Monday Memo: Venezuelan Audit – Humala Visits U.S. – Guantánamo – Protests in Brazil – Nicaragua Canal
Top stories this week are likely to include: Venezuela’s CNE confirms April’s presidential election results; President Humala arrives in the United States; U.S. senators visit Guantánamo prison; Brazil’s FUNAI director resigns amid Indigenous protests; Nicaraguan Congress expected to vote on building a canal. Venezuelan Audit Backs April Election Results: Venezuela’s Consejo Nacional Electoral (National Electoral … Read more
El candidato de Ecuador para la CIDH: La otra vía del debilitamiento de la Comisión
El control de la función pública es una tarea molesta, pero necesaria en toda democracia. Muchos gobiernos que han discrepado de las decisiones de órganos de control han encontrado dos maneras para eliminar dicho control. Una de ellas es oponerse públicamente a las decisiones o incluso alterar las competencias del órgano que las emite. La … Read more
Three-Day OAS General Assembly Begins in Guatemala
Heads of state and foreign ministers from across the Western Hemisphere arrive in Antigua, Guatemala, today for the 43rd General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS). The three-day meeting will begin with an inaugural session at 6:00 pm (local time) this evening. The primary focus of the Assembly, as noted in the draft … Read more
Tsunami Case Haunts Bachelet’s Campaign for Chilean Presidency
The latest twist to an ongoing case could see former Chilean president and current candidate Michelle Bachelet investigated by the public prosecutor—but has the media blown it out of proportion, and does the Chilean public care? Santiago, Chile—When Socialist head of state Michelle Bachelet handed over Chile’s presidential sash to billionaire Sebastián Piñera on March … Read more
Venezuela: ¿Ciudadanos con nuevos roles?
La Televisión del Sur, o Telesur, nació en Venezuela como una utopía: un proyecto comunicacional que pudiera informar a América Latina desde sus entrañas, y disputar la sintonía a colosos como CNN o la BBC, en sus versiones hispanas. Sin pautas publicitarias, la apuesta del entonces presidente Hugo Chávez, sólo fue posible gracias al financiamiento … Read more
The Canadian Senate: Legitimacy is the Issue
While Prime Minister Stephen Harper was conducting a Latin American tour last week, a firestorm was in full force concerning questionable expenses of prominent Conservative senators Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin. Before Harper actually left for Latin America, his respected chief of staff, Nigel Wright, had already resigned from his post after making the decision … Read more
Peru Examines its Past as Shining Path’s Political Arm Gains Support
*Note: In light of the recent discovery in Peru of a mass grave containing 17 victims believed to be killed in the 1980s by the Shining Path, we revisit this AQ article, which details the havoc waged by the Maoist insurgency group at the time. (June 24, 2015) In the 1980s and early 1990s, Peru … Read more
From George Washington to Evo Morales: Re-electionism in the Americas
George Washington, the first president of the United States, ran for re-election just once, in spite of being tremendously popular and receiving countless pleas from his supporters to remain in power. He thus started a healthy U.S. tradition that lasted a century—until Franklin Delano Roosevelt chose to break it by running for re-election twice. After … Read more
Guatemala’s Extradition of Former President Portillo
Alfonso Portillo, the former Guatemalan president, was extradited to New York last Friday to stand trial on charges of laundering at least $70 million through U.S. banks. A U.S. grand jury indicted Portillo on money laundering charges in 2010, and by 2011 he had run out of appeals. The Constitutional Court ruled that the former … Read more
Monday Memo: Guantánamo – Venezuela-U.S. Relations – Colombia Peace Negotiations – Marijuana Legalization – Santos Second Term
Top stories this week are likely to include: Barack Obama will speak about closing Guantánamo Bay; Venezuela says it is open to normalizing relations with the United States; the FARC says that more time is necessary for peace negotiations; an OAS report calls for a discussion on marijuana legalization; and Colombia’s Juan Manuel Santos will … Read more
Jorge Videla, a Sinister Argentine Dictator, Dies
I was born in June 1976, only weeks after Argentina’s most violent dictatorship began. Early in the morning on a sad March day before I was born, my father was taken away by the military regime. He didn’t meet me for the first time until almost a year later. I was lucky; thousands of children … Read more
Maduro Begins South American Tour amid Venezuela Election Audit
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro embarked today on a three-day tour of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, all members of Mercosur (The Common Market of the South). Following Paraguay’s suspension from the free-trade group, Venezuela joined Mercosur last year and will assume the bloc’s temporary presidency for the first time on June 28 during a summit in … Read more
Apuestas Estratégicas para el 2014 en El Salvador
En el año 2000 la mayoría de los salvadoreños teníamos una idea, al menos vaga, sobre cual debería de ser la apuesta estratégica del país. El entonces presidente Francisco Flores y su gabinete nos hablaban sobre la viabilidad de convertir a El Salvador en un centro financiero y en un centro logístico de calidad mundial. … Read more
Ríos Montt Trial Still on Hold
The impasse in the genocide trial of Guatemalan General Efraín Ríos Montt should be cleared this week, following a succession of rulings by Guatemala’s Constitutional Court. On Monday afternoon, the court turned the case back over to presiding Judge Yassmín Barrios, who looked to resume the trial on Tuesday morning. However, the 8:30 am proceedings … Read more
Monday Memo: Colombian Peace Negotiations – Venezuela’s Audit – Alabama Immigration Law – Honduran Police – Maracanã
Top stories this week are likely to include: Colombian civil society holds forum on political participation; Venezuela’s election audit begins on May 6; the U.S. Supreme Court upholds a lower court’s immigration ruling; Honduran police officials resign in the midst of a police crisis; and Brazil’s Maracanã stadium reopens after three years. Colombian Civil Society … Read more
