Monday Memo: Venezuela Enabling Law—U.S.-Cuba Talks—Mass Protests in Brazil—Hydroelectric Projects in Bolivia—Public Wi-Fi in Cuba
This week’s likely top stories: Opposition alarmed by President Maduro’s power of decree; U.S. and Cuba continue talks; Brazilian citizens protest corruption; Bolivia and Brazil to sign energy agreement; Cuba allows first public wi-fi center. President Maduro Given Power to Rule by Decree: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was given the power to rule by decree … Read more
Peruvian Congressional Committee Votes Against Same-Sex Civil Unions
After a nearly four hour debate, the Peruvian Comisión de Justicia y Derechos Humanos del Congreso (Congressional Committee on Justice and Human Rights) voted against a proposal for legalizing same-sex civil unions Tuesday night. The final vote count was four in favor, seven against, and two abstentions. “Today, you have seen which lawmakers are backwards, … Read more
Guatemalan Judges Face Reprisals for Speaking Out Against Corruption
Last Friday, Judge Claudia Escobar announced in a statement that a number of Guatemalan judges are being harassed and persecuted after speaking out against corruption during the election of the new Supreme Court and Appellate Court magistrates in 2014. The retaliatory measures taken against them, she said, include being forcibly transferred to remote locations or … Read more
Monday Memo: Colombia Peace Talks—Peru-Chile Spying—Citigroup Sale—Puerto Rico VAT—Chilean Corruption
This week’s likely top stories: Colombia and FARC agree to clear landmines; Peru recalls ambassador to Chile; Citigroup to sell Central American entities; Puerto Rico debates possible VAT; Chilean officials charged with corruption. Colombia and FARC to Remove Landmines: The Colombian and the FARC guerrilla group reached an agreement on Saturday to work together to … Read more
Vote to Decriminalize Marijuana Passes in Jamaica
A vote to decriminalize marijuana passed through Jamaica’s parliament Tuesday night and is expected to be signed into law by Governor General Sir Patrick Allen later this week. The law, approved by Jamaica’s Senate in February, will overturn the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1948, which punishes the possession, cultivation, selling, transporting, and smoking of “ganja,” the … Read more
Paraguayan Supreme Court To Issue Ruling on Expropriation Law
The Paraguayan government’s Institution for Indigenous Affairs of Paraguay (INDI) expressed its hope on Tuesday that the Paraguayan Supreme Court will reject an appeal from two German ranching companies that have been required to return 14,404 hectares of land to an Indigenous community. Roughly 500 members of the Sawhoyamaxa community of the Exnet nation have … Read more
Maduro Enajenado de la Realidad Venezolana
Luego de superar el único intento de golpe de Estado registrado en los últimos 15 años, el entonces presidente de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, ordenó la detención de Henrique Capriles Radonski—un joven alcalde opositor—quien debía manejar la seguridad de la Embajada de Cuba en medio de la crisis política nacional. El confuso incidente—Capriles afirma que intentaba … Read more
Narco-trafficker Claims He Funded Former President Fernández’ Campaign
Former Dominican army captain and infamous drug trafficker Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo announced on Monday that he funded former president Leonel Fernández’ presidential campaign, alleging that Fernández was fully aware of the source of the funding. In an interview yesterday on the TV program Hilando Filo, produced by reporter Salvador Holguín, Paulino Castillo said that … Read more
Brazilian Authorities Question Workers’ Party Treasurer in Petrobras Scandal
On Thursday morning, Brazilian police questioned the treasurer of Brazil’s governing Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Party—PT), João Vaccari Neto, in connection with the deepening corruption scandal that has engulfed the state-run oil company Petroleos Brasileiros SA (Brazilian Petroleum SA—Petrobras). Vaccari’s questioning came just a day after the oil giant’s chief executive, Maria das Graças Foster, … 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
Civic Innovator: Carlos Cruz
Carlos Cruz knows how dangerous it is to investigate crime and violence in Mexico. Since joining the mass of organizations and individuals demanding answers for the September 2014 disappearance of 43 Mexican students in the state of Guerrero, Cruz and his organization, Cauce Ciudadano (Citizens’ Way)—a nonprofit that addresses youth violence—have been warned not to … Read more
Argentine Judges Decline to Hear Case against President Fernández de Kirchner
On Monday, Argentine Judges Ariel Lijo and Daniel Rafecas turned down the case of late prosecutor Alberto Nisman against President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, alleging that the president participated in a cover-up plot surrounding a 1994 terrorist attack in Buenos Aires. After investigating the case for over a decade, Prosecutor Nisman presented an indictment for … Read more
Chilean Legislators Approve Same-Sex Civil Unions
After a four-year debate, the Chilean Senate has passed a bill allowing for same-sex unions. The law passed on Wednesday with a vote of 25 to 6, with three abstentions. Under the new law, called the Acuerdo de Unión Civil (Civil Union Accord—AUC), same-sex couples are afforded many of the rights of married couples, including … Read more
Labor Law Overturned in Peru Following Protest
Following a fifth round of student-lead protests, the Peruvian Congress voted this Monday to overturn a labor law that would have stripped young workers of many benefits and rights. The final count was an overwhelming majority of 91 votes to overturn the law against 18, with five abstentions. The bill, which passed in December, would have affected workers between 18 and 24 … Read more
A Small Step Towards Justice in Guatemala
Former Guatemalan police chief Pedro García Arredondo was found guilty on Monday of murder, crimes against humanity, and attempted murder—and sentenced to 90 years in prison for his involvement in the 1980 Spanish Embassy fire in Guatemala City. On January 31, 1980, 37 people lost their lives during the fire, set by Guatemalan police after … Read more
