union of South American Nations, which Uribe will not attend. ...

Tony Spanakos http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/817 2009-08-05T18:30:25Z

Political polarization and facile media interpretation of events in Venezuela have obscured the nuance and human aspect of the past 10 years under Hugo Chávez. Read the full graphic article. To see more of Spanakos's work on Venezuela, check out the first chapter of his forthcoming graphic novel, "The Revolution Will Be Drawn."...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/816 2009-08-04T19:25:15Z

Nearly 50 wounded protestors may be sent to jail as soon as they are released by doctors, according to AIDESEP, Peru’s main Amazon Indian confederation. Santiago Manuin, the prominent Awajun Indian leader, is among them and will be jailed and tried on charges of inciting murder once he recovers from injuries suffered from police bullets during a June 5 demonstration over the government’s plan to allow development on traditional indigenous lands in the Amazon. According to the UN special envoy on indigenous rights, James Anaya, it will be difficult to resolve the dispute, which involves some 350,000 members of the Amazon indigenous community, if the government treats the protest leaders as criminals.Many other Peruvian indigenous wounded in the protests have not sought out medical attention because of fears that they too will be arrested. Three officials of AIDESEP, including its top leader Alberto Pizango, have taken asylum in Nicaragua to avoid...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/814 2009-08-03T19:41:13Z

Mexican milk producers will go to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to demand that the U.S. raises the price of milk it exports to Mexico. Alvaro González Muñoz, the head of the Frente Nacional de Productores y Consumidores de Leche—a national organization of dairy industry stakeholders—said that thousands of Mexican milk producers have gone out of business in recent years because of the low prices of American milk, a result of U.S. government subsidies. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/813 2009-07-31T17:59:55Z

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is pushing the National Assembly to pass tough new legislation that would “regulate the freedom of expression” and stipulates prison terms for journalists—ranging from 6 months to 4 years—for disseminating news “that causes serious public disorder, fear and anxiety among the population, or damages to state institutions.” Luisa Ortega, Venezuela’s attorney general, insists that "freedom of expression must be limited” to punish media owners who "manipulate the news with the purpose of transmitting a false perception of the facts." The proposed legislation is the government’s latest move comes amid an ongoing campaign to rein in private news organizations. In 2007, the government revoked the broadcasting license of the national television channel Radio Caracas Televisión Internacional (RCTV), saying the station supported the 2002 coup against President Chávez.  More recently the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) has launched “administrative procedures” against 240 broadcasters, claiming they have not met legal...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/812 2009-07-30T20:58:37Z

Columbia University’s graduate school of journalism announced on Monday that Yoani Sanchez, author of Cuba’s most prominent independent blog, Generación Y, will be awarded a Maria Moors Cabot Prize and special citation for outstanding reporting. For the past 71 years The Cabot journalism prize—the oldest international award in journalism—has been conferred to journalists “who have covered the Western Hemisphere and, through their reporting and editorial work, have furthered inter-American understanding.” Past winners include Peruvian journalist and author, Mario Vargas Llosa and Mauricio Funes, the President of El Salvador.The school of journalism’s official press release calls Sanchez’s blog “a pitch-perfect mix of personal observation and tough analysis, which conveys better than anybody else what daily life—with all its frustrations and hopes—is like for Cubans living their lives on the island today.” They also announced a special citation to Sanchez “for her courage, talent and great achievement” of putting the rest of...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/811 2009-07-30T16:00:42Z

Iran's top diplomat in Bolivia, Masoud Edrisi, announced on Wednesday that Iran’s government has approved a $280 million low-interest loan for the Bolivian government to use as they see fit, including oil and natural gas exploration projects. Edrisi said that the final terms of the loan have not yet been established.This announcement comes just after the Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman wrapped up a 10-day tour of Latin America last week, aiming to counter Iran’s influence in the region. Since taking office, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has established stronger ties with Latin America, especially with Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. In August 2007, Iran pledged to invest 1.1 billion euros ($1.54 billion US) in Bolivia's agriculture, energy, industry, and humanitarian sectors....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/810 2009-07-29T17:16:05Z

Yesterday, during his weekly show on state-run television, renowned Cuban economic analyst Ariel Terrero recommended that the Cuban government place the management of certain sectors of the economy in “hands” other than the state’s. Although Terrero avoided using the word “privatization,” he explained that the Cuban government cannot successfully run the entire economy on its own and sectors like the food industry and certain types of small commerce can potentially be more productive if “new for...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/808 2009-07-28T18:46:48Z

Brazilian imports of natural gas from Bolivia have fallen steadily from a high of 31.5 million cubic meters per day at the end of 2008, to 25 million earlier this month and now to only 21 million cubic meters daily. Hydrocarbon sales, which have dropped almost 20 percent, are widely considered Bolivia’s “engine of growth.” But even amid lowered natural gas exports, Bolivia’s National Statistics Institute reported last week that the economy grew at a rate of 2.1 percent in the first half of 2009. Among the reasons cited for the decrease in demand are increased domestic gas production in Brazil, the recovery of water levels for hydroelectric dams in southern Brazil and the completion of two liquefied natural gas (LNG) re-gasification plants capable of receiving LNG from global exporters. Historically, when Brazil’s gas purchases have fallen, Bolivia has tended to sell more gas to Argentina. This time, sales to...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/807 2009-07-27T19:34:01Z

A trash collector in New York found over 2,000 ancient Mexican bowls and figurines as he cleared out a deceased artist’s apartment in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. The Mexican Cultural Institute has laid claim, pending verification of the artifacts authenticity. The trash collector, Nick DiMola, has other plans."I'm confident I'm going to keep them," said the 39-year-old DiMola....

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/806 2009-07-26T17:24:38Z

Although President Manuel “Mel” Zelaya prefers to wear a white hat, there are no men in white hats in the escalating situation in Honduras. Unfortunately, now with the military’s statement supporting Costa Rican President Óscar Arias’ seven-point plan to resolve the impasse between the ousted President and the de facto government that replaced him, the implication is that again the men in the barracks will save the day.  But by announcing its support and, in effect, contradicting the position of de facto President Micheletti, the military is again insinuating itself in politics and serving as a political broker.  It was dangerous and wrong when it did it on June 28th, and it’s dangerous now.As I wrote here earlier, de facto President Micheletti’s refusal to accept President Arias' San José Accord was a serious mistake. The stumbling block was the provision to allow President Zelaya to return to Honduras to a...

Naomi Mapstone http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/805 2009-07-24T18:56:02Z

The exit of French oil company Perenco from Ecuador has heightened concerns about the investment climate in the Andean nation. Announced earlier this week, the move comes after the seizure of oil concessions as part of a tax dispute. Officials from PetroEcuador, the state oil company, took control of concessions 7 and 21 in the country’s northeastern Amazon region last week, after Perenco warned it was about to halt production in response to Ecuador’s refusal to comply with a tax dispute ruling issued by an international arbitration body. Rodrigo Marquez, head of the French oil group’s Latin American division, says the seizure amounts to an expulsion, leaving President Rafael Correa’s leftist administration exposed to billions of dollars in compensation claims. “We’ve been expelled and our assets have been taken over,” Mr. Marquez said. “They are trying to say they didn’t really take over the facilities because they didn’t send the...

Alex Leff http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/804 2009-07-24T17:42:48Z

When they weren’t glued to the TV screen last night to watch their national soccer team take a lashing from the U.S., Hondurans were probably feeling the tension rise as their deposed president, Manuel Zelaya, and his entourage grew closer to crossing the border from Nicaragua. Meanwhile, the so-called San José Agreement—which it was hoped would squelch whatever potential clash awaits Zelaya and restore his presidency after arrival—remains unsigned. Some wonder whether the 12-point roadmap proposed on Wednesday represents a failure for the chief mediator, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias. Expectations were high for Arias to build bridges once again, as he had done across warring parties over 20 years ago in a way that knocked the socks off the world and Nobel Prize judges. But, alas, it seemed by Wednesday that the Hondurans had thoroughly humbled Mr. Arias. He appeared visibly exhausted, even perturbed that evening after presenting the plan, which...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/802 2009-07-24T15:33:57Z

The National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) is claiming that interrogation techniques used by police in the Dominican Republic include the use of baseball bats, sexual abuse, and onions. The onions are forced into the mouths of victims in an effort to simulate the sensation of choking. "They have specialized in this technique," NCHR Vice President Joselin Melo said. "It appears that the onion has given them results." It is only the latest stain on the Dominican Republic’s human rights record. Past violations have included discrimination against Haitians and violence against trade unionists. In light of the increase in human rights abuses after the last economic crisis, in 2003, this latest revelation may prove to be the beginning of a similar trend. “[The 2003 economic crisis] placed enormous pressure on the already less than robust respect for human rights in Dominican Republic,” said Amnesty International....

