Blog entries

Major League Baseball (MLB) all-star Albert Pujols hosted a celebrity golf tournament this week in Missouri to benefit his Pujols Family Foundation and its work in helping families in need in his native country, the Dominican Republic. The foundation and the baseball star are featured in the Summer 2011 issue of Americas Quarterly, released today … Read more

The anarchist group known as ITS (Individualidades Tendiendo a lo Salvaje or “Individual actions bordering on being savage” as it would roughly translate in English) gained notoriety in Mexico on Monday (August 8) when they claimed responsibility for a home-made explosive device that detonated in the hands of Tec de Monterrey Estado de México professor … Read more

Latin American stock markets plunged on Monday registering the worst numbers since February 2010.  The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Latin America—an index to measure equity market performance in emerging markets in the region—dropped 5.52 percent partly over concerns of the financial situation in the United States and Europe. The downgrade from AAA to AA+ … Read more

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper today begins a weeklong tour through South and Central America with a focus on boosting trade ties. He will visit four countries: Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Honduras. Harper’s arrival in Brazil last night marks his first official visit to the country in more than five years as prime minister. … Read more

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Thursday accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, following a series of derogatory statements made to the press in recent weeks. Shortly thereafter Former Minister of Foreign Relations (1993–1995, 2003–2011) and Americas Quarterly contributor Celso Amorim was selected as Jobim’s replacement and he officially took office yesterday. In the … Read more

The leaders of widespread student and faculty protests in Chile yesterday announced plans to mount a national strike and an additional series of mass demonstrations to contest a far-reaching education reform bill supported by the government. In response, Chilean Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter indicated that his office would deny to students permission to demonstrate in … Read more

Cubans Prepare for Home Sales The Cuban government has yet to finalize the rules, but Cubans are preparing for the soon-to-come day when they can buy and sell homes for the first time since the 1960s. Some Cubans imagine legal home sales as an economic boon and an opportunity to skirt the state bureaucracy’s control … Read more

Peru’s new Minister of Mines and Energy, Carlos Herrera, announced yesterday that authorities from the country’s Comité de Operación Económica del Sistema—the national agency responsible for energy oversight—would begin rationing energy in Peru’s major northern cities Trujillo and Cajamarca. Although the likely need for electricity rationing in 2011 was predicted last year by former Mines … Read more

The office of Mexican Attorney General Marisela Morales announced yesterday the formal removal from office of 21 federal prosecutors who had represented districts throughout the country. This is the largest mass resignation in the office’s recent history and coincides with another announcement that 111 office staff members will be charged with crimes, 462 will be … Read more

Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla is struggling to navigate choppy waters. A crisis in the public health system has deepened the troubles facing the Central American republic. Chinchilla’s popularity in this 4.6 million-strong nation is steadily eroding, bucking a trend in which most neighboring leaders are gaining in their approval ratings. In her worst poll … Read more

Mauricio Macri, incumbent mayor of Buenos Aires since 2007, was re-elected yesterday by a nearly two-to-one margin over challenger Senator Daniel Filmus. The election, which had entered a run-off last month after no candidate won an outright majority on July 10, ended with Macri claiming 64.3 percent of votes and Filmus the remaining 35.7 percent. … Read more

Uno de los hechos más notables del primer año del gobierno del presidente colombiano Juan Manuel Santos ha sido su impetuoso interés por destapar escándalos de corrupción en las oficinas del Estado. En poco tiempo, Santos—que se posesionó el 7 de agosto de 2010—ha desenmascarado multi-millonarios desfalcos a las arcas públicas y ha puesto en … Read more

As early as September 10, 2011, Tampa’s Cuban residents will be able to fly directly to Havana, officials announced Wednesday. These flights will be the first between Tampa’s International Airport and the Cuban capital since 1962, when the U.S. implemented a trade embargo on Cuba. Last March the Tampa airport received official approval from the … Read more

Promising continued economic growth but reiterating a commitment to greater social inclusion, Ollanta Humala takes office today as president of the Republic of Peru. Fifteen heads of state are to attend, including all the presidents of South America except for Hugo Chávez, who remains in poor health. Humala, a nationalist former Army officer, won a … 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. New President to Take the Reins in Peru Peruvian President Alan García thanked … Read more