Blog entries

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. Counting Numbers in Record-breaking Coverage of the Chilean Miner Rescue More than … Read more

Teodoro Penadillo Carmen, the man suspected of being a former high-level Shining Path guerilla known as “Comrade Rayo,” was arrested Monday while allegedly recruiting new members for the group in Lima.  Penadillo is suspected of being the former Huallaga Regional Committee chief for the Shining Path according to Minister of the Interior Fernando Barrios.  Peruvian … Read more

The Chilean government wants us to know that the country is on the verge of a major transformation. Just last week, President Sebastián Piñera told the press that, by the end of this decade, Chile will no longer be a developing country. He went even further: within 10 years Chile will become “the first country … Read more

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez traveled to Iran on Tuesday to meet with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and discuss energy cooperation. On the agenda: the formation of a joint oil transportation company and the possible construction of petrochemical plants. While Chávez has already traveled to Iran nine times since taking office in 1999, Tuesday’s two-day visit is … Read more

Former Brazilian Partido Verde (PV) presidential candidate Marina Silva, who won 19 percent of ballots cast (about 20 million votes) in Brazil’s first-round presidential election on October 3, has chosen to not formally endorse either of the two candidates ahead of the second-round vote on October 31. The polling gap between Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) … Read more

I’ve never been one of those people who, in lamenting policy and politics in the U.S., builds up another country to disparage my own. Yet I must admit, this week I felt pangs of envy in hearing Québec officials talk with cool rationale about the economic calculations behind their immigration policies.   I was in Montreal … Read more

Reports from Brazil this week indicate that the presidential candidates’ positions on abortion are becoming a significant factor in the country’s October 31 second-round contest between Worker’s Party candidate Dilma Rousseff and her Social Democracy Party opponent José Serra. Abortion has not historically played a prominent role in national elections in Brazil despite having the … Read more

Ecuadorian democracy is as strong as ever.  There is freedom of information and expression.  The Revolución Ciudadana (Citizens’ Revolution) is not only moving forward, but is radicalizing. These statements, largely accepted as true both within and without Ecuador, are patently false. Following the police strike of September 30, President Correa has extended the estado de … Read more

De los tres poderes del Estado: Ejecutivo, Legislativo y Judicial, el gobierno de Evo Morales los tiene todos. Y quiere más. Se dice que el cuarto poder son los medios de comunicación. Y el quinto es el llamado “soberano”, el pueblo, que en la práctica se reduce a los llamados “movimientos sociales” afines al partido … Read more

The government of Canada formally announced on Wednesday that bisephenol A (BPA), a primary chemical ingredient used to make clear, hard plastics, is a toxic substance. BPA also lines aluminum cans used for soft drinks, fruits and vegetables. According to Environment Canada, the government organization that banned the compound, BPA can negatively affect animals’ hormonal … 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. As World Watches, Chilean Miners Rescued After nearly 70 days trapped underground, … Read more

On August 2, Mexicana de Aviación wrote the first pages of its version of Gabriel García Márquez’ Crónica de una muerte anunciada (Chronicle of a Foretold Death) as it successfully filed for bankruptcy. Mexicana argued that rising energy costs and the effects of H1N1 on air travel became too much for the company to bear. … Read more

Colombia will serve as a rotating member of the United Nations Security Council this coming January for a two-year term following approval of its uncontested bid to represent Latin America and the Caribbean alongside Brazil.  This marks Colombia’s sixth time serving as a non-permanent rotating member of the Council, replacing Mexico as the second representative … Read more

La erosión de la confianza en una sociedad significa la apertura de una caja de Pandora con consecuencias desastrosas. El pegamento que cohesiona a una sociedad es la confianza mutua que pudiese existir entre los niveles de interacciones que un determinado individuo pueda tener. Es decir, yo debo tener confianza en mi familia, vecinos, conciudadanos, … Read more

The five Caribbean islands comprising the Netherlands Antilles—Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba—underwent a constitutional status change over the weekend, formally gaining autonomy from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Curaçao and Sint Maarten are now autonomous countries within the Kingdom, as opposed to their former status as island territories controlled by the Kingdom. … Read more