Altschuler-Corrales http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/801 2009-07-23T19:11:44Z

Authors: Daniel Altschuler and Javier Corrales Despite the recent military coup against Manuel Zelaya, Hondurans will most likely elect their next president by the end of 2009. This might end the crisis that led to the coup. But elections will not fix all of Honduras’ political ills. Honduras must also address the decline in the quality of democracy that predates the current crisis, or else it will remain dangerously susceptible to more breakdowns. On the surface, Honduras prior to this crisis appeared to have moved steadily toward strengthening democracy. From 1982 to 2008, Honduras held seven consecutive civilian elections followed by uninterrupted presidential terms. Honduras also seemed to have tamed its military by the mid-1990s, as civilian leaders had reined in military spending and the military’s political veto power. The current crisis in Honduras is a stark reminder that democracy entails more than free and fair elections and a military that...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/800 2009-07-23T18:51:24Z

At meetings with Transportation and State Department officials in Washington DC yesterday, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin raised the issue of establishing a direct air route between his city and Cuba. Nagin did not receive any commitments or a timeline for a response from federal officials. President Barack Obama repealed the 2004 Cuban-American travel restrictions back in April. However, U.S. citizens are still prohibited from traveling to Cuba without licenses. In an interview appearing in the new Americas Quarterly, Senator Richard Lugar, ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Relations, calls for “opening up travel to Cuba for all Americans.”  Since June 30, Continental Airlines has re-started its charter flights operating between Los Angeles and Havana every Tuesday. ...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/799 2009-07-22T22:59:58Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Second Round of Talks Falls Short in Resolving Honduran Crisis This latest round of mediated talks between representatives of Honduran interim leader Roberto Micheleti and deposed President Manuel Zelaya ended with little solution. Costa Rican President and negotiations mediator Óscar Arias’s proposed a seven-point plan to peacefully reinstate Zelaya, but the Micheleti delegation firmly rejected it. The New York Times’ Ginger Thompson reported Wednesday that a new round of talks would be postponed after Honduras’ current Foreign Minister Carlos López Contreras failed to convince the de facto government to accept terms that would allow Zelaya’s return to power.  Rumors of another attempt by Zelaya to return to Honduras...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/798 2009-07-22T18:21:23Z

Early this morning, thousands of Guatemalans tuned in to listen for the first time to “Despacho Presidencial” (Presidential Office), President Álvaro Colom’s new weekly radio show. It airs every Wednesday from 7:00 a.m. to 8: 00 a.m. on TGW, a state-owned radio station. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/797 2009-07-21T18:10:15Z

Downpours that began on Monday in the province of Iquique—located in Chile’s extreme-north desert region of Tarapacá—has damaged 4,800 homes, closed schools for 48 hours and led to power outages affecting more than 20,000 people. The storms eventually dumped 15-times the average monthly rainfall for the month of July and prompted Chile’s national emergency office to mobilize resources for roof repairs and the prevention of landslides.While Chile’s government has thus far viewed this rain event simply as an “unusual climatic phenomenon,” climate change experts see an overall trend toward extreme weather events and changing rainfall patterns in Latin America, displacing hundreds of thousands of people in recent years. Sasha Chavkin in a policy update for the newly released Americas Quarterly looks at preparations that Chile and other countries have taken to be ready for extreme future rainfall and drought events, focusing on  work to develop procedures for declaring states of...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/796 2009-07-21T16:40:53Z

In a logical world, President Oscar Arias’ seven-point plan for resolving the Honduran impasse is the best—and perhaps only—way forward after the Honduran coup. In many ways it reflects the things that we have promoted on this website: move up the date of the elections (in Arias’ plan to October), allow President Zelaya to return with a significantly curtailed role in a coalition government, an amnesty for the charges against him pre-June 28, and a commitment by the ousted president not to press for re-election. Pretty straightforward. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/792 2009-07-20T19:24:16Z

An Ipsos Apoyo survey published yesterday by El Comercio reported that President Alan García’s popularity had reached 27 percent by mid-July, a 6 percent increase from last month. The survey, conducted from July 15-17, also revealed that only 20 percent of the population supports the naming of Javier Velásquez Quesquén as prime minister—a contrast with the 41 percent that supported the previous prime minister, Yehude Simon, when he took the post last October.García’s higher approval ratings may be a result of his decision to reshuffle the cabinet after indigenous protests turned deadly in early June. The protests revolved around a set of decrees that protesters said violated their ancestral claims on land and resources in the region. Infringement on indigenous land rights is a concern in Peru and in other countries where “territories have not been properly delimited,” according to Katya Salazar and Javier La Rosa in their article for...

Eusebio Mujal-Le�n http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/782 2009-07-20T02:43:00Z

When the Cuban Revolution celebrated its 50th anniversary in early 2009, Raúl Castro boasted it would be around for another 50 years. Change, however, is in the air. For one thing, Fidel Castro, though still audible from the sidelines through his reflexiones, is in the twilight of his reign. His brother Raúl, now ascended to the presidency, has implemented some timid economic reforms and sounds like a blend of Max Weber, Henry Ford and Vladimir Lenin with his continuous references to institutionalization, efficiency and productivity. Since taking power in February 2008, the younger Castro (by five years) has replaced more than a dozen ministers and placed key military allies in prominent positions. ...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/780 2009-07-20T02:28:47Z

Long before Muhammed Yunus won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in developing Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank, microcredit had evolved into one of the most effective tools for helping would-be small business entrepreneurs pull themselves out of poverty. Brazilian Lilian do Prado Silva has been successfully applying that model in this hemisphere since 2001—with a special focus on young people. ...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/779 2009-07-20T02:26:03Z

Colombian entrepreneur Andres Calderón wants his country’s emerging film industry to do more than make a profit. He wants it to be a focus of national pride—and he’s investing to make it happen....

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/778 2009-07-20T02:21:57Z

Long considered one of the region’s most stable democracies, Costa Rica is beginning to show signs of strain. Nowhere is this felt more sharply than among the country’s youth. According to a 2007 survey of Costa Ricans between the ages of 15 and 35, just 50 percent of respondents said they believed democracy was the best political system and 60 percent said they lacked confidence in Costa Rica’s “governing officials.” ...

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/777 2009-07-20T02:16:24Z

The writers of the Boom generation, such as Gabriel García Márquez, Julio Cortázar and Mario Vargas Llosa, have dominated Latin American literature for so long that it has been difficult for new, young talent to get much attention. But things are changing. A new generation of hemisphere writers is now finally receiving the respect and attention they deserve, thanks in part to Diego Trelles Paz, a Peruvian novelist and U.S.-based academic....

Danielle Renwick http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/773 2009-07-16T20:50:54Z

More than two weeks after a military coup ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, a superficial calm has returned to the country: protests have slowed and the interim government has repealed the curfew in place since June 28.    However complaints of censorship and mistreatment toward members of the foreign and local press continue to surface.A series of arrests, a media blackout and attempts at censorship have been denounced by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Reporters without Borders, Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other human rights groups. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/772 2009-07-16T18:23:55Z

At 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, a new Canadian law went into effect that requires Mexicans and Czech Republic nationals to obtain a visa prior to entering the country. Ottawa’s action comes in response to a dramatic jump in asylum applications, with Mexican refugee claimants tripling since 2005 and Czech asylum seekers reaching 3,000 applications in 2007, up from fewer than five claims in 2006....

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/771 2009-07-16T15:03:11Z

Gastón Acurio wants to change the way you eat. One of Latin America’s most well-known celebrity chefs, the Peruvian is well on his way to putting his country’s cuisine on plates across the world. Acurio, 41, has opened more than a dozen upscale eateries in nine countries throughout the hemisphere, including a recently opened cevicheria in San Francisco and a New York outpost scheduled to open next winter. “In Peru, everybody is a cook—we are so proud of our food,” he explains. “Our mission now is to take this cultural patrimony—our cuisine—and promote it throughout the world.” The mission is complemented by his weekly program on Peru’s Plus TV, Aventura Culinaria, which traces the stories behind different recipes and traditions....

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/770 2009-07-16T14:49:30Z

Many of the hemisphere’s research institutions are focusing on the regional implications of the global economic crisis. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) produced two reports for its March 2009 meeting. Policy Trade-offs for Unprecedented Times, a macroeconomic study, argues that Latin America has withstood the crisis but cautions that the region is highly susceptible if the U.S. economy fails to recover quickly. A complementary report, Social and Labor Market Policies for Tumultuous Times, calls for more social coverage and fewer bottlenecks that affect growth....

