Monday Memo: Peña Nieto Inauguration – COP18 Kicks Off – UNASUR Summit – and more
Top stories this week are likely to include: Mexico’s presidential inauguration; Kyoto Protocol up for renegotiation; reaction to a new oil field find in Mexico; UNASUR meets in Peru; and Argentina-Ghana dispute to be reviewed by the UN. Enrique Peña Nieto Assumes Power: On Saturday, President Felipe Calderón will conclude his six-year term and hand … Read more
What the U.S. Election Tells Canada
The recent reelection of Barack Obama as President, the increase of Democrats in the Senate, and their slight gains in the House of Representatives has led analysts to talk about a changing America. While Obama is a highly popular political figure in Canada, it was somewhat surprising for many of us glued to our television … Read more
Bolivia holds first census in 11 years
A national population and housing census will take place in Bolivia today, the first in the country in 11 years. Ahead of the survey, President Evo Morales has imposed a general curfew, which restricts private traffic, bans alcohol and closes the country’s borders during the day. Exceptions to the curfew include government officials, diplomats, journalists … Read more
Colombia: Negociar en Medio del Fuego (o sin él)
El anuncio unilateral de las FARC, justo en el día en que se iniciaba la segunda fase de las conversaciones de paz con el gobierno en La Habana, tomó por sorpresa al país: habrá una tregua navideña entre el 20 de noviembre y el 20 de enero, tiempo durante el que el grupo guerrillero promete … Read more
FARC Announces Unilateral Ceasefire in Colombia
Shortly before resuming peace negotiations with the Colombian government in Havana on Monday, Ivan Marquez—the lead negotiator for the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC)—declared a ceasefire, halting all offensive military operations and acts of sabotage against infrastructure. The ceasefire began at midnight and is expected to last until January 20, … Read more
Monday Memo: Colombia, FARC in Cuba – Honduran Presidential Candidates – Canada Negotiates FTA with European Union – and more
Top stories this week are likely to include: Colombia-FARC peace negotiations move to Havana; 2013 presidential contest set in Honduras; Canadian trade minister in Brussels for free trade talks; and The Hague rules on the Nicaragua-Colombia maritime border dispute. Colombia-FARC Talks Resume: Representatives from the Colombian government arrived yesterday in Havana, Cuba, ahead of the … Read more
Yosoy132: perspectivas a futuro
El 1 de diciembre de 2012, Enrique Peña Nieto asumirá la presidencia de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Ante eso, ¿cuál debe ser la reacción de Yosoy132? Los caminos a seguir son muchos y variados. El primero, y el más improbable de todos, sería la disolución del movimiento ante los hechos consumados. Esto se podría apoyar, … Read more
After France, Humala Continues European Tour
President Ollanta Humala is on a three day visit to France, Spain and Portugal as part of his effort to strengthen Peru’s ties with European countries. On Thursday, Humala met with his counterpart in France, François Hollande, where both leaders signed agreements related to student exchanges programs and mutual recognition of diplomas. During his … Read more
New Leader of Chile’s Student Movement Seeks to Influence 2013 Presidential Election
On Wednesday, newly-elected Chilean student leader Andrés Fielbaum outlined his approach for educational reform in Chile in the coming year, emphasizing the importance of the student movement in determining the outcome of the December 2013 presidential elections. Fielbaum, a 25-year-old engineering student, was elected president of the influential Federación de Estudiantes de la Universidad de … Read more
Following Historic Election, Suffolk County Leads the Way on Immigration Issues
In recent years, states and localities from Arizona and Alabama to Hazleton, Pennsylvania, have passed laws and ordinances to make immigrants’ lives unbearable—what some call “attrition through enforcement.” Suffolk County, NY (located in the central and eastern portion of Long Island) was until recently a paradigmatic case of such an approach. Only one week after … Read more
Argentine Anti-Government Protests
Tens of thousands of Argentines took to the streets nationwide and in smaller groups around the globe last Thursday to protest the government of Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. In the last several months, demonstrations like this have become increasingly common: a similar protest in September drew around 200,000 angry Buenos Aires residents out … Read more
Harper’s Choice
Last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper interrupted his trip to India to offer President Barack Obama his congratulations on his reelection. In Canada, there had been talk that Conservative Prime Minister Harper may have preferred a more ideologically-similar partner like Mitt Romney to govern our closest political neighbor and ally and strongest commercial partner. But … Read more
Number of Brazilian Students in U.S. Universities Increases
Brazil was ranked 14th in the world for the number of its students now studying at American Universities, Agência Brasil announced Monday. According to the Open Doors report, Brazilians made up 9,029 of the 764, 495 international students at universities in the United States from 2011-2012, an increase of about 6 percent from 2010-2011. U.S. … Read more
La política en Argentina es visceral
Es todo un reto relatar a la Argentina sin parecer que uno se alineó con una tendencia política militante u opositora, ambas campeantes en un mundo blanco y negro que se apoderó de este país hace cerca de dos años. En 2010 también yo trasegaba por estas calles y lo que vi, con variados matices, … Read more
Middle Class Growing in BRICs and Latin America
Economists, social scientists and policy makers highlight the rapid expansion of the middle class in Latin America, but Jamele Rigolini, a senior economist at the World Bank, emphasizes that this growth is not exclusive to the region. In an article published today in Americas Quarterly’s Fall 2012 issue on the middle class, Rigolini writes, “while … Read more
