Blog entries

The Venezuelan government’s move to close four private banks plunged the price of the Bolivar and the country’s widely traded 2027 global bond as jittery investors pulled money out of the financial system to put it overseas.  President Hugo Chávez tried to assure investors yesterday that his ultimate aim was to strengthen and improve the … Read more

Veinte (20) meses después de que aviones colombianos bombardearan la frontera con Ecuador—lo que dio al traste con las relaciones diplomáticas entre ambos países andinos—una serie de nombramientos y acciones que pretenden recomponer el diálogo, sigue sin resolver el eje sustancial de la disputa en la que se acusa a Colombia de haber violado la … Read more

The southern province of Abancay in Peru’s Apurímac region, known for copper and iron mines, is under police and military control to prevent further disruption from protesters who demand a greater share of the region’s budget. The state of emergency, declared Wednesday, will last for 60 days.  Civil liberties have been suspended and public transportation … 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. Lobo Wins Controversial Honduran Election The National Party’s Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo came … Read more

This is not another posting about Honduras.  We’ve had enough of those and the back and forth. This is broader: about the general sense of drift of this administration’s policy in the region.  (Warning: this is a précis of a future article.)  Is partnership really possible today in the Americas? For all the rhetoric and … Read more

Sixty prominent African-Americans signed a four-page declaration to the Cuban government, calling on Havana to confront racism and demanding that President Raúl Castro end “the unwarranted and brutal harassment of black citizens in Cuba who are defending their civil rights.” The “Statement of Conscience by African-Americans” also petitioned for the immediate release of Darsi Ferrer, … Read more

Buenos Aires-based civil court judge Marta Gómez Alsina effectively blocked Latin America’s first gay marriage yesterday when she filed an injunction to stop today’s marriage of Alex Freyre and Jose Maria di Bello until the  case could be reviewed by the Supreme Court. The couple, whose initial marriage license application was denied in April, won … Read more

Porfirio Lobo will be Honduras’s next President.  Consistent with recent polls, Lobo, the National Party candidate, won a resounding victory over Liberal Party candidate Elvin Santos.  The results were unambiguous, and Santos quickly conceded victory while Lobo and the National Party celebrated their victory.  This sharply contrasts with the 2005 elections, when doubts remained about … Read more

The Honduran elections on Sunday brought a decisive victory to National Party candidate Porfirio Lobo, winning 55.9 percent of the votes according to figures by the Honduran election authorities. Elvin Santos of the Liberal Party conceded defeat with 30.09 percent of the votes cast. These numbers were consistent with independent verification but a discrepancy does … Read more

Peru’s Minister of Production, Mercedes Aráoz confirmed yesterday that Peru will formally propose a South American regional security force at the meeting of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) Defense Council in Ecuador next Friday. “The idea is to have in the framework of Unasur a clear agenda of non-aggression among the region’s countries, … Read more

In a move that was long anticipated by investors, Fitch Ratings downgraded Mexico on Monday to BBB—only two grades above non-investment grade, or junk status. The change by Fitch has been attributed to falling oil production and declining tax revenues due to this year’s expected 7 percent contraction of GDP. Moody’s Investors Service, another major … Read more

El Salvador’s Archbishop, José Luis Escobar Alas, commended President Mauricio Funes yesterday for his decision to award the country’s highest honor to six Jesuit priests assassinated by the army in 1989—an event that sparked international outrage and helped lead to the war’s end three years later. At a press conference held yesterday in San Salvador, … Read more

Sunday marked the three-year anniversary of the signing of the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (FTA).  The signing provided a tangible signal of U.S. support for the U.S.-Colombia relationship broadly, and, more specifically, for job creation in the United States through export expansion to a large and growing Latin American economy.  On strategic, foreign policy, counter-narcotics, … Read more

Earlier this week, Mary Anastasia O’Grady shamelessly pulled the God card to defend the Honduran coup. Specifically, she handed her Wall Street Journal column over to the coup-supporting Cardinal Rodriguez to curry favor for the June 28 ousting of President Manuel Zelaya from power. Her article ignores the Church’s troubling historical role in Honduran politics, … Read more

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday in the latest of a series of meetings with Middle Eastern leaders.  In an effort to expand his country’s role as a peacemaker, Lula also hosted Israeli President Shimon Peres for a four-day visit to Brazil last week. Peres invited the … Read more