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/769 2009-07-16T14:44:37Z

Education is the key to getting ahead. That’s why Mexico’s Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME) teamed up with the University of California to start a grants program aimed at providing educational opportunities for first-generation Hispanics in the United States....

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/768 2009-07-16T14:42:50Z

Just as the space for a free press has become limited in Nicaragua, the country’s youth now has its own source of unbiased, hard-hitting news. La brújula, a free weekly news magazine launched in November 2008, is aimed at 18–35-year-olds—a demographic that editor-in-chief Arturo Wallace claims has been ignored by the country’s media. Wallace, a media professor and former BBC journalist, and his three-person staff publish original reporting from Nicaragua and abroad, along with art and music coverage that appeals to an increasingly sophisticated younger audience. That target group is a crucial demographic—nearly 40 percent of the country’s population....

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/767 2009-07-16T14:40:37Z

Former Argentine President Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín, who guided his country through the transition from dictatorship to civilian government, passed away in March after a battle with lung cancer. Alfonsín, 82, was a lawyer, a passionate politician and a powerful speaker who risked danger and arrest to speak out against military rule....

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/766 2009-07-16T14:10:29Z

Nestled in a valley approximately nine miles (15 kilometers) from the Caribbean, Caracas is one of Latin America’s most exciting destinations. Although Venezuela’s capital is not a typical tourist stop, this city of 4.5 million people offers unique rewards to the adventurous visitor. 1. Start with a panoramic view. The Waraira Repano cable car ascends 3,608 feet (1,100 meters) to the top of Avila mountain, where visitors can cool off with a glass of traditional raspberry juice at the Hotel Humboldt. Other options at the top include ice skating and outdoor concerts. 2. Try some arepas. Locals, known as Caraqueños, commonly eat this flat cornmeal patty at breakfast or after a night out. Don’t miss two of the more popular varieties of this national food—the reina pepiada (chicken and avocado) and the peluda (beef and cheese)....

Ian W.H. Parry http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/761 2009-07-15T23:40:13Z

The debate over the choice of policy instruments to control domestic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the leading greenhouse gas, is not about the greater flexibility of market-based instruments over traditional forms of regulation (such as mandates for the adoption of emissions-saving technologies). In reality, it’s between two market-based alternatives, namely emissions taxes and cap-and-trade systems....

Denny Ellerman http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/760 2009-07-15T23:32:07Z

Cap-and-trade is the most efficient system to reduce carbon emissions. None of the principal alternatives—neither a system of regulatory commands that mandates emission reductions nor a carbon tax—are as efficient in practice, even though they could be made so in theory. For instance, regulatory mandates would be efficient if an all-knowing government regulator could prescribe rules capable of making the cost of reducing an additional unit of emissions equal among all participants, the essential condition for efficiency. But since the regulator will never be able to know the possibilities of all different plants or factories for reducing emission and their costs, this approach is inefficient....

Andrew Selee http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/755 2009-07-15T23:12:43Z

The new U.S. administration probably did not expect to focus as much attention on Mexico early in the term, but it is hard to remember a period of such intense activity between the two countries. President Barack Obama has already met with President Felipe Calderón twice. Three U.S. cabinet secretaries, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have traveled to Mexico City, and there have been at least seven congressional trips and a dozen congressional hearings focused on the United States’ southern neighbor....

http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/751 2009-07-15T22:52:05Z

U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R.-IN), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, is one of Washington’s fiercest critics of U.S.-Cuba policy. The most senior Republican in the U.S. Senate talks to AQ about lifting the U.S. travel ban to Cuba, promoting trade while protecting U.S. farmers and the changing role of the OAS....

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/750 2009-07-15T22:41:20Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Mediated Talks on Honduras to Resume; Zelaya Calls for Insurrection Talks between the deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and the interim government ended in Costa Rica with little progress on July 10. Since then, Costa Rican President Óscar Arias announced talks would resume later this week and Zelaya said that, should he not gain reinstatement this weekend, he would consider the dialogue a failure. He also called on Hondurans to engage in an insurrection. The Christian Science Monitor interviewed COA's Eric Farnsworth, who described the call for an uprising as "a colossal mistake." Moreover, in a debate on a National Jounal Experts blog, Farnsworth writes: “The real...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/743 2009-07-15T18:22:33Z

On Monday, Bolivian President Evo Morales met with Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez in Montevideo to negotiate an agreement that would provide Bolivia with access to the Atlantic Ocean in exchange for the use of Bolivia’s natural gas resources. The deal will give free port privileges to Bolivia in Nueva Palmira—a key port on the Paraná River— and Montevideo....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/742 2009-07-14T18:36:31Z

The early arrival of sub-freezing temperatures in Peru’s southern highlands has brought severe cases of hypothermia, pneumonia and other respiratory diseases, leading to the deaths of 246 children.Every year, dozens of children, especially those under 5 years, succumb to cold-related illnesses in rural Peru’s mountain communities. But this year’s early winter temperatures have provoked a major spike in fatalities, up 40 percent from last year. Experts are blaming climate change for the March onset of extreme cold, snow, hail, and strong winds that usually don’t strike the region until June.The government declared a state of emergency in the affected regions, but critics complain that the cold conditions are predictable and that the deaths could have been avoided. Oscar Ugarte, Peru’s minister of health, has said that blame lies with regional officials who have failed to distribute resources, rather than with the central government. Non-governmental organizations have stepped up efforts to...

Santiago Canton http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/722 2009-07-13T20:24:09Z

On August 18, 1959, the Inter-AmerIcan CommIssIon on Human Rights was created in a meeting of ministers of foreign affairs held in Santiago, Chile. Over the course of the next five decades, it has evolved into a cru­cial tool against injustice—exceeding the imagination of its founders and mak­ing it a force in the hemisphere and an example in the world. ...

Alejandro Toledo http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/721 2009-07-13T19:01:22Z

When I became president of Peru in 2001, one of the first items on my agenda was restoring the democratic institutions that had suffered from a steady deteriora­tion during the previous decade. Moreover, our country needed a full accounting of the atrocities that had occurred in previous decades. Indeed, this responsibility was deeply per­sonal for me, since I had fought in the streets against the dictatorship of former President Alberto Fujimori. More important, my election reflected the Peruvian people’s determination to return our country to the rule of law and to democracy. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/719 2009-07-13T16:09:47Z

The Central Reserve Bank reported that remittances from January to June fell by 10.3 percent, or $200 million, in comparison to the first half of 2008. The drop in remittances to a total of $1.74 billion is attributed to the economic crisis and to unemployment in the United States. Presently, 2.5 million El Salvadorans live in the United States. Remittances are El Salvador's second-largest source of revenue and account for 17 percent of GDP. Two in 10 El Salvadorans rely on remittances as their main source of income. Adding to El Salvador's recession woes is its link to the U.S. dollar, which became legal currency in 2000. President Mauricio Funes, who took office on June 1, vowed during his campaign that El Salvador would become "the most dynamic economy in Central America." This recession jeopardizes that goal and is a stumbling block for his planned social programs....

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/717 2009-07-10T17:08:23Z

What is it about South American leaders and public gifts to President Obama? In April, we were treated to the spectacle of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez giving a copy of Eduardo Galeano’s Open Veins to the U.S. President at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad—a disingenuous publicity stunt that backfired and stole the headlines from other, more substantive and important issues. And now we have Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the G8 summit in Italy giving Obama a soccer jersey signed by all the members of the Brazilian national soccer team. Now, as a soccer head myself, I can think of no better gift to receive from the Brazilian President than a signed jersey. I certainly hope that it is displayed properly in the White House, and even though there is no record of the First Family having any particular interest in or affinity to soccer,...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/716 2009-07-10T16:07:00Z

G8 leaders meeting in Italy agreed this week that average global temperatures should not rise more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial times. But Group of Eight member Canada said it will not adjust its plan to combat global warming, despite the fact that it falls short of the new commitment. Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice called his country’s planned reduction of 70 percent by 2050 “realistic,” in contrast to the G8’s number of 80 percent, given “the climate we have, the industrial base we have, our population growth.” Data collected in 2007 placed Canada as the seventh largest annual emitter of CO2 gases, and a recent study by the German insurer Allianz has found that among major economies they, along with Russia, are making the least progress in combating climate change. In light of this, and the United States’ newfound commitment to reducing emissions, Canada has...

