Monday Memo: OAS General Assembly – Brazil World Cup Preparations – Sánchez Cerén – Leopoldo López Hearing – Uruguayan Primaries
OAS General Assembly in Paraguay: The Organization of American States (OAS) will hold its General Assembly in Asunción, Paraguay from June 3 to 5. At least 29 foreign ministers have confirmed their attendance—the highest number to do so since the 2009 General Assembly in Honduras, following the coup that removed former President Manuel Zelaya from … Read more
Monday Memo: Panama Elections – Haiti and the Dominican Republic – Uruguayan Marijuana – Colombian Mine Collapse – Brazil Soccer Death
This week’s likely top stories: Juan Carlos Varela will be Panama’s next president; talks between Haiti and the Dominican Republic are postponed; marijuana legalization goes into effect in Uruguay; a Colombian mine collapse kills at least 12 people; a Brazilian soccer fan is killed in Recife. Juan Carlos Varela Wins Panamanian Election: Juan Carlos Varela … Read more
Monday Memo: Chilean Protests – Rio Violence – Guantánamo – Venezuela Protests – Buenaventura, Colombia
Likely top stories this week: Chileans protest in Santiago; Brazil sends the military into Rio’s favelas; Uruguay will receive five Guantánamo prisoners; Venezuela will investigate abuses during protests; Colombia sends troops to Buenaventura. Chilean Protests: Newly-elected Chilean President Michelle Bachelet faced the first major protest of her new administration on Saturday, which was organized to … Read more
Ecuador, tras la equivocada huella de Venezuela en la OEA
Pese a que la Cancillería ecuatoriana reportó de manera optimista la semana pasada que los países del continente “avanzan para una decisión de consenso sobre el cambio de sede de la CIDH,” otra parece ser la realidad frente a lo que opinan sus pares sobre esta materia. La declaración ecuatoriana se produjo tras la terminación … Read more
National to City, Diagnosis to Funding
For too long, Latin America’s urbanization has been haphazard and chaotic. As a result, the world’s most urbanized region (with over 80 percent of its population living in cities) became associated with sprawl, waste, inefficiency, pollution, and increasing vulnerability to climate change. But a new approach to this challenge emerged on the sidelines of the … Read more
Mixed Reactions in Uruguay to Marijuana Legalization
Last Tuesday, Uruguayan’s Senate approved a bill in which the State will regulate the production and sale of marijuana and allow citizens to grow the plant at home. The legislation was approved in a historic Senate vote of 16 to 13, and will allow pharmacies to sell up to 40 grams of cannabis a month … Read more
Monday Memo: Gay Marriage in Uruguay – Venezuela and Paraguay – Cuban Prisoners – Immigration Reform – Carandiru Prison
Likely top stories this week: Gay marriage begins in Uruguay; Venezuela is not invited to the Paraguayan president’s inauguration; Amnesty International demands the release of Cuban prisoners; U.S. House of Representatives Republicans reject Senate approach to immigration reform; Brazilian police officers are sentenced for the 1992 Carandiru massacre. Same Sex Marriage Starts in Uruguay: The … Read more
UN Opposes Uruguay Marijuana Bill
The United Nations International Narcotics Board (INCB) issued a statement on Thursday urging Uruguay to not implement legislation that would make it the first country in the world to create and regulate a legal marijuana market. In the statement, the INCB—an independent body tasked with monitoring production and consumption of narcotics worldwide—said that if the … Read more
Venezuela to Assume Mercosur Leadership at Summit in Montevideo
A summit of Mercosur countries—a regional bloc that includes Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Venezuela as full members with Paraguay suspended from the group—will convene tomorrow in Montevideo to discuss Paraguay’s possible re-admission to the group as Venezuela takes the helm of the South American trade bloc. Venezuela, which became a full member of Mercosur in … Read more
Monday Memo: Brazil Protests – U.S. Immigration – Colombia Protests – Abortion in Uruguay – Judicial Reform in Bolivia – Edward Snowden
Top stories this week: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff responds to national protests; The U.S. Senate will vote on immigration reform; Coca farmers clash with police in Colombia; Uruguayan voters uphold abortion law; Judicial leaders meet in Bolivia; Ecuador considers asylum request. Protests Expand Across Brazil: Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians marched in cities across the … Read more
Uruguay Initiates Public Debate to Legalize Marijuana
On the heels of Uruguay’s Congressional decision on Tuesday to legalize gay marriage, the country embarks on another bold decision today as it begins a three-month public debate over legalizing marijuana. President José Mujica presented a bill to Congress in November that will be voted on in June, after both proponents and opponents have made … Read more
Uruguay’s Lower House Votes to Decriminalize Abortion, with Restrictions
The lower house of Uruguay’s Congress approved a law on Tuesday that authorizes abortion within 12 weeks of conception. The bill was approved by a narrow margin of 50 to 49 votes after 14 hours of debate. The law project allows abortions only after a woman has met with a team of at least three … Read more
