Central America. From Panama, the Wall Street Journal writes that a good indication about Obama’s feelings on free trade will be determined by watching whether or not he pushes Congress soon to ratify a free-trade agreement with Panama.
Inter Press Service has a piece on the successes of a literacy campaign carried out underneath the Sandinista government in Nicaragua.
The Guatemala Times writes about the security crisis in that country providing a very good chronology of events on organized crime and impunity in the last two years—events which have led to the present moment.
And in the magazine Guernica, Salvadoran novelist Horacio Castellanos Moya discusses why he is optimistic about the future of his country after the election of the FMLN.
Argentina. The Miami Herald reports on the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires which sponsored a book reading and forum on Che Guevara as part of the 35th International book fair. The book discussed, Che's Afterlife by Michael Casey, provides a detailed account of the branding of Che, arguing that Fidel Castro has served as a principal “brand manager.” The MH report says that the book could offer lessons for Obama on how to rebrand the United States in Latin America.
EFE writes that a recent census shows that over half of those living in Buenos Aires’ villas are non-Argentine.
And BBC reports that hundreds of priests in Buenos Aires are protesting death threats against two other priests after a report was issued showing a rise in drug problems in the city and lack of spending on education and decent schooling.
Bolivia. EFE writes and Boz highlights Evo Morales recent alacrity to describe himself as a “Marxist-Leninist.”
Brazil. The MH’s Cuban Colada blog writes that Brazil wants to get Cuba back into the IMF and World Bank. However, Fidel Castro in the past has described the Fund as “the executioner that pulls the string so the guillotine's blade falls on the heads of Third World nations.”
EFE reports that Brazil will donate four helicopters to Bolivia for law enforcement and disaster relief, adding words of strong support for the government of Evo Morales.
Colombia Reports writes that President Lula da Silva will meet today with Colombian legislator Piedad Cordoba to discuss the possibility that Brazil facilitate the release of a FARC hostage.
And, on energy, IPS reports that the U.S. will work with Latin American countries on energy issues based on a “variable geometry” which would allow governments to choose to cooperate in some areas but not in others. According to the piece, this means “it would be possible to work with Venezuela on the heavy crudes in its Orinoco Belt and with Brazil on ethanol, or with Mexico and Brazil on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.”
Chile. On the presidential race in Chile, El Nuevo Herald reports that billionaire Sebastien Pinera will turn over his control of four enterprises to pursue his presidential bid. Also, the Chilean “Left” nominated their candidate, former socialist minister, Jorge Arrate as their candidate to compete against Pinera and the governing center-left Concertación candidate, Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei.
Colombia. At Plan Colombia and Beyond, an Adam Isacson video report from the streets of Bogotá.
Colombia Reports writes that the Ecuadorian government appeared before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague Tuesday to present evidence of the alleged harmful effects of Colombian coca fumigation on Ecuadorian territory.
The AP writes that Dole Fruit Co. is being sued for allegedly making regular payments, for at least a decade, to illegal far-right Colombian militias that killed thousands.
In The Economist this week reports on disputed kidnapping figures being used by the Colombian government. Many human rights groups claim that government numbers are deceptively low and the problem is not as “resolved” as the government would like to make it seem.
And The Guardian writes that the UK has ended bilateral military aid to Colombia over lingering human rights concerns. Colombia calls the move a “severe blow.”
Cuba. In Newsweek, Jorge Castaneda writes about the effect of Obama’s words at the Summit on Fidel Castro, maintaining that: “Castro is too tough a nut to crack with smiles, quasi high-fives, and infinite patience, or with incremental baby steps. He has learned to be, at an enormous cost to his country, the least Latin American of the hemisphere's leaders. Fidel actually cares about deeds more than words; his colleagues prefer rhetoric to substance.”
Cuban Colada reports that Bobby Rush (D-IL) will hold a Congressional hearing on U.S. trade relations with Cuba April 27th. Rush chairs the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection.
And Alvaro Vargas Llosa, one-time embargo supporter, writes in The New Republic against the embargo saying that “the argument against the sanctions is a moral one. It is not acceptable for a government to abolish individual choice in matters of trade and travel. The only acceptable form of economic embargo is when citizens, not governments, decide not to do business with a dictatorship, be that of Burma, Zimbabwe or Cuba.
Ecuador. Spain’s El País titles its interview with newly re-elected President Rafael Correa “What’s the problem with a Venezuela-Bolivia-Ecuador axis? See the full interview here.
El Comercio in Ecuador reports that Correa will not only govern with strong popular mandate but he will also continue with a legislative majority.
And at Open Democracy an article looks at Rafael Correa’s quite impressive rise—the first person since 1979 to have won the presidency in the first-round of voting.
Haiti. On Haiti, the Miami Herald reports on a significant repatriation of 73 Haitian migrants by the U.S. Coast Guard who interdicted the boat near Miami.
Mexico. The weekly round-up of stories from Mexico this week—the country that just can’t seem to catch a break:
· On drug violence, the AP reports the discovery of 9 bullet-ridden bodies around the popular resort of Acapulco.
· On swine flu, the Huffington Post writes that some Mexican lawmakers in the state of Veracruz are charging large-scale factory hog and poultry operations as the “breeding grounds” of infection.
· The economic impact of swine flu, the LAT’s La Plaza blog says street vendors have and will continue to be deeply harmed by the outbreak.
· On alleged drug war rights violations, a report at Narco News writes that political activists who are part of the “Other Campaign” in Chiapas were detained for robbery, assault, and their alleged participation in organized crime.
· On drug prosecutions, Narco News also reports that Mexico is seeking permission to prosecute drug mules caught in the U.S.
· On trafficking, NACLA has a report that says human trafficking and its criminal networks, not drug trafficking, may have a more serious spillover effect into the U.S.
· On another underreported problem for Mexico, the Guardian writes about a 5.6 magnitude earthquake that shook central Mexico on Monday. The article reports how some in Mexico are “gripped by the sensation that the world might be coming to an end.”
· On drug policy failures, Moises Naím writes in Foreign Policy that “there are some signs that the blind support for prohibition is beginning to wane among key Washington elites” with one new convert being the Pentagon.
· On increased criticism of a military-funded mapping program in Oaxaca, Upside Down World has a follow-up report.
· And two articles not fully available online, but likely worth a read. In Dissent, Jeff Faux writes on “Obama’s Mexico Challenge.” And in the Wilson Quarterly Alfredo Corchado on how “drug violence and corruption threaten to bring Mexico to its knees.”
Peru. In a Q & A with the chief prosecutor in the Fujimori case, José Antonio Peláez, tells Inter Press Service that he believes the convicted ex-president will serve at least 18 years, even if his daughter is elected in 2011 and attempts to pardons him.
Uruguay. El Nuevo Herald reports that 330,000 signatures were submitted to the electoral court to place annulling an impunity law that has hampered human rights prosecutions in the country before Uruguayan voters in October’s elections.
Venezuela. The National Review Online argues that Hugo Chávez’s brand of authoritarian socialism has only brought food shortages and massive inflation to Venezuela.
The AP says Iran’s Defense Minister is in Venezuela for meetings with the Venezuelan government to strengthen military ties.
Respected Venezuelan commentator Steve Ellner critiques PBS’s Front Line report on Hugo Chávez (“The Hugo Chávez Show”) saying the report “makes no effort to present the pro-Chavez side, or an analysis (such as my own) that talks of problems and downsides but also interesting and positive developments.”
And, finally, a report by a U.S. delegation studying the February Venezuelan referendum process is posted at NACLA concludes that: “our observations of Venezuelan popular democracy in action stand in marked contrast with media depictions of Venezuela’s government as autocratic.” For the full report, click here.
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