Liz Harper http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/715 2009-07-09T22:10:36Z

Arturo Valenzuela, Tom Shannon, Carlos Pascual, and  Kenneth Merten all went before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week for their “job interviews” for Latin America policy (aka, confirmation hearing). As I’ve written here before, Valenzuela is up for assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs; Shannon, ambassador to Brazil; Pascual, ambassador to Mexico; and Merten, ambassador to Haiti. The senators and nominees primarily focused on alternative energy, the Merida initiative, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, and, of course, Honduras.  It’s important to note that a frequent topic of the day—the presence and nefarious influence of Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and al-Qaeda in the hemisphere—didn’t get so much time. Perhaps that comes up only when administration officials are stumping Congress for more funding on Latin America initiatives. The headline out of this hearing, however, is not about the accomplishments, or policies, of these sharp and savvy diplomats. It was an opportunity for certain...

Eugenio Fern�ndez http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/714 2009-07-09T21:45:13Z

Last Sunday, Mexico witnessed how the PRI, or Institutional Revolutionary Party (a heterogeneous grouping of right-of-center groups and revolutionary nationalists), reasserted its standing and overtook President Felipe Calderón's National Action Party (PAN) in the elections for Congress, six governors, and municipalities and local congresses in 11 states. The PRI also defeated the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which lost many of its traditional constituencies and is now facing one of its worst crises. Few in Mexico were surprised by the PRI's comeback. There is a feeling among a large portion of Mexican society that, despite the authoritarian tendencies of past governments and the corruption scandals, things were better off during the 70 years of PRI rule that ended in 2000. Diego Núñez, a young voter from Monterrey, echoed voters throughout the country: “The PRI is highly corrupt, but so are all politicians; the difference is that the PRI...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/713 2009-07-09T17:52:40Z

Calls for better infrastructure and government services have intensified after an elderly woman died of respiratory failure yesterday, which reports indicate was the result of police use of tear gas against protestors in the province of Santiago. Colonel Jesus Cordero Parderes, the regional police spokesman, denied accusations that the police used tear gas and rejected linking the woman's death with police actions. During another protest last Friday in Los Guandules in southwest Santiago, a young man was injured with a bullet and five people were detained in a demonstration calling for road improvements and demanding greater attention to the recent power shortages. The Broad Front for the Popular Struggle (FALPO) organized protests across Santiago province to demand better public services. Victor Breton, a leader of FALPO, said that the protests are calling for an end to the blackouts, better access to drinking water, improvements in local roads, and better security for...

Emilie Bahr http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/712 2009-07-08T21:46:09Z

Just downriver from the French Quarter—New Orleans’ oldest and most famous district—the wrought iron balconies and handsome Creole townhouses give way to a scruffier set of neighborhoods that are getting lots of attention lately thanks to new development plans. The Faubourg Marigny and Bywater districts in recent years have become the city’s new havens of bohemia—places where artists, musicians and eccentrics thrived after the French Quarter became overrun with tourists (many of them in search of 3-for-1 beer specials) and wealthy folks. Now, locals—and good music—are more likely to be found at one of the bars in the Marigny than along bead-laden Bourbon Street. Hurricane Katrina—the 2005 storm that went down as one of the deadliest in U.S. history—only strengthened the two neighborhoods’ appeal. Like the French Quater, they escaped serious flooding due to their strategic location along the Mississippi River, on some of the city’s highest ground....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/711 2009-07-08T16:48:55Z

Antonio Ledezma, the mayor of Caracas, spoke with the Organization of American States (OAS) yesterday to discuss how the OAS can help to end a hunger strike that has spread to include over a dozen city employees since it began last Friday. The mayor—a member of the opposition to President Hugo Chávez—is protesting Chávez’ violation of democratic rights and has asked OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza to create a high-level commission that would visit the country and analyze the “gravity of the situation.” Ledezma’s chief complaint is that President Chávez has stripped away his executive responsibilities by naming Jacqueline Faría as the chief of government of Caracas, a post that has complete veto power over the mayor’s actions. Chávez also has limited Ledezma’s access to state funds, leaving over 22,000 city employees without a paycheck for the past eight months. The President has taken similar actions against opposition governors,...

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/709 2009-07-07T23:39:50Z

Secretary of State Clinton’s meeting today with deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was intended to show the support—visibly—of the United States for a return to the status quo ante, but it also served a more important purpose: by getting Zelaya on board with the idea of allowing Costa Rica’s President and Nobel Laureate Oscar Arias to mediate the constitutional crisis, the United States buys time to consider all appropriate options and actions.  Cooler heads can now prevail, because we’ll presumably be spared additional acts of the theater of the absurd that saw Zelaya circling high above Tegucigalpa with a camera crew from Venezuela’s TeleSur on board and a number of other regional actors on a chase plane in tow. Repeated attempts to return would have been polarizing and unhelpful, potentially adding to the violence on the ground.  And really, do Hondurans of any political stripe need to be lectured about...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/708 2009-07-07T20:54:03Z

Reports began trickling out of Bolivia on Sunday of a major counternarcotics operation in Chiquitania, an area in the eastern province of Santa Cruz. Officials now say that the raid led to the seizure of what may be the biggest cocaine factory ever found in Bolivia—the world’s third largest cocaine producer. On Monday, Oscar Nina, director of the government’s special anti-narcotics force, called the seizure of the factory, which was capable of producing 100 kilograms per day of highly refined cocaine, “the biggest setback to narcotrafficking to have occurred in recent years.” The factory is the fourth major lab to be discovered in 2009 in Bolivia.  As in the other cases this year, a number of Colombian nationals were arrested and were believed to be working in collaboration with local teams.Alfredo Rada, Bolivia’s minister of government, used coverage of the action to voice his criticism of past U.S. anti-drug actions...

Alberto Saracho http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/705 2009-07-06T20:06:43Z

Yesterday’s mid-term legislative elections in Mexico—where 500 federal deputies, six governors and city mayors in a number of municipalities were up for grabs—had one clear result: President Felipe Calderón and his party (National Action Party – PAN) lost influence. This was welcome news for the Institutional Revolutionary Party’s (PRI) old and new guard. Preliminary results show that the PRI, along with their allies for nine years, the Green Party, will have an absolute majority. Together, they will likely hold around 252 of the 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Calderón’s party is expected to keep around 146 seats, and the rest will be divided among the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and smaller parties. Governor races confirm this trend. At least three of the six states will go to the PRI....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/704 2009-07-06T19:36:14Z

Regional authorities in the southeastern Peruvian province of Huaytará announced on Sunday that 480 vicuñas (a relative of the llama) had been killed and robbed of their precious fur, reaching an estimated value of about $50,000. Vicuña poaching has been on the rise in recent years partly due to worsening poverty—the fur of four of these animals carries a value of $400 in the local market and up to $2,000 internationally. It is one of the finest fibers in the world.The poachers—many of whom are thought to be locals—use binoculars and firearms to trap the vicuñas and an existing route to “transport the fiber toward the south of Peru to the border of Bolivia,” explained Jorge Quinto, the region’s manager of natural resources. Illegal poaching harms a local population that counts on these animals as part of their daily survival.The government is trying to crack down on poachers, but “it’s...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/703 2009-07-06T18:13:18Z

Things aren’t going well in Honduras. Lines have been drawn on both sides now, pitting the ousted president Manuel (“Mel”) Zelaya Rosales (backed by the international community, including the U.S.) against the de facto government, led by Roberto Micheletti (backed by the Honduran Congress—where he came from—a majority of the Honduran people and a handful of conservatives.) The question is, now that the Organization of American States (with the support of the U.S.) has declared the June 28th removal of Zelaya an “unconstitutional alteration of the constitutional regime," denounced the military’s actions of June 28th, and called for his return, what’s going to happen? The international community is squarely in favor of declaring this a coup and having Zelaya returned to power. The Honduran Congress, armed forces, Supreme Court, and many of its people refuse to allow it. Just yesterday when Zelaya (unwisely) chose to try to return on...

Anastasia Moloney http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/700 2009-07-03T14:37:14Z

A new hopeful has joined the presidential race in Colombia. Germán Vargas, 47, the former leader of the center-right Radical Change party last week officially launched his long expected bid to become Colombia’s next president in 2010. A lawyer, veteran political mover and shaker and former senator, Vargas has stood faithfully by President Álvaro Uribe over the years. He led a successful coalition that helped bring Uribe first to power in 2002, and then backed his reelection. But this time around, Vargas won’t be supporting a possible third Uribe reelection....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/699 2009-07-02T20:07:06Z

On Wednesday, the National Council of Radio and Television (Conartel) temporarily prohibited Teleamazonas, a private broadcast television network, from airing The Simpsons between 6:00am and 9:00 p.m. The government agency issued the suspension out of concern that the American animated television sitcom transmits content not suitable for children and young adults. Ecuadorian law mandates that all TV programs broadcast prior to 9:00 p.m. should be appropriate for the general public. Its ruling was sparked by the May 22 airing of “La Guerra de Lisa” and is in effect pending the results of an investigation by the National Council of Childhood and Adolescence. ...

