Blog entries

The value of the Brazilian real dropped to less than two reais per U.S. dollar on Monday for the first time in three years. Responding to investor concerns over Greece’s possible exit from the Eurozone and slowing global economic growth, the euro dropped to its lowest level since mid-January, dragging the real and other emerging-market … Read more

Top stories this week are likely to include: Hugo Chávez post-radiation therapy; Michel Martelly begins his second year as president; Dominicans head to the polls; Peru minus two ministers; and Brazil creates a new social program. Chávez Ends Cancer Treatment: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez returned from Cuba on Friday claiming that he had ended his … Read more

President Barrack Obama’s pronouncement in favor of gay marriage certainly qualifies as both historic and courageous, not only for its content but also for its timing. Some critics already see some political machinations in this statement, which came shortly after Vice President Joe Biden seemed to indicate support for gay marriage. The polling data, however, … Read more

A 19-year old Haitian man who accused six Uruguayan UN peacekeepers of sexually assaulting him testified in a closed Uruguayan civilian court on Thursday. According to the victim, Johnny Jean, the six marines who were serving with the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) raped him on a UN base in Port Salut last September. … Read more

In the mid-1990s, the Inter-American Development Bank published various reports indicating that El Salvador and Guatemala had the highest homicide rates in Latin America. Fast-forward sixteen years later and these two countries form, along with neighboring Honduras, the most violent region in the world by all accounts. With a combined population of 28 million, Guatemala, … Read more

In Beijing yesterday Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said China is “very interested” in investing in an oil pipeline that would run from Venezuela to Colombia’s Pacific coast. President Santos is currently in China on a five-day trip to promote trade and investment ties between the two countries. China is already Colombia’s second-largest export market, … Read more

El Salvador has undergone various political events in the past couple of months. Political drama and institutional bickering have been present in daily news. For one, the legislative and municipal elections that took place this past March were fair and clean, while the same cannot be said about other countries in the region—namely Nicaragua. The … Read more

From 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. Mexico Hosts First 2012 Presidential Debate On Sunday night, the four top Mexican … Read more

Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General José Miguel Insulza will arrive in Ecuador tomorrow to begin discussions with President Rafael Correa over his government’s decision not to participate in last month’s Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia. Insulza will likely also address recent calls by the Ecuadorian government to modify the OAS constitution … Read more

European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht yesterday announced that Argentina may face retaliatory measures following the nationalization of Spanish energy giant Repsol’s majority stake in YPF, Argentina’s largest oil and gas company. De Gucht’s comments were delivered during a seminar in Brussels, Belgium, on “Strategic Challenges in the EU–Brazil Relationship.”  “We will soon be … Read more

Shortly before he left for Cuba for another round of cancer treatment, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced his plan to pull his country out of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The last president to make a similar threat was Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori in 2000 when the IACHR had handed down a series … Read more

Top stories this week are likely to include: Mexico’s presidential candidates debate; Dilma and the forestry law; Humala and Santos travel to Asia; and Venezuela proposes an alternative to the IACHR.  Challengers Hammer Peña Nieto in Presidential Debate: The leading presidential candidates in Mexico held their first debate last night, and frontrunner Enrique Peña Nieto … Read more

Haitian legislators yesterday approved President Michel Martelly’s nominee for Prime Minister, Laurent Lamothe, ending a confirmation standoff that has brought Haiti’s federal government to a virtual standstill for nearly two months. Lamothe, a former special adviser to President Martelly before being appointed foreign minister in September 2011, was confirmed by a vote of 62–3 after … Read more

Sería realmente alentador, además de novedoso, que llegara una celebración del Día Mundial de la Libertad de Prensa sin malas noticias para el gremio. Pues este 3 de mayo no logró ser la excepción, ya que además de repasar las cifras que no ceden en lo que a violaciones a la libertad de expresión se … Read more

A spokesman for the U.S. State Department said Wednesday “it would be deeply regrettable” if Venezuela were to leave the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). President Hugo Chávez announced on Monday that Venezuela would seek to withdraw from the inter-governmental body, describing it as “a mechanism that the United States uses against us.” The … Read more