Monday Memo: Venezuela Sanctions – Mujica in Washington – Zetas – World Cup in Brazil – Bachelet in Argentina
This week’s likely top stories: U.S. Congress considers sanctions against Venezuela; Uruguay’s José Mujica visits with Barack Obama; the leader of the Zetas may be dead; Brazil faces new obstacles in World Cup preparations; Michelle Bachelet visits Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Argentina. U.S. Congress Pushes for Sanctions Against Venezuela: The United States House Foreign … Read more
Solís Inaugurated as Costa Rican President
Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera became the forty-seventh president of Costa Rica yesterday. Solís, 56, appeared alongside First Lady Mercedes Peñas Domingo at the National Stadium in San José for the inauguration ceremony, saying, “We want to effectively combat poverty, not just administer it.” In addition to its plan to reduce poverty, Solís’ administration will face … Read more
Argentina Creates Culture Ministry
Argentina’s official government gazette announced yesterday the creation of a cultural ministry department to be headed by folk singer and composer Teresa Adelina Sellares, also known by her stage name, Teresa Parodi. Prior to the creation of the Cultural Ministry, the government cultural department was run through the Secretary of Culture, Jorge Coscia, who resigned … Read more
Dos Interpretaciones a la Visita de Sánchez Cerén a Venezuela
Luego de pasar por la elección más reñida en la historia reciente de El Salvador, el país espera que en menos de un mes Mauricio Funes, el primer presidente del partido de izquierda Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN), deje el poder y le pase la banda presidencial al primer presidente excombatiente del … Read more
Colombian Group Accused of Spying on Peace Talks
The Colombian attorney general’s office announced yesterday that authorities have arrested a hacker suspected of spying on communications belonging to the government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC) as they conduct peace talks in Havana. Andrés Sepúlveda was arrested in a raid on a Bogotá office for allegedly running … Read more
Revisiting Capital Punishment in the United States
The botched April 29 execution of Oklahoma inmate Clayton Lockett made headlines throughout the world, leading to appeals to either abolish capital punishment in the United States or revisit the methods used to execute by lethal injection (in this case, the nature of the drugs). Since 1976 (after a brief suspension of the death penalty … Read more
Maduro’s Popularity Drops Amid Economic Uncertainty
Public support for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro dropped to its lowest rate since he took office in 2013, the daily newspaper El Universal reported on Monday. The Venezuelan executive’s approval rating dropped from 46.8 percent in February to 37 percent in April amid chronic consumer shortages, high inflation, increased violence, and street protests that began … Read more
Paz y Paz Sidelined in Guatemala Attorney General Vote
Guatemala’s Comisión de Postulación, a national selection committee, announced the six nominees for country’s next attorney general last week, with the name of current attorney general Claudia Paz y Paz conspicuously absent from the list. Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina will make his choice after interviewing the remaining candidates, and must announce a new attorney … Read more
Monday Memo: Panama Elections – Haiti and the Dominican Republic – Uruguayan Marijuana – Colombian Mine Collapse – Brazil Soccer Death
This week’s likely top stories: Juan Carlos Varela will be Panama’s next president; talks between Haiti and the Dominican Republic are postponed; marijuana legalization goes into effect in Uruguay; a Colombian mine collapse kills at least 12 people; a Brazilian soccer fan is killed in Recife. Juan Carlos Varela Wins Panamanian Election: Juan Carlos Varela … Read more
It’s Long Past Time to Get a U.S. Ambassador to Lima
In early March, The Washington Post ran an article on pending ambassadorial nominations worldwide, highlighting the fact that political maneuvering in the U.S. Senate was stalling numerous nominations and that, by implication, U.S. interests abroad were suffering. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Western Hemisphere, which, at the time the article was written, … Read more
Protesters in Haiti Demand President’s Resignation
Protesters in Haiti called for the resignation of Haitian President Michel Martelly as they closed a major road in Port-au-Prince on Thursday. Some 2,000 protesters accused Martelly of corruption and demanded that the government hold elections. This is the third protest against the Haitian government this week after elections have been delayed for almost two … Read more
While Brazil Sambas with Cuba, the U.S. Dances Alone
Brazil is betting on an eventual opening in Cuba. The bet is more than economic; it’s linked directly to a larger geopolitical project intended to draw Cuba toward its own model of economic and political organization as Cuba wakes up from its 55-year slumber under the Castro regime. The process has already started with a … Read more
Peña Nieto Proposes New Energy Rules
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto proposed new rules yesterday aimed at increasing oil production and boosting the economy. The proposed legislation includes the creation of eight new laws and the modification of 13 existing laws. Mexican Secretary of Tax, Luis Videgaray, and Secretary of Energy, Pedro Joaquín Coldwell, have said that, with the exception of … Read more
Virginia Grants In-State Tuition to DACA Recipients
Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring announced on Tuesday that undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children and are granted legal presence through the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program would qualify for in-state tuition at the state’s public colleges and universities. In a speech at Northern Virginia Community College’s … Read more
The Future of Québec Independence
On April 7, 2014, Québec voters chose to elect a majority Liberal government, and handed the pro-independence Parti Québécois (PQ) its worst defeat ever. Since then, speculation has surfaced about the future of the Québec independence movement. In his first post-election press conference, Québec’s new premier, Philippe Couillard, struck a positive note when he was … Read more