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/698 2009-07-02T19:37:19Z

It’s a shame for the people of Honduras that the country’s supreme court and military acted so clumsily to bundle the president, Manuel “Mel” Zelaya, off to exile in the middle of the night almost a week ago now. There is no getting over the visual images, which call to mind the worst excesses of extra-constitutional government across Latin America’s tumultuous history, leading directly to the vociferous and sustained outcry from across most of the political spectrum worldwide. Those arguing that the Hondurans acted within their rights under their constitution miss the point. This is a fruitless line of argument that competes against every latent emotion now bursting to the forefront on Latin America. Whether or not it was technically legal, the coup in Honduras was ill-considered at best, and dramatically limited the options available to those seeking to shine the spotlight where it should be shone, squarely on the...

Liz Harper http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/696 2009-07-02T18:16:40Z

Honduras, que importa, right? Does this tiny Central American country warrant all this debate, discussion and media coverage?! Yes, it does, and the Obama administration is right to be defending democracy.Due attention must be given to the dramatic developments there—not only for the historic regional implications of dealing with a twenty-first century military coup, but for the test of how the U.S. will now conduct its relations in the hemisphere. Besides being a striking, unsettling reminder of the fragility of our region’s democratic institutions, the event brought to the fore how different the Obama administration’s approach to Latin America is from that of the Bush administration.   ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/695 2009-07-01T18:54:43Z

The streets of Panama are empty today as millions await the inauguration of Ricardo Martinelli, winner of the May 3 elections with approximately 60 percent of the popular vote. Martinelli, a millionaire who owns the largest supermarket chain in Panama, has vowed to reform the education system and to give $100 pensions to seniors over age 70. He also has promised to combat crime and improve infrastructure, including a pledge to construct a modern subway system in the capital. Honduran President Manuel Zelaya—currently in exile after last Sunday’s military coup—will be among the world leaders at the inauguration. Other attendees include: Mexican President Felipe Calderón, Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernández, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, and Felipe de Borbon, the heir to the Spanish throne.Martinelli takes office amid high expectations. But some economists are skeptical whether he will be able to fulfill his promises due to the current economic crisis. One...

Mateo Samper http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/694 2009-06-30T21:35:24Z

Passage of climate change legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives last Friday was the United States’ first step in a more robust, forward-looking policy to cut greenhouse-gas emissions. But look to the other side of the Rio Grande and you’ll find a country that is showing new leadership in going green. Yes, the outlook for Mexico may be somewhat grey these days if you're looking at the economic situation or the loss in tourism revenue. But Mexico is fast becoming one of Latin America’s best examples of how a government can address climate change and open the door for greater use of alternative energy. Mexico’s role is quite welcome in a region that lags behind the world in terms of its investments in alternative renewable energy and in fighting climate change.  In 2007, Latin America produced just 1.7 percent of global renewable energy, including wind, solar, geothermal, and small...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/693 2009-06-30T18:38:19Z

Former Argentinean President Nestor Kirchner (2003 to 2007) resigned from his position as leader of the Peronist party on Monday in the aftermath of Sunday’s defeat in national congressional elections.  He was replaced by Buenos Aires Governor Daniel Scioli. Mr. Kirchner also lost his own race for a congressional seat in Buenos Aires.  The Peronist government lost majorities in both the 72-member Senate and 257-member Chamber of Deputies (see full election results here). This came despite Mr. Kirchner warning voters that a Peronist loss would translate into “chaos” for Argentina, which has suffered from the global economic crisis. The party’s election losses, widely viewed as a plebiscite on the presidency of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, will hamper her ability to pass legislation through Congress and may create an opening for a new field of presidential candidates in 2011. She is now expected to re-shuffle her cabinet to put a fresh...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/692 2009-06-29T19:02:25Z

Just after 10:00 p.m. last night, the presidents of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) came together for an emergency meeting in Managua, Nicaragua, to discuss the military coup in Honduras. President Hugo Chávez assured the group that although the member states of ALBA will "do everything that we have to do" to bring President Zelaya back to Honduras and the presidency. This echoes the message from Washington, which has also called for “respect [of] the constitutional order.” The Venezuelan government clarified that it will not militarily intervene “because of the sacred respect for the sovereignty of Honduras." The overall regional response has been one of solidarity with the ousted leader. The Rio Group, which includes 23 countries from the hemisphere, issued a statement condemning the coup and calling for Zelaya's "immediate and unconditional restoration to his duties." The foreign ministers of SICA (Central American Integration System) also held...

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/691 2009-06-29T16:14:28Z

President Álvaro Uribe of Colombia comes back to Washington today—his 13th time here since being elected in 2002—to meet with President Obama following their face-to-face meeting at the April Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago. It’s an opportunity to set an agenda looking ahead across the broad range of issues confronting both nations. The pending trade agreement will be discussed, but with Uribe already planning a return trip to Washington in September specifically to lobby, the agenda for the meeting today will be broader, including, no doubt, a joint statement on Honduras. That’s important, because Colombia has been willfully misrepresented by trade opponents and their allies in Washington as a human rights wasteland. On top of that, for the past several years U.S. policy has been characterized as one dimensional and as supporting a president who his opponents claim is a quasi-autocrat with caudillo, or strong-armed, tendencies,...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/690 2009-06-29T14:06:29Z

Let me say upfront, unequivocally: what occurred on June 28, 2009, in Honduras was a coup and should be condemned for the violation of constitutional, democratic rule that it is.  And unlike the street coups that removed Presidents Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (Bolivia) or Lucio Gutiérrez (Ecuador), this one was positively 1970s-style retrograde: the marching of military officers into President José Manuel Zelaya Rosales’ residence, his forced removal (or kidnapping as he called it) at gun point, his being placed by military brass on a plane to be flown out of the country, and the swearing in of a new president, Roberto Micheletti—the speaker of the Honduran Congress. But let’s be clear. This event has been brewing for some time and regional governments and multilateral institutions have sat on the sidelines. Their reaction now—while correct—underscores their passiveness earlier, and turns a President who had been bent on steamrolling the checks...

Evianna Cruz http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/688 2009-06-26T22:32:12Z

With all the recent news on the conflict with indigenous groups in the Peruvian Amazon and the concerns over deforestation in Brazil, we forget that Latin America is an overwhelmingly urban region. It is estimated that by 2025, over 82 percent of the region’s population will live in urban areas. With these numbers it’s clear, it is cities—and cityscapes—that most affect the quality of life, economic and social mobility, health, and politics of citizens in our hemisphere. Many of these urban areas are being stretched to their infrastructural limits by rapid growth. To look at how to best address these issues, the Urban Age project, a joint initiative by the London School of Economics and Political Science and the Alfred Herrhausen Society, is asking the question: How do we tackle modern urban challenges and imagine the cities of the future? Professionals from a variety of disciplines, from sociologists, architects and...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/687 2009-06-26T16:39:03Z

After a long phone conversation with President Bachelet, Arturo Herrera, the director of Chile’s Investigation Police, resigned only 4 months before his term was over. Herrera, who had been in the force for over 38 years, was accused on a national television program of being involved in an underage prostitution ring. Such accusations have prompted investigations on the former director, who is also believed to have had links to the secret police during the days of Augusto Pinochet. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/686 2009-06-25T16:26:54Z

Ecuador’s Minister of Internal and External Security, Miguel Carvajal, requested financial aid from the United Nations Refugee Agency and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights today to help assist Colombian refugees living in the country. With 135,000 refugees from Colombia’s 45-year-long civil war living within its borders, Ecuador receives more refugees than any other country in the Western Hemisphere....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/685 2009-06-24T19:24:46Z

The Honduran Congress passed a new law on Tuesday, after an unusual late-night legislative session. The measure, called the Ley Especial que Regula el Referéndum y el Plebiscito, establishes specific restrictions on the power of the executive to call for national referendums by prohibiting plebiscites and referendums 180 days before or after a national election. ...

