Archives for "Latin America":

G-Unity on July 29, 2009 in Humor , Latin America

I was rummaging through the Internet looking for news on the Honduras situation (which hasn't changed much since last wrote about it almost a month ago) when I found the above picture of ousted President Zelaya briefly crossing the Nicaraguan border into Honduras. What caught my eye was homeboy in the bottom right with the "Property of G-Unit" t-shirt....

Honduras, the OAS, and Cuba on July 6, 2009 in Latin America

I was boring Crystal last night with my Honduras-talk as we ate at a new Mexican place. I could tell by her blank expression that this was something that was better fit for the pages of barriomulas.com.The crisis in Honduras is something that has consumed me for the last few days. When I'm not rummaging through Latin American news papers,...

Crisis in Honduras X on July 6, 2009 in Latin America

Some more updates:Chavez and Zelaya are calling on Obama for more action (La Prensa, La Prensa).Micheletti government is "willing to negotiate" (Xinhua).The pilots of the plane carrying Zelaya were Venezuelan (Cooperativa) and another source reported that the plane belonged to the PDVSA (El Heraldo).Zelaya said he will try to return on Monday or Tuesday (AP).Some of the soldiers retreated due...

Crisis in Honduras IX on July 5, 2009 in Latin America

Still waiting for news on the subject. I'll update this post as I get it. So far:Zelaya's plane was turned back, as it was refused landing authorization. (Radio Nacional) The plane has been diverted to El Salvador. (Earth Times)Violence has erupted as at least one person is dead and three injured. (AFP) Other sources have reported 2  (Notimex) and 3...

Crisis in Honduras VIII on July 5, 2009 in Latin America

These hours are tense. Zelaya left Washington earlier this morning for Honduras (Granma) and should be arriving anywhere between noon and 2pm (La Prensa, RNV). The Honduran government has closed down the airport (26 Noticias) and has stated that they will block any attempt from Zelaya to make a landing (Xinhua, AFP, BBC). Zelaya has been quoted as saying that...

Crisis in Honduras VII on July 4, 2009 in Latin America

Detailed reports on alleged violations of press freedom. (OEN)Chavez states that he will not accept the results of an election mounted by the coup's government. (El Heraldo)The nation's electoral authority is carrying out an analysis concerning possible early elections (El Heraldo)A pro-Micheletti diplomat based in Panama claims to be victim of reprise. (La Prensa)The new government reports that Zelaya has...

Crisis in Honduras VI on July 3, 2009 in Latin America

I'm not going to debate the legality of former President Zelaya's actions nor those of the generals and politicians that ousted him. As I've said before, both sides can make a valid argument of their actions' legitimacy as many news articles and editorials have portrayed. I think that this debate hinges on a constitutional "gray area" and a failed state...

Crisis in Honduras V on July 2, 2009 in Latin America

The new President is flirting with the idea of utilizing a referendum on whether or not Zelaya should return. (Al Jazeera, Reuters)Another source reports that that's exactly what he's going to do (El Universal)The OAS is demanding Zelaya's "unconditional return" (AP)U.S. puts hold on aid until Zelaya's return (VOA)Zelaya plans to return this weekend after the end of the OAS'...

Crisis in Honduras IV on July 2, 2009 in Latin America

Obviously the first thing I did upon waking up was run to my computer to read up on the crisis in Honduras.Both groups for and against Zelaya's return have been filling the streets during the previous days. Both sides have presented arguments in their favor (here's another article on the legality of Zelaya's actions, by the way), both claims that...

Crisis in Honduras III on July 1, 2009 in Latin America

TThe international community continues to isolate the new Honduran government as it settles in and embraces for what's to come. The Organization of American States (OAS) has given a 72-hour ultimatum to reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya or face expulsion from the organization (El Financiero). Aside from the political consequences, this does not mean much, as Cuba has long been...

