Blog entries

The grace period granted to President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner after the sudden death of her husband and life-long political partner on October 27 has ended with physical violence in congress. Heated debates on November 17 over the 2011 budget ended when opposition congresswoman and president of the Commission on Constitutional Affairs, Graciela Camaño, publicly … Read more

Ahead of this week’s first annual China-oriented trade exposition in San Salvador that is expected to include over 50 Chinese business representatives, President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador said Monday that his administration would explore establishing diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. Funes added that he would do so only if it were … Read more

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday began a four-day trip to South America, where he attended a regional meeting of defense ministers in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, this weekend. Mr. Gates’ first stop was Chile, where he met with Defense Minister Jaime Ravinet to discuss disaster preparedness in the region. Chile is among Washington’s “closest … Read more

Costa Rican Foreign Minister René Castro arrived to The Hague, Netherlands, on Thursday to file a complaint against Nicaragua at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Mr. Castro’s statements called on the court to help end a situation that he says “threatens imminent and irreparable harm” to Costa Rica. Tensions between Nicaragua and Costa Rica … Read more

A proposed law in Ecuador has the potential to choke off freedom of the press in a way that even the September 30 mandate that all public television stations broadcast only the Cadena Nacional has failed to do. The Ley Orgánica de Comunicación, Libertad de Expresión y Aceso a la Información Pública, commonly referred to … Read more

With news reports often emphasizing the slow economic recovery with respect to jobs, it is possible that we lose some perspective about some legitimate success stories.  National unemployment rates often overshadow the work of some communities in transforming their economic profiles. Cities like Raleigh NC have transformed their economy and others like Des Moines IA … Read more

This week, while teaching a group of people how to upload blog posts, Cuban blogger and dissident Yoani Sánchez learned she was to receive yet another award. This time it was the $50,000 (40,000 euro) Liberty Prize granted by Denmark’s Center for Independent Research (CEPOS). Sánchez said that “the news came when I was doing … 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. Accusations Fly in Costa Rica-Nicaragua Dispute Nicaragua fired the most recent salvo … Read more

Former economic and finance minister of Peru, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, has confirmed that he will officially enter the race for the presidency of Peru next Monday.  Kuczynski’s candidacy will be on behalf of an alliance between the Restauración Nacional (RN), Partido Humanista, and Alianza por el Progreso (APP) parties and may yet include the Siempre … Read more

At least one Haitian was killed in a clash with UN peacekeepers on the outskirts of Cap Haitien, Haiti, on Tuesday. The man was shot amid mass protests in response to the rapidly spreading Cholera epidemic that has killed more than 1,000 people and which many Haitians believe was spread by the mostly Nepalese UN … Read more

*Homepage photo courtesy of Center for American Progress El abrazo que se dieron los presidentes Juan Manuel Santos y Hugo Chávez, frente al cajón del fallecido Néstor Kirchner durante su velorio hace dos semanas en Buenos Aires, fue un símbolo inequívoco de la recomposición de las relaciones entre ambos mandatarios. Una imagen impensable meses atrás … Read more

In defiance of mounting international pressure, Nicaragua again  refused to withdraw troops from the island of Calero as its border dispute with Costa Rica entered a fourth week. After the Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Council voted 22-2 on Saturday night to recommend removal of all forces from Calero, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega accused … Read more

Venezuela’s National Assembly last week passed the Ley de la Bolsa Pública de Valores Bicentenaria, which will allow for the creation of a new stock exchange geared toward both public and private-sector entities wishing to undertake stock exchange operations. The move is seen as the continuation of a trend in Venezuela toward greater state control … Read more

The specifics of the planning process behind the September 30 police action are still murky.  However, it has become clear that the police force used SMS messaging to rapidly spread information about the unpopular Ley de Servicio Publico and to coordinate the strike for the next morning.  Similarly, national newspapers such as El Comercio have … Read more

Former President Alejandro Toledo announced his intention yesterday to seek the presidency of Peru—an office that he held from 2001 through 2006. The 64 year-old will file for candidacy under the Peru Posible party that he founded in 1994. In his official announcement, Toledo pledged to fight for social equality, economic benefits to the poor … Read more