Blog entries

The 16-year-long trade dispute between European and Latin American officials could be over by the end of this week, the European Commission announced today.  A draft settlement obtained by the Financial Times requires the European Union (EU) to gradually cut tariffs on bananas from $260 per ton to $114 if Latin American countries drop all … Read more

A good friend, who is a former foreign correspondent for the Associated Press, recently told me about the pressure he got from his editors during a recent reporting stint along the U.S.-Mexico border.  “They only wanted me to come up with the big story on the drug war, to find breaking news over and over … Read more

Brazilian federal police announced yesterday that, beginning next month, they intend to use unmanned spy planes for surveillance purposes in the slums of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The planes, which are equipped with high definition video cameras and radars, will monitor activities in those cities and along the country’s borders with Paraguay and … 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. Honduran Congress Delays Decision on Zelaya Legislators in Tegucigalpa revealed that they’ll … Read more

In Singapore recently for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders meeting, I was reminded again of the global influence, for good or ill, of American politics and culture.  Given the 13 hour time difference, one wakes up in the morning just as U.S. television is in prime time.  That means that if you turn on … Read more

Since the June 28th coup removed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya from power, the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti has vigorously defended the upcoming elections as the way out of the political crisis.  In recent weeks, the central question has become whether the international community will recognize the upcoming presidential elections.  With the breakdown of … Read more

Chile and Uruguay have been ranked the least corrupt countries in Latin America in 2009 by Transparency International, a global nongovernmental organization that releases annual ratings based on its Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The results of the Berlin-based organization’s annual survey are being reported throughout the hemisphere today.  In addition to being the most transparent … Read more

Peruvian President Alan Garcia cut short his trip to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Singapore, returning to Lima this morning to deal with a brewing spying case. Mr. Garcia abruptly announced his return—which comes a day earlier than had been scheduled—in order to publicly address an alleged incident of Chilean espionage involving … Read more

Hundreds of print media directors and journalists gathered this week in Buenos Aires for an annual conference on press freedom in the Americas. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez used the occasion for his government to organize another one of its counter gatherings. The parallel summit organized by the Venezuelan embassy was reportedly held to discuss “media monopolies … Read more

Less than five years ago, few analysts could have predicted China’s role in the global economy would be as significant as it is today. But the economic recession has helped to catapult China into becoming an engine for global economic growth. China’s growing influence in the world—and particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean—is currently … Read more

The foreign ministries of Colombia and Ecuador officially named charges d’affaires at their respective embassies in Quito and Bogotá today. Ecuador appointed Andrés Terán, current ambassador to Uruguay, and Colombia appointed Ricardo Montenegro, current Director of the Office for Territorial Sovereignty and Frontier Development, to serve in the diplomatic posts.  The announcement establishes the highest-level … Read more

Trained as a criminologist and a sociologist, Maria Mourani, a Montreal Member of Parliament (MP) with a special interest in street gangs in Canada, thought she had seen it all. But when she delved into the universe of the Central American street gangs in El Salvador, the Mara Salvatrucha and the Pandilla 18, the former … Read more

Norway has committed up to $250 million to preserving tropical rain forests in Guyana, a country that has been praised internationally for pursuing the Low Carbon Development Strategy launched by President Bharrat Jagdeo last year.Environmental advocacy groups called Norway’s plan “monumental” for its new approach of rewarding a government for combating climate change.   Norway will … Read more

On Friday, Peru and Thailand will sign a free-trade agreement in Singapore at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum that will eliminate tariffs covering 5,000 commercial products. Last year, trade between the two countries was valued at $350 million. But the agreement also will help Thailand enter more broadly into the Americas. “We aim to use … Read more

The stakes for the United States in the Honduran political crisis are higher than ever. At the end of October, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton celebrated the unprecedented overturning of a coup through dialogue. That assessment has now proved naïve, and the State Department finds itself in the awkward position of distancing itself from the … Read more