Blog entries

Mexican Senator María de los Ángeles Moreno of Mexico’s Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) party proposed on Tuesday the establishment of Mexico City as a “Federal City,” replacing the position of head of government with that of a mayor and 17 elected city council members.  The constitutional modifications would give residents of the Federal District more … Read more

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner arrived at the Presidential Palace in Lima on Monday, becoming the first Argentine leader to visit Peru in 16 years.  The visit was meant to restore ties that were damaged during Peru’s five-week war with Ecuador in 1995, when Argentina sold arms to Ecuador despite being a mediator in the … Read more

(A fuller version of this article will appear in the forthcoming SIPA News magazine.) The occasional explosion of violence between native born-French and Northern African immigrants or the recent riots between African immigrants and Italian citizens in Calabria, Italy remind us that immigration is not just a U.S. phenomenon.  (The violence also reminds us that for … Read more

President Álvaro Colom arrived in Moscow yesterday for a “historic” visit to the Russian capital that includes meetings with Russian President Dmitry Medvédev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Colom is the first Guatemalan president to visit Russia, and upon arrival, he declared that the visit demonstrates “an evolution in relations not only of Guatemala but … Read more

The first months of 2010 have shown, in multiple and unexpected ways, the courage, resilience, and solidarity of the citizens of the Americas.  Faced first with a devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 12, the countries and people of the region rallied around a neighbor that had suffered a terrible tragedy.  The outpouring of support … Read more

Growing tensions between President Ortega and Nicaraguan opposition parties have effectively shut down the legislature. Today, for a second day in a row, the minimum number of lawmakers required to conduct business failed to show up at the national assembly. The dispute arose following an executive decree, issued on January 9, which allows certain government … Read more

  Chile’s lower house of Congress unanimously approved the bono marzo yesterday , an $80 unconditional cash transfer targeted at the four million low-income Chileans who represent the poorest 40 percent of the country. Passage of this measure was timed to coincide with the beginning of the school year. The bono marzo, which was one … Read more

Laura Chinchilla has selected a few good men and women to fill out her cabinet ahead of her May 8 inauguration as Costa Rica‘s president, choosing from within the ranks of outgoing President Oscar Arias’ government as well as borrowing officials from past administrations. On Tuesday, the president-elect said women will be in charge of … 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. In Wake of Consular Killings, Calderón and U.S. Ambassador Visit Ciudad Juarez … Read more

“Free, Legal Sex Change Operations Coming to Cuba” could have been a satirical news headline in U.S. papers during the Cold War years—and four decades later, it’s still a pretty revolutionary concept. Last week, Cuba authorized gender reassignment surgery. And while it didn’t make top headlines last week, it’s been brewing for quite some time: … Read more

Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed Canadian voters in his first live broadcast on YouTube yesterday, a 40-minute forum where he answered questions ranging from the legalization of marijuana and Quebec sovereignty to troop deployment in Afghanistan and the protection of pensions. The forum was hosted by Google’s Chief Financial Officer, Patrick Pichette, and more than … Read more

When I left Guatemala in 1982 at the age of five, I joined the immigration tide of thousands of people fleeing Guatemala’s civil war, poverty, gangs, and corruption to cross the Mexican desert and enter the United States. For many of my generation, Guatemala was as far as we could imagine from a law-abiding society … Read more

Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes called for Honduras to be readmitted into international forums at yesterday’s meeting of countries located in Central America’s northern triangle. The presidents of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador met with other politicians and business leaders from the three countries (Panama also sent business representatives) to discuss trade ties and diplomatic ties. … Read more

Co-Author: Mitch Seligson The new found momentum for allowing homosexuals to openly serve in the U.S. military springs from attitudinal changes that have taken place since the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy of 17 years ago.  If only this type of generational change were occurring south of our own borders.  Recent surveys demonstrate that levels … Read more

Reports out of Colombia following yesterday’s legislative elections indicate that, as was expected, conservative coalition parties aligned with President Álvaro Uribe will likely maintain their majorities in both houses of congress. The voting was largely free of violence, leading one official to declare: “these are the most peaceful elections we have had on our national … Read more