Blog entries

Following the assassination of Rodolfo Torre Cantú, the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) candidate for governor of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas on Monday morning, the PRI national committee chose his brother, Egidio Torre Cantú, today as his replacement on the ballot for this Sunday’s elections.  His selection was approved by the PRI committee based on … Read more

Hace unas semanas, cuando regresé a Bolivia después de una temporada en los Estados Unidos, lo primero que hice fue preguntar por la Coca Colla, la bebida energizante hecha a base de hojas de coca que, según la voz popular, pretende competir contra la Coca Cola (los fabricantes, sin embargo, han negado esta aseveración). La … Read more

Four chances, four victories.  As predicted, all four original MERCOSUR nations have now gone through to the round of eight in the World Cup, joining three teams from Europe and one from Africa.  Only one team from South America has been eliminated (Chile), and it was bounced by another team from the region (Brazil).  Head … Read more

The question of whether to institute in-game technology in the World Cup has been a consideration for FIFA year after year. Yet one of strongest voices against the idea is the federation’s president, Sepp Blatter. Given that this year’s World Cup has been riddled with disallowed goals and unflagged offsides, Blatter is starting to change … Read more

Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo made a passionate call to Congress on Saturday for legislators to approve Venezuela’s entry into the Mercosur trade bloc. “Let’s think seriously in terms of the future…this will inevitably benefit both economically and commercially our country [Paraguay],” Lugo announced. He also called on lawmakers not to limit a country of millions … Read more

When the knock-out round of the World Cup begins Saturday morning, the Western Hemisphere will have almost half of the final 16 teams in contention, and at least two teams (the winners of Argentina vs. Mexico on Sunday and also Brazil vs. Chile) guaranteed in the final eight.  Even more compelling: both 2006 finalists, Italy … Read more

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria begins a tour of several Latin American countries today with the goal of extending its diplomatic reach and attracting investment in Syria.  Assad is scheduled to arrive in Caracas, Venezuela, on Friday and will visit then Brazil and Venezuela—countries with significant Syrian expat communities. Syrian media also reports that he … Read more

While the rest of the world stared down the bottomless hole in Guatemala City’s Zone 2, the small town of San Antonio Palopó around Guatemala’s Lake Atitlan, was digging its way out of the aftermath of Tropical Storm Agatha using sticks, brooms, shovels, and their bare hands. The mostly indigenous town of 14,000 suffered the … Read more

In a spell of good news for the handpicked candidate of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, an Ibope poll released yesterday shows Dilma Rousseff leading opposition candidate José Serra, 40 percent to 35 percent. According to Rafael Lucchesi, director of operations for the national confederation of industry, which commissioned the poll, Dilma’s position is … 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. Santos Wins Big in Colombia Former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos won … Read more

After barely qualifying to play in the FIFA World Cup in South Africa this year, Argentina breezed through group play yesterday defeating Greece, 2-0 and securing a spot in the knockout round of the tournament.  The Albicelestes allowed only one goal in group play by the South Korean team, who will accompany the Argentines into … Read more

Como estaba previsto en las encuestas electorales y gracias a que el candidato presidencial Juan Manuel Santos se había erigido como el natural sucesor de Álvaro Uribe, los resultados de los comicios del domingo le dieron un triunfo arrollador al aspirante del partido de la U. Con 9 millones de votos, Santos alcanzó el 69% … Read more

U.S. Senator John F. Kerry, Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, today released a report on Haitian President René Préval’s handling of earthquake recovery efforts. The report is critical of Mr. Préval’s reconstruction leadership, noting that “key decisions remain in flux and critical humanitarian issues related to shelter and resettlement are not resolved.” … Read more

Former Defense Minister and Partido de la U presidential candidate, Juan Manuel Santos, won a resounding victory in Colombia’s second-round election yesterday against former Bogotá Mayor Antanas Mockus, winning 67 percent of the vote, compared to Mockus’s 27.6 percent, with a total of 9 million ballots cast.  “The time has come for national unity, the … Read more

Each World Cup brings a new storyline, and this one is no different.  The rise of African football, the year that Spain finally met expectations, the return of England to World Cup prominence; all of these and others have been mooted as possibilities for 2010.  But to this point, all have proven a bust.  In … Read more