Former San José Mayor Leads Presidential Poll in Costa Rica
Only six months away from the February 4, 2014, presidential election in Costa Rica, the former mayor of San José and official candidate of the Partido Liberación Nacional (National Liberation Party—PLN), Johnny Araya, holds a significant lead over his rivals in the most recent poll. According to a local Borge y Asociados poll released on … Read more
Monday Memo: Gay Marriage in Uruguay – Venezuela and Paraguay – Cuban Prisoners – Immigration Reform – Carandiru Prison
Likely top stories this week: Gay marriage begins in Uruguay; Venezuela is not invited to the Paraguayan president’s inauguration; Amnesty International demands the release of Cuban prisoners; U.S. House of Representatives Republicans reject Senate approach to immigration reform; Brazilian police officers are sentenced for the 1992 Carandiru massacre. Same Sex Marriage Starts in Uruguay: The … Read more
Financing Renewable Energy in Latin America
While renewable energy investment globally fell by 11 percent in 2012, renewable energy financing increased by 127 percent in Latin American countries, excluding Brazil. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, this included gains of 595 percent in Mexico, 313 percent in Chile, 285 percent in Uruguay, and 176 percent in Peru. In total, renewable energy … Read more
UN Opposes Uruguay Marijuana Bill
The United Nations International Narcotics Board (INCB) issued a statement on Thursday urging Uruguay to not implement legislation that would make it the first country in the world to create and regulate a legal marijuana market. In the statement, the INCB—an independent body tasked with monitoring production and consumption of narcotics worldwide—said that if the … Read more
Texas’ Anti-Abortion Law: the Impact for Latino Voters
Perceptions of solidly conservative Texas shifted dramatically in late 2012, when President Barack Obama won a landslide re-election largely thanks to the 71 percent of Latino voters who supported him. Democrats immediately seized on the opportunity, making comprehensive immigration reform a pillar of the president’s second-term policy agenda and launching an aggressive campaign to solidify … Read more
Thinking Twice about a Brazilian Gas Boom
SAO PAULO – The natural gas industry in Brazil is relatively new—large-scale development only began in 1999—but it has quickly become a key element of the national energy matrix, increasing its share to 11 percent in 2012. Domestic supply has grown on average 5 percent per year over the last decade, but the potential for … Read more
Southern Cone Countries Top AQ’s 2013 Social Inclusion Index
Uruguay, Chile and Brazil are three of the five most socially inclusive countries in the hemisphere according to the 2013 AQ Social Inclusion Index, which was published today in the newly released Summer issue of Americas Quarterly. Although Chile and Brazil score lower than in the 2012 Index, the three Southern Cone countries rank in … Read more
Rousseff Recalibrates
The boos that hailed down on Dilma Rousseff last month at the Confederations Cup are growing louder. Approval for the Brazilian president fell 26 percentage points in the last month, from 71 percent in June to 45 percent in July, according to a July 9–12 poll conducted by Instituto Brasileiro de Opinião Pública e Estatística … Read more
Twelfth ALBA Presidential Summit Takes Place in Ecuador
The leaders of the Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas—ALBA) are meeting today in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to discuss ways to further integrate the regional bloc and widen the scope of its work on social and economic issues. This is the first ALBA summit since the March 5 … Read more
Protests Mark Start of Humala’s Third Year in Office
In the midst of a deepening political crisis, Peruvian President Ollanta Humala gave his second Independence Day speech on Sunday. But for the first time since the dictatorship of Alberto Fujimori, widespread protests and mobilizations against the government are gaining national momentum. On Saturday, thousands of citizens gathered in the historical center of Lima. Protest … Read more
Monday Memo: Peru Protests – Bachelet and Matthei – Colombia Peace Talks – Cholera in Haiti – Mexican Vice-Admiral Killed
Likely top stories this week: demonstrators protest in Peru; a Chilean lawyer investigates the death of Michelle Bachelet’s father; FARC–Colombian government peace talks resume; a new report faults the UN for Haiti’s cholera outbreak; and assailants kill a Mexican vice-admiral. Protesters and Police Clash in Peru: Thousands of demonstrators clashed with hundreds of riot police … Read more
The Renewed Interest in Argentine Energy
Last year when Argentina expropriated most of Repsol’s majority stake in YPF, the country’s flagship oil and gas company, the Spanish government and the European Union howled in anger, leading calls to sanction Argentina and restrict trade in retaliation. The high drama in April 2012 culminated in a few months of frosty relations between Spain … Read more
Pope Francis Concludes Brazil Visit on Sunday
Pope Francis I marks the end of his seven-day visit to Brazil this weekend—the first to Latin America as Pontiff—with a Sunday Mass marking the 28th World Youth Day, a worldwide event for young people started by Pope John Paul II in 1985. His visit has sought to re-energize Catholicism in Brazil, which is home … Read more
Humala Swears in Three New Women Cabinet Ministers
Peruvian President Ollanta Humala swore in three new female Cabinet ministers on Wednesday, giving the Cabinet an equal number of male and female ministers for the first time in Peru’s history. Peru’s Cabinet now comprises nine female ministers out of a total of 18. The three new ministers include Mónica Rubio, a former social protection … Read more
Santos Accuses FARC of Violating Peace Negotiations
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos denounced the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC) on Tuesday for what he described as a “flagrant violation” of the group’s commitment to end kidnappings prior to its peace negotiations with the Colombian government in Havana. Santos’ comments, delivered at the opening of Colombiamoda (Colombian Fashion … Read more
