Blog entries

At 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, a new Canadian law went into effect that requires Mexicans and Czech Republic nationals to obtain a visa prior to entering the country. Ottawa’s action comes in response to a dramatic jump in asylum applications, with Mexican refugee claimants tripling since 2005 and Czech asylum seekers reaching 3,000 applications in … 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. Mediated Talks on Honduras to Resume; Zelaya Calls for Insurrection Talks between … Read more

On Monday, Bolivian President Evo Morales met with Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez in Montevideo to negotiate an agreement that would provide Bolivia with access to the Atlantic Ocean in exchange for the use of Bolivia’s natural gas resources. The deal will give free port privileges to Bolivia in Nueva Palmira—a key port on the Paraná … Read more

The early arrival of sub-freezing temperatures in Peru’s southern highlands has brought severe cases of hypothermia, pneumonia and other respiratory diseases, leading to the deaths of 246 children. Every year, dozens of children, especially those under 5 years, succumb to cold-related illnesses in rural Peru’s mountain communities. But this year’s early winter temperatures have provoked … Read more

The Central Reserve Bank reported that remittances from January to June fell by 10.3 percent, or $200 million, in comparison to the first half of 2008. The drop in remittances to a total of $1.74 billion is attributed to the economic crisis and to unemployment in the United States. Presently, 2.5 million El Salvadorans live … Read more

What is it about South American leaders and public gifts to President Obama? In April, we were treated to the spectacle of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez giving a copy of Eduardo Galeano’s Open Veins to the U.S. President at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad—a disingenuous publicity stunt that backfired and stole the headlines … Read more

G8 leaders meeting in Italy agreed this week that average global temperatures should not rise more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial times. But Group of Eight member Canada said it will not adjust its plan to combat global warming, despite the fact that it falls short of the new commitment. Canadian … Read more

Arturo Valenzuela, Tom Shannon, Carlos Pascual, and  Kenneth Merten all went before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week for their “job interviews” for Latin America policy (aka, confirmation hearing). As I’ve written here before, Valenzuela is up for assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs; Shannon, ambassador to Brazil; Pascual, ambassador to Mexico; … Read more

Last Sunday, Mexico witnessed how the PRI, or Institutional Revolutionary Party (a heterogeneous grouping of right-of-center groups and revolutionary nationalists), reasserted its standing and overtook President Felipe Calderón’s National Action Party (PAN) in the elections for Congress, six governors, and municipalities and local congresses in 11 states. The PRI also defeated the Party of the … Read more

Calls for better infrastructure and government services have intensified after an elderly woman died of respiratory failure yesterday, which reports indicate was the result of police use of tear gas against protestors in the province of Santiago. Colonel Jesus Cordero Parderes, the regional police spokesman, denied accusations that the police used tear gas and rejected … Read more

Just downriver from the French Quarter—New Orleans’ oldest and most famous district—the wrought iron balconies and handsome Creole townhouses give way to a scruffier set of neighborhoods that are getting lots of attention lately thanks to new development plans. The Faubourg Marigny and Bywater districts in recent years have become the city’s new havens of … Read more

Antonio Ledezma, the mayor of Caracas, spoke with the Organization of American States (OAS) yesterday to discuss how the OAS can help to end a hunger strike that has spread to include over a dozen city employees since it began last Friday. The mayor—a member of the opposition to President Hugo Chávez—is protesting Chávez’ violation … Read more

Secretary of State Clinton’s meeting today with deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was intended to show the support—visibly—of the United States for a return to the status quo ante, but it also served a more important purpose: by getting Zelaya on board with the idea of allowing Costa Rica’s President and Nobel Laureate Oscar Arias … Read more

Reports began trickling out of Bolivia on Sunday of a major counternarcotics operation in Chiquitania, an area in the eastern province of Santa Cruz. Officials now say that the raid led to the seizure of what may be the biggest cocaine factory ever found in Bolivia—the world’s third largest cocaine producer. On Monday, Oscar Nina, … Read more

Yesterday’s mid-term legislative elections in Mexico—where 500 federal deputies, six governors and city mayors in a number of municipalities were up for grabs—had one clear result: President Felipe Calderón and his party (National Action Party – PAN) lost influence. This was welcome news for the Institutional Revolutionary Party’s (PRI) old and new guard. Preliminary results … Read more