Crisis in Honduras II on July 1, 2009 in Latin America

I've been tossing and turning all night. Decided to lug myself to the computer and complete a post that I had begun earlier about the coup occurring in Honduras.Anti-Zelaya material was easy to come by, but the pro-Zelaya blog "Honduras en el Mundo" has been a great source of information. With the new government limiting access of information -...

Crisis in Honduras on June 30, 2009 in Latin America

Last Sunday night the President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya was arrested by the Honduran military and forced into exile in Costa Rica. Since then there has been an international outcry against what appears to be a Cold War-era coup. It's been quite a few years since anything serious of the likes has occurred in Latin America. Whenever controversial elections, rebellions,...

Latin America Update on January 8, 2009 in Latin America

Venezuela... The former paratrooper told a gathering of army officers last week that the broadcast licence of Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) would not be renewed when it expires in March. He accused the channel of backing a coup against him in 2002... Venezuela's foreign ministry rejected the criticism and said shutting RCTV would guarantee freedom of expression. Much of...

Latino Navigation on May 23, 2008 in Latin America , Society

Despite my pride of my Latino ethnicity, there are a number of North American traits that I have retained. One such trait is my concept of location, space, and distance. Growing up in a household with framed maps on walls, I have always had an interest in cartography. Not only can I spend hours looking at historical maps but I...

From Cadiz to San Juan: Me on Revolutionary Spain on March 8, 2008 in Latin America

I had spent the first two weeks of February carrying out an intensive investigation for a course of mine on Puerto Rican history. The topic of discussion was the Peninsular War in Spain, the liberal 1812 Constitution that it gave birth to, and its effect on Spain's colonies. It has already been a week or so since I gave my...

Corruption and Culture on March 7, 2008 in Latin America

The February 2nd issue of the Economist featured a story on Mexico's drug war and its government's difficulty in tackling the problem. Mention is made of an initiative from Mexico's Congress that would convert the "country's legal arrangements from a Napoleonic-style inquisitorial system to an Anglo-American-style adversial system." Despite such, one expert notes that "It is a problem of corruption,...

Plan Retorno on February 13, 2008 in Latin America

I read an interesting snippet in Atlantic concerning a new program from Ecuador's left wing President Rafael Correa called "Plan Retorno". A quick Internet search brought up the following:The program, called Plan Retorno, will be open to Ecuadorean citizens worldwide and will take effect for Ecuadorean-Americans in February. To lure them home, Ecuador will raise or end ceilings on the...

This is Great. Trust Me. on December 5, 2007 in Latin America

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Anti-Chavez Ads on December 3, 2007 in Latin America

The most scandalous [anti-Chavez ad] was an anonymous two-page spread in the country's largest circulation newspaper, Últimas Noticias, which claimed about the Constitutional Reform: "If you are a Mother, YOU LOSE! Because you will lose your house, your family and your children (children will belong to the state)."...Although published as an anonymous article, [Elections Commission President] Lucena announced that...

Shut Up? Well, I'll Just Nationalize Your Bank on December 3, 2007 in Latin America

PRESIDENT Hugo Chavez has threatened to nationalise the Venezuelan subsidiaries of Spanish banks Banco Santander and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, if Spain's King Juan Carlos does not apologise for telling Chavez to "shut up". BusinessDayI'm all for nationalizing banks, but I don't think his reasons are any good....

Latin American Update on November 30, 2007 in Latin America

Just skimming through my daily Latin American news:EcuadorAn assembly elected to rewrite Ecuador's constitution has dissolved the country's opposition-dominated Congress on its first day of work....In April, nearly 80% of voters backed his call for an assembly that would bypass Congress and rewrite the constitution. In September, voters then chose assembly members, giving 80 of the 130 seats to his...

Bufalo de la Noche & Soñar No Cuesta Nada on November 13, 2007 in Latin America

Until Wednesday is the 19th Annual Puerto Rico Cinemafest in San Patricio  Plaza. I've had the chance to see four movies so far, and plan to knock another four out before it's over. Hay que aprovechar, I think, for things like this happen only once a year.The first film I had the opportunity to see was "El Bufalo de La...

