August 20 stories

Stubbornness and Political Games in Honduras

Following Micheletti’s ultimatum to the Argentine diplomats yesterday, AFP reports that de facto government has now given them until Friday to leave the country, calling this the “the latest escalation in a tit-for-tat political dispute between the two nations.” And these days, it seems that the de facto government never misses a chance to drive home the point that it’s unwilling to receive Zelaya back into the presidency. Such was the case of the head of Micheletti's cabinet of ministers, Rafael Pineda Ponce, who told local media yesterday: “The unconditional return of Don Manuel Zelaya to the presidency of the republic ... is non-negotiable.”

Also on Honduras, Xinhua News reported yesterday that the de facto President Micheletti doesn’t care whether the elections are recognized by the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), claiming that "commercial relations are more important than diplomatic ones.” The Caribbean and Central America (most notably Guatemala and El Salvador) are perhaps more important as alternative trade markets.

With the possibility of Zelaya seeming more remote with every day that passes, AP has a good analysis of the potential precedents this may set in the region, in a piece entitled “Latin leftists fear a Honduras coup domino effect.” On the one hand, it notes that Honduras offers a “glimmer of hope for the region's conservative elite, which has watched with dismay over the past decade as a wave of leftist presidents has risen to power, promising to topple the establishment and give greater power to the poor.” On the other, the report notes Chavez’s approving citation of Fidel Castro’s fears that the Honduran coup will “open the door to the wave of coups coming in Latin America.” Meanwhile Ecuador’s Correa says he has intelligence reports indicating that “after Zelaya, I’m next.”

The story does note that fears of a precedent should also not be exaggerated:

No other leader in the region faces the utter political isolation that drove Zelaya from power so swiftly and efficiently: The military, the Supreme Court and even Zelaya's own political party turned against him when he deepened his allegiance with Chavez and pursued constitutional changes in defiance of court rulings.

Elsewhere in the region, many of the leaders have already solidified their hold on power, in part through referendums and new constitutions overwhelmingly approved by voters. In Venezuela, other branches of government including congress and the judiciary are stacked with Chavez allies, leaving his opponents with few options for getting back into power.

Access to drugs threatened in Latin America & elsewhere

In a story you might have missed in the LA Times, groups such as Oxfam International and Doctors without Borders are quite concerned that the Obama administration is cozying up to pharmaceutical companies on the issue of broadening access to medicine to combat disease in developing countries, perhaps in part to get their support for domestic health care reform. “It appears that Obama appointees are continuing to work from the playbook of the last administration," Oxfam policy advisor Rohit Malpani is quoted as saying. The article notes, for example, that access to AIDs drugs were becoming more limited in places like Guatemala, where the government used to buy them at bulk rates from international organizations, but now buy them at market rates – a move which apparently meets the approval of both the US and pharmaceutical companies.

An Update on Mexico’s Drug War

The LA Times runs a story today on Julio Cesar Godoy, one of dozens of politicians and police chiefs accused of helping the notorious drug cartel La Familia in Michoacan (President Calderon’s home state), who won the July 5 Congressional elections despite being sought on drug charges. The LAT story writes that Godoy’s case presents two dilemmas: first, “[his] situation underscores the suspected depth of drug-fueled corruption in Mexican politics,” and second, if he is sworn in by September 1, he could possibly escape prosecution by receiving immunity. This week, however, Congress decided that Godoy will not be able to register until he “resolves his judicial situation.” The operations chief of La Familia in Michoacan, Servando “La Tuta” Gomez,” is the subject of an AP report appearing in the Washington Post. Or rather, his mother is. She was released “for lack of evidence” after being held for two days, part of an increasing tactic of detaining traffickers’ family members. “This thing with detaining family members is at the borderline ... of illegality, it has serious human rights implications,” said Samuel Gonzalez, a former top anti-drug prosecutor.

The Washington Post reported that within the last decade in Mexico, 52 media reporters or journalists have been killed. Most of the murders have not been solved. Drug cartels often target reporters and journalists, especially since “impunity has become the hallmark of the aggressions against journalists in Mexico.” The Christian Science Monitor offers a briefing of how Mexico is waging its war on drugs, including a description of the most powerful cartels, the risks of using the military in this war, and an interesting discussion of how one might measure “progress.”

As if the violence surround the drug war in Mexico were not enough, the Washington Post reports that Mexico is hit by the lowest rainfall in 68 years, “killing crops and cattle in the countryside and forcing the government to slow the flow of water to the crowded capital.”

On a lighter note, the LA Times reported that Michael Jackson fans danced to “Thriller” outside of the Palacio de Bellas Artes in downtown Mexico City Tuesday morning to practice the dance for an event on August 29, Jackson’s birthday, when 11,000 people are predicted to break the Guinness World Record for the biggest mass “Thriller” dance!

Constitutional changes, free trade and drugs in Colombia

Congressional Quarterly ran a story yesterday (subscription required) that led with the following statement: “To say the stalled U.S.-Colombia trade deal is important to the Colombian government is something of an understatement.” The article details how hard the Colombian Ambassador to the US has been working on this issue – “no fewer than 630 meetings with U.S. lawmakers” – but says it is still an uphill battle to get congressional approval for the pact signed by the Bush administration back in 2006, especially until the health care debate is finished.

The Associated Press reported that yesterday, Colombia voted to pass a bill calling for a referendum to decide if they should modify the constitution to allow President Uribe to run for a third term in May 2010. The constitution was already changed to allow Uribe to run for a second term. If the House approves this bill, it would be submitted to the Constitutional Court, which would have three months to determine if the referendum was legal. Although some Colombians believe Uribe has been successful in reducing high murder and kidnapping rates, others believe that “eight years is enough and a healthy democracy requires alternating leadership.”

The New York Times also reported that Jamal Yousef, a former member of the Syrian military, was charged yesterday with narco-terrorism conspiracy for plotting to sell high-powered weapons to Colombian terrorists and rebels of the FARC in exchange for over a ton of cocaine. Yousef did not realize that the men who claimed to be FARC representatives actually worked for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. His charges carry a maximum of life in prison.

Brazilian Priest Scandal

The Miami Herald reported that Italian priest Father Clodoveo Piazza who ran a homeless shelter in Brazil and former director of a non-profit Marcos de Paiva Silva, were charged for sexually abusing boys and allowing foreigners to exploit children. The fact that Piazza is now doing missionary work in Mozambique is worrisome, since other kids may be in a similar dangerous situation. While a judge deciding whether to request extradition or an Interpol arrest warrant for Piazza, Silva is free pending trial or until a judge orders his imprisonment. If convicted of sexual abuse and facilitating sexual exploitation, Piazza and Silva may receive up to 10 years in jail.

Rising Corruption in Costa Rica

In Costa Rica, the Tico Times featured an article claiming that corruption has increased within this politically stable and environmentally-friendly country. A study revealed that Costa Ricans have a higher awareness of corruption in their government than citizens of other Central American countries.

-- Maddie Thomson

NOTE: Josh Frens-String will resume writing these updates next Monday. Thanks to Maddie Thomson, a WOLA intern, for helping out in the interim.