Blog entries

Brazil’s Minister of Cities Mário Negromonte resigned on Thursday amid allegations of corruption published in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo. Wednesday’s report alleged that the ministry’s executive director Roberto Munize held secret meetings with a lobbyist from Negromonte’s Partido Progressista (Progressive Party) and a businessman who was interested in bidding on a public … Read more

The following is not yet another tirade against President Hugo Chávez. Instead, it is a warning: recent developments suggest that, in the case that Chávez does not manage to survive his illness, his successors could turn Venezuela into a narco-autocracy run by corrupt military officers who care more for money and riches than ideology or … Read more

From Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online’s news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. Brazilian President Focuses on Investments in Cuba, Haiti President Dilma Rousseff visited Cuba on … Read more

This year is already proving that it will be an exciting one for news. Take the U.S. elections, for starters.  The presidential election, as it’s been said by at least one GOP nominee, represents a battle for nothing less than America’s soul. As for Latin America, what should we expect to make headlines?  Before ticking … Read more

Beginning today, units of the Argentine Federal Police (also known as La Federal) will begin leaving their posts at subway stations across Buenos Aires and by mid-March will be removed from highway posts surrounding the city. The ongoing changes, announced over the last by the office of Minister for Public Safety Nilda Garré, are part … Read more

  In the last 5 years China’s military activities in Latin America and the Caribbean have grown at an unprecedented rate.   Beijing now regularly hosts officers from Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay  in its military academies, has expanded arms sales and technology transfers to countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Venezuela, and in … Read more

Former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya announced yesterday that he would officially end his 30-year affiliation with the Partido Liberal (Liberal Party). Zelaya ran on the Partido Liberal ticket when he was elected president in 2006, but later accused the party’s leadership of having a hand in the military coup d’état that deposed him in 2009. … Read more

Chinese President Hu Jintao made seven ambassadorial appointments yesterday, according to a statement from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress—with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Jinzhang filling the post of ambassador to Brazil. Jinzhang, who spoke with AQ for the Spring 2011 issue, said at the time that “the potential for growth … Read more

Former president Efraín Rios Montt will stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity, after he refused to testify in his defense during Thursday’s investigation phase. Rios Montt will remain free, on Q500000 bail ($64000) and live under house arrest until the trial date is set, which will be at least two months from now. … Read more

News yesterday that the U.S. Department of Defense is poised to undertake force reductions and base closings in response to challenging national economic circumstances contrasts sharply with trends elsewhere in the hemisphere to ramp up defense spending and military purchases. According to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, army and Marine Corps. force reductions should save $487 … Read more

Research published in the Winter issue of Americas Quarterly, released today, shows that Chinese exports not only compete with Latin America in export markets, they also undermine manufactured goods domestically. Osvaldo Rosales of the Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean writes in his article, “Trade Competition from China,” that China’s emergence on the … Read more

Read more on China and Latin America in the new issue of Americas Quarterly. It is no secret that China is now a major economic presence in Latin America. For countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, and Venezuela this has meant money to help keep their economies going, to build power plants, to provide … Read more

From Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online’s news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup. Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email. López Bows Out, Supports Capriles ahead of Venezuelan Primary Venezuela’s El Universal reports that … Read more

Venezuelan opposition candidate Leopoldo López of Voluntad Popular pulled out of the presidential primary race on Tuesday to form an alliance with current opposition frontrunner Henrique Capriles Radonski of Primero Justicia. According to Dataánalisis, a Venezuelan polling firm, Capriles leads López by 29 percentage points (45 to 16 percent) ahead of the February 12 primary … Read more

The United Nations announced yesterday that it is investigating two cases of sexual exploitation of children allegedly committed by UN police personnel in Haiti. One case involves the UN Police (UNPOL) in Port-au-Prince, while the other implicates one or more members of the Formed Police Unit (FPU) in the northern city of Gonaives. UN Spokesperson … Read more