Venezuela Update on October 22, 2007 in Latin America

Despite the controversy which the opening of "ALBA Houses" across Peru has created in congress and among political leaders, they have continued to run and continue to be established in Peru. Peru's Prime Minster del Castillo has stated that the establishment of ALBA Houses in Peru are ways that Hugo Chavez is attempting to tamper with Peru's government... Regional...

Venezuela Update on October 19, 2007 in Latin America

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's conservative president shocked Latin America last week by asking to join a development bank central to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's drive for left-wing integration in South America.But the move by Alvaro Uribe, Washington's top ally in the region, was only the latest in a recent series of friendly gestures toward his anti-American ideological opposite.As the U.S....

Venezuela News on October 9, 2007 in Latin America

Seven South American countries will create a new development bank. Following a meeting in Brazil, finance ministers said the Bank of the South would play a "central role in the new financial architecture of the region". The bank will have its headquarters in Venezuela, the country that originated the idea. BBCWonderful. A regional, continental bank would be a wonderful alternative...

USAID in Peru on September 12, 2007 in Latin America

I work within my Municipality's external funding division so I always receive information on the latest state and federal grants that are available to the United States and its territories. Ever once and a while a headline such as the following will catch my attention:"Building Stronger and More Representative Political Parties in Peru"A "Democratic Initiative", this fund of $2,400,000 will...

Homosexuality According to Latin Americans on May 22, 2007 in Latin America , Society

Don Kulick carried out a detailed study in 1997 of transvestites in Brazil. Kulick's findings were interesting, as they enforced and revealed a number of cultural perceptions existing in Latin America towards sexuality and homosexuality in specific. "the entire conceptual ordering of sexuality in Latin America differs significantly from North American world-views," states Anthropologist Sheldon Smith. "It is the person...

Latin America Update on March 30, 2007 in Latin America

Venezuelans have long been famous for their addiction to plastic surgery and weekend shopping trips to Miami, but thanks to newly available credit, interest rates that discourage savings, and restrictions on money that can be spent abroad, Venezuelans now have world-class shopping all over the country.... An increase in government spending, including monthly remittances sent to over two million...

Latin America Update on January 15, 2007 in Latin America

Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez today vowed to trim his nation's debt and funnel $8.7 billion of its international reserves from the central bank to a social spending fund as part of his plan to implement socialism in the oil-rich country. ``We could pay our entire foreign debt with the reserves we have if we wanted to...

Latin America Update on January 8, 2007 in Latin America

Chavez, in power since 1999, said he would nationalize telecommunications firm CANTV, Venezuela's largest telecommunications firm, and unspecified energy companies in the fourth biggest oil exporter to the United States... Chavez skirmished with CANTV earlier this year, saying he would nationalize the firm unless it adjusted its pension payments to match the minimum wage... The president has also sparred...

Notes on Bolivia's Constitution on January 2, 2007 in Latin America

The Ciao! Bolivia blog has some exerpts and highlights of the draft for Bolivia's new constitution. I know I'm tardy on this stuff, but here are a few points of interest: Work in a "socialist & communitarian society is a right, a responsibility, and a source of honor for all citizens." There is also recognition that work must be...

Evo Interview on January 2, 2007 in Latin America

urope's biggest weekly magazine, Der Spiegel, has recently published an interview with Evo Morales: DS - ¿Usted pretende introducir el socialismo en Bolivia? Morales - Si socialismo significa una vida mejor, con igualdad y justicia, y que no tendremos problemas sociales y económicos, entonces es bienvenido... Morales - Desde nuestro punto de vista, la coca no debería ser destruida ni...

Rock On on June 6, 2006 in Latin America

"The best foreign policy... is internal policy." -Obrador, tonight's presidential debate....

First TV, Now Film on June 2, 2006 in Latin America

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has opened a film studio in the country aimed at curbing the cultural influence of the US in Latin America. "It's a Hollywood dictatorship. They inoculate us with messages that don't belong to our traditions," he said. The government is giving $11m (£5.8m) to the project which will fund local and South American films... He...