Liliana Colanzi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/684 2009-06-23T20:16:34Z

En su último número, la revista CA$H publicó una lista de las 100 personas más influyentes de Bolivia. Se trata de una lista sesgada, pues la empresa que la lleva a cabo sólo consulta a 200 “líderes de opinión” en el eje troncal del país (La Paz, Santa Cruz y Cochabamba). Es, digamos, un pantallaza en el que no se encuentra representada la voz del boliviano medio. Aun así, la lista es útil porque permite ver qué es lo que la élite política y empresarial considera importante....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/683 2009-06-23T18:50:42Z

Peru’s 2011 presidential election seems far off, but polling has already begun and Keiko Fujimori sits atop the leader board. Former President Alberto Fujimori’s daughter, a congresswoman in the Alliance for the Future Party, is the favorite likely candidate with the support of 22 percent of Peruvian voters. The poll was released yesterday by Ipsos APOYO, and is the result of 1,000 interviews conducted in 16 cities. Ollanta Humala, a 2006 presidential candidate, trails Ms. Fujimori by seven percentage points, and former President Alejandro Toledo (2001 to 2006) trails by ten points.Ms. Fujimori’s ascension to national politics has sparked considerable controversy among opponents of her father, who is currently serving a 25-year sentence for human rights-related crimes committed during his tenure (1990 to 2000).  In the past, Congresswoman Fujimori has stated that she would pardon her father if she wins the presidency, though she now appears less fully committed, saying...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/682 2009-06-22T18:02:52Z

Commerce Minister Eduardo Samán announced on Saturday that “patents have become a barrier to production” and stymie access to medicine, placing the interests of multinational pharmaceutical companies ahead of the welfare and needs of the Venezuelan people. With President Hugo Chávez calling patents a “trap,” the government will now revise its patent system, annulling certain pharmaceutical patents and allowing domestic manufacturers to produce licensed medicines. This action follows a recent reform in intellectual property laws authorized by President Chavez.  In a press release issued by the Autonomous Service for Intellectual Property (SAPI), the “technical information” of patents licensed in Venezuela will be posted on the SAPI website so that anyone can “make use [of the information],” which would allow “Venezuelan technicians to improve new technologies that have been developed. ” The president of Venezuela’s pharmaceutical business chamber, Edgar Salas, said this could potentially scare off foreign investment, result in internal...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/681 2009-06-22T14:16:00Z

Stolen elections and ballot-box stuffing became such the norm in Mexico under the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) that observers used to say that even the dead rise and vote on election day. In the mid-term legislative elections on July 5, this time it may be the once-thought moribund PRI that rises from the dead. A newly resurgent PRI in Mexico’s bicameral congress will have consequences for the policy agenda (mostly positive) of President Felipe Calderón and his Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) and signal the decline of the leftist Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD)—under its current leadership, maybe not such a bad thing).  At stake in these elections are 128 seats in the Mexican Senate and all 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. If polls are to be believed, these elections may dramatically shrink the seats that the PRD gained in the 2006 elections. At the time, many believed this would...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/680 2009-06-19T17:19:07Z

United Nation’s peacekeeping forces have been accused of shooting and killing an unidentified man at protests stemming from the funeral of Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste Wednesday in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. Jean-Juste, 62, a close ally of exiled former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and head of the Miami-based Center for Haitian Refugees died earlier this month in Miami from complications from a stroke and respiratory problems. U.N. peacekeepers reportedly fired seven warning shots into a crowd of 2,000 mourners who were protesting the policies of President Rene Preval’s government and demanding the return of former-President Aristide from exile in South Africa. One of these shots may have fatally wounded one of the rioters. The U.N., which confirms that warning shots were fired but denies responsibility in the incident, says that it was a hit from a rock—and not a bullet—that led to the victim’s death. Official fear this may lead to country-wide riots in...

Eric Farnsworth http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/679 2009-06-18T21:37:09Z

What if Brazil held a key to saving the world from destroying itself through an inexorable process of man-made global climate change?  Far-fetched?  Perhaps.  Then again, perhaps not.  Having just returned from exploring energy issues in Brazil with experts from the policy, government and the private sectors, I’ve come back with some hard truths that must be addressed, and a better understanding of the role that Brazil can play in energy and climate change issues, but only if we get the market signals right First, there’s no doubt that global energy demand will grow as incomes and populations increase.  There is just no getting around the fact that energy demand could double—that’s right, double—by 2050. That’s only 40 years from now.  Think of how quickly the last 40 years have gone, and understand that this is really not that far off.  That means current energy sources will be under significant...

Jason Marczak http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/678 2009-06-18T19:07:32Z

Eight months later, the consequences of last November’s municipal elections continue to reverberate throughout Nicaragua. Now the latest victim is not the legitimacy of the democratic process but Nicaraguan citizens. And the government of Nicaragua is to blame.Last week, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)—a U.S. government entity established in 2004 that ties aid to good governance, economic freedom and investments in people—announced that it would cut $62 million in aid to Nicaragua. This money, suspended a few weeks after the municipal elections, was part of a five-year, $175 million agreement (or compact) that was signed with the Nicaraguan government in July 2005.The reason? MCC assistance only goes to “governments who are governing justly,” and according to MCC Acting Chief Executive Officer Rodney Bent, Nicaragua has not shown “meaningful reforms or progress” in this area. The MCC had been looking for the government of President Daniel Ortega to address the voting...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/677 2009-06-18T16:42:20Z

On a visit to Colombia yesterday, Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said that Bolivia would seek to re-establish formal diplomatic ties with Peru as soon as possible.  In a statement, Mr. Choquehuanca attributed the change of stance to popular demand saying, “Our peoples want harmonious relations...government officials must obey our peoples’ wishes.” A deterioriation in relations led to Peru recalling its ambassador to Bolivia on Tuesday.This was in response to comments earlier this week by Bolivian President Evo Morales, describing the Peruvian government’s response to recent unrest in the Amazon as a “genocide” caused by free trade.  Prior to recalling its ambassador, Peruvian Foreign Minister José Garcia Belaunde labeled Mr. Morales “an enemy of Peru.”  Other Peruvian officials have suggested that Bolivia was interfering in Peru’s domestic affairs by actively inciting protests by indigenous groups that have so far left at least 34 people dead.A warming of the rhetoric between...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/676 2009-06-18T00:00:00Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Peru's PM to Resign, Push for End of Decrees that Sparked Amazon Conflict Peruvian Prime Minister of Peru Yehude Simon announced that the government will ask congress to eliminate decrees 1090 and 1064, which are among the laws at the core of the violent clashes between protesters and police on June 5. Those clashes claimed dozens of lives. Simon also said that he would resign from office as soon after the stand-off with indigenous people in Peru’s Amazon was resolved. The government also granted permission for indigenous leader Alberto Pizango to leave the country after he was granted political asylum by the Nicaraguan government. An Americas Quarterly...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/675 2009-06-17T15:59:39Z

Yehude Simon announced yesterday on a local radio program that he would leave office once the conflict with the country’s indigenous population in the Amazon is resolved. The prime minister has been under pressure by the opposition after the June 5th protest left at least 30 civilians and 22 policemen dead. He has vowed to bring peace and stability back to the country before his resignation takes effect....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/674 2009-06-16T16:01:50Z

China’s chief trade negotiator entered into a third round of negotiations with his Costa Rican counterpart on Monday to establish a bilateral free-trade agreement.  This latest round occurs only 7 months after Chinese President Hu Jintao announced the start of free-trade talks on a visit to San José in November 2008.  Both countries say they hope to complete the agreement this year.  A free-trade accord between Costa Rica and China, which only established diplomatic ties in 2007, would be China’s third such agreement in Latin America. An agreement was ratified with Chile in 2005 and negotiations were concluded with Peru in 2008. China is especially interested in expanding ties with Latin American commodity exporters, an area that has seen two-way trade exceed $120 billion dollars per year.  Reports indicate that Beijing is offering to open its economy to 94.4 percent of Costa Rican products, with the notable exclusion of top...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/673 2009-06-15T19:28:21Z

Last night, 21 people were injured when a home-made bomb exploded at Largo do Arouche, a plaza in central São Paulo, Brazil.  No serious injuries were reported, but it was one of several hate crimes reported during the annual Gay Pride parade—the world’s largest with an estimated 3 to 3.5 million people in attendance.Activists called on the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB) to support a bill in the Senate that classifies homophobia as a crime. On the issue of same-sex unions, only the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul recognizes their legality, but São Paulo Governor José Serra is a strong supporter of gay rights and has publicly declared his support. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also supports same-sex unions and has expressed his distaste for homophobia calling it a “perverse disease” at the First National Conference of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transvestites and Transsexuals in Brasilia in 2008. ...

