Blog entries

Inclusion. The concept will likely figure large during President Barack Obama’s planned trip to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador from March 19 to 23. This is so, not only for symbolic reasons (the U.S. President is a powerful symbol of inclusion and U.S. meritocracy), but also the significant advances and challenges of the countries he’ll … Read more

Nos próximos dias 19 e 20 de Março, o presidente dos Estados Unidos, Barack Obama, visitará o Brasil pela primeira vez desde que assumiu o posto em 2009. Obama, que virá acompanhado de sua família, terá uma agenda protocolar com a presidente Dilma Rousseff, em Brasília, e visitará também uma favela no Rio de Janeiro. … Read more

A month away from the first round of voting in Peru’s presidential election, former President Alejandro Toledo (2001–2005) leads in the polls. The margin by which he leads, however, is not wide enough to avoid a runoff in which he would likely face Keiko Fujimori, daughter of another former president, Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000), or Luis … Read more

From the 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. Women Play Greater Role in Latin American Politics With three women serving … Read more

Assuming the U.S. government will be operational past the March 18 funding deadline, President Obama will make his first trip to Central and South America from March 19-23. Obama had previously visited Mexico before heading to the Caribbean in April 2009, where he represented the United States at the Summit of the Americas held in … Read more

Senator Héctor Martínez, a Puerto Rico senator from the island’s New Progressive Party, was found guilty of one count of bribery in U.S. Federal Court on Monday. After a three-week trial the jury found that Sen. Martínez accepted an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas in May 2005 to see a boxing match featuring Puerto Rican … Read more

“Soy Hugo López, uno de los pocos que sobreviví a los psicofármacos”, dice micrófono en mano un hombre grueso y de mirada bonachona, locutor habitual de la Radio la Colifata. “También conduzco aquí mi espacio llamado la Fogonera en donde hablo de todas las delicias gastronómicas que no podemos comer en este hospital”, agrega, con … Read more

Yesterday, Peruvian Minister of International Trade and Tourism Eduardo Ferreyros announced that his country intends to sign a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union in the next two weeks. Marianne van Oteen, EU chief delegate to Peru, added that she hopes the FTA can enter into force by the end of 2011, as the … Read more

*Update: On Monday, March 7, Cinépolis and other theaters temporarily suspended showings of Presunto Culpable to comply with a direct order from the Radio, Television and Cinematography Directorate of Mexico. Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has lodged an appeal to keep the film in theaters, and Cinépolis said it would pursue all available legal means to … Read more

President Barack Obama yesterday in Washington received his Mexican counterpart President Felipe Calderón in the fifth such encounter between the heads of state since 2009. Following the meeting, the leaders announced efforts to revive a program for the entry of Mexican commercial trucks into the United States. The controversial program, first launched in 2007, was … Read more

The last twelve months have been dispiriting for advocates of comprehensive immigration reform (CIR).  First CIR didn’t make it onto the 2010 legislative agenda.  Then Arizona passed SB 1070, and other states expressed interest in following suit.  Then the DREAM Act failed to pass the Senate and the new House of Representatives leadership changed direction … Read more

According to a joint bulletin released yesterday by three social development agencies, food price volatility has increased in recent months and will remain high for the time being. The document, “Price volatility in agricultural markets (2000-2010): Implications for Latin America and policy options,” produced by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), … Read more

From the 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. Calderón Visits Washington Mexican President Felipe Calderón will meet with U.S. President … Read more

Esta puede ser la mayor catástrofe urbanística en América Latina. Mientras escribo esta nota, una inmensa montaña que alberga alrededor de diez barrios  de la ciudad de La Paz, se viene abajo poco a poco. Pero a pesar del drama y la tragedia, la gente del lugar y más aún, la ciudadanía misma, parece no … Read more

Dentro de 25 años El Salvador tiene una alta probabilidad de convertirse en el centro urbano más grande e importante desde la Ciudad de México hasta Bogotá.  Es más, El Salvador está encaminado a convertirse en un país casi exclusivamente urbano. Este posible escenario debe preocupar a estadistas, sociedad civil, gremiales empresariales, ambientalistas y académicos. … Read more