Blog entries

After seven years in exile in South Africa, former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is widely expected to soon arrive in Port-au-Prince, raising fears that turmoil looms in the run up to national presidential elections next month. According to reports, Mr. Aristide has received a diplomatic passport from the Haitian government, and officials in South Africa, … Read more

In a series of votes late Wednesday, Brazil’s lower house of Congress approved a 6.8 percent increase in the minimum wage to 545 reais a month ($326.50), from 510 reais. Labor unions and some politicians had sought to increase the wage to as high as 600 reais. The bill will now go to the Senate, … 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. Valenzuela and Mack Debate Latin America Policy Chairman of the Subcommittee on … Read more

In a meeting with diplomats from various Central American countries yesterday, Mexican Senate president Manlio Fabio Beltrones promised to draft new immigration legislation that will protect and guarantee the human rights of undocumented migrants in Mexico.  The new legislation proposes to resolve issues not yet addressed by current law including protections for migrants who witness … Read more

After 17 long years in a legal battle, Ecuadorian farmers and environmentalists rejoiced this week when an Ecuadorian judge ruled that Chevron Corporation (Texaco merged with Chevron in 2001) was guilty of polluting the Amazon jungle. The judge ordered Chevron to pay a $8.6 billion fine and an equal amount in punitive damages. If Chevron … Read more

Colombia’s alleged plans to build a 137mile interoceanic railway between a “new city” next to Cartagena and Cupica, in the northern part of Choco, sound really interesting. But unfortunately that’s about it. Even the backing of the mighty Chinese Development Bank might not be able to pull this one off.  And it shouldn’t. Let’s start … Read more

The stunning announcement that Hosni Mubarak was resigning from Egypt’s presidency in response to widespread civil protests—in which the media played no small part—is yet again a reminder of journalism’s democratic purpose. Coupled with AOL’s purchase of The Huffington Post, it also illustrates the rapid changes journalism has undergone of late. Ideally, a free press … Read more

Canada’s Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney announced on Sunday that in 2010 Canada received the highest numbers of documented immigrants in more than 50 years. According preliminary data, 280,636 individuals took up permanent residency last year. This represents 60,000 people or about 6 percent more than the figure anticipated at the outset … Read more

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Brownfield was in Honduras last week to sign over $1.75 million in Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) funds—part of a larger $200 million sum he pledged to Central American nations. Brownfield, who heads the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, noted that the funding … Read more

This week, while participating in a university event in the Dominican Republic, former President Vicente Fox went out on a limb and pointed his finger toward Colombia and Venezuela for presumably being culprits in Mexico’s drug-cartel violence problem. Ignoring the basic economic principle that demand drives production, Fox ridiculed himself by saying that Mexico’s challenges … Read more

Panamanian lawmakers on Thursday voted by a wide margin to revoke a 1960s-era law that had prohibited foreign investment in Panama’s mining sector. It is widely speculated that the change will allow Canadian mining company Inmet to now move forward with plans to build Central America’s largest copper mine. “What we’re trying to do is … Read more

En diciembre pasado entró en vigencia la Convención Internacional para la Protección de Todas las Personas contra las Desapariciones Forzadas. ¿Qué significado tiene este instrumento internacional para los países del Cono Sur? En Argentina dicen que el término “desaparecido” es una palabra en español que se hizo conocida en todas las lenguas por cuenta de … Read more

Cuba held a ceremony on Wednesday in the eastern city of Santiago to celebrate the arrival of a 1,630 kilometer (1,012 mile) undersea fiber-optic cable from Venezuela. The cable, which arrived on Tuesday after a 19-day voyage, is expected to drastically transform communications in Cuba, which has some of the slowest internet connections in the … 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. Colombia, Panama FTAs Get Republican Push President Barack Obama has indicated he … Read more

Just recently, I came across an article in the Harvard Business Review written by renowned professors Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer.  The authors lament the increasingly negative views toward business and capitalism of recent years and argue that companies must lead the effort to bring business and society back together.  In their view, … Read more