Politics Innovator: Ruben Kihuen, The United States
Ruben Kihuen, 33, is used to winning. As a rising Mexican-American politician in Nevada—where Latinos have played a major role in deciding the last two U.S. presidential elections—Kihuen has attracted attention far outside his home state. And with good reason: both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama courted him during their 2008 presidential campaigns, and Kihuen’s … Read more
Fresh Look Reviews
Fresh, unique perspectives on recent books from across the hemisphere originally published in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Monday Memo: Chilean Presidential Candidates – Pope in Brazil – Ambush in Colombia – U.S. Immigration – Venezuela-U.S. Relations
Likely top stories this week: Evelyn Matthei will be the UDI’s new candidate in Chile’s presidential election; Pope Francis I arrives in Brazil; Colombian government sends troops to Arauca; U.S. lawmakers debate the KIDS Act; Venezuela ends its attempt to normalize relations with the U.S. Chile’s New Presidential Candidate: The Unión Demócrata Independiente (Independent Democratic … Read more
Candidate Reshuffle in Chile’s Presidential Election
Former Economy Minister Pablo Longueira of the Independent Democratic Union (Unión Demócrata Independiente—UDI) withdrew from the Chilean presidential campaign on Wednesday just weeks after winning the June 30 primary of the incumbent Alliance for Chile (Alianza por Chile) coalition. His son, Juan Pablo Longueira, informed the press that his father had been suffering from severe depression and could no longer be a part of the race. The election will be held on November 17, 2013. The Alianza coalition must now overcome … Read more
La prisión preventiva desvirtuada
Cuando se considera a una persona como posible responsable de un delito en un procedimiento judicial, el fiscal puede solicitar su detención provisional, esto es, que vaya a prisión hasta que se le juzgue y decida que es culpable—o que no lo es. Ni el señalamiento que haga la policía, ni siquiera la acusación que … Read more
Rousseff Again Calls for a Plebiscite on Political Reforms
On Wednesday, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff reiterated her proposal for a plebiscite on reforms to address citizen discontent over corruption and public spending that have fueled massive protests since June. Rousseff first proposed a plebiscite on June 24. According to her plan, voters would select from a menu of options to overhaul the nation’s political … Read more
Growing Pains: Former Student Leaders Step into Electoral Politics Amid Continuing Mobilization in Chile
In 2011, a nationwide reform movement swept Chile, with teachers, students and their families filling the streets to demand free, quality public education. As student marches and police crackdowns continue into 2013, some former leaders of the movement are transitioning to electoral politics, looking to win seats in parliament come November. View an exclusive slideshow … Read more
Monday Memo: Mercosur and Europe – Mexican Reforms – Guantánamo – Peruvian Legislator Arrested – Guatemala Police Station Massacre
Likely top stories this week: Mercosur leaders pledge to withdraw envoys from Europe; Mexican opposition demands electoral reforms; some Guantánamo prisoners break their hunger strike; Peruvian legislator Nancy Obregón to be investigated for Shining Path ties; four are arrested after Guatemalan police station massacre. Mercosur Countries to Withdraw European Ambassadors: At the Mercosur summit in … Read more
Mexico’s New Undead Rapist Mayor-Elect
Yes, you read that title correctly. The small municipality of San Agustín Amatengo in the Mexican state of Oaxaca has recently attracted national attention due to what is likely the strangest story in electoral politics in the country. On July 7, Lenin Carballido, the candidate from a Partido Acción Nacional (National Action Party—PAN)-Partido de la … Read more
The PRI’s Losses are Peña Nieto’s Gains
MEXICO CITY —Mexico’s July 7 local elections, held in half of the country’s states, were the first since President Enrique Peña Nieto took office. As such, they served as a quasi-referendum on the president’s Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party—PRI), and provide the political backdrop against which Peña Nieto will push his agenda to remake … Read more
Participatory Budgeting Advances in Lima, But Stalls Elsewhere in Peru
A novel political endeavor took place earlier last month in Lima, as just over 17,000 citizens participated in the city’s first consulta ciudadana virtual (virtual citizen consultation) as part of the municipality’s participatory budgeting (PB) process. Across the city, residents used a new online system to vote in the consulta. Although those who participated represent … Read more
Monday Memo: Mexico Elections—Peru Protests—Same-Sex Unions—NSA Activities—UNASUR Meets
Likely top stories this week: results in the race for governor of Baja California; protests over legislation in Peru; Costa Rica approves same-sex civil unions; Brazil responds to surveillance reports; and UNASUR divided over Evo Morales’ flight interruptions. Baja California’s Next Governor On Sunday, nearly half of Mexico’s 31 states held elections for mayors and … Read more
Guatemala Considers Abandoning Petrocaribe
On Wednesday, Guatemalan Vice President Roxanna Baldetti submitted a petition to Petrocaribe, an oil trading alliance among Caribbean nations and Venezuela, threatening that her country will leave the block unless the Venezuelan government agrees to maintain originally established interest rates. Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez created Petrocaribe in 2005 to sell crude oil to neighboring … Read more
Criminal Violence Becomes Political Ahead of Mexico’s July 7 Elections
Not since Mexico’s transition to democracy in the late 1980s has the country witnessed the high levels of political violence that have characterized the build-up to the July 7 local elections. Local politicians across the country have been the target of death threats, arson attacks and shootings. Although organized crime and drug-related violence in Mexico … Read more
Protester Confidence in Brazil
SAO PAULO, Brazil – The question of how long Brazil’s protest movement may last has stumped social and political analysts, with the movement’s rapid growth since early June taking nearly all by surprise. But low unemployment rates may now be giving Brazilian protesters the endurance to go the distance—a reminder of the situation during the … Read more