Juan Cruz D�az http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/672 2009-06-12T23:13:09Z

Debo confesar que, a pesar de haber seguido con muchísimo entusiasmo los procesos electorales de Chile en las últimas dos décadas, las elecciones presidenciales de este año me producían un enorme aburrimiento. Eso cambió cuando Marco Enríquez-Ominami apareció en escena. Paso a explicar. La candidatura del millonario Sebastian Piñera por la Alianza opositora perdió la frescura novedosa que tuvo en el 2005. Eso importa mucho en un país donde, luego de un largo periodo de gobierno de la Concertación, existe mucha sed de cambio. En este contexto la vieja Concertación gobernante demostró que no fue capaz de renovarse y prepararse para el futuro, llevando como candidato al ex presidente de 67 años Eduardo Frei. Hasta ahí no había nada nuevo. Un país que fue capaz de convertirse en una sociedad moderna y pujante, no supo producir una renovación política para enfrentar los desafíos del futuro. Es cierto que la ...

Lila Barrera-Hern�ndez http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/667 2009-06-12T19:51:46Z

June 12, 2009...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/665 2009-06-12T15:59:31Z

Colombian President Álvaro Uribe answered questions before Canada’s House of Commons trade committee on Thursday, appealing to legislators to approve the pending Canada-Colombia free-trade agreement (FTA). The agreement was signed on November 21, 2008, and on March 26, 2009, the Canadian government introduced legislation to implement it. The session was at times contentious, with Uribe raising his voice and employing animated gestures to defend his administration’s record in promoting human rights. Not only would passage of the FTA improve his government’s ability to improve and protect human rights, argued Uribe, but “the approval of the free-trade agreement will allow Colombia to overcome poverty, build equity, have a dynamic economy and integrate the country to the largest economies of the world.” Although both the Left and the Right in Canada agree that human rights can be improved through trade linkages, “an agreement on the trade deal is not imminent.” A...

Naomi Mapstone http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/664 2009-06-11T19:29:52Z

What a difference a week can make. Only days before Peruvian cabinet minister Carmen Vildoso resigned in protest at the government’s handling of indigenous land rights protests, she was touring Huancavelica, the country’s poorest province, showcasing anti-poverty initiatives.Listening to campesinos’ stories of growing papaya and salad greens at elevations of 12,300 feet (3,750 meters) thanks to basic agricultural training and provisions, Ms. Vildoso seemed to be enjoying a rare “good news” moment in her portfolio. The Mi Chacra Productiva (My Productive Land) program, though small-scale (an initial $3.4 million budget to benefit 7,000 families), has begun to have an impact in the remote town of Pampas, which is about an hour’s walk from one of the main routes traversed by people hauling cocaine paste out of the valley of the Apurimac and Ene Rivers. Employment opportunities here are minimal, and for many years residents of working age have had to...

Liz Harper http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/663 2009-06-11T16:49:23Z

President Barack Obama is zipping along with nominations and appointments related to all things Latin America. I am not going to share a laundry list of every post coming from the administration, but here are some highlights and what people are saying.  First, Arturo Valenzuela. As I wrote here months ago, he was nominated as assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs in May. Valenzeula, a Chilean-American, served at the State Department and the National Security Council under President Bill Clinton and was an adviser for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.   If confirmed by the Senate, he’ll be leaving his current job as director of the Center for Latin American Studies in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. His expertise is democratization, security issues, and of course, Chile. And, he really knows how to deal with the media. That’s important. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/662 2009-06-11T15:31:12Z

Trade unionists in Colombia continue to face intense harassment, despite government efforts to increase protection.  The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) published a report yesterday, citing Colombia as the world’s most dangerous place for trade unionists.  The death toll in 2008 rose to 49 union-related deaths, up from 39 in 2007.  At a meeting in Canada on Wednesday, President Álvaro Uribe said that the Colombian government is "working every day to overcome impunity,” and highlighted a government program that spends $40 million per year to protect 10,000 individuals.  Vice-Minister for Labor Relations Ana Lucia Noguera pointed out that union member killings had fallen 81 percent in the last seven years.  Only 4 percent of Colombian workers are members of a trade union....

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/661 2009-06-10T21:06:39Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Political Fallout in Peru after Bloody Clash Indigenous protesters and police forces clashed in Peru’s northern Amazon region over the weekend in a violent clash that claimed dozens of lives on both sides. The unrest followed months of demonstrations against a set of decrees that protesters said violated their ancestral claims on land and resources in the region. The Minister for Women and Social Development Carmen Vildoso resigned as a result of the controversy over the government’s handling of the clashes. Indigenous leader and head of the Inter-ethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Jungle Alberto Pizango was granted political asylum by the Nicaraguan government on June...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/660 2009-06-10T18:31:19Z

Antonio Salido and Alfonso Escalante—officials in Mexico’s Sonora state government—resigned yesterday as the investigation continued after Friday’s massive fire at a local day care center owned by their wives. The men resigned to “avoid any type of speculation [and] to allow for a better clarification of events,” according to a statement read by Salido. Witnesses to the day care fire said that the fire alarm did not sound and that emergency doors failed to open.The fire started in an air conditioning unit of an adjacent warehouse and took the lives of over 44 children, injuring an additional 38 children. It has once again raised questions in Mexico about building safety. In 2000, a disco fire in Mexico City killed 21 people. Parents claim that the center obtained permits through the influence and help of Salido and Escalante. In response, Salido issued a statement claiming that the building’s infrastructure followed regulations established...

Christopher Sabatini http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/658 2009-06-09T22:14:42Z

Last Wednesday, to much fanfare, the Organization of American States' (OAS) annual meeting of the hemisphere's foreign ministers issued a resolution calling for a dialogue to readmit Cuba to the region's premier diplomatic body. Despite all the atmospherics, the statement sealed the OAS's irrelevance and the most promising chapter in the regional organization's history. Both sides in last week's theater are claiming victory. On the pro-Cuba side, the governments of Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Nicaragua wasted no time in sending their foreign ministers to declare the resolution that overturned the 1962 rationale for Cuba's suspension—as a Marxist-Leninist government—as a blow to the U.S.'s embargo policy. In a parallel media blitz, U.S. officials rushed to say that the consensus agreement did not readmit Cuba into the OAS, but only called for dialogue in line with "practices, proposals and policies of the OAS."The latter is supposedly a reference to the human rights...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/657 2009-06-09T18:31:39Z

The Brazilian economy officially entered into recession today after IBGE, the national statistics agency, reported that the economy contracted at a rate of 0.8 percent in the first quarter of 2009.  Economists define a recession as a contraction lasting two or more consecutive quarters.  Despite the official announcement, the contraction was more modest than many analysts predicted and a marked improvement over the 3.8 percent contraction in the last three months of 2008, leading to an appreciation of the real against most major currencies.With this news, policymakers are likely to slow the pace of interest rates cuts, which the central bank has been making in an effort to spur lending.  Consumer spending and government spending slightly expanded in the first quarter, but capital spending fell by 12.6 percent, indicating that companies are reducing investments.  According to the Brazilian government, the modest contraction is likely to boost capital investments, which officials...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/656 2009-06-08T15:21:15Z

An estimated 100,000 Puerto Rican workers and students marched on the capitol last Friday to protest a government plan to lay off 30,000 public sector employees. The plan, which also calls for a temporary hike in income taxes and increased sales taxes on wine, is intended to close an annual budget deficit of $3.2 billion. Puerto Rico’s economy was suffering even before the global economic downturn. Unemployment is currently at 14.7 percent, and the recession, in its third consecutive year, has reached “historic proportions” according to Caribbean Business Online. Government officials predict it will continue through summer 2011....

Alberto Saracho http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/653 2009-06-05T19:46:01Z

Mexico’s recent swine flu scare (H1N1) made evident the country’s lack of an efficient system for health information. Although the government acted promptly once it understood the potential danger of having the new virus being spread from human to human, the problem had actually begun weeks before. Some experts now believe that the series of events that led to the pandemic may have even started months before the government took notice of rare and strong pneumonias within an otherwise largely immune demographic group. The scare made evident other aspects of Mexico. The country’s lack of investment in research and development, as well as innovation policies in the past decades became the talk of the town. Not only did Mexico not have the technology available to identify the new virus, but it lacked the human capital and infrastructure necessary to assist in the development of a vaccine. Sure, it may not...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/654 2009-06-05T17:44:11Z

In Peru, seven police officers are dead and 20 people are wounded after indigenous protests in Bagua Grande Amazonas turned violent on Wednesday. The protestors, at it since April 9, are pressuring President Alan García to “modify or strike down” decrees issued last year that facilitate commercial investment in, and access to, the Amazon basin. A parliamentary vote earlier this week nearly repealed one of the controversial decrees, but a walk-out by members of García’s Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana (APRA) party blocked the final vote. Criticism of García’s position is coming from both domestic and international groups, including local Catholic bishops and the London-based Survival International. García has responded with the assertion that “the riches of Peru belong to all Peruvians.” Others warn that repealing the decrees could endanger the free trade agreement between Peru and the United States....

