Blog entries

Former presidents of Peru and Bolivia spoke out against the recent media shutdowns in Venezuela and expressed an overall concern about the media’s future at an emergency meeting of Inter American Press Association (IAPA). At the meeting, held in Caracas on Friday, former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo called the media shutdowns “a virus that’s expanding” … Read more

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez repeated yesterday his intention to jumpstart a nuclear energy program and announced the creation of an atomic energy commission between Venezuela and Russia. Chávez attempted to dismiss concerns over the possible future militarization of the proposed program: “We’re not going to make an atomic bomb, so don’t bother us like with … 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. Clinton, Vázquez Worry over LatAm Arms Race Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez met … Read more

Journalists and bloggers, including myself, have been focusing their Central American news coverage on the Honduran political crisis.  But, over the last month, it’s become clear that another crisis is unfolding just next door in Guatemala.  Drought has hit the rural areas, and hundreds of people have already died in a country plagued by chronic … Read more

Samuel Moreno, the mayor of Bogotá, pledged today that his city plans to have a 15-mile (24-kilometer) long metro system in operation by 2015—a key component to forming a more integrated public transportation system in a city with over 7 million inhabitants. The estimated cost for the work to be designed by the Spanish consortium … Read more

President Barack Obama receives his first visit from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the White House today. As a testament to the strength of the U.S.-Canada relationship, this will be the seventh time Obama and Harper have met since the new President took office. Health care is not likely to make the agenda, but … Read more

Members of Parliament returned to work this week in pre-campaign mode. In just a few weeks—by the end of this month or early October—legislators and voters will know the fate of a possible fall vote. This would be Canadians’ fourth vote in five years. Fuelled by election speculation, federal parties have reserved buses and planes … Read more

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo officially inaugurated the Brazilian-financed $5 million Takutu River Bridge in the Brazilian town of Bon Fin. The bridge is expected to facilitate tourism and trade between the two countries and give seaport access to the landlocked Brazilian state of Roraima. Both presidents spoke … Read more

Prior to the economic crisis that began exactly one year ago with the Lehman Brothers collapse, Latin America was on an economic tear.  For over five years the region had enjoyed historic economic growth, reducing poverty and building the small but growing middle class.  Growth was based primarily on the commodities trade; Asian nations, particularly … Read more

Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff gave a speech at the Canadian Club of Ottawa today in which he criticized the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper for “giving up on Canada’s place in the world,” and allowing Canada’s international reputation to deteriorate to the point that “Canada is becoming the country that dares not … Read more

The U.S. State Department announced today that “the Colombian Government and Armed Forces are meeting statutory criteria related to human rights and paramilitary groups,” clearing the way for the transfer of all Fiscal Year 2009 funds obligated for the Colombian armed forces. The certification—made to Congress on September 8—takes into consideration the country’s work “to … Read more

Puzzling, mystifying. There’s no clear explanation why Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is sticking to his guns by refusing to repatriate Omar Khadr—the only Westerner still imprisoned at the U.S. detention center in Guantánamo, Cuba, under terrorism-related charges. Khadr was only 15 years old when arrested in Afghanistan in July 2002 for allegedly throwing a … Read more

I was raised in Caracas, Venezuela, in the 1980s by a single mother who worked in a lab as a physicist and microbiologist. She was too busy doing experiments during the day to pick me up from school, located almost an hour away from her office. So when the last bell rang, I would run … Read more

Uruguay’s Senate approved on Wednesday a controversial law that enables same-sex couples to adopt children after at least four years of cohabitation. This measure follows the Ley de Union Concubinaria (Law on Civil Unions) that passed in January 2008 and grants same-sex couples the same rights as married couples, pending compliance with certain stipulations. In … Read more

In Colombia, after the President, the second most important political post is the minister of defense. In late July, a new minister of defense, Gabriel Silva, was chosen following the resignation of Juan Manuel Santos who left the post to become a possible presidential candidate. At first glance, the former Colombian ambassador to the U.S. … Read more