Latin American Briefs on May 30, 2006 in Latin America

May 22 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said he's concerned about an ``erosion of democracy'' in Venezuela, one of the four largest suppliers of oil to the U.S., and Bolivia. ``Let me just put it bluntly - I'm concerned about the erosion of democracy in the countries you mentioned,'' Bush said today in response to a question about...

Funny Pics From Peru's Presidential Debate on May 30, 2006 in Latin America

Father!...

The Fourth Branch of Government: The People on February 21, 2006 in Latin America

Within the following days the Chavez government will be transferring $1 billion to "Community Planning Councils" - bodies of concerned citizens who carry out community development projects on a smaller scale. I am a bit confused on the difference between these Councils and the Bolivarian Circles since they too as well received funding directly from the state in an...

Breaking Down the Chavistas on February 21, 2006 in Latin America

Fransisco from the Caracas Chronicles comments on a recent poll of the Venezuelan electorate:[Pollster Alfredo] Keller notes that 32% of voters are what he calls "transaccional chavistas," whose support based on a clientelist quid pro quo: my vote for your misión money. Another 14% is what he describes as "bureaucratic chavistas," people with more direct links to the state...

Bolivar Lacked One Thing: Oil on February 21, 2006 in Latin America

For the past year or so the government has started spending much of the wealth generated from oil sales on projects abroad. Experts believe that President Chavez has spent some $5bn on energy ventures outside Venezuela - including new or jointly operated oil refineries in Cuba, Uruguay and Brazil. The driving force behind Venezuela's spending spree is the desire...

Spanish in Brazil on July 3, 2005 in Latin America

From MercoPress:Brazilian Congress gave final approval Thursday to a bill that makes Spanish a second language in the country's public and private primary schools. The bill awaits now President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's signature.The legislation requires government and private schools to offer Spanish as an elective subject for students in grades five through eight. In earlier grades Spanish depends...

Rebellion, Revolution, and Pre-Caracazo Venezuela on May 25, 2005 in Latin America

While reading a newly released book on the Chavez administration, the following paragraph echoed a number of fragmented concepts that had passed throug my head within the last few years. Only now can I put them together:The people had taken to the streets just thirty years earlier, in January 1958, and had paved the way, under direction of the Patriotic...

Chavez the Communist on May 10, 2005 in Latin America

...chavismo is not a left-wing ideology. That does not mean that chavismo is a right-wing ideology. It means that the categories of left and right are ill-suited to capturing what has been happening in Venezuela since 1999. In fact, the tendency by chavistas and their opponents alike to place the experience of the last six years within familiar right vs....

Land Reform in an Age of Urbanism on January 5, 2005 in Latin America

First of all, while many want to make this an economic or social issue, it is really simply a very emotional and political issue, not an economic one. Land issues were important in Venezuela 50 years ago, when over half of the country's population was rural. Since then, Venezuela has seen the same migration to the urban centers seen in...

Notes from my Urban Society Class on January 5, 2005 in Latin America

Colonists began to populate urban centers with both locals and colonists from the metro-political powers. In order to do so, the colonists had to find a way to convince the indigenous that subordination was for their own good. Thus, a new ethical-moral system had to be imputed into the locals in order to grant the metro-political powers sufficient control over...

Bolivia Wants a Port on March 26, 2004 in Latin America

Earlier this month, Mesa announced that the Bolivian government would stage a series of public rallies across the country -- and in Bolivian embassies abroad -- beginning today to remember the dead of the War of the Pacific and to call for Chile to grant Bolivia a corridor to the sea. Boston Globe Thousands of Bolivians from all over the...

Saca Sucks Balls on March 26, 2004 in Latin America

Héctor Dada, a centrist party legislator, said [El Salvador's President-elect] Saca ``is a great speaker, but you have no idea what kind of path he might take as president, because we don't know what his ideas are.'' Miami Herald Under the blazing Salvadoran sun, supporters of candidate Tony Saca sing "Fatherland, Yes, Communism, No," thrusting their fists into the thick...

Shanty Towns: A Democratic Building Process Part 2 on November 3, 2003 in Latin America

Ironically, even though favelas are highly ignored by government officials, studies of shanty towns in Peru and Brazil, and recently Venezuela, have shown that the residents of these areas are well organized and are more politically aware than in other areas of the country (Gakenheimer, & Miller, p. 223; Roberts, p. 180.) In a sense, this makes much sense, since...

Shanty Towns: A Democratic Building Process Part 1 on November 1, 2003 in Latin America

In my previous article, "The Police and the Favelas," I made mention of a paper that I had half-way finished which briefly covers the topic of gangs and druglords as a parallel force in the favelas. Expand to see part one of this report (which will be followed by possibly two more parts; neither of which I have finished.) Since...

The Police and the Favelas on November 1, 2003 in Latin America

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Nov. 1 -- The heavily armed police patrolling the narrow alleys of the Morro de Dende shantytown stand out like an occupying army in their own city. Some 500 police have been occupying the favela, as the shantytowns are known here, since Wednesday to try to keep the peace and hunt down gang members responsible for...

Observations on Cafreisms on July 3, 2003 in Latin America , Puerto Rico

"Cafre" is a negative term frequently used by Puerto Ricans. It's definition is quite difficult to ping, and there is no real translation in English. "Ghetto" and "tacky" are two attempted-translations that I have heard frequently. Still, none of them capture the essence of what it is to be cafre. When attempting to define "cafre" I do not say what...

Urbanization in Latin America on June 10, 2003 in Latin America

Cities in Latin America, unlike those in the U.S. were not made to economically develop the surrounding areas (Roberts, p. 31.) Instead, these cities were colonial posts meant to administer the rural areas surrounding them (p. 30.) Thus, cities served as political, and not economic posts as goods and products such as textiles were widely produced on the country side...

Lovely Painting. Look at the Fingers on March 19, 2003 in Latin America

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The Caracazo and "The Problem" on March 3, 2003 in Latin America

BBack in 1989 the President of Venezuela began to implement a number of neo-liberal reforms in accordance to pacts signed with international lending institutions such as the IMF. The transportation sector was one of the many that felt the over-night economic reforms, as the price of bus fairs jumped drastically. The poor, who were most effected by the price hikes...

The Brazilian Empire on March 3, 2003 in Latin America

Great article from Brazzil.com:Brazil has not completely finished the process of becoming a Republic. Nor has it completely abolished slavery. In 21st-century Brazil the elite feel as distant from the people as they did in the 19th century. The Brazilian elite do not feel like citizens who pertain to the same people...Almost 200 years after Independence, the members of Congress...

Repost: Socialism in Latin America on July 5, 2002 in Latin America

Latin America - a continent and a half of beautiful scenery, vast reserves of just about every mineral known to man, a huge labor force, gigantic stretches of under-populated land, the capability to produce food to sustain its population many times over, and strong cultural similarities shared by the area's inhabitants from Mexico to Argentina to the Dominican Republic and...

Repost: Scars of Colonialism on March 5, 2002 in Latin America

When one brings up the word 'colonialism', people might think of Christopher Columbus stepping foot onto the coasts of a Caribbean island or maybe the Pilgrims sitting down with Native Americans for Thanksgiving dinner, but most will fail to note the aftershock or scars of colonialism. There is not one continent that has not been touched by the hand of...

Repost: Bolivarism and the Cultural Compatibility of Independence on January 5, 2002 in Latin America

On and off for decades and even centuries at a time, ancient (and recent) Egypt was occupied by foreign powers and civilization, and the thought that this did not have a profound effect on Egyptian culture would be foolish. Arab-American cultural commenter Edward Said was on point when stating that "foreign occupation [became] the very basis of contemporary Egyptian civilization"....