Hillary Clinton to Meet Latin America’s New Leaders

February 26, 2010

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 visit Guatemala, where she would meet with several heads of state from Central America and the Dominican Republic.

Some of the likely topics on the agenda are Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s recent expressions of disappointment with President Obama’s policies on the region. According to assistant secretary of state Arturo Valenzuela, talks in Chile will include joint policies to enhance economic competitiveness, and in Brazil she will lobby for Brazilian support for U.S. policies against Iran. Finally, in Costa Rica, Mrs. Clinton will give a speech at the 3rd ministerial meeting on the Road for Prosperity in the Americas where she is expected to emphasize the importance of trade.

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

February 10, 2010

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 to reheat relations chilled since 2007, when a Colombian border incursion involving an attack on a guerilla camp led to a diplomatic breakdown. Colombian President Álvaro Uribe attended the summit, where his Ecuadorian counterpart Rafael Correa spoke optimistically about restoring relations. The two leaders will get the chance to meet again in less than two weeks at a Rio Group summit in Cancun. Moreover, Correa indicated interest in rejoining Peru and Colombia in talks about an Andean free-trade deal with the European Union.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

February 3, 2010

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 in Haiti, a Congressional Research Service Report examines U.S. migrant interdiction and detention policies toward Haitians. Human rights advocates have raised concerns over these policies, saying Haitians receive inferior treatment when compared to other asylum seekers trying to enter the United States.

Read an AS/COA analysis about the U.S. debate over Haitian immigration.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Truth or Dare in Costa Rica’s Presidential Campaign

February 1, 2010

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, National Liberation Party's (PLN) Laura Chinchilla, refused to participate in the televised interrogation. Guevara is in second place in the polls, hovering at or under 30 percent. Not to miss the opportunity to capitalize on the polygraph test, he bought a two-page spread in national newspapers that boasted he is the only honest candidate in the race.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

November 4, 2009

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 overseeing that the deal’s measures are met, said a Cabinet of National Unity will be formed on November 5 in advance of the November 29 elections.

Whether Zelaya will regain his office remains uncertain. As The Wall Street Journal reports, a committee of 14 Honduran lawmakers voted against calling a requisite special session to decide on whether the deposed leader would be reinstated. With no deadline to make a decision and elections nearing, Zelaya may not regain his post.

Writing for ForeignPolicy.com’s The Argument, AS/COA’s Christopher Sabatini and AQ blogger Daniel Altschuler warn that, even with the breakthrough, some will continue to push “ideologically driven revisionism” in their coverage of the Honduran coup. “Allowing a government that came to power through unconstitutional means to ride out an interim period to the next election and then transfer power would set a perilous precedent,” they write. “The deal struck last week offers a responsible, democratic exit from the four-month political crisis in Honduras.”

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Bridge Collapse Forces Accountability in Costa Rica

November 2, 2009

“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 mind that the bus—and probably many vehicles before it—was over the bridge’s weight limit, a fact González quickly pointed out on the day of the accident. But González rightly remarked in her impassioned resignation speech that the passengers “had every reason” to wake up that day trusting in the state to protect them. “But this time we did fail.”

Read More

1 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly News Roundup from Across the Americas

October 7, 2009

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, and Spain. OAS Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza leads the delegation. The mission also includes Thomas Shannon, who continues to serve as U.S. assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs while awaiting his stalled confirmation to become U.S. ambassador to Brazil.

Read AS/COA analysis on the Honduran crisis, including coverage of related rifts in Washington.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Former Costa Rican President Sentenced for Corruption

October 5, 2009

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.

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Laura Chinchilla with Wide Margin Six Months Ahead of Costa Rica's Elections

September 2, 2009

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.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Nicaragua-Costa Rica Tensions Flare Up Over Water Rights

August 26, 2009

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 over the river and upheld the ban that does not allow Costa Rican police and military forces to use the river. Nicaragua’s exclusive sovereignty over the San Juan River was established in 1858 with the Cañas-Jerez treaty.

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Costa Rica and China Begin the Next Round of Trade Negotiations

June 16, 2009

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 exports like sugar and coffee.  The Costa Ricans have held firm against liberalizing imports of textiles and machinery, a top Chinese concern.  Both parties have affirmed their commitment to making progress in the negotiations, which are schedule to conclude on Wednesday.

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly News Roundup from Across the Americas

June 3, 2009

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.

Despite the United States opposing proposals to allow the readmission of Cuba without the country meeting certain democratic standards, signs of a U.S.-Cuba thaw continue. On May 30, the head of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington Jorge Bolaños officially accepted on behalf of Havana the U.S. proposal to resume high-level talks on legal immigration. Talks will also cover bilateral cooperation on drug trafficking, terrorism, disaster readiness, and resuming regular mail services.

Financial Times takes a look at how some members of the U.S. Senate hope to block easing of restrictions in U.S.-Cuba relations. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) suggested at COA’s Washington Conference that the United States should reexamine its funding for the OAS if the agency allows Cuba to rejoin.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Daily Focus: Costa Rica's 2010 Election Taking Shape

June 1, 2009

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 as electoral rules prohibit public officials from using any influence to benefit a political party or candidate.

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Daily Focus: Despite Corruption Charges, Former-President Calderon Announces Candidacy in Costa Rica

April 29, 2009

Former Costa Rican President Rafael Calderón (90-94) has formally announced his candidacy in the 2010 presidential elections. He will represent Costa Rica’s Unidad Social Cristiana.

His announcement was met with little surprise; rumors that Calderón was seeking his former office were numerous. Complicating his bid, however, are corruption charges from 2004, which landed him briefly in jail, and his ongoing trial—which has dragged on for years.

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Daily Focus: Swine Flu South of (the Mexican) Border

April 28, 2009

World headlines are being dominated by the spread of swine flu from Mexico and the United States to Canada, Europe and now the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. But what about Mexico’s neighbors to the south?

Today, Costa Rica claimed the inauspicious title of being the first Central American country to confirm a case of swine flu, and Guatemala (which shares a border with Mexico) has detected three possible infections. On high alert, Central American health ministers are meeting today in Managua with the goal of agreeing to shared measures to combat the spread of the disease. Already, Central American countries are taking precautionary measures. Panama and Costa Rica have taken steps to detect sick passengers at airports. Honduras has not only asked the international community to send doses of Tamiflu, but has also requested that Mexico stop deporting undocumented Hondurans. Nicaragua has prohibited the importation of pigs and pig products from Mexico. But given its close proximity to Mexico, Guatemala may face the greatest immediate challenge in the region.

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink