Venezuelan Hunger Striker Dies

September 2, 2010

Franklin Brito, a farmer in the southern Venezuelan state of Bolivar, died Monday night while protesting the government sanctioned takeover of his farm in 2000 under President Hugo Chávez’s land reform policies.  Mr. Brito had failed to regain his land from the government for the past decade despite numerous appeals and several previous hunger strikes that began in 2005.  Mr. Brito passed away in a military hospital where he had been forcibly interned for his own safety, according to government officials.

Brito’s claims had initially garnered the support of Chávez who publicly supported him and called for government officials to rectify the situation.  However, the government made no further attempts to satisfy Brito’s land dispute.  Eventually, the government turned against Brito and accused him of having mental health problems. Venezuela’s minister for agriculture and land, Juan Carlos Loyo, stated publicly that Mr. Brito was being used by opponents of Hugo Chávez and his administration for political ends. 

Brito had been placed in a medically induced coma last Friday to treat a respiratory condition, according to government sources, and also suffered from severe liver and kidney damage.  Authorities claim he collapsed and that attempts were made to revive him before he was pronounced dead at 9 p.m. on Monday evening. 

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Hispanic Candidate Challenges Legislator Behind SB1070

September 1, 2010

The race for the seat of Arizona state senate Republican Russell Pearce, a key sponsor of the controversial immigration law SB1070, is heating up.  His newest opponent, Andrea Garcia, is a Latino woman running on the Libertarian Party ticket who is basing her campaign to unseat Pearce on his support of the controversial law. “My goal is to get Pearce out of the legislature. I believe the approval of state law SB1070 shows the damage his ideas can cause our communities,” says Garcia.

Support for and opposition to SB1070 has become a major issue in this year’s state-wide elections in Arizona and has proven a polarizing topic pitting mostly Republican supporters of the law against all opponents, especially Democrats. However, by many indications, support for the law has helped candidates around the state including Governor Jan Brewer, who won the Republican primary with nearly 82 percent of votes cast. She now faces Democratic challenger Terry Goddard over whom she holds a significant lead.

Garcia faces a formidable incumbent opponent with substantial financial backing and appears to understand that victory is a long shot. She says, however, “I hope that when [voters] realize that SB1070 has really done nothing to prevent undocumented immigration and that, on the contrary, it is hurting our communities, these people will change their minds.”

State-led immigration enforcement has also been an important campaign topic in state elections in Minnesota, California, Florida, and elsewhere.

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Official Claims Venezuelan Military Armed FARC

August 31, 2010

Carlos Molina Tamayo, former national security advisor to President Hugo Chávez, told Miami’s El Nuevo Herald today that the Venezuelan military has, in the past, supplied arms to the Colombian Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). According to Tamayo, former Minister of the Interior Ramon Rodriguez Chacin asked him to help send rifles to the FARC, when he was in charge of the Venezuelan armed forces’ armory.

Mr. Tamayo claims that Mr. Rodriguez Chacin asked him for 300 FAL rifles for an irregular operation and asked how they could be shipped out of Venezuela without being detected. Though Tamayo was never directly asked again to send more weapons, he claims that rifles, mortars and grenades and even anti-tank AT4 rockets would regularly “disappear” or were “stolen” from the Venezuelan caches.

Tamayo’s on-the-record statements come only a month after former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe accused President Chávez of harboring 1,500 FARC guerrillas and funding the FARC movement in Colombia. Chávez responded by cutting all diplomatic ties with Colombia, raising the threat of a military clash along the countries’ shared 2,300km border. The tensions finally eased in mid-August when Juan Manuel Santos met with Chávez in the Colombian city of Santa Marta, shortly after succeeding Uribe.

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Cuba Enacts Reforms to Bolster Foreign Investment

August 30, 2010

Cuban President Raúl Castro and the Cuban National Assembly last week issued two new decrees that analysts believe could prompt a new flood of foreign investment to the country. The new laws will permit foreign investors to lease government land for up to 99 years for tourism projects and loosen state controls on commerce in key agricultural sectors.

"This is probably one of the most significant moves in recent years relative to attracting foreign investment," said Robin Conners, CEO of the Canadian firm, Leisure Canada, which is currently developing a number of hospitality-related projects on the island. A number of firms also want to build golf courses on the island—a stated priority of the Communist government.

Others are more cautious. John Kavulich, a senior policy adviser for the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council says it’s still way too early to herald a new Cuba and that the measures enacted last week are not likely to open a floodgate of investment. Rather, he says, "I think it may turn on a tap so that people know there's water."

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Rousseff Widens Lead in Brazil Election

August 26, 2010

The latest polls out of Brazil show presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff winning the support of 49 percent of voters polled, with a 20 percentage-point lead over her nearest challenger, former São Paulo governor José Serra, who trails behind with 29 percent. Green Party candidate Marina Silva lagged at 9 percent. A candidate in Brazil needs at least 50 percent to avoid a runoff and these newest results make a first-round win in the October 3 election increasingly likely.

Ms. Rousseff received a major bump in name recognition and popularity after last week’s launch of her national television campaign, which included prime-time ad spots clearly linking her to ever-popular President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva.

An outright win for Rousseff may give the one-time energy minister a mandate for her legislative agenda, which some believe will stay close to Lula’s playbook of a strong state combined with market-friendly practices. Some economic analysts however, say Rousseff could be considering a much bolder policy agenda, including budget cuts to allow for lower interest rates, limits to the growth of public spending and reforms to the tax code.

The Datafolha poll was based on a nationwide sample of 10,948 people and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

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Canada Intercepts Russian Bombers

August 25, 2010

The Canadian government revealed this morning that Canadian fighter jets were scrambled to intercept two Russian bombers approaching Canadian airspace near its Northwest Territories on Tuesday.  The Canadian jets returned to base without incident once the Russian planes turned around.  The announcement comes on the eve of a visit by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to northern Canada to observe military exercises over the Arctic. 

The Russian TU-95 Bear jet bombers flew within 30 miles (50 km.) of Canadian soil after having first been spotted nearly 120 nautical miles north of Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Canada has linked the Russian flights over the arctic and near Canadian airspace to competition between Canada, the United States, Russia, and others to secure arctic resources as polar ice caps melt and reveal new potential sources of oil, natural gas and minerals resources.

A similar incident involving Russian bombers occurred last month off Canada’s east coast and again in February 2009.  In both cases, Canadian fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the Russian aircraft. Russian officials have repeatedly claimed that their planes never encroached on Canadian airspace. 

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Mapuche Protesters Take Over Radio Station in Chile

August 24, 2010

Indigenous community leaders on Monday staged a take-over of Santiago-based radio station Bío-Bío to protest the station’s failure to report on the hunger strike of 32 Mapuche activists. The protesters demanded that Radio Bío-Bío air an interview with a spokesperson for the prisoners, who began their hunger strike on July 12. The take-over occurred one week after internal government documents surfaced alleging links between Mapuche activists, the Chilean Communist Party, and Colombian guerrilla groups.

Mapuche activists have consistently challenged the Chilean government’s purported militarization of the southern region of Araucanía, which is the ancestral homeland of 650,000 Mapuches. The strong police presence in the region, they claim, is exacerbated by what they believe are the exploitative practices of multinational logging and mining companies.

Many of the jailed activists were arrested for illegal land occupations or attacks on the equipment or personnel of multinational companies, both of which are considered acts of terrorism under the  Pinochet-era Anti-Terrorism Law, No.19.027. The hunger strike is in direct protest of the law, which protesters say allows the state to hold people for up to two years without charges, restricts defense attorneys’ access to evidence, and use testimony from anonymous witnesses.

Since Chile’s return to democracy in 1990, this law has been applied  to Mapuche activists. The Chilean government maintains that the law is not being applied unfairly, and that the acts of the terrorists, regardless of their ethnicity, must be tried to the fullest extent of the law.

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FARC Looks to UNASUR to Facilitate Dialogue

August 23, 2010

The Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) today published an open letter to the Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (UNASUR) proposing that the multilateral organization begin mediating long-stalled talks between the FARC and the Colombian government. According to the letter, the FARC continues to desire a “political resolution to the conflict” and is “ready to explain during a UNASUR assembly, our vision of the Colombian conflict.”

The letter is the FARC’s second public statement since the inauguration of Colombia’s new President Juan Manuel Santos, following a July 30 video message to Mr. Santos that proposed restarting direct talks.

President Santos has not outright rejected the new overtures but has insisted that that any new talks must be "based on the unalterable premise that (the guerrillas) give up arms, kidnapping, extortion, drug trafficking, and intimidation".

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New Data on Children of Undocumented Immigrants as U.S. Increases Border Patrol

August 19, 2010

A new analysis of U.S. Census data by the Pew Hispanic Center reports that while undocumented immigrants make up approximately four percent of the adult population in the U.S., their children represent eight percent of the newborn population and seven percent of the child population (younger than age 18). Factors explaining the difference include the relative young age of immigrants and their greater likelihood of having large families.

The report comes amid growing calls by conservative lawmakers in Washington to consider repeal of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which endows citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. The debate began in early August following comments made by Senator Lindsay Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, who told Fox News that the amendment no longer serves its original purpose and should be re-examined. He and other politicians argue that fewer people would cross the border if they no longer had the incentive of giving birth to U.S. citizens.

The report also arrives as 224 U.S. National Guard troops prepare to deploy along California’s southern border on September 1. The troops will assist with counter-narcotics, anti-illegal immigration and other border security operations.

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U.S.-Colombia Pact Ruled Unconstitutional

August 18, 2010

An agreement between the U.S. and Colombian government, which allows the U.S. military access to and use of at least seven military bases in Colombia has been ruled unconstitutional in a 6-3 decision by Colombia’s constitutional court. The court ordered the government to submit the agreement to the Colombian congress for ratification as an international treaty subject to congressional approval to comply with constitutional rules. 

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France Refuses to Pay Back Haiti’s “Independence Debt”

August 17, 2010

The French foreign ministry announced on Monday that it will not comply with a request to return $22 billion that Haiti was forced to pay France in exchange for its independence in 1804. The request was published as an open letter to President Nicolas Sarkozy in the French daily Libération. Its signatories, including Noam Chomsky, Eduardo Galeano, Cornel West and Naomi Klein, called the debt “illegitimate” and “illegal.”

The Foreign Ministry defended its decision, arguing that France has already cancelled $72 million of Haiti’s debt. This is in addition to the $418 million it has committed to the recovery effort following the January 12 earthquake. However, the international relief aid pledged by nations like France and the United States has been dreadfully slow to arrive. Eight months after the disaster, only 10 percent of aid announced at the international donor’s conference in March has been delivered.

According to the 90 academics, politicians and writers who signed the open letter, if the $22 billion “independence debt” was returned to Haiti, it could fill the current aid gap, stimulate the reconstruction effort and put pressure on the international community to deliver the money that was promised.

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New Poll Reveals Tie Eight Months Ahead of Peru’s Presidential Election

August 16, 2010

A survey conducted by Ipsos Apoyo Opinion y Mercado, commissioned by Peru’s El Comercio, revealed today that Congresswoman Keiko Fujimori and Lima Mayor Luis Castañeda Lossio are tied at 20 percent of voter approval for Peru’s presidential election. Voters will go to the polls on April 10, 2011.

Castañeda is neck-in-neck with Fujimori despite him not yet officially declaring his candidacy. Meanwhile, Fujimori is often seen on the campaign trail.

Following the two front-runners are former President Alejandro Toledo (14 percent support) and Ollanta Humala (12 percent), who lost to President Alan García in a run-off election in  2006.

The poll also revealed that 50 percent of people support the investigation of Attorney General Gladys Echaiz to find out if Keiko and her brothers funded their U.S. university expenditures with state money. But 38 percent believe that the objective of the investigation is to discredit her.

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Protests Shut Down Bolivian Mining Town

August 12, 2010

A mountain once infamous for trapping miners is today becoming famous for trapping tourists. Anti-government protesters have blocked roads, rail and air routes out of Potosí, Bolivia, leaving over 100 foreign tourists stranded, food supplies dwindling and tempers flaring. Operations at the San Cristóbal mine were halted Thursday, following protesters’ Tuesday takeover of the hydroelectric plant that powers it. The San Cristóbal mine is one of the world’s largest producers of silver and zinc. Its shutdown will cost Japanese owner Sumitomo Corp. an estimated two million dollars a day in lost export revenue. The output at other mines has also been disrupted.

Residents, miners and peasants from Potosí have been on strike and engaged in anti-government protest for the past two weeks. Some are on hunger strike, including provincial governor Félix González. They are demanding that President Morales commit greater investment to their region, particularly in the way of airport expansion, road construction, and creation of a cement factory. They also demand that the government resolve a boundary dispute with neighboring Oruro province over a limestone deposit.

Presidential spokesman Iván Canelas has said the government will not use force to break the blockade around Potosí, insisting that a solution will be reached instead through dialogue. The United Nations has issued a call for such dialogue to take place immediately, warning that the blockade and strike are causing “grave and massive human rights violations.”

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Former Mexican President Supports Drug Legalization

August 11, 2010

Vicente Fox, Mexico’s president from 2000 to 2006, recently announced his support for the legalization of marijuana and criticized the use of the Mexican Army to support local police forces as they attempt to clamp down on drug cartels in the country.   President Fox’s views on drugs and Mexico’s continuing war on drugs were posted on his personal blog.

His comments come just days after President Felipe Calderón hosted a security conference at Los Pinos, the presidential residence, in which Calderón indicated that he did not support legalization but understood that such a move would “significantly reduce criminals’ cash flow.”  Fox echoed those remarks by noting that legalization was “a strategy to weaken and break the economic system that allows cartels to earn huge profits.” 

The former president’s comments add to the growing number of voices in Latin America calling for a change of strategy in dealing with the scourge of the drug trade.  Last year, three former presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil, César Gaviria of Colombia, and Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico endorsed a change in the approach currently taken to stemming the flow of drugs.

President Calderón supports continued debate on legalization, but is personally against such legislation. 

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Wycelf Jean Defends Presidential Bid

August 10, 2010

Musician-turned-politician Wycelf Jean lashed out at Sean Penn on Monday, defending his qualifications as a presidential candidate and his role in the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake. Shortly after Jean registered his bid, Penn said in an interview with CNN that “For those of us in Haiti, [Jean] has been a non-presence,” and called into question Jean’s financial management as chairman of Yéle Haiti.

In a series of interviews, Jean defended his charity, claiming that it has raised $9 million since the earthquake, and played an instrumental role in decreasing violence following the ouster of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004. The Haitian-born artist the also characterized himself as a crucial liaison between the Haitian people and the 600,000 Haitians living in the United States. AQ interviewed Jean on his role in Haiti prior to the earthquake in the Spring 2009 issue on the environment.

The public row with Sean Penn raised several questions about Jean’s political credentials, his chairmanship of Yéle Haiti, and even his legal eligibility as a presidential candidate. However, the publicity that has resulted from the back-and-forth could ultimately prove beneficial to Jean’s campaign by raising his profile as a politician, especially among the Diaspora. The final list of candidates will be announced on August 17, three months before the national elections on November 26.

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Chávez to Meet with Colombia’s New President

August 9, 2010

Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin announced that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez will meet in Colombia with newly inaugurated President Juan Manuel Santos on Tuesday to discuss their countries' diplomatic and trade relations.

Chávez expressed hopes of restoring the neighbors’ ties. “We have much hope that the new government will begin to construct all that Uribe's government destroyed.” Mr. Chávez severed ties with Colombia in July after accusations were brought forward by then President Uribe that Venezuela is giving refuge to Colombian guerrillas.

In his efforts to show some support for Santos, Mr. Chávez announced on his weekly radio and television show, “Just as one proposes that Colombia's government seek the path to peace, the guerrillas also must do it.”

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Aging Boats Compromise Canada’s Navy

August 6, 2010

Canada’s naval prowess may soon be undermined by its aging oil tanker supply ships, compromising its maritime ability to act independently around the world, a report released yesterday in Ottawa warns. According to the leaked document, the 40-year-old ships could be barred from both European and American ports by 2015 due to their outdated, single-hull design, which violates standards adopted to prevent major oil spills.

Without being able to send out supply ships, Canada will not be able maintain an independent navy, says Ken Bowering, a retired navy commander: “The support ships, the tankers, provide that ability to stay at sea for extended periods with fuel, with spare parts, food, ammunition.”

Canadian naval capabilities have come under growing scrutiny in recent years as the naval forces of Russia and northern European shipping fleets have increased their Arctic presence in anticipation of global warming. In July, prior to the public release of yesterday’s report, the Conservative government in Canada announced in that it will spend $2.6 billion to replace the navy’s two auxiliary oil replenishment vessels.

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"Fantastic" Mercosur Summit Ends in Landmark Agreements

August 5, 2010

South America’s Mercosur trade bloc on Tuesday concluded in San Juan, Argentina what Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva called “the best summit” in 15 years. After six years of negotiations, Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay finally reached consensus on the distribution of customs revenue and the elimination of double taxation on goods imported by member countries. The agreement will expedite and reduce the cost of commerce across South America and effectively establishes Mercosur as a customs union capable of negotiating with third parties.

In addition to progress on the Common Customs Code, Mercosur members agreed on a plan to grant commercial benefits to Haiti and to protect the Guaraní aquifer, one of the world’s largest drinking water reservoirs. Perhaps most notably, the bloc also signed a free trade agreement with Egypt, which is expected to open a market of 76 million consumers to primary and industrialized products from Mercosur countries, including pharmaceutical, automotive and agricultural goods.

Ahead of the summit, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro had sought Mercosur support for his country’s requests for membership in the bloc, which are opposed by Colombia. The response by Mr. da Silva and other leaders that Venezuela should not seek to resolve a bilateral issue at a multilateral trade summit resulted in President Chávez’s decision not to attend the meetings.

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Bubonic Plague Re-Appears in Peru

August 4, 2010

The death of a 14-year-old boy with Down syndrome on July 26 signals a fresh outbreak of bubonic plague in Peru, Minister of Health Oscar Ugarte revealed this week. A total of 33 cases have been linked to the disease, which so far has been limited to the northern province of Ascope.

Bubonic plague is spread by rats and other rodents, which are abundant in sugar cane plantations where, according to the health ministry, the newest epidemic started. The disease itself is transmitted by flea bites. Doctors working with the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center Detachment have also identified four cases of pneumonic plague, which can be transmitted through the air.

The government has shipped six metric tons of Carbaryl, an insecticide, to the region to head off the disease’s continued spread. It is also fumigating homes and ports in the region, and blocking shipments from the north to Lima. The last time an epidemic of the plague swept through Peru, in 1994, 1,104 people were infected and 35 died.

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Shark Fishing in Brazil Stirs Controversy

August 3, 2010

The Brazilian environmental group Instituto Justiça Ambiental (IJA) this week released a report alleging that illegal commercial shark fishing is causing severe damage to Brazil’s offshore ecosystems. According to IJA,  300,000 sharks have been killed in the past year for their fins, which are clandestinely exported to Asia where shark fin soup and other shark-based dishes are a popular delicacy.

It is a crime in Brazil to separate a shark’s fin from its body. According to the group’s allegations, however, this has not stopped the Brazilian seafood company, Sigel do Brasil Comercio, from illegally exporting millions of dollars worth of shark fins to China and other Asian markets where a growing middle class has caused a surge in demand for the products. IJA’s claims have been substantiated by the Brazilian Environment Ministry, who has stepped up pressure on Sigel and even raided their offices in May.

The killing of so many predators has severely imbalanced the ecosystem off Brazil’s coast, says Cristiano Pacheco, director of IJA, "The massive and illegal fishing is doing irreversible harm to the ocean's ecosystem, because sharks are at the top of the food chain.” In the group’s view, that impact is worth $790 million, which is the amount of a lawsuit that IJA has brought against the seafood company on Monday. Any legal award resulting from the suit will go to Brazil’s national environment fund.

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Mexico, Chile to Re-Establish Ties with Honduras

August 2, 2010

More than a year after former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was forcibly removed from power in Tegucigalpa, Chile and Mexico on Saturday joined a growing number of Latin American countries to re-establish diplomatic ties with Honduras.

Although he did not offer a definitive timeline, Chilean Foreign Minister Alfredo Moreno announced that Chile would soon resume full diplomatic relations with the Tegucigalpa government. Mexico, on the other hand, announced its decision to send its ambassador back to Honduras as early as next week. The decisions came in the aftermath of a 12-page report released last Thursday by the Organization of American States highlighting improving conditions in Honduras.

Other countries, including Ecuador, Brazil, and Venezuela are reluctant to re-establish relations with Honduras. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been supportive of reintegration and said in June, “President Lobo has done everything he said he would do,” “He has been very committed to pursuing a policy of reintegration.”

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Mayo Clinic Goes Social

July 30, 2010

This week Mayo Clinic announced the launch of a Center for Social Media. The first of its kind, the Center aims to deepen Mayo’s use of social media tools to promote better communication among health care professionals and improve patients’ quality of care. As discussed in depth in the newly released summer issue of Americas Quarterly, communications technology is revolutionizing the way patients receive health information and even services.

Long a pioneer in social media, Mayo Clinic has a popular channel on YouTube, active Twitter and Facebook accounts, and 12 blogs, the topics of which range from cancer to safe sex to patient anecdotes. While thus far it has primarily used these tools to enhance internal communication among employees—fostering collaboration on patient care, education, research and administration issues—it now seeks to accelerate adoption of them for health-related purposes. Patients will be able to research specific diseases, learn more about Mayo Clinic doctors and even access reference material from CNN Health.

The bottom line? “To help patients,” says center leader Lee Aese, by both providing information directly and integrating communication channels among the medical community.

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Demand for Antidepressants Tests Chilean Health Care System

July 29, 2010

Five months after the 8.8-magnitude earthquake, the Chilean Ministry of Health reports that the demand for antidepressants like Diazepam, Alprazolam and Clonazepam has increased by 33 percent compared to pre-earthquake levels. At the same time, according to the Unidad de Trauma, Estrés y Desastres de la Universidad Católica, 7.5 percent of the Chilean population is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the disaster.

Clearly, the earthquake is testing a system that Philip Musgrove describes in the newly released AQ as being increasingly “more complete and more equitable through reforms that are also politically acceptable.”

Besides, placing tremendous pressure on the system, the earthquake and resulting spike in antidepressant consumption also leads to problems of self-prescription and counterfeit medicine. According to Marv Shepherd, “Latin America currently rank second behind Asia as having the highest number of counterfeit drugs ‘incidents.’” If this trend continues, Chilean authorities will face the added challenge of cracking down on a growing black medicine market.

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Haitian Presidential Race Takes Shape

July 28, 2010

Haiti's Ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph, said today that next week he will formally announce his candidacy for President in the Haitian national elections later this fall. In an interesting twist, some observers are predicting that Mr. Joseph will be running against his nephew, and world-famous performing artist, Wyclef Jean. Mr. Jean—a socially responsible celebrity as discussed with AQ—has been involved extensively in Haiti’s reconstruction and is rumored to be completing the paperwork required to run for public office and has until August 7 to complete the process.

In response to the possibility of Wyclef joining the race, Ambassador Joseph commented: “We are family. And we won’t allow politics to divide… No, I wouldn’t say running against, I would say running parallel.”

"I think he [Joseph] would be a strong contender," "I’m not endorsing him, but I am saying that he does fit the profile of what many expect to see in the next round: someone able to engage the international community." says Eduardo Gamarra, a political science professor at Florida International University who has extensive knowledge on Haitian affairs.

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Colombia-Venezuela Dispute Gets Hearing in Argentina

July 27, 2010

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner met this week with both sides of the simmering dispute between Colombia and Venezuela. Colombia has alleged that the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) is operating out of bases on the Venezuelan side of the border, and in response, President Hugo Chávez has cut off all diplomatic relations with the Uribe government.

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Ecuador and UNDP to Sign Amazon Conservation Agreement

July 26, 2010

Following four months of negotiations, the Ecuadorian government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are expected to sign an agreement on August 3 that will create a trust fund to manage international contributions to the Yasuni – Ishpingo Tambococha Tiputini (ITT) initiative.  The Yasuni-ITT Trust Fund will allow Ecuador to receive monetary compensation in exchange for not extracting oil deposits in the Amazon’s Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) oilfields—a region of high biodiversity located in the Yasuni National Park. 

As part of the agreement, Ecuador will receive at least 50 percent of the revenue it would have otherwise received for extracting the resources found in the ITT oil reserve.

This initiative is the first of its kind and presents Ecuador as an example of a “post-petroleum” country positioning itself to fight global climate change. The initiative has received political support, but it now faces the challenge to secure donors. Only Germany has pledged an exact monetary figure to the initiative (50 million euros annually over 13 years).  Ecuador hopes to receive funding from other Euro-bloc nations as well as the Arab nations of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the United States, public and private companies, inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and the general public. 

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Venezuela to Exhume Remains of Bolívar's Sister

July 23, 2010

The Venezuelan government confirmed this week that it will exhume the remains of María Antonia Bolívar, the older sister of the South American political hero Simon Bolívar.  DNA from María Antonia’s remains will be tested against those of her brother as part of an investigation ordered by President Hugo Chávez to determine whether he was murdered. 

Most historians believe Bolívar died of tuberculosis, but recent research by an infectious disease specialist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine suggests the cause of death was arsenic poisoning.  President Chávez points to these findings as support for his theory that Bolívar was killed by Colombian oligarchs.  Researcher Dr. Paul Auwaerter, however, said he thought murder was unlikely and his findings were more consistent with chronic poisoning—perhaps the result of drinking contaminated water in Peru.

Last week President Chávez announced the exhumation of Simon Bolívar’s supposed remains on Twitter, saying he “wept with emotion” upon seeing the bones of the man who inspired his Bolivarian Revolution.  María Antonia’s remains will be exhumed at the end of August. 

The forensic investigations take place amid heightened tensions between Venezuela and Colombia.  President Chávez said Thursday he had “no choice” but to sever relations with Colombia following the latter’s accusations that 1,500 Colombian guerrillas are hiding in Venezuela.

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Mud Bug Deal in Nunavut Could Set Precedent

July 22, 2010

Researcher Russell Kerr is negotiating a profit-sharing deal with the Inuit living in Nunavut, Canada’s northernmost territory. Kerr, a chemistry professor at the University of Prince Edward Island, hopes to discover bacteria hidden in the mud of Frobisher Bay that can be used in commercial products like cosmetics or life-saving medicine.

Nothing is guaranteed, but an organism used in cosmetics could be worth tens of thousands of dollars. On the other hand, Kerr says, "At the upper end of the range, which is a real long shot, a cancer drug can generate billions of dollars.”

Kerr’s approach, which is “precedent-setting,” according to Jamal Shirley of the Nunavut Research Institute, could change how bioprospecting is done in the Arctic, where governments and the UN have been carefully watching the effects of climate change for years. In the upcoming issue of Americas Quarterly, to be released next Thursday, July 29, veteran journalist and AQ contributing blogger Huguette Young explores the geopolitics of the Arctic as melting land and sea transform  the region’s geography and ecology.

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Chávez Claims Stake in Television Station

July 21, 2010

The Venezuelan President claimed on Tuesday to own 25.8 percent of outstanding shares of Globovision, the country’s only remaining TV channel with anti-government broadcasts. The stake in Globovision was acquired after the government took over Banco Federal CA, a failed bank that had owned a 20 percent stake in Globovision.

With the accumulated shares, President Hugo Chávez claims to have the right to name its own representative to Globovision’s board of directors. "We're joining the business," Chávez said.

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Cold Front Claims Lives in Southern Cone

July 20, 2010

Record low temperatures, hovering around 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6 degrees Celsius) for the last two weeks, have killed more than 100 people and hundreds more cattle and other livestock, causing an agricultural emergency in rural areas of the Southern Cone. The cold snap is gripping Argentina, southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, and Bolivia with states of emergency being declared across the region.

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Fujimori Leads Peru’s Presidential Race

July 19, 2010

Peruvian congresswoman and presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori leads a field of likely candidates for Peru’s 2011 presidential elections, according to an Ipsos poll released on Sunday in Lima. Ms. Fujimori, the daughter of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, was the top choice for 22 percent of likely voters. Lima Mayor Luis Castañeda closely trailed her with 20 percent, while former President Alejandro Toledo is in third place with 14 percent.

Ms. Fujimori, who is known as a conservative lawmaker, says she will refrain from a “radical’’ economic path and would continue with the pro-growth strategies of recent years. “There’s no doubt Keiko would pursue her father’s policies to promote a free-market,” says Miguel Palomino, head of the Peruvian Institute of Economics.

Human rights activists have criticized Ms. Fujimori for openly admitting that she would release her father—currently imprisoned for corruption, embezzlement, and kidnapping. “I trust that my father will be declared innocent, but if the time comes, and if I am president, I won’t hesitate to grant amnesty to any person that I believe is innocent and punish those who are criminals,” according to the candidate.

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Vatican to Finance Development Projects Throughout Latin America

July 16, 2010

The Vatican confirmed today that during the annual Populorum Progressio foundation meeting, held this year in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, it will evaluate the financing of 230 projects in 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The projects range from initiatives to improve agricultural production to the construction of schools, health clinics and community centers. 

This year’s meeting will be the foundation’s first in a Caribbean country. The location was selected with the hope of increasing the foundation’s awareness of issues concerning the region and to highlight the foundation’s missions in local church communities.  In general, the church-funded projects are designed to benefit the indigenous, mestizo, afro-Latino and rural populations of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The meeting will also allow a Vatican delegation to travel to Haiti on July 22 to visit refugee camps sponsored by the Catholic Church.  While the foundation already finances a number of projects in Haiti, it has recently approved $250,000 for the reconstruction of the St. François de Sales school in Port au Prince, which was destroyed by the earthquake in January. 

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Gay Marriage Legal in Argentina

July 15, 2010

Today, Argentina became the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage when 33 senators voted in favor of the bill, with 27 opposed and three abstaining.

The new law grants gays and lesbians all the same legal rights, responsibilities and protections of marriage as heterosexual couples. With the strong support of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, it is expected to be published in the official bulletin and enter into force within days.

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Iroquois Lacrosse Team to Attend World Championships

July 14, 2010

U.S.-born players of the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team have been cleared to fly to Manchester, England, in time to compete in the World Lacrosse Championship beginning tomorrow night.  The Iroquois Nationals, comprised of members from the six Native American nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, had been barred from traveling to Manchester because the British government would not issue visas to the team unless the U.S.

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Santos Aims to Rebuild Relationship with Venezuela

July 13, 2010

Re-establishing relations with neighboring Venezuela will be a “priority” of the Santos government, says Maria Ángela Holguín, Colombia’s incoming foreign minister.

Following a meeting with Foreign Minister Jaime Bermúdez, Holguín stated that the President-elect had maintained an interest in re-establishing relations with Venezuela throughout his campaign.  “For that to happen,” she stated, “there is a need for respectful and transparent dialogue, in which we are already engaged.” Holguín also confirmed that an invitation to Santos’ inauguration had been sent to President Chávez.

Relations with Venezuela had deteriorated in 2009 after Colombia signed a pact with the U.S. granting access to seven military bases around the country.  Venezuela viewed the agreement as a threat to sovereignty in the region.  Recently, however, it has signaled a desire to mend relations with Colombia.

Holguín also announced details of Santos’ upcoming Latin American tour. Beginning July 22, the President-elect will travel to Mexico, Panama, Chile, Argentina, and Peru to meet with each country’s head of state.

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