Monday Memo: Chávez Names Maduro – Regional Elections in Venezuela – Puerto Rico Discusses Next Steps for Statehood – Arab-Latin American Forum – and more
Top stories this week are likely to include: Chávez designates successor as he heads to Havana; Puerto Rico convenes legislature for statehood; Arab-Latin American Forum in Abu Dhabi; and impact of recent energy takeover deals in Canada. Developments in Venezuela: This is the final week of campaigning in Venezuela’s regional elections, and the electorate will … Read more
Media Law Reform Pits Argentine Executive Branch Against Judiciary
After a massive demonstration on November 8, Argentines planned to take to the streets again Thursday night to protest the enforcement of a new media law scheduled to go into full effect today. In the end, a subway strike, torrential rains and a toxic gas cloud significantly reduced enthusiasm and left the streets of Buenos … Read more
Monday Memo: Mercosur Considers Ecuador and Bolivia – Peña Nieto in the Presidency – Colombia, FARC Continue Talks – Peru, Chile at The Hague – and more
Top stories this week are likely to include: Mercosur convenes; first week of Enrique Peña Nieto’s presidency; FARC peace negotiations resume; Peru, Chile dispute their border at The Hague; and Rousseff’s oil royalties veto makes waves in Brazil. Mercosur Considers Ecuador and Bolivia: When Mercosur’s member nations convene on Friday in Brasilia, they will consider … Read more
Enrique Peña Nieto Takes the Long-Awaited Oath
The road to the presidency for Enrique Peña Nieto started long before he won the Mexico State governorship in 2005. His uncle Arturo Montiel proceeded Nieto in the governor’s mansion (1999-2005) and cousin Alfredo del Mazo González ruled the state (1981-1986) and served as secretary of energy in the remaining years of President Miguel de … Read more
An Opportunity for Mexico’s New President, Enrique Peña Nieto
In a recent encounter between one of the authors and Arnold Schwarzenegger, long-time actor and former governor of California (2003-2011), he offered a stinging rebuke about California’s neighbor to the south. “When is Mexico going to wake up?” Schwarzenegger opined. “It is with great natural resources and great people. I have filmed movies there and … Read more
Mexico Primes for the Presidential Oath
For weeks, Mexico’s Estado Mayor (Secret Service) and Secretaría de Seguridad Pública (Public Security Secretariat—SSP) have been laying the groundwork for a safe and peaceful transfer of power on December 1, when Enrique Peña Peña Nieto of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party—PRI) takes the oath of office. The ceremony is scheduled to begin … Read more
New Leader of Chile’s Student Movement Seeks to Influence 2013 Presidential Election
On Wednesday, newly-elected Chilean student leader Andrés Fielbaum outlined his approach for educational reform in Chile in the coming year, emphasizing the importance of the student movement in determining the outcome of the December 2013 presidential elections. Fielbaum, a 25-year-old engineering student, was elected president of the influential Federación de Estudiantes de la Universidad de … Read more
Argentine Anti-Government Protests
Tens of thousands of Argentines took to the streets nationwide and in smaller groups around the globe last Thursday to protest the government of Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. In the last several months, demonstrations like this have become increasingly common: a similar protest in September drew around 200,000 angry Buenos Aires residents out … Read more
Harper’s Choice
Last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper interrupted his trip to India to offer President Barack Obama his congratulations on his reelection. In Canada, there had been talk that Conservative Prime Minister Harper may have preferred a more ideologically-similar partner like Mitt Romney to govern our closest political neighbor and ally and strongest commercial partner. But … Read more
La política en Argentina es visceral
Es todo un reto relatar a la Argentina sin parecer que uno se alineó con una tendencia política militante u opositora, ambas campeantes en un mundo blanco y negro que se apoderó de este país hace cerca de dos años. En 2010 también yo trasegaba por estas calles y lo que vi, con variados matices, … Read more
Chile’s Municipal Elections: Everyone Loses, but the Ruling Coalition Loses More
The center-right ruling Alianza coalition led by President Sebastián Piñera suffered a setback in the municipal elections held on October 28. A year before the presidential election, prospects for the Alianza look grimmer. The Piñera administration—inaugurated two weeks after the devastating February 2010 earthquake—is now confronting the political aftershocks of his coalition’s losses and hoping … Read more
Argentina Lowers Voting Age to 16 After Measure Clears Last Hurdle
Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies, or lower house, approved a bill Wednesday night that lowers the national voting age from 18 to 16 years old, having broad implications for next year’s congressional elections according to many analysts. The law passed by a large majority in Argentina’s Senate in mid-October as detailed by an earlier AQ Daily … Read more
Tom Mulcair’s Rendezvous With History
Canada has only had two political parties who have governed the country’s affairs and destiny—the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. Just as in the United States, the two-party approach has served our democracy well. Unlike the U.S., however, our parliamentary system leaves more room for the establishment and the sustaining presence of a third … Read more
Franco Announces Paraguay Election Observers
La Unión de Naciones Sudamericanas (Union of South American Nations—Unasur) was notably excluded from Paraguay’s list of observers for the 2013 presidential election announced by President Federico Franco on Monday. The European Union (EU), Organization of American States (OAS) and The Carter Center, all prestigious and internationally renowned organizations according to Franco, will be allowed … Read more
Elections in Chile: An Outlook from Santiago
As Chileans wake up tomorrow for municipal elections throughout the country, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera has urged his citizens to investigate their local candidates online before arriving to the polling stations. If his advice is heeded, it may well be a first in a day of many firsts. Given that a center-right government is in … Read more
