Are the Elections Behind the Crackdown in Caracas?
On February 20, a day after Venezuelan security agents smashed into the office of Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma and arrested him on conspiracy charges, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff referred to the mayor’s detention as a Venezuelan “internal matter.” Later, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released two bland statements in line with Rousseff’s comment, expressing … Read more
El Salvador’s TSE Cancels Announcement of Preliminary Election Results
El Salvador’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) announced on Monday that the preliminary count of votes in municipal and legislative elections would be skipped, due to system error. On Sunday, Salvadoran citizens voted for all 84 seats in Congress, 262 mayors, approximately 3,000 municipal council members, and 20 representatives for the Central American Parliament. It was … Read more
Monday Memo: U.S.-Cuba Talks — Colombia Peace Talks — Latin American Currencies — New Uruguayan President — Peruvian Ecotourism
This week’s likely top stories:U.S.-Cuba talks promising; New delegation for FARC peace talks; Dollar strengthens against Latin American currencies; Tabaré Vázquez takes office; Peruvian businesses to learn from Costa Rican ecotourism. U.S.-Cuba Normalization Talks Promising: After two rounds of talks—one in Havana last month and the second in Washington DC on Friday—the U.S. and Cuba … Read more
Monday Memo: Peru-Chile Relations—Panama Hydroelectric Dam—Guatemala-Honduras Customs—São Paulo Drought—Venezuela Conspiracy Charges
Allegations of Espionage Threaten Peru-Chile Relations: Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Heraldo Muñoz announced on Sunday that Chilean Ambassador Roberto Ibarra would not return to his post in Peru in light of the country’s espionage complaints against Chile. On Friday, Peruvian Ambassador Francisco Rojas Samanez was recalled to Lima after Peruvian prosecutors claimed that several Peruvian … Read more
El Salvador’s Upcoming Election: A Window for Reform?
El Salvador will hold its next legislative and municipal elections in three weeks, on March 1, 2015. As the country’s electorate preps for yet another election, political parties scramble to fine tune logistics and communication strategies in the run up to the election. The period leading up to the election has showcased El Salvador’s positive … Read more
La barbarie venezolana
El año comenzó con eventos que conmocionaron al mundo y llamaron a reflexionar sobre seguridad, radicalismo y civilización. Venezuela no fue inmune al contexto internacional. El 31 de enero de 2015, Caracas difundió una nota de pesar por el asesinato del periodista japonés Kenji Goto. En tres párrafos, el presidente Nicolás Maduro condenaba “enérgicamente” su decapitación. En las … Read more
Canada’s Balanced Approach and the 2015 Election
To many outside our country, Canada has been characterized as a stable, durable democracy with a consistently enlightened approach to matters of public policy. The political parties that have governed the country since its inception in 1867 have usually struck a balance between ideological pursuits and the general values Canadian hold dear. Canada’s Supreme Court, … Read more
Monday Memo: Iguala Students—Cuban Internet—Nicaragua Canal—Strike in Haiti—Unasur facilitates U.S.-Venezuela dialogue
Likely top stories this week: Independent forensic team deems Mexico’s 43 missing students case inconclusive; Cuban authorities to expand Internet centers in 2015; archaeological relics uncovered along Nicaragua Canal route; a general strike in Haiti on eve of Carnival; Unasur seeks to facilitate U.S.-Venezuela dialogue. Independent Forensic Team Deems Mexico’s 43 Missing Students Case Inconclusive: … Read more
Portillo: from Prisoner to Political Return?
Former Guatemalan president Alfonso Portillo could be set for a stunning return to the political arena in the country’s upcoming elections in September. Portillo will be released from federal prison in the U.S. in February, having served less than 12 months of his six-year sentence for conspiracy to launder $2.5 million—money he received from the … Read more
Venezuela’s Post-Chávez Foreign Policy
President Nicolás Maduro inherited a dramatically changed country—and economic situation—when he came to power following Chávez’ death from cancer in 2013. Within a year of Maduro’s election in March 2013, oil prices had started a steady decline. And as investment in the industry also dropped, production fell to 2.62 million barrels per day (bpd) from … Read more
Fighting Corruption: Easy to Promise, Hard to Achieve
The disappearance and apparent murder of 43 students in Iguala, Mexico, last September is a stark reminder of how organized crime and corruption are intertwined. The students were arrested by police officers allegedly sent by the mayor of Iguala, José Luis Abarca, to intercept their buses on their way to a demonstration. Reportedly, the students … Read more
Mexico After Ayotzinapa: Ya Me Cansé, Por Eso Propongo
Translated by Paulina Suárez-Hesketh The Ayotzinapa case (in which 43 students were disappeared by local government forces in the city of Iguala, Mexico) has galvanized an unexpected amount of social energy in Mexico. The healthy civic agitation that followed the case, along with the countless expressions of protest and dissatisfaction, reveal the desires of a … Read more
Monday Memo: Venezuela Protests – Haiti Elections – Caribbean Energy – AT&T – Brazil Olympics
This week’s likely top stories: Venezuelan opposition leaders halt protests in Caracas; Haiti swears in its nine-member Provisional Electoral Council; the U.S. hosts the first-ever Caribbean Energy Security Summit; AT&T acquires Nextel Mexico; Rio’s environment secretary announces that Guanabara Bay will not be clean in time for the 2016 Olympic Games. Opposition Curbs Protests in … Read more
Is This The Return of Barack Obama?
If there is one thing consistent about President Barack Obama, it’s his ability to defy the odds. His nomination over Hillary Clinton in 2008 and his eventual election as president made history. His seventh State of the Union speech, delivered on Tuesday, clearly showed his intention to resist any lame-duck status as he enters the … Read more
New Study Ranks Democracy in Latin America
Only two countries in Latin America—Costa Rica and Uruguay—can be considered “full democracies,” according to an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) study commissioned by BBC for Democracy Day on January 20. The report says that a majority of Latin American countries hold “free and fair” elections and are better ranked than their counterparts in the Middle … Read more
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