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/651 2009-06-04T19:26:32Z

An Argentine judge has ruled that former President and current Senator Carlos Menem used funds slotted for national security improvements to overpay government employees, and froze over 100 million pesos ($26.5 million) on his assets. It is only the latest legal trouble for Menem, who in November 2008 was charged with authorizing the sale of rifles, anti-tank rockets and other weapons to Croatia and Ecuador between 1991 and 1995. Menem, president from 1989 to 1999, claims that the shipments were destined for Panama and Venezuela: legal sales given those nations’ peaceful status at the time. In both cases, Menem faced little threat of jail time, given the arrest-immunity for current senators....

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/650 2009-06-03T23:05:03Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. OAS on Overturning 1962 Rule Suspending Cuba Ecuador’s Minister of Foreign Relations Fander Falconí told journalists Wednesday that the ministers at the OAS General Assembly have agreed to overturn a 1962 decision that expelled Cuba from the organization. Falconi said that Cuba’s suspension will be lifted as a result of a new proposal that eliminates conditions for Cuba to rejoin. This came after the first day of the assembly ended with no consensus about allowing Cuba to rejoin the organization. U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton insisted that Cuba must show clear steps towards addressing human rights and political freedom before the island can be allowed to rejoin. ...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/649 2009-06-03T21:02:50Z

The Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (Equipo Argentino de Antropología Forense, EAAF) made a breakthrough this week by identifying 42 corpses pertaining to Argentine citizens who had disappeared during the military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1976 to 1983. The findings were made possible by matching the DNA of 598 different remains with 5,000 blood samples. The identification of the 42 bodies is part of the Iniciativa Latinoamericana para la Identificación de Personas Desaparecidas (The Latin American Initiative for the Identification of Missing People) project launched in 2007, which has the financial support of the Argentine government and the collaboration of other Latin American forensic organizations and the Bode Technology Group. For over 20 years the EAAF has devoted itself to finding people that went missing during the dictatorship (estimated at more than 30,000 people), and has identified over 300 victims. *** Read more expansive coverage of this topic in a...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/648 2009-06-02T19:23:11Z

The $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal is soon to be awarded to one of three international construction conglomerates, including one led by San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp., Mitsubishi Corp. and Hochtief Agand. The expansion, which will take at least five years to complete and may double the canal’s capacity, will go forward despite a projected 9 percent decrease in global shipping, a result of the global economic crisis.La ampliación, as it is called in Panama, is already causing unease in southern California, where more than half a million jobs are tied to shipping with East Asia.  At present, 70 percent of cargo from Asia is unloaded in California and distributed overland.  Panama hopes to capture much of this trade through the expansion, which will accommodate ships capable of carrying three times more cargo than current capacity. In response, U.S. ports have already begun to announce investments in their own...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/645 2009-06-01T19:52:07Z

Costa Rican politician Ottón Solís was nominated by his Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC) last night to compete in the February 2010 presidential election, drawing over 70 percent of the vote. It is his third consecutive presidential nod from the PAC, which saw Solís lose by just over 1 percent of the vote in the 2006 election to current President Oscar Arias. With Solís, a three-time candidate, again in the picture, the electorate will have fewer opportunities for hearing from new voices in this election season. The 2010 candidate for the Unidad Social Cristiana is former President Rafael Calderón (1990-1994). But the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) may yet raise some eyebrows with its selection. Vice President and Justice Minister Laura Chinchilla is reportedly Arias’ preferred candidate for his party. If elected, she would be Costa Rica’s first female president. The Supreme Elections Tribunal has cautioned Arias against making his preferences known...

Liliana Colanzi http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/642 2009-05-29T19:06:00Z

La literatura boliviana vive un gran momento a nivel internacional. En abril, la revista Zoetrope, de Francis Ford Coppola, incluyó un cuento de Rodrigo Hasbún en el número que le dedicó a los autores latinoamericanos con más futuro. Este mes, la editorial española Bartleby publica el libro de cuentos Niñas y detectives, de Giovanna Rivero, quien también apareció el año pasado en la antología latinoamericana de relatos El futuro no es nuestro. Y en los próximos meses, Maximiliano Barrientos publicará el libro de cuentos Primeras canciones en la editorial Periférica, también de España. Curiosamente, ninguno de los autores aborda de forma directa los cambios sociales de Bolivia en sus libros, pese a que, como nunca antes, el país está en la mira del resto del mundo gracias a las movidas políticas de Evo Morales. En otras épocas, los autores bolivianos sentían la obligación de retratar los conflictos del país. El...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/643 2009-05-29T16:19:20Z

Mauricio Funes, El Salvador’s president-elect, is in Paris attending the trial of his son’s alleged killer. At the trial, Funes paid an emotional tribute to the deceased Alejandro, who was murdered in October, 2007 at the age of 27, saying “we shared the same ideals, the same life projects and the desire to transform El Salvador, to convert it into a just society that would put an end to violence.” The motive of the alleged killer, Mohammed Amor, is unclear. The murder is a tragic irony for the Funes family, which preferred the relative calm of Paris to violence-plagued El Salvador for Alejandro’s education. “We thought he would be safer,” said Funes. “I would never have imagined that he would be beaten to death here.” Funes ran in El Salvador’s March 15, 2009, election as the candidate for the Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN), a...

Huguette Young http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/640 2009-05-28T21:41:53Z

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has steadfastly refused to press Washington for the transfer of Omar Khadr from the infamous U.S. detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to Canada. And he’s not about to give in. On May 7, he announced he would be appealing a Canadian court ruling calling for the return of Omar Khadr to Canada. The case is to be heard before the Federal Court of Appeal on June 23 in Ottawa. In a compelling ruling released on April 23, Justice James O’Reilly of the Federal Court of Canada granted Khadr’s request to be tried on Canadian soil. He wrote that the prisoner’s constitutional rights to a fair trial had been violated and that Canada had ignored international child rights laws, especially those of child soldiers. And he called on Ottawa to press Washington for Khadr’s return to Canada “as soon as practical.”...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/639 2009-05-28T15:17:13Z

Two Americans from southern California, 20-year-old Teddy Toledo and his 17-year-old sister, stand accused of abducting a 19-year-old hardware store clerk in Tijuana, Mexico. On Monday, the victim was rescued by army troops and the siblings were arrested along with two Mexican nationals—all four are tied to the Tijuana drug cartel headed by Teodoro Eduardo García Simental, or “El Teo.” The alleged kidnappers are reported to have asked for a $1 million ransom, though the sister has denied having any connection to the crime.In an interview at the Morelos military base, the kidnapped man said that he had been mistaken for the store owner’s son.  For six days, he was held and bound with little access to food or water. Baja California Attorney General Rommel Moreno Manjarrez said the cross-border nature of the crime highlights the need for collaboration between U.S. and Mexican authorities.  Since taking office, President Felipe Calderón...

Danielle Renwick http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/637 2009-05-27T20:56:00Z

Ask anyone for good investment tips, and they’re unlikely to suggest going in to the magazine business. So for a pair of young designers to front $10,000 of their own savings for a new print publication—that is a sign of confidence in their product. Hecho magazine is the brainchild of Christopher Sataua, 27, and Oliver Best, 31, U.S. graphic designers who have been living in Nicaragua since 2005 and 2007, respectively. The bilingual, bi-monthly Managua-based glossy delves into Nicaragua’s underground arts and music scene with reviews, travelogues, interviews, and photo essays. The publication places a heavy emphasis on design and its appeal spans from Nicaraguans living in Nicaragua and abroad to the country’s large, English-speaking ex-pat community. One of the feature articles for the first issue (which came out in February) profiles Bluefields Sound System, a collective of musicians from the often-ignored Caribbean coast, and reflects the publication’s dedication to broadening...

AS-COA Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/636 2009-05-27T20:43:59Z

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. White House Chooses First Hispanic for SCOTUS On Tuesday, President Barack Obama announced his choice for a Supreme Court justice to replace David Souter, picking the first Hispanic judge in history to be selected for the highest court in the United States. Sotomayor, whose credentials include three decades in the field of law and 16 years as a federal appeals judge, is from the South Bronx and of Puerto Rican descent. Pundits suggest that her ethnic background could serve as an obstacle for Republicans fighting her confirmation. Read AS/COA analysis about the nomination. The Houston Chronicle’s Immigration Chronicles blog points out that several media outlets made the...

AQ Online http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/638 2009-05-27T17:19:06Z

On Monday, Peruvian writer Alvaro Vargas Llosa was detained for over two hours at Venezuela’s Simón Bol