Monday Memo: Costa Rican and Salvadoran Elections – Peru-Chile Border – Colombia and Drummond – Uruguayan Floods
Likely top stories this week: presidential candidates in Costa Rica and El Salvador will advance to runoff elections; the dispute over the Chile-Peru border continues; Colombia brings charges against the U.S.-based coal company Drummond; heavy rains in Uruguay lead to flood warnings in most of the country. Costa Rican Presidential Elections: Costan Rican voters on … Read more
Canadian Political Scene 2014
If 2013 saw a rebound in the Liberal brand nationally, how will 2014 fare for the ruling Conservatives on the federal scene? A year ago, the Conservative government, despite some good economic numbers, was facing a resurgent Liberal party in the midst of a leadership race with the emergence of the charismatic and likeable Justin … Read more
Monday Memo: Brazilian Elections – Fires in Chile – Mexican Protesters – Nicaragua Canal – World Cup
Likely top stories this week: Eduardo Campo and Marina Silva are expected to run in Brazil’s presidential elections; Chile suffers from drought and wildfires; Mexican police remove protesters; Nicaragua will start work on its canal in 2015; FIFA criticizes Brazil’s World Cup preparations. Likely Campos-Silva Ticket in Brazil’s Next Elections: Pernambuco Governor Eduardo Campo and … Read more
Monday Memo: Michelle Bachelet – Gustavo Petro – USAID in Ecuador – FARC Ceasefire – Kidnappings in Mexico
Likely top stories this week: Former President Michelle Bachelet wins Chile’s presidential elections; Protesters rally in support of ousted Bogotá Mayor Gustavo Petro; USAID plans to pull out of Ecuador by September 2014; the FARC’s 30-day ceasefire goes into effect; a study finds that Mexico leads the world in kidnappings. Michelle Bachelet Wins Chilean Elections: … Read more
Return of the Jedi: Michelle Bachelet and Chilean Democracy
On Sunday, December 15, Michelle Bachelet won 62 percent of Chile’s presidential run-off election, easily outpacing Evelyn Matthei’s 38 percent. On March 11, 2014, she will don Chile’s presidential sash for a second time, having served a previous term from 2006–2010. According to her 2013 electoral platform, she will focus on education, tax reform and … Read more
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Dismissal of Bogotá’s Mayor Violates International Law
On December 9, the mayor of Bogotá, Gustavo Petro, was removed and disqualified from holding public office for 15 years by the inspector general of Colombia, Alejandro Ordóñez, as a result of “irregularities in the public service of garbage-collection.” The inspector general’s decision, however, violates the American Convention on Human Rights, ratified by Colombia in … Read more
Hernandez Confirmed as Honduran President
Juan Orlando Hernandez, the candidate for the conservative Partido Nacional (National Party), was confirmed as the new president of Honduras on Thursday. Hernandez won 36.9 percent of the vote, with opposition candidate Xiomara Castro of the Partido Libertad y Refundación (Liberty and Refoundation Party—Libre) coming in second with 28.8 percent of the votes, according to … Read more
The No Re-election Taboo is Lifted in Mexico
In the midst of a heated national debate on political reform, December 4 marked a milestone in Mexico’s electoral politics, as the upper house of Congress voted on legislation modifying 29 articles in the country’s constitution to allow consecutive re-election for mayoral and legislative positions. Re-election will go into effect in 2018, and will allow … Read more
Venezuela: Triunfo nacional, fracaso municipal
Cambios políticos y estructurales venían discutiéndose en Venezuela cuando un estallido social en 1989 evidenció que la situación exigía acciones inmediatas. La Comisión para la Reforma del Estado -creada en 1986- había oficializado el debate apenas un año antes, pero “El Caracazo”, revuelta social que marcó un punto de no retorno para el país, fue … Read more
Bogotá Mayor Removed from Office
The mayor of Bogotá, Gustavo Petro, was removed from office Monday and banned from holding public office again for 15 years in a decision handed down by Colombian Attorney General Alejandro Ordóñez. Ordóñez found that Petro “improvised” and mismanaged a garbage collection system implemented last year, replacing private garbage collection companies with city entities that … Read more
Monday Memo: FARC Ceasefire – Venezuela – Mexican Energy Reform – Argentine Police Strike – Clinton in Rio
Likely top stories this week: The Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC) announce a ceasefire; Venezuelans vote in municipal elections; the Mexican Congress debates energy reform; Police strikes across Argentina continue; Bill Clinton visits Rio de Janeiro for the Clinton Global Initiative Latin America meeting. FARC Rebels Announce a Ceasefire: In … Read more
Canada’s Conservatives: A Troubled Political Landscape
On November 25, Canadians went to the polls in four by-elections—two in Manitoba, one in Québec and one in Ontario. The results were not dramatic, as they maintained the same distribution of seats in Canada’s House of Commons. The Conservative Party of Prime Minister Stephen Harper kept its two Manitoba seats—albeit with highly reduced margins. … Read more
Monday Memo: Honduran Elections – Santos in the U.S. – Petroleum in Ecuador – Peña Nieto – São Paulo Fire
Likely top stories this week: Xiomara Castro leads her supporters in protest against last Sunday’s election results; Juan Manuel Santos visits the United States; petroleum exploitation moves ahead in Ecuador; Mexicans protest as President Peña Nieto completes his first year in office; a fire engulfs the Latin America Memorial in São Paulo. Honduran Election Result … Read more
Honduran Presidential Victory Without Mandate, Majority or Money
We still don’t know the final tally of Sunday’s general election in Honduras, but if 68 percent of provisional results are valid, Juan Orlando Hernández will soon be the next president of Central America’s second-most populous country—with repercussions for the region and for the Obama administration’s Latin American policy hanging in the balance. With a … Read more
Monday Memo: Honduran Elections – Haitian Immigrants – Venezuela – U.S. Immigration – Santos and Correa
Likely top stories this week: Honduras’ election results are still pending; the Dominican Republic deports Haitian immigrants after violence in a border town; Henrique Capriles urges the Venezuelan opposition to vote on December 8; a new report says that most Americans favor a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants; Juan Manuel Santos and Rafael Correa … Read more